Doppelganger Harvester

Doppelganger Harvester (CR 15)

Pure Evil - Large - Protean

Lore:	Know (Local)
32		48
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

28

Perception:
35	+25
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses

Movement Types:

Defense

AC

37

Man Def

37

Monster Health
429	214	29
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+17
Refl:	+12
Will:	+14

Strong Against:

• None, or, as Stolen Form
• None, or, as Stolen Form

Weak Against:

• None, or, as Stolen Form

Offense

Size:	Large
10 ft.		10 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+22

Man Off

+25

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Changing Bite +22 (3d10+23/x2)
  as crushing (physical, common)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 1x Changing Bite +22 (3d10+23/x2)
  as crushing (physical, common)
• 2x Shifting Claws +22 (3d6+9/x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Vile Bile +26 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (3d10+23/x2)
  as acid (energy, common)
  (Increment: 30 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Vile Bile +26 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (3d10+23/x2)
  as acid (energy, common)
  (Increment: 30 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

26

STR

14

DEX

20

CON

10

INT

10

WIS

14

CHA

Skills:

• Bluff: 28
• Intimidate: 25
• Perception: 25
• Sense Motive: 25
• All other skills: 20 (no ranks)

Languages: Kern, plus up to three others as Stolen Form

Feats:

• Run (EFFECT: Faster walk speed, do not become flat-footed when running, and gain a bonus to running jumps.)
• Mobility (EFFECT: +4 AC against attacks of opportunity from movement)

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, weaknesses, AC, and saves, with that of the assumed form (just not its hit points). It keeps its skills and feats, and may gain more from the Stolen Form. If the Stolen Form has a better skill than the Doppelganger does, it uses the better skill. If a Doppelganger Harvester using Stolen Form is engaged in combat, it may fight using the other creature's Blueprint, or it may 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 26 or gain the Nervous condition until the end of the encounter, 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 in this Blueprint. In addition, once per round as a swift action, the Doppelganger may make a melee touch attack at 1d20 + 26 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 43 hit points. 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 (Ex)

When in its true shape, during even-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), it may pass through the space of enemy creatures without penalty, and it 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 3d8+16 points of crushing (physical, common) damage and are knocked prone. All effected creatures are allowed a Reflex save against a DC of 26. 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 can only be affected by Flood of Flesh once per Harvester per round. Even more dire, every creature that 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 43 hit points per creature touched. Note that Flood of Flesh counts as a melee attack for purposes of using Skinship.

Unquiet Flesh (Ex)

Harvesters are even more loosely tied to their meat than most Doppelgangers, and as such, they waver on the edge of existing at all. This makes them hard to affect with many effects, and thus Harvesters have Spell Resistance. If they are targeted by any spell or spell-like effect (see link for details), their attacker must make a Caster Check against the Harvester's Maneuver Defense (target DC of 37). If the attacker fails to equal or exceed the DC, the effect does nothing to the Doppelganger.

Doppelganger Harvester

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....

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.

Out of Combat

Harvesters seem to spend a lot of time impersonating things like cows and horses, and seem...weirdly content, doing it.

Rewards

XP: 51,200

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 32,125 gp.

Weight: 150 lbs.     Volume: 6 cu. ft.

• Doppelganger ichor is very, very valuable, especially the high-potency stuff that high level shapeshifters give off.

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)