Homunculus
The term "homunculus" means "little person" or "small human being". It is an alchemical term meaning a creature that has been artificially created through alchemy, particularly one with humanoid intelligence. This can be anything from a clone grown in a lab to a sapient android built from spare parts. Creatin a homunculus is a rare feat only the most talented of alchemists are capable of. The creation of such creatures is often seen as taboo because of the implications of artificial life and often the ethical concerns. One of the most famous homunculi are the clay golems created by desert mystics and the Creature created by the mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein.
Read more about homunculi here.
CREATURE TRAITS (12 XP)
- Types Size 5 Sapient Bipedal Synthoid (Homunculus)
- Reach 5 feet
- Speed (-1 XP) Land 25 feet
ATTRIBUTES (0 XP)
- +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma
LANGUAGES (0 XP)
- Starting Languages: Common, one other common language of choice.
- Bonus Languages: Any common language.
INNATE ABILITIES (13 XP)
- Attachments (1 XP): Homonculi can take twice the normal time to don worn equipment, giving it the effects of locked gauntlets and making it impossible to Disarm or Steal them until broken or doffed normally.
- Constructed Anatomy (12 XP): Homonculi have the living construct type granting them a list of traits.
VARIANTS
ANDROID (13 XP)
In Aether Spira, the term "android" is used to refer to any Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) that is sapient enough to have full self awareness and individual thought as well as possessing a physical robotic body. Sometimes AIs are referred to as androids even while without a robotic body. Androids have the Tech type and can acquire innate tech powers, have Innate Armor 3 and Weakness (Electricity) 3, but are otherwise identical to classic homonculi.
AWAKENED GOLEM
Golems are mindless constructs created through magic, but an awakened golem has sapience. Wooden golems are considered the classic default homonculi but other versions exist:
- Golem (Clay) (+1 XP): +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int
- Golem (Clockwork) (+0 XP): +2 Str, +2 Int, -2 Wis
- Golem (Flesh) (+1 XP): +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Cha
- Golem (Wood) (+0 XP): +2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Cha
AWAKENED POPPET
Poppets are small-sized homonculi. They have the same traits as their larger counterparts except their size is 1 smaller and they apply all the normal modifiers of the size.
ADDITIONAL ABILITIES
Homunculi begin with their innate traits and can gain additional traits from the following list as feats.
ADAPTIVE SUBROUTINES (3 XP)
Prerequisites: Living construct
Benefits: Once per day, as an immediate action, you gain a +4 innate (racial) bonus on a single saving throw after seeing the result but before the outcome is determined.
EMERGENCY REPAIR PROTOCOL (5 XP)
Prerequisites: Living construct
Benefits: The first time you're reduced below 0 hit points but not destroyed, you automatically stabilize and gain fast healing equal to 3 + half your Constitution modifier for 1d4+1 rounds. This activates only once per short rest.
INTEGRATED ARSENAL (4 XP)
Prerequisites: Living construct
Benefits: You can integrate a light weapon into your body such as a short sword, dagger, or hand crossbow. Doing this takes about 1 minute to integrate. Once integrated, the weapon is hidden but can be retrieved or stored once per round as a free action similar to how a glove of storing works except this is mechanical rather than magical.
Special: This feat can be taken multiple times; adding an additional item that can be integrated each time.
LOGICAL (2 XP/tier)
Prerequisites: Android
Benefits: You gain Resistance 1/tier against emotion effects.
MACHINE PRECISION (4 XP)
Prerequisites: Living construct
Benefits: When you make an attack roll or skill check, you may treat a d20 roll of 1 as a 2 instead. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1).
NIGHT VISION (2 XP/tier)
Benefits: You ignore concealment created by dim lighting within 50 ft./tier, but not total darkness.
Darkvision (+1): Ignore concealment created by total darkness within range but still cannot see color in total darkness, only shades of gray. You must select one version of darkvision each time you apply this upgrade: magnetovision, thermovision, ultravision.
REINFORCED PLATING (2 XP)
Prerequisites: Living construct or android
Benefits: Your body is fortified with hardened materials. You gain Innate Armor 1.
Special: This feat can be taken multiple times; its effects stack.
STITCHED (6 XP/tier)
Prerequisites: Flesh golem or Flesh poppet
Benefits: Flesh golems were stitched together from the parts of many other organic creatures and can keep stitching parts to themselves to recover. You gain Regenerate as a 6th-tier innate alchemical power (functions as tier 3 but remove the failure chance) but can only target themselves or other flesh golems. The material components they need are body parts and blood from fresh humanoid corpses or possibly living humanoids that are mutilated to provide the body parts. Mutilating someone can be done in place of a coup de grace and deals 1 point of bleed damage per level of the target as well as a permanent condition based on the lost body (ex. blinded due to lost eyes or lame due to a lost let, etc.).
UNNATURAL AURA (0 XP)
Benefits: Homunculi are artificial beings, cut off from the natural world. Beasts, vermin, and creatures with innate primal magic innately dislike them, automatically being one degree more hostile than normal. Homunculi cannot learn or use biotic, celestial, infernal, or primal powers or items. However, they're naturally talented with alchemy, arcane magic, and technology, beginning play with Magic Proficiency as a bonus feat.