| TYPE | lvl | Size | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Homunculus | CR 1 | Tiny | Bestiary 1 |
| Arbalester | CR 1/2 | Tiny | Magic of Eberron |
| Dedicated Wright | CR 1/2 | Tiny | Eberron core |
| Expeditious Messenger |
CR 1/3 | Dimin- uitive |
Eberron core |
| Furtive Filcher | CR 1/2 | Tiny | Eberron core |
| Iron Defender | CR 1 | Small | Eberron core |
| Packmate | CR 1 | Small | Magic of Eberron |
| Persistent Harrier | CR 1 | Small | Magic of Eberron |
Nature: Creature Subtype
Type of: Construct
Also: Class Feature (artificer)
A homunculus is a miniature servant created by a spellcaster or artificer, and given a basic personality and loyaly by making part of it out of its master's own blood. They are little more than tools designed to carry out assigned tasks. Each different type of homunculus (except perhaps the "basic" model) is specialized for a certain kind of task, from item creation (the devoted wright) to communication (the expeditious messenger). Most of them are weak combatants, but often make effective spies, messengers, scouts, or other types of helpers.
A homunculus's creator determines its precise features; some are more refined looking, but most creators don’t bother to improve the creature’s appearance beyond the minimum necessary for functioning. They are extensions of the person whose blood was used to create them, sharing the same alignment and basic nature.
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Homunculus Traits
Telepathic Link (Su): A homunculus can't speak, but the process of creating one links it telepathically with its master. It knows what its owner knows and can convey to him or her everything it sees and hears, out to a distance of 1'500 feet. A homunculus never travels beyond this range willingly, though it can be removed forcibly. If this occurs, the creature does everything in its power to regain contact with its master.
Blood of my Blood: An attack that destroys a homunculus deals 2d10 points of damage to its master. If the creature’s master is slain, the homunculus goes insane — it loses its Intelligence score, all feats, and all skill ranks, and generally claims the immediate surroundings as its domain, mindlessly attacking any who intrude upon its lair.
On rare occasions, a homunculus freed from its servitude rises above its master’s original intent and becomes more than a half-insane construct guardian of a long-forgotten lair. In some cases, a homunculus might even come to see itself as the rightful heir to its master’s legacy, or even the reincarnated spirit of the master himself.
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Improvements
A homunculus is shaped from a mixture of substances determined by the specific model being built, plus 1 pint of the creator’s own blood (or non-vital components of their body, if made by a warforged). The cost of these extra materials therefore vary from type to type.
Each kind of homunculus has a body constructed from different sorts of materials, plus 1 pint of the creator’s own blood (or non-vital components of their body, if made by a warforged). Each individual type's description indicates the materials, cost, and Craft skill and DC required to make the body. The creature’s master may assemble the body or hire someone else to do the job.
After the body is created, it is animated through an extended magical ritual that requires a specially prepared laboratory or workroom, similar to an alchemist’s laboratory, and costing an additional 1'000 gp to supply.
If the creator is personally constructing the creature’s body, the building and ritual can be performed together.
The person whose blood is used to form a homunculus’s body becomes its master; it is possible for one person to give blood for the creation, another to sculpt the base material, and another to magically animate it as a minion for the one who provided the blood.
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Customization
It's possible to create more powerful versions of the homunculi, or upgrade previously made ones (if you're an artificer), by adding more Hit Dice to the basic statblock. This increases the cost to create the construct by +2'000 gp per +1 HD.
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Improved Homunculus (feat)
| HD | NA | SA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | +0 | 0 |
| 3 to 5 | +2 | 1 |
| 6 to 8 | +4 | 2 |
| 9 to 11 | +6 | 3 |
| 12 to 14 | +8 | 4 |
| 15 to 17 | +10 | 5 |
| 18 & up | +12 | 6 |
(SA = nr of special abilities)
Whenever you advance your homunculus’s Hit Dice, you can also imbue it with special supernatural abilities.
Prerequisites: "Craft Construct" feat or "craft homunculus" class feature, Craft (any) 4 ranks.
Benefit: Your homunculus gains Natural Armor & special abilities based on its HD (see chart). If you use the "Craft Construct" feat to construct a homunculus, it gets these abilities when you create it. If you use the "craft homunculus" class feature of the artificer class, your homunculus gains Natural Armor & special abilities based on its current HD, and additional Natural Armor or special abilities if you later increase its HD.
All special abilities are described below; those requiring additional information follow the chart. Unless otherwise specified, an ability can only be taken once.
Each time the homunculus gains a HD, you can choose to remove any one special ability already granted from this feat and select another ability to replace the lost one. For example, an artificer with a 4-HD homunculus that has the climber special ability could choose to give it sneak attack instead if the homunculus’s Hit Dice were increased to 5.
| ABILITY | Effect |
|---|---|
| Climber1 | Gains Climb Speed 20 feet, or +20 to existing climb spd |
| Flyer1 | Gets fly speed of 20 feet (good), or +20 ft to existing fly spd, and maneuverability improves by 1 category |
| Swimmer1 | Gains Swim Speed 20 feet, or +20 ft. to existing swim spd |
| Durable1 | Gains +10 Hit Points |
| Dextrous | Gains +2 Dexterity |
| Strong | Gains +2 Strength |
| Evasion | Winning a "Reflex for 1/2 damage" save = takes no dmg |
| Skilled2 | Gains +3 competence bonus on check with 1 chosen skill |
| Sneak Attack1 |
Gains sneak attack +1d6 (as rogue class feature) |
| Weapon Ability2 |
Natural weapons gain 1 special weapon ability |
| Store Infusion |
The creature can store one infusion of up to 3rd level |
| Extended Telepathy |
Range of telepathy between homunculus & creator increases to 1 mile per creator's lvl |
(1 = May be chosen more than once. Multiple selections stack) (2 = May be chosen more than once. Multiple selections don't stack; instead, each one applies to a new option)
Store Infusion: At the beginning of each day, the artificer can store 1 infusion of up to 3rd level in the homunculus. This infusion must be one that the artificer could normally imbue the homunculus with. This infusion does not take effect when it is first stored. Instead, the homunculus can use a standard action to imbue itself with the infusion. No homunculus can store more than 1 infusion at a time.
Weapon Ability: When this ability is granted, choose a weapon special ability with a base price modifier of “+1 bonus” (f.ex. "ghost touch", "keen", or "shock"). The homunculus’s natural weapons are treated as if they had this special ability.