Doppelganger Consul
Dopelganger Consul (Leader Role) (CR 18)
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, by far the smoothest, most suave, and most civilized are the Doppelganger Consuls. Consuls are well spoken and tremendously intelligent, as well as able to fake warmth and sincerity with perfect fidelity. No Consul has ever given itself away through clumsy mistakes or errors, for example. Consuls blend in perfectly, and may actually be slightly beneficial to the societies they infest, as they understand that a strong culture of lesser creatures makes for a strong race of Doppelgangers within them.
In the mysterious annals of Doppelganger 'society', the absolute and undisputed commanders of the War are the Consuls. Doppelganger Consuls are never encountered alone, as they always have an escort. They occasionally will have some lower level Awakened Doppelgangers with them, but they usually have Butchers as their companions. A Consul and a Butcher with a few lower level Doppelgangers as an escort is a serious threat indeed, and can be expected to prosecute their goals aggressively.
Consuls understand, if any creature does, the War. That said, Consuls will never, ever, explain such matters to non-Doppelgangers, and it is suspected that they simply cannot. In battle Consuls are capable foes,fully able to crowd into the front ranks and sway the tide of battle. Or, they can stand back and direct their allies to terrifying effect.
GENERAL
CR 18 Hit Dice 28
XP 307,200 (Leader Role Bonus included)
NE, Medium, Protean
Init +8; Senses Lifesense 120 ft, Any sense from the Stolen Form, Perception +27
DEFENSE
AC 42, touch 24, flat-footed 37 (+11 armor, +5 dex, +7 natural, +9 deflection)
hp 960
Fort +16, Ref +16, Will +20
Aura: - or as Stolen Form
SR: - or as Stolen Form
Special Defenses: - or as Stolen Form
Immunities: - or as Stolen Form
Weaknesses: - or as Stolen Form
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., Climb 30 ft, Swim 30 ft, or, as Stolen Form
Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft. or as Stolen Form
Single Melee Daggered Bite +30 (3d8+21/x2) + Bull Rush 1/round + Skinship
Full Melee Daggered Bite +30 (3d8+21/x2) + Bull Rush 1/round, 2x Shifting Claws +30 (3d6+6/x2), +Skinship on all attacks
Ranged Liquescent Gaze +30 (3d8+12/x2)
Special Attacks Stolen Form, Skinship, Mass Skinblister, Escort, Greater Awakening, Voice of Reason
Action Points 0 (Leader Role does not have an Action Point)
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 20, Con 20, Int 22, Wis 24, Cha 24
Base Atk +18; CMB +29; CMD 36
Feats Selective Spell (exclude up to six allies from the effects of Mass Skinblister)
Skills Bluff +29, Sense motive +30, Intimidate +24, Knowledge, Local, +18, History +18, Knowledge, Nobility, +18
Languages Kern, choose any two additional, plus up to 3 from the Stolen Form
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- Stolen Form (Ex)
As a standard action, or by using Skinship in combat (see below), a Doppelganger Consul may assume the form of any other creature up to CR 20. 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 Consul 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 Consul 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 26 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 (+25 to hit 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 18). 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.
- Escort (Ex)
Doppelganger Consuls are always accompanied by two CR4 Doppelgangers. These creatures reward exp and loot as normal for its level. The Escort always begins combat within three squares of the Consul, unless specifically prohibited.
- Greater Awakening (Ex)
Once per round, as a standard action, the Doppelganger Consul may use its Greater Awakening ability on any CR4 Doppelganger it is adjacent to. This requires a move action, but does not end the Consul's turn. Once used, the CR4 Doppelganger stays in its square until the beginning of its next turn, at which point it is removed from play and normal exp and loot is awarded to the players. At the beginning of its next turn, the CR4 Doppelganger is replaced by a new Doppelganger, which may be either a Butcher or another Consul, with the same location and at full hitpoints. If a Butcher it arrives with full tactical knowledge of the situation and attacks immediately to the best effect. If a Consul, it arrives in the same fashion. This new Doppelganger has the full memories of the Doppelganger it replaced. Note that all new Consuls created this way DO have the Awaken ability themselves, but it is considered to be expended for this combat.
- Mass Skinblister (Sp)
Once per round, as a standard action, the Overseer may target a 30 foot diameter area (9x9 squares) within 300 feet for its Mass Skinblister attack. This is an area of effect attack and all non-protean creatures are allowed a Fortitude save against a DC of 26. If the saving throw fails, an affected creature takes 9d6+1 of Dessication damage and a gigantic blister appears on its body, full of horrible murky fluid. If the Fort save succeeds, the creature takes only half damage, but is still afflicted with a gigantic blister full of horrible murky fluid. The round after it was struck by Mass Skinblister, all affected creatures must make a second Fort save against a DC of 26. If this save succeeds, the blister ruptures with no further harm to the creature. If this save is failed, the creature is Entangled until the end of the encounter by horrible organic debris.
However, as terrible as these effects are, they are not the worst effect of the Skinblister attack. When the blister bursts, regardless of whether the save is made or not, the fluid from the blister splatters to the ground and immediately forms into a CR 4 Doppelganger under the control of the Consul. These Doppelgangers act on the same initiative as the Overseer does.
- Voice of Reason (su)
Once per round as a free action, a Doppelganger Consul may grant any allied creature it can sense (has line of effect to) and communicate with (has line of effect to) a single standard action. This standard action must be used immediately, and may be downgraded to a move or a swift action, as normal. In addition, all allied creatures that can see or hear the Consul gains a bonus to hit of +2 per five hit dice the allied creature possesses, as the Consul calms and focuses their efforts in battle.
TREASURE
sell value of approximately 77,500 gp
COMBAT TACTICS
Doppelganger Consuls are Leader mobs, and are incredibly dangerous when they have allies. Their Escort, Mass Skinship, and Greater Awakening powers ensure that they are never, ever alone, either.
In battle, Consuls will strive to stay back from the front if they have strong allies. They will declare they are fighting defensively, then use Mass Skinship to damage and harrass their foes. The CR4 Doppelgangers they create are little threat, but they do a fine job of 'messing up the battlefield' and provide flanks, obstacles, and generally make everything horrible. Even worse, if the party ignores the CR4 Doppelgangers, they run the risk that the Consul will use Greater Awakening on one as soon as possible to 'upgrade' one to a Butcher, and that's a bad day. So, players are faced with many unpleasant and tense choices when fighting Consuls.
If they are forced into melee, Consuls are not slouches! They will use their free Bull Rush attacks to break up static formations and give more opportunities for the CR4 Doppelgangers to get among the players and be huge pests.
Far from last, their Voice of Reason makes every Doppelganger and ally on the board into a melee powerhouse, and if they have a Butcher or two (or six) they will give one of those behemoths an extra standard action, which is never a good thing. Alternatively, they will gift the standard action to a CR4 Doppelgenage to have it come close enough to use Greater Awakening, which is another bad day indeed.
Last but not least, they will use their Mass Skinship power on any clusters of enemies. A tight mass of enemies can be forced into a squeeze condition by the new Doppelgangers spawning among them, which is always a fun time indeed.
Fighting Consuls devolves into a messy, chaotic, and busy combat very quickly indeed, with lots of tactical decisions to be made by players as to how they wish to proceed.
OUT OF COMBAT
Consuls exist to prosecute their War, and they will do so relentlessly. That said, Consuls are much more 'in tune' with the rest of the world than other doppelgangers, and as such, they will often be useful (if extremely strange) sources of information or contacts. Out of Combat, Consuls tend to be extremely well-informed, especially on matters of Vampires and other enemies they might wish to 'farm out' to other races.