Doppleganger

ON DOPPELGANGERS

"Shapeshifting, now that's a trick!" -Tug, goblin assassin, jealous.

"I always get nervous knowing that they're out there! Watching, listening! Could be one listening to us right now! Wearing any face that it wants! Like that fellow? Is he a 'ganger?" -Felipe, Mad Priest of Thuhaldir, not actually wrong.

"You can be anyone huh? That'll come in handy in this line of work and it'll absolutely earn you more. That's for sure." -Mastery, alu-fiend Madam of Crippled Quinn's, to a potential new hire.

"What goes on in those alien minds? To live so many lives and yet not live them? It must be a lonely existence." -Faerroth Muldostollek, dragonborn mystic, during a period of intense meditation.

Doppelgangers are truly alien among the peoples of Apia. A race of shapeshifters who, in their natural form, are grey-skinned, featureless, genderless vaguely humanoid shapes, but who are rarely seen that way. Instead, they take the appearance of anyone they wish and use this remarkable gift to travel, explore and live. All doppelgangers are adventurers in some way, traveling the world in various forms to see and experience everything there is to experience. Some settle down for a life or two but all seem to move on eventually. While genderless (as far as most beings understand it) most doppelgangers feel either male or female and spend the majority of time in a form pleasing them, though all shift and change as needed. While not malicious as a rule, most dopplers are considered untrustworthy and often feared by most humanoids.

Appearance: The reason that dopplers arouse so much fear, paranoia and prejudice is because of their remarkable abilities, notably shapeshifting and mind reading; understandably, this makes the average person more than a little nervous. Because of this innate ability, doppelgangers can look like anyone, of any race, dressed in any style. Some have quirks in changing, like the ability to properly mimic noses or ears but most can perfectly replicate a being of any species. In their rarely seen natural state there is no mistaking them for anything else. Roughly five and a half feet tall and completely hairless, doppelgangers only vaguely resemble other humanoids. Their large, unblinking eyes lack any pupils or iris', instead are purely milky white. They have no mouth or nose in this natural state. Their motley grey skin is tough enough though it cannot mimic the properties of what it resembles (meaning a doppelganger who mimics a suit of aroma is still naked, so most doppelgangers find armor to wear before adventuring). Despite communicating entirely telepathically with one another, doppelgangers can speak fluently, something aided by their telepathic abilities. Doppelgangers view their natural state as a canvas to work with and so never modify it with tattoos or piercings, these things are simply imitated.

History: The past of the doppelganger race is shrouded and mystery, and the doppelgangers like it that way. If anyone learned too much about them, they could exploit that knowledge for their own benefit, or find some weakness in the doppelganger shifting. Better to lock it away. That being said, there are two prominent theories. Both acknowledge the utterly alien nature of this race. The first hypothesizes that, like the giff or beholders, doppelgangers are from another planet or plane and are stranded on Apia for some reason. This is a popular theory among high wizards and sorcerers, as well as the various plane-walkers. Some doppelgangers have commented that they find the possibility intriguing, but neither confirm or deny its accuracy. The other suggests that a fanatical cult of mind flayers, attempting to escape the beholder onslaught, experimented on their own forms until they resembled the first mind flayers. Again, doppelgangers have no comment one way or another. Mind flayers however find the idea repulsive and are known to slaughter anyone they discover spouting such an idea. It's hypothesized that the dopplers themselves have no memory of their history, which is in of itself a fascinating idea, leaving more questions than answers.

Geography: No one knows how many doppelgangers are, nor where they are. A land could have four or four hundred thousand. There is no way of knowing. Cities could have districts entirely populated by dopplers; cities themselves could be doppelganger citadels. Alternatively, none could be there at all. Its the unknown that keeps the people of Apia frightened and guessing, and part of the reason why most doppelgangers move about frequently.

Personality: Doppelgangers are primarily curious. No matter what other traits or philosophies define the doppelgangers existence it is natural curiosity that drives it along. Because of their unique abilities, most are drawn to new experiences, ideas and lifestyles. Some are tourists, breezing through town to town and life to life without leaving a trace. Others will adopt a persona and live that life to its conclusion, complete with families, children and career paths. They will only shift to a new identity after the current "story" has run its course. Some are so lazy that they loaf around for decades, doing the bare minimum to avoid any work at all. And a few doppelgangers are fanatics who believe in the purity of their own natural form, spending very little time shapeshifted. Regardless of philosophy, a doppler thinks deeply about its actions, about reactions, consequences and outcomes. They love to see things play out, be part of the story. That same natural curiosity applies to people and their motives. Why do non-doppelgangers do what they do? What compels them? How will changing certain parts of their lives, or the world around them affect them? Doppelgangers want to know. A good doppelganger will be down to try almost everything at least once. Most have a basic moral code and won't go out of their way to maim, murder or otherwise commit a vile act just for curiosity's sake...but a few will. Tragically, the actions of these malevolent doppelgangers taints the reputation of the race as a whole, something that most doppelgangers won't refute, as they are too busy going from life to life.

Society: Despite their telepathic abilities allowing them to tell that someone else is a doppelganger, most are solitary creatures who don;t typically live among their own kind. Small squads or family units are not unknown, or even particularly rare but large communities are unheard of. It's impossible for a doppler to fully experience life as another race among its own kind, after all, so it needs to be among others. Most will happily trade memories with others of its kind that it meets while wandering, via telepathy, but will part ways shortly after that. Dopplers who do seek employment (with non-doppler contacts carefully chosen) are usually spies, thieves or assassins, roles that make excellent use of their natural talents. A few actually become diplomats, their time spent in many different lives giving them a wide perspective on various issues. Among themselves, doppelgangers usually adopt one of a few guiding philosophies that help guide their actions. Some doppelgangers will change philosophies as their long lives go on. These include, The Way of the Storyteller, where a doppelganger assumes a life (either one they created from their own observations or, more rarely, assuming an identity they feel is cut short by the cruel hand of fate) and follows it through to its natural conclusion before selecting a new identity. While Storytellers will use their shapeshifting abilities as needed, they'll always return to "the character," until the tale is completed. Another philosophy is The Way of the Tourist. These doppelgangers shift identities like other people change clothes. They'll pick a town, enjoy the sights, sounds and experiences, satisfy their curiosity and move on. Tourists are arguably the most common philosophy embraced, as it is the one that allows the doppelganger to satisfy its curiosity. The Way of Understanding, is a doppelganger philosophy that embraces the more lazy side of doppelganger mentality. Understanding doppelgangers take various forms and simply sit in them, sometimes for decades, pondering what exactly it means to be an orc, elf or centaur. These are the most passive of doppelgangers, quickly observing a town or community of the relevant species, then retreating to a cave or ruin and try to embrace what those creatures are. Finally is The Way of Purity, doppelgangers who spend the majority of their lives in their natural form, debating that the natural doppelganger identity. While the least embraced philosophy, it still has its dedicated devotees. When doppelgangers do meet, assuming they have opposing philosophies, they'll often debate for hours about the benefits of their chosen philosophy. While doppelgangers are mostly independent creatures, there are rumors, whispers and rumblings of dark, evil creatures called "Greater Doppelgangers" that are far more powerful than the regular doppelgangers, full of malevolence, cunning and wicked understanding. The mention of these creatures chill any doppelganger listening, particularly the suggestion that, if a greater doppelganger arrives, the lessers must fall in line, obeying the orders of the great beings. While never prove, these rumors circulate, regardless of doppelganger fears.

Religion: Most doppelgangers are agnostic, due to their constant swapping of identities, they often swap patron gods as well, giving them a somewhat cynical approach to faith. Those who do find faith, tend to favor Belola, goddess of travel, Nesin, god of knowledge and Dybium, god of visions. Darker doppelgangers worship the Great Old Ones, admiring their nebulous forms and obsession with knowledge. Yog-Sothoth is the most popular of these but Hastur and Cthulhu also have their fair share of followers.

Alignment: Almost all doppelgangers are neutral. Their malleable forms often need to be matched by malleable morals. Some are more aligned towards evil and others good but its the rare doppler indeed that doesn't have at least one foot in the axis of neutrality.

Relations: Most races have an inherent dislike and distrust of doppelgangers, those that know they exist anyway. Doppelgangers tend to compartmentalize their relationships with other races around the basis of their chosen form, embrace the identities completely. Aside from the capricious fey, who seem to understand the need for change, chaos and understanding a wide range of things. Doppelgangers prefer to deal with individuals, rather than races, if they bother at all.

Language: When communicating with each other, doppelgangers speak telepathically. Most can speak common.

Adventurers: Many adventurers are doppelgangers, particularly those of the Tourist or Storyteller philosophy. Sometimes their party knows the secret and sometimes they don't. Dopplers don't value treasure or causes particularly highly but experiences are what they crave. They want to do more, see more and live more. Adventuring is a great way to experience fear, lust, love, terror, violence, greed, rage, courage and so many others. Battling dragons, drinking mead, navigating dungeons, all are the greatest rewards to a doppler. It won't care about the treasure it receives, but the story, drink or game bought with it is the real prize.

Names: Doppelgangers usually keep their names private, some don't even use them at all. They change identities so much that keeping track of a "true name" is borderline impossible. Those who do pick one, tend to have a highly symbolic, or stylized one-word name, reminiscent of their true identity.
Example names: Reflection, Muse, Pondering, Observer, Wonderer, Wanderer, Mirror, Study, Cognition, Rumination

Traits: Doppelganger Traits are described below...

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+2 Constitution, -2 Charisma, +2 Intelligence -2 Wisdom. Dopplers are tough and smart but their curiosity can make them easier to manipulate. The way they mimic interactions can make them come off a bit odd and they sometimes miss social cues.

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1 slam attack if unarmed (1d6+strength)
60 foot darkvision
+2 to willpower checks
Telepathy (you can communicate telepathically with others and, if you concentrate, you can potentially detect the thoughts of other people (Make opposing will checks.)
Shape-change. As often as desired, for as long as desired. You can take on the appearance of any small or medium humanoid. It can be someone that you've seen and copied or just someone you make up in your head. You can mimic the appearances of clothes (since doppelgangers are technically naked at all times) but not their effect. For example, you can appear to be wearing leather armor but it provides no AC bonus. (Obviously you can wear armor and should do so, just know it wont shape change with you.) It takes 2 full rounds to shape-change.