Homunculus

About 18 inches tall and roughly humanoid, a homunculus has greenish, reptilian skin that may be warty or spotted, leathery bat wings 24 inches across, and a mouthful of long, pointed teeth that carry a potent sleeping venom.

It is a fast, agile flier that flits around so quickly that only a net or a web spell has much hope of catching it. It fights by landing on a chosen target and biting with its needle fangs for 1-3; failing a save vs. poison drops the victim into a deep, coma-like slumber lasting 5d6 (5-30) minutes. It uses its creator's saving throws. Harm to one normally does not affect the other, with one exception: destroying the homunculus deals 2d10 (2-20) damage to its creator, and if the creator dies, the homunculus dies too and melts quickly into a puddle of ichor.

Homunculi are artificial living tools, and making one is slow, intricate and costly. The wizard must hire an alchemist and supply a pint of blood from his own veins plus 1d4x500 (500-2,000) gp for materials and labor. Over 1-4 weeks the alchemist turns the blood into a magical base, then calls in the wizard to cast three spells on it, wizard eye, mirror image and mending; as the last spell ends, the fluid congeals into the creature's body.

A telepathic bond lets it know everything its master knows and pass along all it sees and hears, and the creator can direct it up to 480 yards away. It never willingly goes beyond that range, though it can be carried off, and if contact breaks it grows frantic, stopping at nothing to reconnect. The bond cannot cross planar or dimensional barriers, so if they end up on different planes the homunculus lingers where they last touched minds. It mirrors its maker, sharing alignment, intelligence and even mannerisms. It cannot speak, though it can write when its creator is literate, and it can assist with many jobs, including magical work, though it casts no spells. It lives in its master's home, in a custom bed or nest if the wizard is indulgent, otherwise perching where it likes.

A homunculus is purely a tool with no place in nature. Wizards use them as spies, scouts, messengers and envoys, but seldom as bodyguards or weapons, since losing one hurts the master. Despite being magical they have normal bodily needs, resting, eating and drinking, sharing their master's tastes and eating roughly what a cat would. Rumors tell of methods that let non-wizards obtain a homunculus. Few believe them, though some swear they have witnessed the method or its products; if it is real, the secret would be worth a great deal.