Homebrew Alchemist's Homunculus Species Details
A simple rock, red as blood. Which promised to turn pain into delight. War into victory. And death into life. It was a thinking person's dream - reason, conquering all. And that was in deference to this, that it was called the Philosopher's Stone.
Homunculi are animated and given life by the Philosopher Stone inside their body, if such a stone is removed or destroyed there's no force to keep the homunculus alive and they also cease to function.
Philosopher's Stone
The Philosopher's Stone is a lengendary artifact that can only be created through forbidden magic and immense bloodshed to garner the thousands of souls needed to power it.
Imbuying a living humanoid with the stone gives them the power contained in it, and as such all homunculi are inherently magical. The stone however cannot be disabled by Dispel Magic or similar effects, those only cause the homunculus' body to become paralized.
The homunculi as creatures containing a philosopher stone are given immortality, but have to bear the burden of existing by the sacrifice of inumerous souls.
In creating a homunculus adventurer, consider the character’s relationships with people around them. Does the character conceal their true nature? Do they embrace it? Do they have connections to other homunculi or are they alone and in search of companions? Is their immortality a blessing or a burden?
Homunculus Names
Homunculi as constructs often have simple names, given to them by their creators. Those tend to hold some symbolical meaning to the tasks they were supposed to perform or the circunstances of their creation. Some homunculi however retain memories from their former lives and adopt the same name they had previously. Thereare also some who rid themselves of the influence of their masters and adopt virtue names in much the same way as tieflings.
Homunculus Names: Light, Anguish, Ashes, Darkness, Desire, Despair, Hunt, Journey.
Alchemist's Homunculus Traits
Your homunculus character has the following traits.Philosopher's Stone
Homunculus are Constructs, and must contain a Philosopher's Stone, a gem which is the source of power to run its immortality. Each homunculus is different in the placement of their gem. If this gem is destroyed you will have no magic animating you, and thus you'll die.
You were created artificially, from a humanoid body and a powerful artifact, and as such you have a dual nature in which you are considered both a connstruct and a humanoid. If an effect would not work on one type of creature but would on the other then it still affects you.
The chaotic nature of your body being infused with Transmutative magic lends itself to easy interference from that school's spells, and as such you have disadvantage on Wisdom Saving Throws aggainst Transmutation spells that would change your shape.
Host of a Million Souls
Inside your power source its millions of souls, all the Souls of the People that were killed in the process of constructing you. You have advantage on Death saves and can see thru Illusionary Magic.
Purposeful Construction
When a Homunculus is created they are given a Power depending on the purpose for which they were created. Each ability can be used once per day and recharges at dawn.
The abilities to choose from are the following:
| Purpose | FEature |
|---|---|
| Assassin | Ranged Natural Weapon Attack as a bonus action. 2d6+Dex Piercing damage. |
| Bulwark | Immunity to Exhaustion. Invulnerability for 1 round. |
| Devourer | Gain Temp HP equal to character level + Constitution modifier. |
| Juggernaut | Improved critical hit range (18-20) for 1 round. |
| Relentless | Death Ward. Tremorsense 60 ft for 10 min. |
| Scourger | Can cast Fire Shield and Black Tentacles while not in complete darkness. |
| Shapeshifter | Can cast Alter Self without verbal or somatic components. |
| Spellweaver | Can concentrate on two spells simmultaneously. |
Ability Score Increase
Your Strenght score increases by 2, and either your Dexterity or your Intelligence increases by 1 (your choice).
Age
Homunculi are often created when the host's body is in their prime, and they retain that phisical appearance throught their lives. As constructs they do not age and so can live for millenia.
Alignment
Homunculi as beings created for a specific purpose and from intense circumstances tend toward extremes. Often being Chaotic or Lawful, rarely does one find a neutral homunculus. As for the axis of justice there are in equal measure Good and Evil homunculi.
Size
Being created from a common humanoid host most homunculi are within the range of 4 to 8 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write four languages of your choice.
Immunities
As a construct you are immune to the poisoned condition and diseases. Your organic nature however means you can still be affected by poisonous damage.
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