Homunculus
© 2012 Christopher Burdett
Historically, the Homunculus is described as a small man shaped object that is embedded with certain human qualities through alchemical rituals... or specifically, magic makes the little man sculpture work. In the D&D universe this has depicted as a small humanoid creature sometimes with wings that is usually made out of a clay like material and does the will of its creator. What if we take that a step further, what if there was a part of a man... say a heart, a brain... or his soul, locked inside a vessel, combined with magic and alchemy to creature the Homunculus? Imagine entering the tower of some some mad wizard (it is always the fault of those damn mad wizards) and you see dozens and dozens of these things running around, doing tasks, maintaining experiments, even the watchful obedient servant and you knew that inside each one was a body part or soul of some hapless person...
My first 100 original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesigns (A - Z): Aerial Servant, Ankheg, Ant (Giant), Ape (Carnivorous), Ape (Gorilla), Axe Beak, Axe Beak (version 2), Baboon, Badger, Barracuda, Basilisk, Baluchitherium, Bear (Black), Bear (Brown), Bear (Cave), Beaver (Giant), Beetle (Giant) - Bombardier, Beetle (Giant) - Boring, Beetle (Giant) - Fire, Beetle (Giant) - Rhinoceros, Beetle (Giant) - Stag, Beetle (Giant) - Water, Beholder, Black Pudding, Blink Dog, Boar (Giant), Boar (Warthog), Boar (Wild), Brain Mole, Brownie, Bugbear, Buffalo, Bulette, Carrion Crawler, Catoblepas, Cerebral Parasite, Chimera, Cockatrice, Coutal, Crab (Giant), Demon Type III (Glabrezu), Demon (Juiblex), Demon (Manes), Devil (Ice), Dragon (Red), Elemental (Earth), Ettin, Eye of the Deep, Flightless Bird, Frog (Giant), Fungi (Violet), Giant (Hill), Goblin, Golem (Flesh), Hobgoblin, Homunculus, Hydra, Imp, Intellect Devourer, Ixitxachitl, Jackal, Jacklewere, Jaguar, Ki-Rin, Kobold, Lich, Lizard (Giant), Lizardman, Manticore, Mind Flayer, Minotaur, Naga, Neo-Otygugh, Nixie, Ochre Jelly, Ogre, Owlbear, Peryton, Pixie, Purple Worm, Quasit, Ram (Giant), Roper, Rust Monster, Sahuagin, Salamander, Shambling Mound, Treant, Troglodyte, Troll, Umber Hulk, Unicorn, Vampire, Wasp (Giant), Wight, Wyvern, Xorn, Yeti, and Zombie.
That is all for another exciting week on the blog, I will see you back here on Monday! Until then...
For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com
Having taught a class (back when I taught high school) in comparative religions (historical elective), I seem to remember from my chapter on esoteric Judaism, another monster that fits your description, a Jewish Golem.
ReplyDeleteYou should check out the last monster I posted in this series, for the letter "G", the Golem (Flesh).
Deletehttp://christopherburdett.blogspot.com/2012/10/fresh-from-drawing-table-golemflesh.html
I talk about that very same myth!
Missed that the first time through, very cool. You know the story behind the creation of the book Frankenstein, involving Mary Shelley's nightmare/dream, after a night of ghost stories with her husband and their friends. I always wonder if one of the stories told that first night, was the Golem of Prague.
ReplyDeleteNice composite. As an alchemical construct, so to speak, maybe the beasty would have the natural ability to "re"-construct itself? I might have to give that idea a spin.
ReplyDeleteThe original from D&D was influenced by the homonculus in the "Golden Voyage of Sinbad" movie that Gary Gygax and myself first saw aired at an outdoor theatre near Lake Geneva.
You "do" great "Mythos" art, Christopher, especially a few pencils that appreciated immensely.
Rob Kuntz
Hello, Rob! Thanks so much for the kind words about my work and for stopping by the blog. It means a lot coming from you! "Secret Origins" stories on where the monsters come from is super cool too :D
DeleteThanks again for stopping by and having a look around :)