In the game, doppelgangers are a type of fungus that read the minds of your companions to construct the perfect image of you. They want to be you.
They want to be you so bad.
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| From Dungeon Meshi |
Doppelganger Fungoid
Encounters with the doppelganger fungoid start out the same way. Adventurers tromp through a patch of them when
they're in ther larval state. At this point, they look like some mildew on the
wall, just barely probing their dark world with their flagella. Then, they get
a sniff of the adventurer. A little bit
of psychic residue stains them. They push upwards. They grow. They follow.
Doppelganger fungoids use
psychic images to choose their appearance, behavior, and demeanor. They,
essentially, form themselves into clones of the first people they encounter as
mushroom children.
Adventurers often encounter doppelganger fungoids while they camp. If there's ever darkness, ever a moment
of sleep, the fungoids slip in and bed down. They want to belong.
The fungoids will try and tag
along with adventurers for a while. At first, they'll even be helpful. They
continue to refine their appearance and behavior on the original. They love to
be as close to perfect as possible.
But they make mistakes. This
infuriates them. They develop body dysmorphia. They develop self-image
disorders. They get confused, genuinely confused, about who is the original and
who is the clone. They begin to self-harm. They begin to lash out.
What does it look like?
Well that's the question, isn't
it? What does it look like? It looks like you. A little taller than you. Its
left boob is a bit lopsided. Your eyes are hazel but its eyes are brown. But
other than that, it looks like you.
That is, until you stab the
imposter. And mash it. And burn it. Then it reveals its true form: moldy,
tubular stalks of fungus. A lopsided mushroom head. A face like a carven jack
o' lantern. Hallucinogenic spores spilling out of it.
They are a painting of you in
fungus.
The doppelganger fungus
derives its image of self not from the original's self-perception, but from the
perception of their companions. To run encounters with these creatures, ask the
players to each text you a description of themselves and a description of each
of their guild mates. A player's description of themselves becomes canon for
what the original looks like. A player's description of their companion becomes
a description of one bloom of doppelganger fungus.
For example, if you are running
the game with four players, each player would text you a description of their
own character and a description of each of their three companions. Then, when
you wish to reveal the fungoids, you would reveal twelve new creatures—each
described as one of the originals, but seen through the eyes of another player.
Likes: Dampness, rain, tearing
things up (obsessively shreds paper, sticks, etc.)
Hates: Fire, mirrors, probing questions about childhood
Special: Make it clear to the players that during an encounter, a
"loyal" fungoid will follow the commands of the original like a henchmen. Do not tell the players that the doppelgangers are imperfect. Roll a dice. If the result is odd, the doppelganger misinterprets the command or makes a
mistake. This usually ends up with them
attacking an adventurer by accident.
HD: 4
Attacks: Pretending to attack as base creature, 1d6
AC: Same as base creature
Save As: 4th level Fighter
Morale: 9
# Encountered: The doppelgangers appear in a crowd equaling n * (n - 1), where n = the number of adventurers. See above.
Abilities:
Minor Illusion: A doppelganger can replicate through illusion any item
that the original could believably have. A doppelganger can replicate through
illusion any class ability that the
original has demonstrated previously.
Imperfect Imitation: If they have not yet acted during the turn, doppelganger may elect to move simultaneously to their "original." When the original takes an action,
they also take that exact action. If this happens, the original and the doppelganger have
become mirror images of each other. If they are in the same zone, it is
impossible for an outside observer to tell who the original is. Essentially, the clones act like mirror images.
Fungal Regeneration: A doppelganger may spend an entire action thinking about who they really are (you). They heal 1d12 HP.
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| From Dungeon Meshi |