Team scouting - Fullmetal Alchemist themed Homunculi mod

[ArtMurder]

First thing to note, this is not an actual FMA mod, this is a mod themed off Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and the Homunculi and philosopher's stones that appear in the series.

This mod is intended to be a lore-friendly alchemy themed magic mod, similar to necromancy, but instead of focusing on dead bodies, it focuses on human souls. This mod will include the ability to create nearly immortal followers, and even attain 'immortality' for your own character, at an immensely terrible cost.

Before we get started, for those of you who do not read or watch FMA, I will give a description of what a Homunculus is, and what the Philosopher's stone is.

It starts with the Ouroboros; The snake of infinite rebirth. All things, are one thing only in different stages of it's infinite cycle.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Serpiente_alquimica.jpg

The Ouroboros often symbolize self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return, and other things such as the phoenix which operate in cycles that begin anew as soon as they end. It can also represent the idea of primordial unity related to something existing in or persisting from the beginning with such force or qualities it cannot be extinguished. While first emerging in Ancient Egypt, the Ouroboros has been important in religious and mythological symbolism, but has also been frequently used in alchemical illustrations, where it symbolizes the circular nature of the alchemist's opus.

The alchemists, who in their own way knew more about the nature of the individuation process than we moderns do, expressed this paradox through the symbol of the Ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail. The Ouroboros has been said to have a meaning of infinity or wholeness. In the age-old image of the Ouroboros lies the thought of devouring oneself and turning oneself into a circulatory process, for it was clear to the more astute alchemists that the prima materia of the art was man himself. The Ouroboros is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow. This 'feed-back' process is at the same time a symbol of immortality, since it is said of the Ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes himself and gives birth to himself. He symbolizes the One, who proceeds from the clash of opposites, and he therefore constitutes the secret of the prima materia which unquestionably stems from man's unconscious.

The Ouroboros is an analogy for the Philosopher's Stone and Homunculi, in that through proper knowledge, you can shift anything from one form to the next, including living bodies. These two things go hand in hand, but are vastly different. This mod will focus more in Homunculi then the stone itself for the time being, so here is a brief description of what exactly Homunculi are.

Homunculus refers to the concept of an artificially created human, presumably brought into existence by certain means of alchemy. Though a common concept, somewhat known and understood by most skilled alchemists, the idea of Homunculi is regarded as no more than a farce or faraway fantasy as no individual or group of alchemists has come anywhere close to successfully creating such a being in officially recorded history.

However, off the official record, not only one, but several of these creatures have been created in arcane, sinister secrecy. These created humans, are beings with incredible longevity, astonishing regenerative properties and a host of varied superhuman abilities. The Homunculi are said to always carry the mark of the Ouroboros upon their bodies and are identified as such by said mark.

"True" Homunculi have physical compositions similar to those of humans but consider themselves superior due to their heightened strengths and abilities. They boast human intelligence and emotions, taking pride in their existence as higher beings, but feeling humility and gratitude toward's their Father(Creator) for having given them life. As a result, these Homunculi are largely devoted to the their Father. Each "True" Homunculi has a Philosopher's Stone as its core, and all of them are capable of complete physical regeneration as long as their stones are intact.

"True" Homunculi all carry the form of human beings, albeit some of them with exaggerated features. Some of them have cat-like slits for pupils, pointed teeth, pale skin, and each are marked with an Ouroboros tattoo somewhere on their body. Although they eat, drink and sleep, it is not necessary that they do so in order to survive; they need only the energy provided them by the red stones they have consumed. It is likely the red "nodes" that homunculi have across their limbs circulate this seemingly endless energy.

Despite being replicate humans, however, Homunculi are still aberrations of nature created by violating the flow of the natural universe, and as such, have no souls. This property gives them many physical dissimilarities to ensouled humans:

Super-Human Abilities: Homunculi are physically superior to humans in every way. Their bodies are faster, stronger, and far more resilient than normal human bodies. They do not age, are immune to all sicknesses and poisons, and can heal from any injury—even those resulting in death—as long as the energy from the red stones they consume is not depleted.

Molecular Mutability: Because their bodies do not have souls, the constituent molecules that constitute the Homunculi's bodies can be rearranged to form other substances or to grant shape-changing abilities. For example, being able to rearrange the carbon bonds in their skin to turn it into diamond-hard armor; Saliva acidic enough for them to bite, chew through and digest substances of any hardness; Even change the shape of their entire body into the form of any person or animal, or even into crude weaponry.

However, soullessness also acts as a disadvantage for the Homunculi.

Non-Mages: Because Homunculi do not have souls, and are thus unable to perform magic outside of alchemy.

Artificiality: Because the Homunculi are creatures created to replace certain persons who have died, coming into proximity with that person's remains results in the Homunculus becoming weakened to the point of immobility.

Depleted Life Energy: If a Homunculus is depleted of the energy of the red stones they consume, they are reduced to having a single life, making them as vulnerable as any other creature. This can be done by killing them repeatedly or by utilizing a specific transmutation, which causes the red stones in the Homunculus to be regurgitated and then disintegrate, leaving the Homunculus with only its original life intact. Homunculi reduced to this vulnerable state are no less dangerous than usual, however, but can be killed with one lethal blow, the same way as any human

Their are other forms of Homunculi however. "Crude" and "Perfect" Homunculi. The "Crude", are much like their more refined brethren, but lack any intelligence. instead. They are incredibly resilient being very tedious to kill do to quick regeneration, lots of health, and the ability to reanimate themselves, albeit very crudely compared to their more refined forms. These forms are made from the actual bodies of the dead, and thus are not at risk of coming in contact with their own corpse.

"Perfect" Homunculi are not true Homunculi, but are instead living humans who have their souls bound with an extremely powerful Philosopher's Stone. It takes massive amounts of power and reserves of human souls to achieve something like this, but these Homunculi are capable of using magic like humans, as well as the exceptional regenerative abilities of Homunculi. These are considered "Perfect" beings and are powerful on rival with the gods, capable of coming back from the dead countless times, manipulating their own bodies forms, reanimating the dead and creating armors of Homunculi, and more.

How do you achieve these things? Through Alchemy.

As we know it in Skyrim Alchemy is a practical, yet boring, practice of mixing herbs for potions and poisons. But this is only the most crude form of it. For what alchemy truly does, is break things down to their most basic elements, and reassemble them in a totally different, but completely equal way. Alchemy, is the law of equivalent exchange, you destroy something, and from it's ashes create something new of equal value. This is true for all things, not just plants used in alchemy. But, to obtain true power true sacrifice must be made, and what could be of more value then the souls of the living? This, is the Prima Materia, the truth behind true power. if you wish to obtain immortality an ending power, the only path is through the souls of living men.

Once you learn how to use the souls of living men and mer in alchemy, you open two great doors, the door of power, and the door of life. Through the door of life, death becomes but an inconvenience for you and your minions. The souls of the living serve as an eternal fuel for your own life, allowing for eternal reanimation. But, it does not end their, for you may bless the dead with eternal existence. Not undeath, not death, not life, something completely absent from the cycle. Lifeless animated flesh makes for the best of minions, with nearly indestructible bodies, and the ability to feed upon the souls of the living to reanimate themselves upon death, they make for more then a challenge to deal with, even in small numbers.

Then, through the door of power, lies the Philosopher's stone. This, is the true potential of alchemy. It allows you to condense massive amounts of human souls down into powerful artifacts. Said to be the blood of the god's themselves, Philosopher's Stones give the wielder unrivaled magic prowess, allowing them to 'ignore' the law of equivalent exchange. The result, is the ability to tap into a near endless magic well spring, using magic with no regard for the magicka cost, create with no tribute, and much more. But, these come at a price, all stones, from the moment of creation, are bound to the owner, and are bound to backfire on their owner unless maintained. Once you have created one, there is no backing out, you are locked into a lifelong battle between yourself and the stone. You can however, refine the stone, eventually creating a 'perfect' stone, that will never backfire.

Should you upon both doors, as most do, there is a third path. The path, of the father. When you create a Philosopher's Stone, you may do so inside the body of a Homunculus, instead of your own body. When you do, the result is a "true" Homunculus, not just a walking mindless corpse, but a true, living being. These beings have extreme intelligent and physical prowess, though they aren't as hard to kill as their cruder counterparts physically, they are much more efficient at reanimating themselves with the souls of the dead. These beings are undyingly loyal to their master, and thus make for perfect 'children'. If their Philosopher's Stone backfires however, the result can be very nasty.

Basically, this mod will allow you to use Black Soul Gems as ultimate power. If you've read the right book, all you need is an equal physical tribute to create the body(an actual body works nice), and a black soul gem can create a "Crude" Homunculi. You can give these things additional soul gems, and they will consume them upon death to rebirth themselves. "True" Homunculi are not created from a human at all, instead of purely non human elements. They do however require a Human Heart and three Black Soul Gems to create. These beings are not mere mindless creatures, they are actual living humanoids, and can be talked to, given weapons, armor, and more. They have no ability to use magic, but are physically total brutes, and hard as hell to kill. This will consume black soul gems on death, but they will do so more efficiently. Lastly, you can create "perfect" Homunculi by placing a powerful Philosopher's stone into a LIVING body, and then performing a powerful ritual turning that persons body into a living Philosopher's stone. These are a perfect combination of all parts of Humans and Homunculi, and have all their benefits with only a few weaknesses.

You can become a Homunculi in one of two ways. By either preparing your body to become one upon your death, which result in a "True" Homunculus, (Do to your soul being bound to it, the creation of a "Crude" Homunculus in this manner is not possible) This will result in your losing all your magicka, but getting massive amounts of health and stamina, and being able to reanimate yourself upon death as long as you stay "fed" with souls.

Or through the creation of the "World Transmutation Circle" that is actually a hidden easter egg in vanilla skyrim, you can turn yourself into a "Perfect" or "Father" Homunculus. This can be done through a series of complicated events, including massive life tributes at 5 major cities that form a circle/pentagram, and the creation of an alter at the center of these. The result is the condensing of one hundred human lives into one single body, creating an unstoppable creature, that is not undead, dead, or alive. A being of pure, raw existence, that feeds on the souls of mortals. This being is capable of using magic unlike crude and true Homunculi,

Modding Team wanted;

I need a scripter mostly, or someone to teach me how to script.

I will likely uses resources for the models, and can texture myself.

I will need to create several books for this, and may need help with that.

I will also need a voice actor, someone who can do "soulless" and "mindless" well.

I can actually do most of this myself besides the scripting and modelling, but any help will be greatly appreciated and will speed up the creation process of this mod!

[lixzul]

damn i see this post really late sorry for that..

 

for me this would be one of the BEST mods ever.

is there anyting related to this? or is this mod still in development?

 

[ArtMurder]

damn i see this post really late sorry for that..

 

for me this would be one of the BEST mods ever.

is there anyting related to this? or is this mod still in development?

 

 

I have postponed this for my project "Requiem Redone" but I do intend to pick it back up at some point. ^_^

[lixzul]

 

damn i see this post really late sorry for that..

 

for me this would be one of the BEST mods ever.

is there anyting related to this? or is this mod still in development?

 

 

I have postponed this for my project "Requiem Redone" but I do intend to pick it back up at some point. ^_^

 

would be awesome !

[Deleted30025195User]

Dang, is this not gonna happen? I would love this.