[Playable] Homunculus Lore

[Ithric 70]

LM Edit: Only Fiends are playable by normal players and most be created IC. Deviants and Dopplegangers are for ET only, or special permission.

 

Just as I did with the first "Tales of a Traveling Alchemist" I have composed this lore into something of a book as I find that to be the easiest way to put it all together. This is a more comprehensive and in-depth look into the Homunculus aspect of Alchemy, something the first volume of Tales of a Traveling Alchemist only touched upon. There might be a few grammatical or spelling errors, and I'll fix those as time progresses but other than that this is just about done beyond maybe some flavor text here and there that won't have much of an impact on the lore itself. But of course, this is a work in progress and I am open to suggestions or if something seems off, feel free to say so. As a side note, the interface for the post went completely bonkers and therefore bolded almost everything. It doesn't seem to want to stay fixed, but I don't think it makes much of a difference.

 

 

 

Tales of a Traveling Alchemist Volume II: The Homunculus

 

            Over my travels there have been few creatures that I have truly feared, for as a practitioner of alchemy I find that there are few horrors in this world that cannot be fought one way or another. In the end our greatest fears stem from the unknown, and that which we know cannot frighten us for we have knowledge, and through knowledge we may gain victory. But the subject matter of this book is one of those few horrors that incites a true trembling fear in even I. This subject, of course, is the Homunculus. I warn those who are faint of heart, for this is not for them. Instead this is for the brave Alchemists who wish to know the enemy so that they may better combat it and prevent it.

 

Chapter 1: What is a Homunculus

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

        

    I touched on these fiends in my previous work, but this book shall provide crucial details that I had left out for purpose of brevity. The Homunculus is a truest embodiment of failure for any sane alchemist, and perhaps the greatest achievement of the insane one. Its greatest fault, the reason it is the scholar's greatest folly is the fact that it is chaos incarnate, and nothing more. It is often an accident, something created due to hubris and instability within the ingredients, a severe imbalance that goes so deeply against the universe that it takes form.

               As if through cruel irony this form is often that of a humanoid of some depiction. The ingredients used in its accidental creation often determine just how twisted its appearance becomes, or what it most closely resembles. Its form is often a chance anomaly, in reality, as it could resemble dwarf, human, elf, or whatever else have you but I have found in my travels that certain factors may influence the final outcome. One of such factors is the element that caused the imbalance in the first place. Know that this is the factor to consider when hunting such a creature, as it will heavily influence what may be effective against it. For instance, if a homunculus is bred is from a very powerful symbol of fire imbalancing one's project, then that homunculus will have a rageful personality with pyromaniac tendencies followed by a resistance to flame. This elemental factor can often manifest itself in the appearance of the Homunculus as well, which we will get into in the next chapter.

 

               The elemental factor may be one of the greatest in determining the appearance and personality of a Homunculus, it is not at all the only. There are numerous miscellaneous factors as well that play a heavy role as well. These factors often come from the alchemist himself, and in that regard can often be linked to ghastly stories about apparitions and butchery. One such instance I can remember is a story I picked up whilst visiting a small hamlet with a decrepit house in which nobody went near, and even nature itself seemed to avoid it like an open flame. As I questioned if there was a residential alchemist, medicine man, or anyone else of scholarly pursuits that lived within the town I was directed to that house. Upon further investigation I discovered there to be a local legend depicting an alchemist that once lived in the town, and in that home. He had a wife and four children, but with most local legends tragedy quickly truck in the form of a severe illness that overtook the wife. She was killed by it, and the alchemist was devastated and refused to move on. Instead he took it upon himself to bring her back from the clutches of death. This he worked on, day and night, and had finally thought he found the perfect method. Of course, as any Alchemist knows, this resulted in failure. Through some sort of imbalance in his concoction, the Law of Equivalent Exchange was drastically broken to the point in which a homunculi was born. But this was no average one, it took on the shape of his long-dead wife. Suffice to say it murdered the entire family, echoing a laugh throughout the village that sounded just like his wife. Whether or not this tale was true, I cannot say, for when I entered the home I found all to be dead. Bones littered the floor, the stench of decay filled the air, and a deep sense of dread hung over me. It was no doubt that something had happened there, whether or not it was the work of a homunculus is beyond my knowledge but the village people claim that saw her in the windows, smelt the rot of the bodies, so perhaps there is some ounce of truth to it all.

 

 

               With that said, there is one other major factor that will decide just how twisted a homunculus can be. Unlike the emotions and motivations of the Alchemist, or the elements put into the mixture, this factor is often easily overlooked. It is the location in which the work takes place, whether it be an attempt at creating a philosopher's stone or resurrection, it must take place somewhere and some alchemists swear by Geographic Alchemy. This is a method in which one creates a particular potion where the major element of that potion is at its strongest. For example one who practices Geographic Alchemy may wish to make a very potent Alchemist's Fire and therefore will conduct the experiment at the top of a volcano or within a desert. Although there is some merit to the idea, especially if one is unsure if one of their elements is strong enough in their concoction, there can also be dangers to it. Not only can there be instability, but if one is working on one of the more legendary aspects of alchemy it can greatly impact their work. For example I have witnessed the creation of a homunculus due to a failure in creating a philosopher's stone. For reasons I cannot understand this man's lab was located in an abandoned castle in which numerous bloody battles took place. This gruesome history had affected the homunculus in giving it a bloodthirsty persona as if it were the incarnation of the tortured souls of those who were slaughtered. Needless to say, it mortally wounded the alchemist and  I was required to put it down. When I did this, I found it to already be quite adept at the art of combat, perhaps something it inherited from the location. Now that we've observed the factors that reflect what form a homunculus will take, we can now look into what the different types of homunculi there really are.

 

 

Chapter 2: The Different Types of Homunculi

 

 

 

Spoiler

Although all homunculi take on certain aspects such as a lack of conscience, hedonistic lifestyle, and twisted personalities, there are three different classifications that I have drawn up. They are fiends, deviants, and dopplegangers. These three different classes vary in strength, appearance, and the amount of power it takes to create them. The first, the fiend, being the weakest, most short-lived, and revolting in appearance of the three while the last, the doppleganger, being the strongest, long-lived, and closest in appearance to that of a normal humanoid.

 

Fiend:

 

Fiends are just what the name implies, impish creatures with no real purpose beyond mayhem and being a general nuisance. These are sometimes purposely created to serve an alchemist in any number of ways, whether they be warding off intruders or acting as a pack of rabid dogs to sick on an unsuspecting victim. Whatever the purpose may be, it must be a simple one for they are highly shortlived. Fiends only last for a few months, and to the absolute maximum, a year. This is due to medical complications that erupt in the creatures as they are bred from the imbalance of weaker materials. Make no mistake, these will not your average alchemical ingredients but in the purest of ingredients they would be considered quite weak. All homunculi tend to develop medical complications of course, tumors and the such, as they are completely unnatural and are living accidents but the fiends are the weakest of the lot, and therefore have little tolerance for these complications. One may spot a fiend by its appearance, as they often have numerous mutations that make them look far from anything natural. Whether it be a third or fourth eye, an extra arm, extra fingers, or no mouth it will be obvious and grotesque.

 

 

Deviant:

 

 

Deviants are a cut above the fiends in the fact that they take on a far more humanoid shape than their lower class counterparts. They are bred from stronger ingredients, and often from accidents in experiments regarding the Philosopher's Stone or the Elixir of Life. They may look human, dwarvish, or orcish in shape and stature but will often lean towards humans in their resemblance. I say that they could appear dwarvish or orcish for they come in multiple sizes, therefore at a distance one may mistake a short Deviant for a dwarf or an exceptionally large and bulky Deviant for an orc. They will often have few mutations but will have their elemental factor manifest itself in some fashion that sets them apart from the average man or woman. This may be in shade of skin, hair color, or other pigmentations. For example, a Deviant bred from an accident concerning a powerful symbol of fire may produce one human in size and shape, with red skin. Deviants will also take on the personalities of the element, such as rage if we follow the previous example and pyromaniac tendencies. They will have a resistance to that element, of course, and magic concerning that may be ineffective. Of course, this would also work in the converse as well for a Fire Deviant would be afraid of water and the use of water against it would cause a great deal of pain. Deviants tend to last a few years, rarely exceeding three decades as eventually the imperfections of their bodies will catch up to them.

 

Doppleganger:

 

 

These are the most dangerous of homunculi that I know of, for they manifest as complete copies of the sentient races. Human, dwarf, orc, elf, and whatever else have you, the doppleganger can manifest itself as such and will be completely indistinguishable from others of that race. These are highly dangerous as they possess the innate resistance to the element that founded their accidental birth, lack any moral code to speak of, and look as normal as any other man or woman. Luckily enough these are the smallest class of homunculi for they are made through the purest of ingredients, ingredients that are often used in Takwin and resurrections. I have always wondered what necessarily determines the race of the doppleganger, and the simplest answer would be whatever the alchemist is attempting to create if they are searching for Takwin, artificial life through alchemy. But the more complicated answer is that perhaps the element plays a huge role in what sentient race that the doppleganger manifests itself as, since all the races have their cultures that one could draw parallels with to the elements. Or perhaps it is completely random, for the doppleganger is the highest class of homunculi and therefore the purest form of chaos. Whatever the case may be, the doppleganger will often adopt the lifespan of the race it resembles making a true average hard to calculate, and even more so due to the fact that medical complications may shorten those lifespans dramatically. As with any homunculus, it retains no conscience or sense of virtue and responsibility, but rather a hedonistic and narcissistic lifestyle.

 

 

    

Chapter 3: The Creation of the Homunculus

 

 

 

Spoiler

This is more of a warning than anything else, as I will not give any alchemist a recipe for chaos incarnate. The creation of a homunculus is not an easy one, but not as hard as one may think for it only requires great failure. Normally a failure may cause an explosion or unexpected results, and this is true for most cases. There are, of course, cases where this will not be true and those are when one is seeking one of the legends of Alchemy. Takwin, The Elixir of Life, The Philosopher's Stone, and Ressurections are to name a few. Anyone dabbling in these arts that wish to test their theories in these fields will more than likely encounter a homunculus once or twice, and hopefully be capable of putting it down before it causes any trouble. The simple fact of that matter is that all of these 'legends' are impossibilities that cannot be achieved no matter how hard an alchemist strives. Yet there are those that think they can surpass the laws and walls that Nature surrounds them with, and it is that hubris that creates the Homunculus. Takwin is by far the greatest such breeder of the homunculus, as life is its goal and although an alchemist working with Takwin will often find themselves with a mass of mangled flesh as their final outcome, those that are truly dedicated will 'succeed' and create a homunculus.

 

[Xerxes_XIII 2 200]

 

*Pelts Ithric with his supports.*

[Supremacy 3357]

To be honest I'm in favor of alchemy remaining as-is. Let the conjurers make the monsters.

[Ithric 70]

To be honest I'm in favor of alchemy remaining as-is. Let the conjurers make the monsters.

 

Well I was asked to make this, and so I did. The homunculus was already something that existed within alchemy as a possibility. But I was told to put something together that was more definitive and detailed regarding them than what was in the alchemy lore post. This would be that.

[EmeraldStag 165]

I wish I could +12 this. Amazing work as always! Can't wait to see either additions to this, or even more books by the Traveling Alchemist.

[Supremacy 3357]

Doppleganger:

These are the most dangerous of homunculi that I know of, for they manifest as complete copies of the sentient races. Human, dwarf, orc, elf, and whatever else have you, the doppleganger can manifest itself as such and will be completely indistinguishable from others of that race. These are highly dangerous as they possess the innate resistance to the element that founded their accidental birth, lack any moral code to speak of, and look as normal as any other man or woman.

 

The biggest problem I have with this lore are these creatures... Really if alchemy is going to delve into the land of 'magical creatures' I think they should all be weak and strange like the imps. Afterall, alchemy is a way to do magic without being magic... 

[Ventusyr 232]

I see no problem with this, save doppelgangers. They seem slightly... I dunno. TOO strange. TOO out there. The rest of it makes sense, in an odd sort of way. So, it is good, just remove doppelgangers.

[Ithric 70]

The biggest problem I have with this lore are these creatures... Really if alchemy is going to delve into the land of 'magical creatures' I think they should all be weak and strange like the imps. Afterall, alchemy is a way to do magic without being magic... 

 

They're more of abominations than "magical creatures." These names are just something to call them by. As the ingredients rise in power, so to would the gravity of an accident. The Doppleganger is more of a failure in the realm of artificial life than anything else. Or taking a body and trying to ressurect it through alchemy. The "Fiend" would be what you're going for as in "weak and strange." That would be a majority of homunculi. And they're all homunculi in the end, living accidents caused by alchemists.

[Ithric 70]

I see no problem with this, save doppelgangers. They seem slightly... I dunno. TOO strange. TOO out there. The rest of it makes sense, in an odd sort of way. So, it is good, just remove doppelgangers.

 

I may. I'd like to point out right here that this IS NOT related to dopplegangers from DnD in any sort of way. They do not transform, they cannot take on the appereance of someone they see, they are simply an uncanny valley scenario. Very close to resembling a humanoid but just feeling off. I understand you may not be saying anything about DnD, I'm just making the clarification in general. But yeah. It is quite weird, and it's supposed to be that way. The dopplegangers would be few and far between. Of course, everything is subject to change.

[Major Tom 139]

Love it. Extremely well written and I just love the idea. 

 

totally not biased, look at my avatar

[hex37 734]

I like a lot of this, except, again, doppelgangers. They need a real flaw to balance out their elemental affinity.

[cruzazul 2807]

I think if you were to even out some of the creations and make it more neutral and not over powered than this would be very good lore and I would love to see it implemented. Really gives alchemists some real drive to roleplay.

[EmeraldStag 165]

Well, since no one seems to be giving constructive criticism (As in giving an Idea) for the Doppelgangers, I will throw in my two cents.

 

Why not give them something that really sets them apart from real people Ie: A grotesque extra limb, like a scorpion claw on their hand, weak, unusable wing or wings(Both wings could mean even purer symbols), an extra eye on their foreheads perhaps? These are just a few ideas that could give the dopplegangers not really an advantage, but possibly a disadvantage if it gets in the way. There could be many other ideas of what could be physically wrong with the doppelganger, but with it only have just one or two of the deformities.

[Ithric 70]

I like a lot of this, except, again, doppelgangers. They need a real flaw to balance out their elemental affinity.

 

 

Their flaw would be medical complications like the others. I suppose I could be more clear in the fact that all homunculi are easily susceptible to disease and prone to cancers and other fatal illnesses.

 

I think if you were to even out some of the creations and make it more neutral and not over powered than this would be very good lore and I would love to see it implemented. Really gives alchemists some real drive to roleplay.

 

I wouldn't necessarily say they're overpowered. There's nothing here that sets them a cut above the rest beside an innate resistance to an element. And even then, they also inherit the weaknesses of the element as well. In all honesty, the elemental resistance is far from powerful. Their true power stems from the fact they have no moral code to speak of, and therefore are not bound by anything along those lines.

 

 

 

Well, since no one seems to be giving constructive criticism (As in giving an Idea) for the Doppelgangers, I will throw in my two cents.

 

Why not give them something that really sets them apart from real people Ie: A grotesque extra limb, like a scorpion claw on their hand, weak, unusable wing or wings(Both wings could mean even purer symbols), an extra eye on their foreheads perhaps? These are just a few ideas that could give the dopplegangers not really an advantage, but possibly a disadvantage if it gets in the way. There could be many other ideas of what could be physically wrong with the doppelganger, but with it only have just one or two of the deformities.

 

Thank you. My only issue is that it kind've destroys the point of the doppleganger a little. But I do see the need to have something different about them, but preferably something they could hide. The thing is, the doppleganger isn't something that should be common or created often so I tried to reflect this in making them as close to humanoids as possible, since if it were created it would be through extremely powerful reagents. I had hoped people would make their own limitations using what I have. For example a Deviant may have poor lungs or muscle tremors that worsen as time progresses. Same would go for the fiend and the Doppleganger. I suppose I could take out the part of them matching their race's lifespan, as I found it iffy myself. 

[E__V__O 1984]

If I can firstly ask where did you come up with this idea?, as from my memory these sound like the magical beasts off a Anime...

 

Other than that I can see improvements for the lore although I won't go into them.