Doppelganger Butcher

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Doppelganger Butcher (Killer Role) (CR 19)

Doppelgangers are a strange race of shape shifters that act as parasites of entire civilizations. Their mindset is alien compared to most humanoid races, and their ability to steal the identity of others triggers nearly universal revulsion. Doppelgangers may exactly and perfectly mimic anyone they have had a chance to touch for a few seconds.

What is not widely known about Doppelgangers, is that they come in many castes. They all have the ability to perfectly mimic other creatures, and they are all parasites that subsist upon the civilizations of others, but the Doppelgangers do not care very much about that at all.

The reason that Doppelgangers are so little engaged with the other societies is two-fold:

First, Doppelgangers are really, truly alien, both in their natural appearance and in their mental and spiritual processes. They have no souls, nor do they have spirits. They aren't even really alive in the same way as other races, and it is unclear if they even eat food or breathe air. They have very little in common with other races.

Second, Doppelgangers are utterly and completely consumed by their war. Plain Doppelgangers (CR 4) are little more than mindless drones, pawns that exist to breed and infiltrate the world. The higher level Doppelgangers are the ones who are aware of their secret war and they are responsible for prosecuting it, to the exclusion of all other tasks. Everything is devoted to the War, every waking moment consumed with prosecuting the War or building up to make another attack.

On the very rare occasions when a Doppelganger has been captured and interrogated, their answers, made in Kern, make no sense at all. The Doppelgangers seem to be at war with themselves, absolutely and implacably. No outsider has ever figured out what factions or divisions exist in Doppelganger 'society', if such a thing can even be said to exist.

Most Doppelgangers placidly subsist on the largess of the societies they infest. But other Doppelgangers are much more sinister and menacing, and are ruthlessly driven to seek out and destroy other Doppelgangers. Whether a Doppelganger will see another as foe or ally seems completely random.

It should be noted that Doppelgangers and Vampires, where they co-exist, are unrelenting enemies as well. Doppelgangers and Vampires both infest and feed off of larger societies, and so they see each other as competitors. Both factions will seek to destroy the other whenever they come into contact.

Among Doppelgangers, Butchers are the 'things that go bump in the night'. Doppelganger Butchers are relentless killers, moving in their mysterious ways to prosecute the War to the exclusion of all else. Butchers are often, but not always, paired with a Consul, and two or three Butchers get along perfectly fine by themselves. Butchers will show up, exterminate every 'enemy' Doppelganger is a night of horro, and move on, leaving the infested community shaken and wondering what just happened.

Butchers willingly accept commands from Consuls, and will help even lower level Doppelgangers if it moves the War along. Butchers, if revealed to the community at large, will flee if they can, usually leaving a trail of corpses behind them. If a Butcher discovers a nest of vampires, it will notify another Doppelganger (an Overseer, a Dictstor, or a Consul) and then will wade into battle without hesitation.

Doppelganger Butchers are truly scary in a fight, and they are perfectly willing to trade upon their frightening reputations to get their way. Despite their tremendous combat prowess, Butchers are not mindless beasts. They can get along in society perfectly well, despite being utter aliens, and are actually pretty positive additions to most societies, serving as phantom protectors of their host species.

GENERAL

CR 19 Hit Dice 30

XP 409,600 (Killer ROle Bonus included)

NE, Medium, Protean

Init +15 (Killer Bonus included); Senses Lifesense 120 ft, plus any senses as the Stolen Form, Perception +29

DEFENSE

AC 43, touch 25, flat-footed 38 (+11 armor, +5 dex, +7 natural, +10 deflection)

hp 1076 (Killer Role Bonus included)

Fort +21, Ref +17, Will +17

Aura: - or as Stolen Form

SR: - 29

Special Defenses: -or as Stolen Form

Immunities: - or as Stolen Form

Weaknesses: - or as Stolen Form

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft., Climb 50 ft, or, as Stolen Form

Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 10 ft. or as Stolen Form

Single Melee 2x Ripping Bite +28 (5d8+24/x2)

Full Melee 2 x Ripping Bite +28 (5d8+24/x2), 2x Stabbing Claws +28 (5d6+8/x2)

Ranged Eruption of Bile +28 (5d8+14/x2), AOE 30 ft cone, roll to hit vs all foes separately, roll damage once.

Special Attacks Stolen Form, Skinship, Building Frenzy

Action Points 0 (Killer Role has no action point)

STATISTICS

Str 22, Dex 18, Con 24, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18

Base Atk +19; CMB +30; CMD 37

Feats Combat Reflexes EFFECT: Up to five Attacks of Opportunity, Mobility, EFFECT+ +4 AC vs Attacks of Opportunity caused by it's movement

Skills Bluff +25, Sense motive +30, Intimidate +30, Knowledge, Local, +19

Languages Kern, Common, plus up to three from the Stolen Form

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Stolen Form (Ex)

As a standard action, or by using Skinship in combat (see below), a Doppelganger Butcher may assume the form of any other creature up to CR 22. While using Stolen Form, the Doppelganger effectively becomes the creature being imitated, except that the Doppelganger's hit points never change and it always retains the use of its Stolen Form, Lifesense, and Skinship abilities. While mimicking another form, the doppelganger replaces its own abilities, senses, movement, defenses, AC, and saves, with that of the assumed form (just not its hit points).

If a Doppelganger Butcher using Stolen Form is engaged in combat, it will use a free action to drop Stolen Form and unnerve its enemies at the most opportune moment. If the Doppelganger Butcher is reduced to half hit points while in a Stolen Form, it loses control and will revert to its own true form regardless as a free action. When this occurs, the creeping unnatural appearance of this reversion induces paranoia in humanoids. All creatures who see it must make a Will save against a DC of 27 or gain the Trembling condition until the end of the combat, as they wonder who among their allies and friends might be a doppelganger as well. If they make this saving throw, they instead take the Nervous condition until the end of their next round.

Skinship (Ex)

While attacking with melee in its true shape the Doppelganger uses the stats listed above. In addition, once per round as a swift action, the Doppelganger may make a touch attack against one adjacent foe, regardless of the form it is using. If this touch attack is successful, the Doppelganger's shape will begin to shift toward that creature's appearance, it gains a +2 bonus to to-hit rolls against the touched creature until the beginning of the creature's next turn, and the doppelganger will heal hit points equal to its current CR (usually 19). If any creature touched by Skinship is reduced to negative hit points by any Doppelganger, any Doppelgangers who have touched it with Skinship may reactivate Stolen Form as a free action, instantly assuming the form of the fallen creature, and instantly healing the doppelganger an amount of hit points equal to half the impersonated creature's maximum hit points.

Building Frenzy (Ex)

When a Doppelganger Butcher is in combat, its rage burns with an alien fury. Every time it makes an attack roll and misses, it immediately gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its to-hit rolls and damage rolls until the end of the encounter. This bonus applies to all attack rolls, including Bile Eruption, Attacks of Opportunity, bonus attacks, any other attack. This bonus is cumulative and potentially unlimited. This means the referee must declare and roll all attacks separately and in a given order, so the escalating bonus may be properly tracked.

TREASURE

sell value of approximately 97,500 gp (Killer Role Bonus included)

COMBAT TACTICS

Doppelganger Butchers are simple creatures: They race into melee and attack as much as they can. If they cannot close to melee, they will use their bile attack to strike at as many foes as possible. The reason is simple: Every time they miss, their Building Frenzy gives them a huge and constantly escalating bonus to hit and damage, on top of their already tremendous combat capabilities.

They will use Skinship every round for the healing and to set up a healing burst when they drop a foe. In addition, they will always use a five foot step to maintain a bit of distance from their foes so they get as many attacks of opportunity as possible again, looking to build bonuses if they are unable to hit. Butches love tanks, as they are able to spin up to truly tremendous bonuses.

Parties facing Butchers have a terrible choice, as closing to battle with them is a risky business, but trying to tank them is very risky as well. Running away is the most effective choice, but that's not very heroic at all. Plus, the Bile Eruption means that Butchers can still output severe damage on fleeing foes.

The best plan is to kill it as fast as possible...except that it is trying to kill you right back.