Specifically for the Artificer's Homunculus infusion; how would one of these "scout ahead" for the Artificer? It "understands" languages, and follows the Artificer's commands, but nowhere does it say it has any sort of method of communication; speech, telepathy, video projection, nothing. How do I send the little guy down a tunnel, scout it out, return it back to me, and debrief?
It is in the creature description: Shared Mind. A homunculus knows everything its creator knows, including all the languages the creator can speak and read. Likewise, everything the construct senses is known to its master, even over great distances, provided both are on the same plane. Functioning as a spy, a scout, an emissary, or a messenger, a homunculus is an invaluable servant for a spellcaster engaged in secret experimentation or adventuring.
edit: I was wrong, the artificer one does seem to be different than the stock creature.
An Homonculus Servant can understand a language but can’t speak it, so while it can scout ahead, it won't be able to verbally communicate what it scout, perhaps it could make nose, leave signs, draw or do other actions to indicate it saw something for exemple, but detailed debrief would be limited by its capacity to communicate It has an average intelligence so there may be some creative way to do this with DM's approval.
Language: The languages that a monster can speak are listed in alphabetical order. Sometimes a monster can understand a language but can’t speak it, and this is noted in its entry. A “ — ” indicates that a creature neither speaks nor understands any language.
Can I finagle around the fact that it is Int 10, and combine it with my Tinkering, so it can create images, maps, etc. when it comes back? Do you figure that would be fair? Or would it just be hopping around and scratching its mechanical toe across the ground to draw?
Can I finagle around the fact that it is Int 10, and combine it with my Tinkering, so it can create images, maps, etc. when it comes back? Do you figure that would be fair? Or would it just be hopping around and scratching its mechanical toe across the ground to draw?
Not as written because Magical Tinkering affect an object, and an Homonculus Servant is a magically created creature, which is not the same. You can always ask your DM how far can it go.
Can I finagle around the fact that it is Int 10, and combine it with my Tinkering, so it can create images, maps, etc. when it comes back? Do you figure that would be fair? Or would it just be hopping around and scratching its mechanical toe across the ground to draw?
Not as written because Magical Tinkering affect an object, and an Homonculus Servant is a magically created creature, which is not the same. You can always ask your DM how far can it go.
I wouldn't be tinkering AT the homunculus; I'd be helping it tinker at, like, a flat piece of wood, stone tablet, etc.
Based on how I read it right now, the pet is on full no-player-control autopilot when sent out to scout/deliver/spy/whatever.
I find the Homunculus Servant a bit confusing as to what its design intent was. They gave it expertise in Perception and proficiency in Stealth. This seems ideal for scouting, until you realize that it can't take the Hide or Search actions unless you use your bonus action to verbally command it to do so.
It can stand guard over you while you are asleep because being Unconscious also means you are Incapacitated. But the restrictions on what actions the Homunculus Servant can take when not explicitly commanded are quite harsh.
I imagine most tables don't apply this restriction when out of combat, but I am just speculating here. In my mind this is the more serious impediment to using a Homunculus Servant to scout for the party.
Presumably the Homunculus Servant can understand written language. So for it to be able to communicate back by writing you just need to design your servant to have a form that can write as a humanoids would or design a writing tool appropriate for your servants form.
I wouldn't be tinkering AT the homunculus; I'd be helping it tinker at, like, a flat piece of wood, stone tablet, etc.
In which way? I don't know how helpful it would be since when you - the Artificer - use Magical Tinkering, you touch a Tiny nonmagical object as an action and give it one of the following magical properties of your choice:
The object sheds bright light in a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet.
Whenever tapped by a creature, the object emits a recorded message that can be heard up to 10 feet away. You utter the message when you bestow this property on the object, and the recording can be no more than 6 seconds long.
The object continuously emits your choice of an odor or a nonverbal sound (wind, waves, chirping, or the like). The chosen phenomenon is perceivable up to 10 feet away.
A static visual effect appears on one of the object's surfaces. This effect can be a picture, up to 25 words of text, lines and shapes, or a mixture of these elements, as you like.
Well, I can either count the barks for "What's that, Lassie? Timmy fell down the well again?" every time it comes back, which might be interesting the first time around, but is sure to become a chore in no time stat, or I can work out a more elegant solution. That's why I'm asking.
I mean, I've had mine scout ahead and asked "Is it dangerous?"
It can't talk, but it cackled madly in response. OOC, yes, there were a bunch of Elf-on-the-Shelf tokens in that basement. IC? Even my character didn't understand it but got nervous from the reply. I'd say charades/vague answers are about what you'll likely get. Or give it telepathy somehow.
Since you have so few infusion slots available, it is far more resource intensive than ritual-casting Find Familiar. So you should talk with your DM. I can suggest a few options: 1) It really should have the Shared Mind feature, since all NPC critters do. However, since this is essentially an always-available scrying spell, it could be too powerful. 2) If that is too much of a stretch, then perhaps it should be able to share the ability of the Magical tinkering- that way it could bring back 4 'pictures' of what it saw based on what it thinks is important. 3) If the DM doesn't want to go that far, then perhaps they might allow you to use a second infusion to create a pair of sending stones and embed one in the critter, allowing you to hear what it hears. Or do even more, and combine that with one of your 4 minor objects that shows a picture of what it sees.
The artificer class is really limited if you don't get creative.
Looking more into it, you might consider taking Magic Initiate, Wizard, as a feat. That helps with +2 cantrips, which are always useful. And 1 first level spell. Take Find familiar. Nothing says your familiar cannot ride your homunculus around like some kind of mecha. That way, the familar does the reporting back.
The 2024 Monster Manual, it says: "Each homunculus shares a telepathic bond with the mage who created it". Furthermore, the 'Traits' section of the homunculus stat block has the trait 'Telepathic Bond', which says "While the homunculus is on the same plane of existence as it's master, the two of them can communicate telepathically with each other."
Specifically for the Artificer's Homunculus infusion; how would one of these "scout ahead" for the Artificer? It "understands" languages, and follows the Artificer's commands, but nowhere does it say it has any sort of method of communication; speech, telepathy, video projection, nothing.
How do I send the little guy down a tunnel, scout it out, return it back to me, and debrief?
It is in the creature description: Shared Mind. A homunculus knows everything its creator knows, including all the languages the creator can speak and read. Likewise, everything the construct senses is known to its master, even over great distances, provided both are on the same plane. Functioning as a spy, a scout, an emissary, or a messenger, a homunculus is an invaluable servant for a spellcaster engaged in secret experimentation or adventuring.edit: I was wrong, the artificer one does seem to be different than the stock creature.
An Homonculus Servant can understand a language but can’t speak it, so while it can scout ahead, it won't be able to verbally communicate what it scout, perhaps it could make nose, leave signs, draw or do other actions to indicate it saw something for exemple, but detailed debrief would be limited by its capacity to communicate It has an average intelligence so there may be some creative way to do this with DM's approval.
With its INT 10, you could presumably have it do at least a crude drawing of what lies ahead.
Can I finagle around the fact that it is Int 10, and combine it with my Tinkering, so it can create images, maps, etc. when it comes back? Do you figure that would be fair? Or would it just be hopping around and scratching its mechanical toe across the ground to draw?
Not as written because Magical Tinkering affect an object, and an Homonculus Servant is a magically created creature, which is not the same. You can always ask your DM how far can it go.
I wouldn't be tinkering AT the homunculus; I'd be helping it tinker at, like, a flat piece of wood, stone tablet, etc.
Based on how I read it right now, the pet is on full no-player-control autopilot when sent out to scout/deliver/spy/whatever.
I find the Homunculus Servant a bit confusing as to what its design intent was. They gave it expertise in Perception and proficiency in Stealth. This seems ideal for scouting, until you realize that it can't take the Hide or Search actions unless you use your bonus action to verbally command it to do so.
It can stand guard over you while you are asleep because being Unconscious also means you are Incapacitated. But the restrictions on what actions the Homunculus Servant can take when not explicitly commanded are quite harsh.
I imagine most tables don't apply this restriction when out of combat, but I am just speculating here. In my mind this is the more serious impediment to using a Homunculus Servant to scout for the party.
Presumably the Homunculus Servant can understand written language. So for it to be able to communicate back by writing you just need to design your servant to have a form that can write as a humanoids would or design a writing tool appropriate for your servants form.
In which way? I don't know how helpful it would be since when you - the Artificer - use Magical Tinkering, you touch a Tiny nonmagical object as an action and give it one of the following magical properties of your choice:
It's a DM-controlled NPC unless ruled otherwise.
Well, I can either count the barks for "What's that, Lassie? Timmy fell down the well again?" every time it comes back, which might be interesting the first time around, but is sure to become a chore in no time stat, or I can work out a more elegant solution. That's why I'm asking.
I mean, I've had mine scout ahead and asked "Is it dangerous?"
It can't talk, but it cackled madly in response. OOC, yes, there were a bunch of Elf-on-the-Shelf tokens in that basement. IC? Even my character didn't understand it but got nervous from the reply. I'd say charades/vague answers are about what you'll likely get. Or give it telepathy somehow.
Since you have so few infusion slots available, it is far more resource intensive than ritual-casting Find Familiar. So you should talk with your DM. I can suggest a few options:
1) It really should have the Shared Mind feature, since all NPC critters do. However, since this is essentially an always-available scrying spell, it could be too powerful.
2) If that is too much of a stretch, then perhaps it should be able to share the ability of the Magical tinkering- that way it could bring back 4 'pictures' of what it saw based on what it thinks is important.
3) If the DM doesn't want to go that far, then perhaps they might allow you to use a second infusion to create a pair of sending stones and embed one in the critter, allowing you to hear what it hears. Or do even more, and combine that with one of your 4 minor objects that shows a picture of what it sees.
The artificer class is really limited if you don't get creative.
Int 10 is average human... depending on its form, I see no reasonable reason that it couldn't write basic messages.
Yeah, plan B was always to tinker-project a ouija board.
Looking more into it, you might consider taking Magic Initiate, Wizard, as a feat. That helps with +2 cantrips, which are always useful. And 1 first level spell. Take Find familiar. Nothing says your familiar cannot ride your homunculus around like some kind of mecha. That way, the familar does the reporting back.
The 2024 Monster Manual, it says: "Each homunculus shares a telepathic bond with the mage who created it". Furthermore, the 'Traits' section of the homunculus stat block has the trait 'Telepathic Bond', which says "While the homunculus is on the same plane of existence as it's master, the two of them can communicate telepathically with each other."
The Homunulus Servant is a different statblock than the one in Monster Manuals and has no such Trait.
The Artificer was updated to 2024 in Unearthed Arcana: The Artificer and the Homunculus Servant statblock's Language was revised;