Doppelgangers
Doppelgangers are shapechangers who can adopt the appearance of humanoids of any heritage or gender. While most doppelgangers can’t invent a new identity out of nothing, they can imitate an existing person’s voice and features so well that few can tell the difference between a doppelganger and the person it mimics. What’s more, doppelgangers possess a preternatural sense for what other people are thinking, an intuition that eventually develops into the ability to magically read the thoughts of other creatures.
Like all people, doppelgangers aren’t inherently evil, but powerful temptations lead some astray. When circumstance forces them to imitate another’s face, doppelgangers have the opportunity to slip into that person’s life, gaining the benefits of their property and privilege. Once they have done so, they must flee to evade detection—or eliminate the original and keep their life for themselves. Although some doppelgangers follow this path, others use a borrowed face to create a new self. Still others become adventurers, using their abilities to fight monsters and uncover dark secrets. Doppelgangers who resist the temptation to steal identities possess a quiet heroism that few truly appreciate.
Doppelganger Traits
Characters with the doppelganger heritage share the following traits:
Age. Doppelgangers age much as humans do, typically living a century or less. Their apparent age is a matter of choice.
Size. In their true form, doppelgangers can stand anywhere from 3 to 6 feet tall, but they can adopt the size and build of any Small or Medium humanoid. Your true size is Small or Medium.
Speed. Your Speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light , and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Shapeshifter. As an action, you can change your form and your voice to that of any Small or Medium humanoid creature you have seen before, or back into your true form. Your clothing and equipment are not transformed. You revert to your true form if you die.
Doppelganger Gifts
Doppelgangers are keen observers, with eyes that are able to see through darkness and sometimes into the minds of others. In addition to the traits found in your doppelganger heritage, select one of the following gifts.
Mindsight
Your deceptions and manipulations are aided by your eerie ability to understand what people are thinking. You gain an expertise die on Deception and Insight checks.
Telepathy
You can speak telepathically to any creature within 30 feet of you that you can see. The creature understands you only if the two of you share a language. You can speak telepathically in this way to one creature at a time.
Doppelganger Paragon
When you reach 10th level, you are an exemplar of doppelganger-kind, and you gain the following paragon gift.
Read Thoughts
As an action, you can magically read the surface thoughts of one creature within 60 feet that you can see. Additionally, until the end of your next turn, you have advantage on attack rolls and Deception, Insight, Intimidation, and Persuasion checks against the creature. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest .
Doppelganger Culture
Doppelgangers are widely distrusted. The existence of a creature with the ability to take another’s form, and perhaps even read minds, is a horror to anyone with even the most innocuous of secrets. Doppelgangers are targets of intense paranoia and are banned from many communities; when they are discovered, they are often imprisoned or executed on the spot.
Most doppelgangers live in hiding and have had to rely on their parents and immediate family to teach them who they are. Others come to terms with their powers without any help at all. There has never been a doppelganger census. Still, some manage to find each other, and many cities unknowingly host a loose society of doppelgangers who gather in secret for protection and support.
Doppelgangers know as little about their origins as they do their numbers. However, rumors tell of a place far underground where doppelgangers walk freely in their true forms. Many doppelgangers venture into caves and dungeons in search of this mythical land.
Suggested Cultures. While you can choose any culture for your doppelganger character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: cosmopolitan, faceless, itinerant, kithbáin halfling, Underlander.