Ithric

That's essentially it, yes. None of the humunculus have any "super powers" beyond a high capacity for chaos and perhaps some weird mutation here and there, like an extra arm or eye. But that's more of a deformation than an outright strength. It would depend on the situation. The homunculus can be crafted through numerous methods. For example if one were making the Elixir of Life and drank it, but of course failed in the creation of it, one might be transformed into a homunculus. Of course that's only one outcome, another being they might simply explode due to how volatile a potion like that would be if incorrectly crafted. Generally the homunculus is a "punishment" for spitting in the face of the universe and forming one from scratch isn't something sane alchemists would do. But if one were to make one from scratch, without a pre-existing life and mind to corrupt, then the power of the alchemical ingredients would fuel the creation and "life" of the being and essentially give chaos itself a form. Creating one from scratch would be something I'd see as very rare, if it happens at all. If you have a suggestion to further flesh this out, it'd be appreciated. An apology for late responses, I've been busy and didn't get the chance to return to this for quite some time.

Thanks for the support. I'm gonna put a poll up since the doppelganger is the most controversial part of the lore. That way I can see if people prefer it to stay as is, change a little, or get taken out completely.

I did. The homunculus was even mentioned in my alchemy lore post along with being something from real world legend and general fantasy. If you're referring to "Full Metal Alchemist" I've seen a few episodes and did not draw my thoughts from that. As I said before, magical beasts would be an incorrect term, as there are not multiples of them for one. There is the homunculus, and within that different types. Just as a tiger can be be Siberian, Sumatran, etc. Along with the fact they are not beasts for they do have reasoning capabilities similar to sentients. If you've got suggestions, please make them as they'd be most appreciated.

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 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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Chapter 2: The Different Types of Homunculi Chapter 3: The Creation of the Homunculus

Good to see some new beasties added to the world. Should provide interesting role-play in not just hunting them, but also in the form of alchemy as pieces of powerful creatures can take on the symbols associated with said creatures. An example being perhaps a harpy feather could be a symbol of air, its power determined by the strength of the harpy. A fledgling would be produce a far weaker symbol than an older matron. Perhaps we'll see an influx of people taking on a hunting profession, and getting together into groups to track and take these things down only to strip it of its parts, and either sell them to the nearest chemist with a fat purse or use them for their own work. That I'd certainly like to see.

Certainly seems pretty solid. I had a plan to go around ICly to try and put together the next "Tales of a Traveling Alchemist" for the 3.0 map, but this seems to fill the reasoning behind that pretty well. I may still do it, of course, as I'm sure there are plenty of potions and what not you haven't listed that people have come up with, as I realize this isn't a fully comprehensive list and just a few examples. Fine work.

Further questions? Send me a PM! I'm still active, just not capable of getting on the server as much anymore. Also, thanks for the continued support.