Doppels
Singular; Doppel. Plural: Doppels.
I never knew... I never knew Noren had been replaced. He-they? I-I don't know anymore, but whatever they were, they were just so identical to the Noren I had married. The way they laughed, they way they smiled each time they saw me, the small gifts they made every morning, it was like they WERE Noren! N-Noren goes on this pilgrimage, and this thing came back instead of him? Four years, I lived with them. They didn't even seem to know they took Noren's place. They-They just left, saying they'd find him. I don't know what to think anymore. I just want to see Noren again! - Rubicar, glassmaker.
A doppel's existence is by itself, a lie. These sapient oozes are created to be the perfect copies of existing people, meant to replace them without a trace. "Conceived" with nothing but memories stolen from the being it was made to mimic, isolated and unaware of its ooze parent or creator, how else could such creatures assume they aren't really who they think they are?
Art by Maxkayart!
Slippery Duplicates
In a visual and physical sense, doppel's look and feel nearly identical to the person they share their memories with. They share the physical touch and memories of those they are meant to copy, the only anatomical difference between that the copy is truly made of goo rather than flesh. As such, an doppel's history is incredibly hard to detect, bar the use of extensive detection magic and the faint smell of charcoal.
Doppel characters aware of their heritage can physically alter their body's complexion and texture between flesh and ooze, revealing colors and texture best described like eldritch jello. While such changes do not physically alter them in such a way that their humanoid appearance is unrecognizable, a doppel that seeks to distance themselves from the person they thought they were will often alter their body in such a way as a act of individuality.
In their creation, a doppel retains some innate psionic abilities, though it is up to them to awaken them. With the ability to copy and consume memories of those they touch, as well as the ability to alter their appearance, doppel unaware of their true heritage may rationalize these abilities as a freak encounter with the aberrant they do not remember.
Fake Lives
In the majority of recorded doppel folk, these individuals truly believed they were the person they were mean to mimic. Many discover the truth through a major event - a lack of memory of a defining event in the original's life, surviving a grisly event only to witness their ooze flesh, or encountering their "true" self, at which point an doppel will undergo a crisis and flee.
To many doppel, the only memories they can call their own are the ones they were given. As such, it is no doubt incredibly painful for one to discover they are not truly who they thought they were. What can they call themselves, if the memories they made are in the belief they are someone else?
A doppel can either refuse to change and remain who they believe they are, or undergo a self-awakening as they seek out to become someone they can truly claim to be. Is it best to live walking the path that you were placed upon, or to diverge into the unknown after knowing you were meant to steal this journey?
Malleable Motivations
An adventuring doppel might be one seeking to find some cure or salvation to their dilemma, wishing nothing more than a solution to return to the life they had. Others may adventure as an extreme way to distance themselves, seeking the thrills of monsters and dungeons as a way to better find themselves. Perhaps the doppel is the creation of a late adventurer, still unaware of what they are as they continue the life of their predecessor?
Doppel Traits
Art by HDH!
- Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score by 2, and a different score of your choice increases by 1.
- Age. A doppel will live half as long as the race it mimics, dissolving into a puddle upon death.
- Creature Type. You are Humanoid, but count as an Ooze for the purposes of being detected.
- Rarity. Scarce. The knowledge in creating a doppel, as well as the oozes that composes them, is incredibly rare.
- Size. Doppels share the same size as the creature they own their memories to. You are Medium or Small (your choice when selecting this race).
- Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
- Ancestral Legacy. If you replace a race with this lineage, you can keep the following elements of that race: any skill proficiencies you gained from it and any climbing, flying, or swimming speed you gained from it.
- If you don't keep any of those elements or you choose this lineage at character creation, you gain proficiency in two skills of your choice.
- Amorphous. You can move through and stop in spaces large enough for a creature one size smaller than you, all without squeezing.
- Consume Knowledge. Upon hitting a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can force them to make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your racial spellcasting ability). On a failure, the damage changes to psychic, and you learn all languages they know along with one proficiency they possess of your choice (excluding saving throw proficiencies). You retain these proficiencies until the end of your next long rest.
Once you have successfully used this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
- Innate Spellcasting. You know the Mind Sliver cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Disguise Self spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Alter Self spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells, which you choose upon making your character.
| d6 | Doppel Characteristics |
|---|---|
| 1 | I seek out the ooze or person that made me, perhaps for vengeance, perhaps to simply return and become a mindless ooze once more. |
| 2 | I am always eager to try out new perfumes or fragrances so I can mask my charcoal scent. |
| 3 | I hold the memories of many individuals that were taken away and copied. I have constant nightmares of these people crawling out of me. |
| 4 | I like to say I have flexible bones, scaring people by twisting my limbs in impossible ways. |
| 5 | I always challenge my comrades in philosophical debates, hoping to find an answer to my existence. |
| 6 | The person they say is the "true" me still lives. I will prove them all that THEY are the doppel, not me! I AM THE ORIGINAl! |
