Doppelganger Overseer

Doppelganger Overseer (CR 10)

Pure Evil - Medium - Protean

Lore:	Know (Local)
22		39
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

16

Perception:
26	+16
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses

Movement Types:

Defense

AC

28

Man Def

28

Monster Health
210	105	16
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+12
Refl:	+7
Will:	+7

Strong Against:

• As Stolen Form
• as Stolen Form

Weak Against:

• as Stolen Form

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+16

Man Off

+16

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Shifting Sword +16 (2d8+10/19-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)
  plus: Skinship

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Shifting Sword +16 (2d8+10/19-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)
  plus: Skinship

Standard Attack (Ranged):

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

14

STR

14

DEX

14

CON

18

INT

16

WIS

20

CHA

Skills:

• Bluff: 16
• Intimidate: 16
• Perception: 16
• Sense Motive: 19
• All other skills: 11 (no ranks)

Languages: Kern plus as Stolen Form

Feats:

• Selective (EFFECT: Exclude two or more targets from an AOE spell.)

Special Abilities

Stolen Form (Ex)

As a standard action, or by using Skinship in combat (see below), a Doppelganger Overseer may assume the form of any other creature up to CR 12. 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 Overseer 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 Overseer is reduced to half hit points (105 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 melee touch attack at 1d20 + 20 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) 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 10). If any creature touched by Skinship in the current combat 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.

Confusion Blast (Sp)

Concentration: 1d20 + 17 vs. a DC of 25 (8 needed on the die) As a Standard action, the Doppelganger Overseer may use Confusion Blast to affect a 6-square by 6-square area centered within 100 feet of its square. It must have line of sight and line of effect to the targeted crosspoint, and that crosspoint must lay with 100 feet of its square. All creatures within the area of effect must make a Will save, DC 20, or become Confused until the end of the encounter. Note that Overseers have Selective Spell as a feat, and may exclude up to two creatures they choose from this area of effect.

Skinblister (Sp)

Concentration: 1d20 + 17 vs. a DC of 25 (8 needed on the die) As a standard action, the Overseer may target any creature within 300 feet for its Skinblister attack. This is a ranged touch attack and is treated as a ray. If the touch attack succeeds, Skinblister inflicts 2d10+16 points of desiccation (energy, uncommon) damage and causes a gigantic blister to appear on the target's body, full of horrible, murky fluid. The round after it was struck by Skinblister, the victim must make a Fort save against a DC of 20. If this save is made, the blister ruptures with no further harm to the victim. If this save is failed, the victim 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 repulsive 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 Overseer. These Doppelgangers act on the same initiative as the Overseer.

Doppelganger Overseer

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 Overseers are the main controllers and directors of the weird psuedo War they are all engaged in. They are the most aggressive and most strategic of the Awakened, they are in charge of strategies and directions for campaigns.

Overseers usually have at least a few CR4 Doppelgangers around, as well as some Enforcers, and are the most widely used minions of the mighty and dangerous Consuls. Overseers tend to direct battles from the rear, spreading confusion and fear in all directions, all in service, of course, of winning their War.

Combat Tactics

Overseers usually enter combat in small groups or in the company of Doppelganger Enforcers. They will use Confusion as early as possible and as far back as possible, hoping to start fights among their enemies in the backfield. Once Confusion has been sown, they will use Skinblister on the strong front-rank melee opponents, looking to spawn Doppelgangers they may use to block advances and set up flanks.

Note that if there are Enforcers in their ranks the Doppelgangers spawned by Skinblister are eligible for the Awaken power!

Overseers will fight carefully and viciously, running and changing shapes and circling to attack again, all while throwing Confusion in all directions. Once the fight begins they will not lightly break off, but if all is lost and they have a method of escape, they will try it. If there is no easy escape, they will fight to the death without hesitation.

Out of Combat

Rewards

XP: 9,600

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 6,875 gp.

Weight: 100 lbs.     Volume: 4 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)