What does a homunculus know?

[Tzarevitch]

The homunculus entry in the MM states that a homunculus knows what its maker knows. Does anyone know what that means? Does that mean that the homunculus has its master's skills or feats or abilities? If not, exactly what does the homunculus gain? I checked the Eberron book and the additional homunculi there state the same thing under their entries.

Tzarevitch

 

[howandwhy99]

I am very interested in learning this too. Any intelligent construct made in game (say with the Craft Construct feat) has to know something right? But what exactly isn't spelled out. What does it know at its initial moment of creation?

I had always assumed that the homunculus was "raised" by the spellcaster, so what it knows (skill and feat progressions) presumably comes from what it is taught by its master. By whatever means.


Now looking through the description in the SRD it seems to imply that the homunculus knows what its master knows even without any skill ranks. So maybe it simply has access to all its master's knowledge and vice versa. But I would play the creature as an information collector, not a mini-me secondary self. Perhaps a mentally-linked creature over which you have total control? You know what it knows instantly, and it can convey what you know. Like a mouthpeice.

 

[MerakSpielman]

It has access to it's master's knowledge. I'd rule this provides no concrete skill/feat/ability bonuses whatsoever. It possesses the information, but not the XP required to have actually earned all those skill points and feats.

I'd say it's entirely a role-playing thing -- meaning it recognizes people you've met, it's familiar with places you've been and knows how to get to them, it remembers where you've hidden your spellbook, etc...

 

[shilsen]

I handle it exactly the way MerakSpielman described. Knowing what its master does seems primarily like flavor text (the sample homunculus has no special abilities/qualities linked to it) and will only come up for role-playing reasons.

 

[Wolf72]

I always thought that the mental/arcane link is what gave the homonculus it's knowledge (permanently even).

btw, I liked the 1e picture of the homonculus much better than the 3e.