Doppelganger Enforcer
Doppelganger Enforcer (CR 9)
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.
Doppelganger Enforcers are the least of the 'Awakened' Doppelgangers, those who are aware of the larger War and actively and aggressively work to find and defeat their shapeshifting enemies. Enforcers with Stolen Form running are just as well concealed as any Doppelganger, but when they drop their Stolen Form they swell to massively thewed killing engines that are fast, durable, and terrible in battle. Enforcers are often the 'shock troops' sent along with a higher ranking Doppelganger, and are the disposable heavy troops of the War, used by all factions and sides in that inscrutable conflict.
GENERAL
CR 9 Hit Dice 14
XP 6,400
NE, Medium, Protean
Init +4; Senses darkvision, plus as Stolen Form, Perception +14
DEFENSE
AC 28, touch 18, flat-footed 22 (+5 armor, +6 dex, +5 natural, +2 deflection)
hp 160
Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +8 or, as Stolen Form
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. or, as Stolen Form
Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft. or, as Stolen Form
Single Melee Knuckle Punch +16 (2d8+8/19-20x2) + Skinship
Full Melee 2x Knuckle Punch +16 (2d8+8/19-20x2) + Skinship
Ranged Horrible Bile +11 ranged touch (2d8+8/x2), range increment 20 feet
Special Attacks Skinship, Stolen Form, Escort, Awaken
Action Points 0
STATISTICS
Str 24, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Atk +9; CMB +15; CMD 25
Feats -
Skills Bluff +16, Sense Motive +12, intimidate +15
Languages Kern, + as Stolen Form
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- Stolen Form (Ex)
As a standard action, or by using Skinship in combat (see below), a Doppelganger Enforcer may assume the form of any other creature up to CR 10. 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 Enforcer using Stolen Form is engaged in combat, it use a free action to drop Stolen Form and unnerve its enemies at the most opportune moment. If the Doppelganger Enforcer 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 20 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 (+11 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 9). 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 Enforcers are always accompanied by one CR4 Doppelganger. This creature rewards exp and loot as normal for its level. The Escort always begins combat within three squares of the Enforcer, unless specifically prohibited.
- Awaken (Ex)
Once per encounter, as a move action, the Doppelganger Enforcer may use its Awaken ability on any CR4 Doppelganger it is adjacent to. This requires a move action and ends the Enforcer'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 same time, the CR4 Doppelganger is replaced by a new Doppelganger Enforcer with the same location and at full hitpoints. This new Enforcer may then begin making attacks with the full memories of the Doppelganger it replaced. Note that all new Enforcers created this way DO have the Awaken ability themselves, but it is considered to be expended for this combat.
TREASURE
sell value of approximately 4,000 gp
COMBAT TACTICS
Doppelganger Enforcers are smart and dangerous opponents. They will use their Escorts out of combat to confuse who they are and what they are doing, impersonating many creatures with startling fidelity. In combat, their best trick is dropping their Stolen Form to inflict Nervous conditions, followed closely by using their Escorts for flanks, versus using their Awaken ability on them. Enforcers are always able to perfectly communicate their wishes to any Escorts as a free action at any time.
Using Awaken is a cagey tactical move, and may be done early in a fight to attempt to overwhelm a party, or later to draw out a fight with fresh 'reinforcements'. Depending upon relative initiatives, it may be possible for players to kill an escort after Awaken has been used on it but before it gets its turn in combat. Doing so means the Awaken ability is wasted, but if they fail to kill the Escort then their attacks against it are wasted instead. Awaken is a cagey ability that forces players into hard choices, and Doppelganger enforcers are well-aware of this and will use it to their advantage.
Once combat is begun, Enforcers fight smart. Against hard-to-hit foes they will use their Horrible Bile attack, although they greatly prefer to use Skinship. They will seek to concentrate attacks on a single foe, all of them using Skinship if possible, in order to get the healing. If they succeed in using Skinship and multiple of them all assume the same form they will use Bluff to try and conceal which of them is which, in order to let the least damaged members of the Doppelgangers take attacks in order to keep them all up and fighting as long as possible.
Once the battle begins, Enforcers will never retreat, their bodies degenerating to vile sludge shortly after death.