Homunculus help

[Nosta]

so I need to know what is the best Homunculus I can build for a level 10 artificer who fights with range weapons and wands

[Swaoeaeieu]

so I need to know what is the best Homunculus I can build for a level 10 artificer who fights with range weapons and wands

well the iron defender can be your buddy while you shoot from range. upgrade him a bit, improved homonculus and he might live long enough to survive the battle.

or double up on ranged attacks and get an arbalester.

but best homunculus is the one that helps you craft while you do other stuff. not very usefull in combat though

[Milo the Gnome]

Seconding the Dedicated Wright. It's like having two characters, one that buffs you and the party by crafting all the time, while you still get to spend your time shooting monsters.

By having a few well equipped homunculi, using the Improved Homunculi feat, you essentially get to play different party roles. Be a second party thief by making a Furtive Filcher that can fly and let it borrow your gloves of dex. Have a tiny flying scout with a perfect telepathic bond, cast invisibility on it, spy on everyone. Open this up to the other homunculi, obscure constructs, and effigies and your options become nearly endless.

But most importantly is having the freedom to make these friendly mechanical buddies without taking away from adventuring time, and that means Dedicated Wright.

[Skysaber]

Why limit yourself to only one?

Wizards can only have one familiar (without the Extra Familiar feat), and Druids only one animal companion (except there are tricks to play there as well), and Necromancers can only control so much undead, but Homunculi are constructs, and there is no limit given anywhere about how many of those you can have at any one time.

So go for a Dedicated Wright. For an Artificer they are like pants - in that if you don't have yours people look at you funny, and you stand out as odd.

Then get yourself followed by a packmate or a dozen, very handy for setting up camps or carrying loot, and it saves you an action drawing things out of storage by handing them to you. And most DMs will let you say "Hey, the arbalester lets me craft a homunculus out of a magic crossbow, can I make a packmate out of a magic chest?" and be fine with that, letting you build a chest-shaped Bag of Holding or similar into a packmate.

Very convenient.

Add on a few standard homunculi. As it says in the MM entry "It knows what its master knows." Most DMs will interpret that as it having all of the skills you do. Some will even agree to it having your feats. Having one of these guys around means never having to take a turn on watch at night, because, "Hey! My Homunculus has all of my ranks of Spot & Listen and he never sleeps!"

These guys can get downright abusive if you've got any decent ranks of Use Magic Device.

If you ever want to be a rich man there is no better servant than having a couple of standard homunculi around to make your bed, wash your clothes, cook your meals, set up and break down your tent as you travel... anything you can do, they can do for you (just so long as it is based on skills, not class features). In fact, one of my standard uses for homunculi is to have one or more just hanging around the back, ready in case one of my party falls, because a homunculi can administer a healing potion to the fallen as well as anyone. Very handy. They can also throw smoke grenades, aka Potions of Obscuring Mist, to cover our escape (or to let an archer relocate out of melee range of your enemies).