Homunculus, Variant 3 (5e Race)
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Homunculus[edit]
Physical Description[edit]
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| An assortment of homunculi. |
Homunculi are humanoids best described as fair-skinned, dark-haired creatures that generally exhibit certain exaggerated features. Most tend to either look feminine and fair, masculine and handsome or wholly androgynous. Homunculi have nearly black or totally black hair and possess eyes of red, indigo, or violet. In extremely rare cases, homunculi can be created with golden hair and eyes. In addition, all homunculi bear a mark indicative of their clan. All homunculi have a powerful magical artifact called a Philosopher’s Stone as their core. There are two types of homunculi, the only difference being their death. Non-human based homunculi construct and maintain a humanoid form with their core, but if their core is expended they are reduced to a much smaller creature that is considered tiny with the emotion the homunculus is named after being its driving factor. Human-based ones will simply die and fade into the wind like dust.
History[edit]
Homunculi were created by a large merchant empire called Xerxes. At that time, there were 14 homunculi, 7 named for Vices, 7 for Virtues, 7 were female, 7 were male. Because of this, there are 7 clans of homunculi, each with a different relation to the other. In Xerxes, the homunculi were taken for granted, treated as slaves and livestock, and sold off as such. Finally, members of the Third and Fourth Clans (the Mammon and Leviathan Clans respectively), sick of their horrid treatment (and envious of the lives of the humans in the Leviathan Clan's case), called together all the homunculi in Xerxes to hold a revolt. They overthrew the human emperor of Xerxes and took their place as the 7 Lords of Xerxes.
After a long debate about who did the most in the revolt, the 7 clans finally voted that the Lucifer Clan had led them and done the most, despite the Leviathan Clan being the ones who called the homunculi to revolt and the Mammon Clan being the ones to overthrow the emperor. This decision sparked a fierce hatred between the Lucifer Clan and the Mammon and Leviathan Clans, with the other clans having to scramble to chose sides. Only one clan stood firmly by the Lucifer Clan, the Iblis Clan, and this made them enemies with all the other clans. During this fight, two empires who were close allies of the Xerxian Empire began to war against each other, both empires called on Xerxes for assistance, but because of the upheaval, the clans kept sending soldiers to both sides and confused the two empires. The empires would inevitably be destroyed in their conflict, but not before destroying Xerxes for betraying them, and the empire itself.
By the end of the destruction, only three of the original homunculi lived, the head of the Leviathan Clan, the head of the Mammon Clan, both of which had fought alongside even enemies during the attack, and the female homunculus of the Belphegor Clan, who had been disallowed to join into the battle. Following this dishevel the formula to create homunculi were known only to so many warlocks and kept secret. Though they are a rarity anymore, they still roam the world.
Society[edit]
Normally, homunculi hide among humans because of the discrimination that usually comes with being what they are. Homunculus being unable to age are created at the age chosen by their creator. More often than not, homunculi born with the innate sense of freedom and free will abandon their creator. Because homunculi are born with a magic conduit used as a life-force, Homunculi may also be hunted for the harvesting of their Philosopher’s Stones.
Homunculus Names[edit]
Homunculi go by characteristics, concepts, nouns and adjectives, the first 14 were named after 7 Vices and 7 Virtues.
Male: Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Pride, Sloth, Temperance, Diligence
Female: Lust, Chastity, Charity, Composure, Humility
Androgynous: Envy, Kindness
Homonculus Traits[edit]
Souless, ageless, sterile creatures created through lost magic.
Ability Score Increase. Three ability scores of your choice increase by 1.
Age. Homunculi being living constructs are unable to age from the point they are created at. Otherwise, they have no proven lifespan.
Alignment. Being created, homunculi are soulless beings so they start out neutral, but innately tend towards a chaotic alignment with a natural curiosity of the world they were brought into.
Size. Homunculi are the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Natural Liar. Homunculi live through lying about their origins. You have proficiency in the Deception skill.
Lifestone. Homunculi have what is called a lifestone at their core that gives them life as well as grants them enhanced regeneration. When you spend Hit Die to recover hit points during a short rest you can add your proficiency bonus to the amount healed. In addition, if you lose any part of your body, you can spend a hit die to regenerate it over the course of a short rest.
Living Construct. Even though you were constructed, you are a living creature. You are immune to disease. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish. Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 hours each day. You do not dream in this state; you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal.
Poison Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poisoned, and you have resistance against poison damage.
Relentless Endurance. There is no afterlife for your kind and you fight twice as hard when oblivion calls. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this trait again until you finish a long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Homunculi typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects.
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