Doppelganger Harvester

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Doppelganger Harvester (CR 15)

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.

Despite their relatively high power levels and great size, Doppelganger Harvesters seem to be fairly lowly creatures in the Doppelganger hierarchy. Since they are size Large, they cannot assume the shape of a size medium creature, unlike most of their fellow monsters. As a result, in many cultures Harvesters are forced into the role of lowly animals, and often take the guise of horses, cows, camels, llamas, and many other size large domesticated creatures. As a result, Harvesters dislike human cultures and instead are frequently found in clans of Giants. In a Giant society, Harvesters assume traditional Doppelganger roles, namely, as pampered and frivolous as possible.

Harvesters, unlike basic Doppelgangers, are keenly aware of their great War, and once they have made themselves comfortable (whether in a barn or in a mansion) they relentlessly work to participate. Many a late-night mission will be undertaken by the Harvesters as they seek out and battle other doppelganger factions. Harvesters are frequently aided in these roles by Dictators, have been known to work with Overseers, and are occasionally found with a mighty Consul. In all cases, the Harvesters seem more than willing to allow these other Doppelgangers to 'call the shots' and will act as muscle and agents for them. It is not uncommon for Harvesters to assume the guise of horses or other riding beast and serve as mounts for other Doppelgangers. This puts a whole new twist on caravans....

GENERAL

CR 15 Hit Dice 22

XP 51,200

NE, Large, Protean

Init +7; Senses as Stolen Form, darkvision, Perception +23

DEFENSE

AC 37, touch 26, flat-footed 31 (+10 armor, +6 dex, +6 natural, +5 deflection)

hp 328

Fort +18, Ref +14, Will +14

Aura: -,or as Stolen Form

SR: - 25

Special Defenses: -,or as Stolen Form

Immunities: -,or as Stolen Form

Weaknesses: -,or as Stolen Form

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.,or as Stolen Form

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

Single Melee Changing Bite +24 (3d8+15/x2)

Full Melee Changing Bite +24 (3d8+15/x2), 2x Shifting Claws +24 (3d6+3/x2)

Ranged Vile Bile +24 (3d8+8/x2), range increment 30 feet

Special Attacks Skinship, Flood of Flesh, Stolen Form

Action Points 0

STATISTICS

Str 26, Dex 14, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14

Base Atk +15; CMB +24; CMD 32

Feats Run, Combat Maneuvers. EFFECT:Move 5x on a Run action, Add +4 AC against attacks of opportunity

Skills Bluff +20, Sense motive +24, Intimidate +26

Languages Kern, plus up to three others as Stolen Form

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Stolen Form (Ex)

As a standard action, or by using Skinship in combat (see below), a Doppelganger Harvester may assume the form of any other size large or larger creature up to CR 15. 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 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 Harvester 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 Harvester 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 23 or gain the Nervous condition until the end of the combat, as they wonder who among their allies and friends might be a doppelganger as well.

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 (+19 vs touch AC) 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 15). 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.

Flood of Flesh (Su)

When in its true shape, during odd-numbered combat rounds, as a full attack action, the Doppelganger Harvester may loosen its grip on the fabric of its flesh even more than usual, and surge around the battlefield as a semi-liquid mass of writhing tendrils and globules and tumors. While using Flood of Flesh, the Harvester may move up to 60 feet (a double move), passing through the space of enemy creatures without penalty and does not provoke attacks of opportunity. It must end Flood of Flesh in a space large enough to contain it without squeezing. All enemy creatures it crosses over take 4d6 of physical biting damage and are knocked prone. All effected creatures are allowed a Reflex save against a DC of 23. If this save succeeds, they are not knocked prone, but the damage is not reduced. Even if passed over multiple times by a single Harvester, a creature is only affected by Flood of Flesh once in a given combat round per Harvester.

Even more dire, every creature which takes damage from Flood of Flesh is treated as though they have been affected by a better version of Skinship. Namely, the harvester gains +2 to hit against all affected creatures until the end of their next turn, and heals 15 hit points per creature touched. Note that Flood of Flesh counts as a melee attack for purposes of using Skinship.

TREASURE

sell value of approximately 18,750 gp

COMBAT TACTICS

Harvesters are fairly simple creatures. If they are pressed into battle, they will drop their Stolen Form at the first opportunity and attack relentlessly. If they are damaged (from a surprise round, for example) or tactically hemmed in at the beginning of combat, they will use Flood of Flesh in the first round to move to a better place, otherwise, they will save Flood of Flesh until later.

In all cases, they will maneuver in the first two rounds of the combat so they can get as large a number of victims as possible in the third round with their Flood of Flesh. They do this to gain the healing, and to use Flood of Flesh as a 'finishing blow' for the combat.

Harvesters, like all Doppelgangers, will rarely start a fight with adventurers, but if they are pressed into it they will fight savagely and without fear to the death.

Note: Doppelganger Harvesters have Spell Resistance! They are very aware of this ability and will tend to treat spellcasters with utter contempt. Note as well that Harvesters are very sought after in Doppelganger 'society' if there are many Vampires to be dealt with, as the spell resistance makes that onerous task smoother.