Homunculus 5e: The Wizard's Spy and Its Sleeping Bite

A homunculus is a CR 0 Tiny construct with AC 13, 5 hit points (4 in 2024), a 40-foot fly speed and a telepathic link to its master. It isn't a combat threat: its bite deals 1 piercing damage. The point is the poison. A bad Constitution save poisons the target, and a very bad one knocks it unconscious. In the 2014 rules that sleep lasts 1d10 minutes and damage doesn't end it; in 2024 it lasts up to a minute and any damage wakes the target. The other 2024 change is quieter: the homunculus no longer feeds its master what it sees and hears, only what it says telepathically.

Table of Contents

• •Homunculus Stat Block (2014)
• •The 2024 Homunculus
• •How a Homunculus Fights
• •The Homunculus as a Spy and Servant
• •Running a Homunculus Encounter
• •How Players Beat a Homunculus
• •Homunculus Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Homunculus Stat Block (2014)

The 2014 homunculus is neutral, immune to poison damage and to the charmed and poisoned conditions, and sees 60 feet in the dark. It understands the languages its creator knows but can't speak.

Its Telepathic Bond has no range limit other than the plane: while both are on the same plane of existence, the homunculus can magically send its master what it senses, and the two can talk mind to mind. That makes a 2014 homunculus a flying camera with a microphone.

Its bite is +4 to hit for 1 piercing damage, then a DC 10 Constitution save. Fail and the target is Poisoned for 1 minute. Fail by 5 or more and it's poisoned for 1d10 minutes and Unconscious the whole time.

The 2024 Homunculus

The 2024 bite lands more often (DC 12 instead of 10) but does less. A character with Constitution +2 fails the 2014 save on a d20 roll of 7 or lower (35%) and falls unconscious on a 3 or lower (15%). Against the 2024 version those numbers are 9 or lower (45%) and 5 or lower (25%). The catch is that the 2024 sleep ends the moment the target takes any damage, and an ordinary failure wears off after one round.

How a Homunculus Fights

It doesn't, if it can help it. A homunculus with 4 or 5 hit points dies to any hit. Play it as a scout that bites only when the odds are good.

Bite the helpless. Attacks against a Restrained creature have Advantage, and so do attacks from within 5 feet against a Prone one. At +4 with Advantage against AC 16, the bite lands about 70% of the time (1 − 0.55²), and a hit always forces the save. Good targets are someone tangled in another monster's net or grapple, or a character who was just knocked prone. Don't bite a target the poison already put to sleep in 2024: the bite's 1 damage wakes it.

Knock out the lookout. A guard with Constitution +0 fails the 2014 DC 10 save on a 9 or lower (45%) and drops unconscious on a 5 or lower (25%). In 2014 that guard stays down for 1d10 minutes no matter what, because the unconsciousness lasts as long as the poison, and damage doesn't end the poison. That's long enough to walk past.

Poison the caster. Even an ordinary failure makes the target Poisoned, which gives Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. Against a spellcaster who attacks with spell attack rolls, that matters. In 2024 it only lasts until the end of the homunculus's next turn, so the homunculus has to keep biting.

Fly away. Speed 40 in the air, 20 on the ground. After a bite it flies out of reach. Most melee characters can't follow a flier.

The Homunculus as a Spy and Servant

The SRD gives no rules for how a homunculus is made; creation lore from the Monster Manual isn't part of the SRD. The 2014 stat block mentions a creator only in its languages line (it understands its creator's languages); in both editions the Telepathic Bond links it to its "master". The 2024 block drops the creator entirely. What the stat block does give you is enough to run one well.

As a spy (2014). The master sees and hears through it at any distance on the same plane. Send it over a city wall, into a tavern's rafters or down a well, and the master is effectively there. Its passive Perception is only 10, so it notices little on its own, but its master notices for it.

As a messenger (2024). The 2024 homunculus can only talk telepathically with its master. It still carries messages across any distance, and it can describe what it sees in words, but the master no longer sees through its eyes.

Compared to a familiar. A homunculus is not a Find Familiar option in either edition: the 2014 spell offers a fixed list of animals, and the 2024 spell allows Beasts of CR 0 (a homunculus is a Construct). If you give a player wizard one as a story reward, the differences are real:

• •Its telepathy has no 100-foot limit; it reaches anywhere on the same plane.
• •It can attack, which a familiar can't do in either edition.
• •It can't deliver touch spells, and if it dies there's no ritual recast to summon it back.

Keep track of who knows what it has seen. If a homunculus is reporting to a villain, the villain should know what the party said in front of it, and the NPC generator can help you flesh out who its master is.

Running a Homunculus Encounter

A homunculus is worth 10 XP, so it never fills an encounter budget by itself. Treat it as an add-on, or as the start of a much bigger encounter.

The real cost of a homunculus encounter is information. If the party ignores a small flying creature watching them from a rooftop, its master knows their numbers, their gear and their plans. Our encounter calculator will tell you the XP is negligible. The consequences won't be.

How Players Beat a Homunculus

• •Hit it once. AC 13 and 4 or 5 hit points. Any cantrip or arrow that lands kills it.
• •Notice it. Darkvision and a 40-foot fly speed make it a good spy, but it has no Stealth bonus beyond Dexterity +2. A party that's watching the sky will see it.
• •Use it. If you know a homunculus is listening, say false things in front of it. Its master will believe what it hears.
• •Don't poison it. It's immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition, and to being charmed.
• •Wake the sleeper. In 2024, any damage ends the unconsciousness. A friend's 1-damage poke is enough. In 2014 the target stays down until the poison ends, so a cure for poison (such as Lesser Restoration ending the Poisoned condition) is the fix.

Homunculus Encounter Ideas

The note on the windowsill. Each night a homunculus lands on the inn's windowsill near the party's room, listens, and flies off before dawn. If they follow it, it leads to a rival adventuring party's wizard who has been one step ahead of them for a week.

The orphaned servant. A homunculus flies into camp, frantic, tugging at sleeves. It can't speak. Its master is trapped in a collapsed tower, still alive, and the homunculus is the only creature that knows where. The party has to work out what it wants through gestures and pointing.

The quiet library. A wizard's library is guarded by three homunculi among the shelves. They don't fight intruders; they bite them to sleep and then telepathically call their master, who arrives a few minutes later. In the 2014 rules that's plenty of time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a homunculus?

A homunculus is CR 0 (10 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 13 and 5 hit points (4 in 2024).

Can a homunculus be a familiar in 5e?

Not through Find Familiar. The 2014 spell lists specific animals, and the 2024 spell allows Beasts of CR 0; a homunculus is a Construct. A homunculus is linked to its master by its own Telepathic Bond trait instead.

What does a homunculus bite do?

It deals 1 piercing damage and forces a Constitution save (DC 10 in 2014, DC 12 in 2024). On a failure the target is Poisoned. On a failure by 5 or more the target is also Unconscious: for 1d10 minutes in 2014, or for up to 1 minute in 2024, ending early if it takes damage.

How far does a homunculus's Telepathic Bond reach?

Anywhere on the same plane of existence as its master. In 2014 it shares what it senses and allows telepathic conversation; in 2024 it allows only telepathic conversation.

Can a homunculus talk?

No. It understands languages (its creator's in 2014, Common plus one other in 2024) but can't speak. It communicates with its master telepathically.

What's the difference between a homunculus, an imp and a pseudodragon?

All three are Tiny creatures that serve spellcasters. The homunculus is a CR 0 Construct with 5 hit points (4 in 2024) and a sleep-poison bite. The pseudodragon is a CR 1/4 Dragon with 7 hit points (10 in 2024). The imp is a CR 1 Fiend with 10 hit points (21 in 2024). If you run a wizard villain with a homunculus spy, Loreify can record your sessions so you remember exactly what the party said in front of it.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.