Construct Homunculus Form

The alchemist manufactures the lifeless, inanimate physical form of a homunculus. The resulting artificial body is sometimes known as a proto-homunculus, or proto for short. The large number of successes required to work this spell can be racked up over time, with multiple instances of the spell. Any interval may pass between castings of the spell, provided that any organic or perishable components of the form are kept from decaying, either by magical means or through simple refrigeration. The Mana cost must be paid for each casting. Paradox, which may destroy or reverse one’s progress, remains a risk with each session.

• Practice: Making
• Action: Extended
• Duration: Lasting
• Aspect: Vulgar
• Cost: 3 Mana

First the alchemist chooses the homunculus’ Size. Human-sized beings are easier to pass off as normal in Sleeper society. Tiny imp-like creatures are good at creeping into small places and spying undetected on one’s enemies. If every mage were a 13-year-old boy, the earth would no doubt be crawling with towering, gigantic homunculi that would periodically meet to engage in titanic combat. Fortunately for everyone, the Guardians of the Veil take an especially dim view of such nonsense, and make destroying oversized, outré homunculi — and the fools who attempt to construct them — a top priority.

The alchemist must have access to an Alchemical Lab in order to perform this spell.

Size / Target Number

• 1 = Basic success
• 2 = +1 success
• 3 = +3 successes
• 4 = +5 successes
• 5 = +6 successes
• 6 = +9 successes
• 7 = +11 successes

Next, the alchemist determines whether the homunculus resonates as human. If it has some human qualities, it can be affected, for good or for ill, by spells that target people. To permit human resonance, the alchemist must incorporate a quantity of human fl esh and/or bone into his creature. This will in turn subject the homunculus to aging and decay, giving it a set lifespan, after which it will wither and die.

Lifespan / Target Number

• N/A; homunculus is wholly inhuma = Basic success
• 1 year = +1 success
• 2 years = +2 successes
• 5 years = +5 successes
• 10 years = +7 successes
• 20 years = +10 successes
• 50 years = +12 successes
• 75 years = +14 successes
• 100 years = +16 successes

(Add an additional two successes for each 25 years of life)

When selecting tissue donors, proto builders must also be aware that their personality traits may reappear, in exaggerated form, in the finished homunculus.

Next the alchemist infuses the proto with its Physical Attributes, at a rate of one success per dot, to a limit of five dots per Trait.

The alchemist may gift the proto with any number of Physical Skills, at one success per dot, to a limit of five dots per Trait.

The homunculus’ outer surfaces may then be armored. As Armor increases, the homunculus’ outward appearance becomes increasingly bizarre. At one point of Armor, its skin seems hard and woody. At two points, it gains a waxy sheen. At three points, studs of bone appear across the surface of the skin. At four points, a thick, horny plates, reminiscent of a dinosaur, manifest. At five points, the surface takes on a stony quality. At six and above, the homunculus becomes metallic. Highly armored homunculi are sometimes referred to as golems.

Armor Points / Targets Number

• 0 = Basic success
• 1 = +2 successes
• 2 = +4 successes
• 3 = +6 successes
• 4 = +12 successes
• 5 = +24 successes
• 6 = +36 successes

Alchemists with a taste for the exotic may equip their homunculi with natural weapons, from claws to horns to blades emerging from the forearms. As alchemists contemplate the baroque possibilities, they should remember that Guardians of the Veil hit squads have been known to target notably bizarre homunculi, and their creators.

Successes required for inherent weaponry are keyed to the damage dealt.

Damage / Target Number

• 1 (B) = +2 successes
• 2 (B) = +4 successes
• 1 (L) = +5 successes
• 3 (B) = +6 successes
• 2 (L) = +7 successes
• 3 (L) = +9 successes
• 4 (L) = +13 successes
• 5 (L) = +18 successes

Rare alchemical texts may include instructions for even more exotic bodily features, from wings to secret compartments. The success cost for such embellishments is left as an exercise for the indulgent Storyteller.

Creatures of inhuman appearance are subject to the same damage from Disbelief as fanciful beings created with the Hereditary Change spell (see Mage: The Awakening, p. 192). They take Disbelief successes as bashing damage, once per scene, per witnessing Sleeper.

Failures on the casting roll to create a homunculus do not destroy a proto, but do deform it. With each failure, a small but noticeable visible imperfection appears on the proto’s body. Examples include scars, blemishes, drooping eyelids, gnarls of flesh and malformed or missing teeth.

With each dramatic failure, the spell must be started over. If the same gross material is used on a later attempt, weird physical features manifest, even if the next spell is cast without failures. A notably horrific physical feature appears: a withered arm, shark-like teeth, a useless third eye, a second face on the back of the head, tentacle-like growths or whatever other unpleasantries strike the Storyteller’s fancy.

Some mages deliberately handicap themselves for at least one casting, to ensure that their creation will be in some way imperfect. They thereby render the creation process less of an act of hubris — see the sidebar, below.

Mysterium Rote: Assembly of the Body

• Dice Pool: Intelligence + Crafts + Matter

Members of the Mysterium are by far the most promiscuous builders of homunculi. Some Mysterium mages manufacture bodies for sale or barter to others, never seeing life breathed into their creations.