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[Ozarck]

This is a game where you play as a cat sized artificial creature in a world based on a dwarf fortress map. Your goal is to survive. you can alter your body by consuming the right materials and expending energy. This is a fairly casual game I don't intend to put a lot of effort into, but the world is intended to be quite dangerous for your kind, so be prepared for your homunuclus to die.

Spoiler: parts and materials (click to show/hide)

Materials: your various parts are made of any material type you could find in a vanilla Dwarf Fortress world, with a few exceptions such as slade. For example, you could have a limb of wood, a torso of copper, and a core of tallow. Each material grants certain properties such as:
Value: the more expensive a material, the higher your value, this increases your energy, but also increases the interest other creatures have in obtaining you for their own uses. Higher value means higher risk, but possibly higher reward as well


Strength: Metal is stronger than wood, which is stronger than dirt. Living material is stronger than nonliving material. Bone is stronger than wood, blood is stronger than water.
Durability: Similar to the above, metal is more durable than wood, which is more durable than dirt.
Mobility: If you are entirely made of metal, you will have 0 mobility and cannot move. With 0 mobility, you will have no impact on the game and the character will be considered retired unless you have an alternative means of interacting. Mostly mobility comes from living materials, though certain nonliving materials can bestow varying degrees of mobility as well.
Dexterity: This is how easily you can interact with objects. If you have five parts all made of stone, you will be able to interact with objects mostly by falling on them or smashing into them. if you have flesh parts,your interactivity will increase. Fingers or grippers of some kind are necessary to wield weapons, write, craft and so forth.

Parts
Core: this is the part that contains your awareness and memory and such. This is your critical piece. If it breaks you die
Torso: this is the part that houses your core and acts as base for your other pieces to attach to. provides the highest durability for your overall character. Torso is also where your food is converted to energy.
limbs: how you move about, usually. also for interacting with objects or the environment
head: sensory and consumption parts are here. that is, if you want to see, hear, and eat, you need a head. without this part, you will need to gain energy through some other method such as photosynthesis, and will be generally limited to groping about blindly to feel your way through the world.
special:there are probably going to be unique or different parts that can be found or made later. they will have special rules attached.

Spoiler: Build a Bod (click to show/hide)

your basic homonculus starts with a generic core, torso, head, two upper limbs and two lower limbs.
You also start out as a small creature, roughly cat sized.


the head contains one mouth, two eyes and two ears. feel free to specify binocular vs 360 degree vision. the first grants bonuses for coordination and focus, the second for awareness and spot checks. for ears, you start with a hole in either side of your head. Mouth has no teeth and is essentially a hole to stuff food into.
the torso converts food to energy. what kind of food works best is determined by the torso's material.
lower limbs are for movement. tey provide little ability to manipulate objects
upper limbs are for manipulating. the basic homuculus doesn't have hands or fingers, just upper limbs with rounded ends. you can carry stuff and turn doorknobs, assuming you can reach them. With some exceptions, manipulators attach only to upper limbs. (mandibles and prehensile tails are exceptions.)


you can swap out parts to start with a more specialized character if you like. here are the point values for each part:
Core: Priceless. one per being
Torso: 10
Head: 5
basic lower limb: 3
basic upper limb: 2
manipulators (one limb's worth): 6 (3 digits, claws, or the like, or 2 mandibles)
eye: 2
ear: 1
tentacle: 6 (acts as a weak upper limb and rudimentary manipulator)
tail: 2 (provides movement bonuses)
snake tail: 7 (acts as a lower limb and tail. grants similar movement to two standard lower limbs)
Size upgrade to dog sized: 20

Spoiler: character sheet (click to show/hide)

Core:
Parts (below are the generic starting parts. if you swap them out, label accordingly.)
Head:
eye (2):
earholes (2):
mouth:
Torso:
Left Upper Limb:
Right Upper Limb:
Left Lower Limb:
Right Lower Limb:

Stats (I can't give starting stats for these, as they will depend on the materials you make your creature out of)
Mobility
Strength
Durability
Dexterity
Value
Energy: current/max (generic stating values are 5/5.)

[SuperDino85]

I think I will start as, for complete lack of creativity, a generic homonculus with binocular vision.

Should I keep a character sheet in a spoiler for this?

[Ozarck]

yah. a character sheet would be good. I suppose if enough people want it I can make a character sheet thread like i did with Omega.

generic materials are things like clay and flesh and such, so start wout wiht something like that maybe. Start with something like a copper core, stone (say, microcline) torso, horse meat legs, and maybe something like dog meat arms. That'd be pretty generic, I guess. But those are just suggestions. other materials might be more interesting.

[SuperDino85]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 Core: Copper
Parts
Head: Crocodile skin
eye (2): Crocodile eyes
earholes (2): Copper
mouth: Copper
Torso: Stone
Left Upper Limb: Gorilla meat
Right Upper Limb: Gorilla meat
Left Lower Limb: Wood
Right Lower Limb: Wood

Stats
Mobility
Strength
Dexterity
Value
Energy: current/max (generic stating values are 5/5.)

[Ozarck]

Hmm. I intended to have earholes and mouth start out as the same as the head, since they are just holes in the head, but this works too, so let's run with it.

so, stats: first, copper core gives you +1 max energy
Stone torso gives 2 durability
gorilla arms each give 3 strength and 1 dexterity. they also give climbing skill and lose you swimming skill.
wood legs are low mobility, so you only get 1 mobility total, except if you are walking or crawling on your arms, in which case you will get a +1 to mobility, but that +1 will degrade over the course of actions. You will need to spend energy to use that +1 mobility.
wood legs do allow you to Take Root to absorb nutrients from the soil. it costs one turn and 2 energy to do so though, so it might not be worth it, as the regen rate is, well, you'd be rooted in place for a week at a time to regen energy. (might alter this later.)
crocodile skin head gives you ... mmm, no bonuses, really. Copper earholes give a slight Detect Metal aura. Copper mouth doesn't really give active bonuses, but maybe makes eating certain things easier. Crocodile eyes, naturally, allow you to see well underwater.

Value: common stone and trees are each value 1, copper is 2, alligator and saltwater crocs are value 3, but cave crocs are value 4, so pick one of those numbers and identify your parts accordingly, and gorilla is ... looks like it is value 1, which is a gross oversight on the game's part.

so, value would total up to 20 or 23, depending on whether you are going with cave croc or saltwater. So, not terribly valuable to start.

Thanks for being the test subject for the system. As you can see, I'm mostly feeling my way around in the dark here.

[Egan_BW]

Core: Prepared Ant Brain
Parts
Head: Cat Meat
Eye: Native Gold
Mouth: Cat Meat
Torso: Cat Meat
Front-Left Lower Limb: Goblin Blood
Front-Right Lower Limb: Elf Blood
Back-Left Lower Limb: Dwarf Blood
Back-Right Lower Limb: Human Blood
Tail: Rope Reed Fabric

Stats
Mobility:
Strength:
Dexterity:
Value:
Energy:

(Removed 1 eye, 2 ears, 2 upper limbs, +8 points
Added 2 lower limbs, 1 tail, -8 points)

[Naturegirl1999]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Core: Shell
Parts (below are the generic starting parts. if you swap them out, label accordingly.)
Head: Garnierite
eye (2): Creeping Eye meat 360 degrees, Milk Quartz 360 degrees
earholes (3): Badger skin, Fox skin, mole skin
mouth: Bone Opal
Torso: Chert (Magma Safe)
Left Upper Limb: Kenaf Fiber
Right Upper Limb: Jute Fiber
Left Upper Limb: Cave Spider Silk
Right Lower Limb: Armadillo meat

Stats (Pending arm stats)
Mobility: 1
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 2
Value: 75
Energy: current/max (generic stating values are 5/5.)
Durability: 5
Concealment: -1
Special: Night Vision
Generate energy from Evil at a higher rate than other humunculi
Heat Resistance: Chert

[SuperDino85]

((Ugh. I had a feeling wood wasn’t going to turn out great))

[King Zultan]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Core: Lead
Parts
Head: Dog Meat
eye (2): Green Glass with binocular vision
earholes (2): Raccoon Skin
mouth: Clay
Torso: Bronze
Left Upper Limb: Horse Meat
Right Upper Limb: Horse Meat
Left Lower Limb: Pitchblende
Right Lower Limb: Pitchblende

Stats
Mobility
Strength
Dexterity
Value
Energy: current/max (generic stating values are 5/5.)

[SuperDino85]

((Eh, I’ll make it work somehow. For the arms you said each so does that mean an individual gorilla arm provides the stats you listed?))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

  Core: Copper
Parts
Head: Cave Crocodile skin
eye (2): Cave Crocodile eyes (binocular)
earholes (2): Copper
mouth: Copper
Torso: Stone
Left Upper Limb: Gorilla meat
Right Upper Limb: Gorilla meat
Left Lower Limb: Wood
Right Lower Limb: Wood

Stats
Mobility: 1
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 2
Value: 23
Energy: 6/6

[Ozarck]

Everyone, please add a line for the durability stat to your sheet. I have updated the OP to include it below strength.

Also, if I overlook some trait or value that you think a material would give, please make a suggestion. I'm not trying to shortchange anyone on stats or stuff. I am fairly tired today, so I am lagging a bit as I type all this up.

Core: Prepared Ant Brain
Parts
Head: Cat Meat
Eye: Native Gold
Mouth: Cat Meat
Torso: Cat Meat
Front-Left Lower Limb: Goblin Blood
Front-Right Lower Limb: Elf Blood
Back-Left Lower Limb: Dwarf Blood
Back-Right Lower Limb: Human Blood
Tail: Rope Reed Fabric

Stats
Mobility:
Strength:
Dexterity:
Value:
Energy:

(Removed 1 eye, 2 ears, 2 upper limbs, +8 points
Added 2 lower limbs, 1 tail, -8 points)

native gold is 30 value,
ant has no value, so your core is valueless. This will make adding or swapping parts double the cost. Feel free to swap to something like damselfly or dragonfly (check the vermin page for pet values. as a side note, that page lists ants as not a food source. I don't recall if prepped ant brain is something you can get in vanilla DF) Finally, since your core is a food item, you will be more likely seen as prey to carnivores and sapients that eat meat. Every core does evoke a desire in living creatures so this isn't a direct malus, but you'll probably be encountering wild animals more than sapients, so other core materials might have weaknesses that are less obvious.

blood is value 1, as is cat meat, I believe (a gross oversight on the game dev's part).
rope reed is value 2.
so as stands, total value is ...
stats: blood gives 1 energy each, so +4 total, and you'll need it, as changing or repairing any body part with a 0 value core will cost double. other negatives may apply.
native gold eye grants See Ore ability. stronger at closer distances, but some detection over a dozen tiles or so.
hmm. all other stats are at 1, I think. Nothing particularly durable, strong, or mobile in there.
Blood does give you the ability 'contagion/contaminate' and the "hunted by vampires" trait. So, valueless as your core is, you still get hunted for your bits.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Core: Shell
Parts (below are the generic starting parts. if you swap them out, label accordingly.)
Head: Garnierite
eye (2): Creeping Eye meat 360 degrees, Milk Quartz 360 degrees
earholes (3): Badger skin, Fox skin, mole skin
mouth: Bone Opal
Torso: Chert
Left Upper Limb: Chain
Right Upper Limb: Chain
Left Upper Limb: Cave Spider Silk
Right Lower Limb: Armadillo meat

Stats (I can't give starting stats for these, as they will depend on the materials you make your creature out of)
Mobility
Strength
Dexterity
Value
Energy: current/max (generic stating values are 5/5.)

Point values fixed, character sheet should be ready now

chain isn't a material, but a tool constructed of a material.

shell, silk, and chert are value 1 as are badger, mole, armadillo, and fox, apparently. garnierite and milk quartz are 2, bone opal is value 10, creeping eye has pet value of 50.
total of ... 71 value (plus whatever material you replace your chain arms with).

stats. chert gives the same durability as superdino's stone torso. Hmm double it because I said torso would provide extra durability, so 4. I'll have Dino double his as well. garnierite also gives 1 durability. Creeping eye grants night vision, but -1 to concealment. It also grants the ability to generate energy from Evil at a higher rate than normal. For example, zombie flesh would give better return for you than for other players. Milk quartz and bone opal each grant 1 energy, and cave spider silk grants +1 dex. all other stats are currently at 1, pending your arm values.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Core: Lead
Parts
Head: Dog Meat
eye (2): Green Glass with binocular vision
earholes (2): Raccoon Skin
mouth: Clay
Torso: Bronze
Left Upper Limb: Horse Meat
Right Upper Limb: Horse Meat
Left Lower Limb: Pitchblende
Right Lower Limb: Pitchblende

Stats
Mobility
Strength
Dexterity
Value
Energy: current/max (generic stating values are 5/5.)

values: raccoon, horse, dog, and clay 1, lead and green glass 2 each, bronze 5. remarkably, pitcheblende also has mat value of 1. Strange. so your total value is ... 19. Very low.
stats: pitcehblende gives durability of 3 each, as does lead. Pitcheblende gives the trait Heavy, and unfortunately, since these are your legs, your mobility is 0. horse meat gives strength of 1 each. Pitcheblende gives +1 energy each. unfortunately, lead gives -1 energy. green glass eyes give telescopic vision.

I feel like I finished writing your stuff up quickly. I wonder if I overlooked something. please let me know if you think I did.

((Ugh. I had a feeling wood wasn’t going to turn out great))

feel free to change to a different material, but don't worry too much, it's a fine material. I might make some adjustments as we go.

((Eh, I’ll make it work somehow. For the arms you said each so does that mean an individual gorilla arm provides the stats you listed?))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

  Core: Copper
Parts
Head: Cave Crocodile skin
eye (2): Cave Crocodile eyes (binocular)
earholes (2): Copper
mouth: Copper
Torso: Stone
Left Upper Limb: Gorilla meat
Right Upper Limb: Gorilla meat
Left Lower Limb: Wood
Right Lower Limb: Wood

Stats
Mobility: 1
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 2
Value: 23
Energy: 6/6

You should have 4 durability instead of what I said earlier, because the torso gives double durability. Also, yes, each individual arm provides the stat I mentioned.

[Egan_BW]

Having four legs and a tail should probably provide some mobility advantages.
Can use Bluejay brain for the core.

[Naturegirl1999]

Check it now, I changed the arms, one is kenaf fiber and one is jute fiber

[SuperDino85]

Oh... I didn’t see anything related to durability listed on the character sheet template, so if it’s alright with you I will add that to mine.

Here it is

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

   Core: Copper
Parts
Head: Cave Crocodile skin
eye (2): Cave Crocodile eyes (binocular)
earholes (2): Copper
mouth: Copper
Torso: Stone
Left Upper Limb: Gorilla meat
Right Upper Limb: Gorilla meat
Left Lower Limb: Wood
Right Lower Limb: Wood

Stats
Mobility: 1 (2 if using arms, which is limited)
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 2
Durability: 4
Value: 23
Energy: 6/6
Specials: Take Root (absorbs nutrients from soil, uses 2 energy)
              Detect Metal Aura
              Underwater viewing
              Climbing
              WARNING: CAN NOT SWIM

[King Zultan]

Can I swap the pitchblende for granite since mobility is important.