Nobody Suspects a Thing (Glogtober '24 Challenge 6: Dungeon Molluscs)
The Doppelgänger
(This post assumes mind flayers, Dvergar, Drow, olm, ghouls, and antlings similar to Skerples' Veinscrawl, itself derived from Veins of the Earth.)
Many tales exist of this terrifying creature. Some say they are born from spite and hatred fully formed, and seek to replace their good counterparts. Others believe them to be artificial creations of the wretched Mind Devourers as a means to spy on the vertebrates to better enslave and consume them. Still others donât even believe they exist, that they are merely lurid tales to frighten young adventurers.
All of these, of course, are incorrect.
The Doppelgänger is actually a distant relative of the devourers, to octopuses what their kin are to squid. Though physically weaker and lacking the ability to stun an entire company of delvers like the devourers, they make up for this deficiency with no less than total control of their shape. Provided with time to study a victim, either directly or via reading the impressions of their target from the surface thoughts of their companions, they can produce a near-perfect copy via their own natural shifting ability and some minor psychic trickery. Even clothing and textures can be mimicked, though a keen eye can see where it fuses with the creatureâs flesh or seems sensitive where it shouldnât be. Additionally, while they cannot mimic smell directly, they produce effectively none themselves, making their disguises similarly effective again the scent-using creatures of the deep.
That is not to say that doppelgängers can only mimic humanoids, oh no. They can easily disguise themselves as a stray rock, an errant stalagmite, or non-humanoid creatures of the depths, though often less perfectly due to the lack of psychic resonance to abuse. Rumors of so-called âropersâ likely come from such ruses, as one sees tentacles coming from a rock and decides self preservation is more important than determining what the creature actually is.
When solitary, they tend to use their basic mimicry to hunt, pretending to be parts of the terrain before striking. When dealing with sapient groups, they will disguise themselves as fellow travelers, integrate themselves, and then isolate another group member to devour. If they can glean the existence of a lost companion with an uncertain fate, all the better. Some doppelgängers, however, will attempt to live among other humanoids. Though their solitary nature makes them less inclined towards cooperation than most folk, they can see a mutually beneficial relationship in the making, and by integrating, they can also avoid being hunted. Some even choose to reveal their true nature to trusted individuals, which does not always go over well when someone learns their friend is secretly a shapeshifting octopus.
While they were not created by the devourers, the two species often work together. Devourers only consume the brains of vertebrates, so doppelgängers have nothing to fear, and their shapeshifting ability makes them excellent spies, kidnappers, and assassins. In return, they get whatever benefits they desire from their fellow cephalopods, which for most that are willing to stoop to this work, tends to be whatever food, mates, and comfortable lodgings they want. When collapse inevitably occurs, doppelgängers are also among the most capable to escape in the chaos, only to find the next willing employer, or simply go back to their solitary hunting.
In terms of other denizens of the deep, Drow are also known to bring doppelgängers into their constant games, though they never seem to think mimicked folk are beautiful enough and thus rarely keep them for long. Ghouls similarly employ them to bring more captives, though as doppelgängers themselves are meat, they rarely reside in ghoul settlements like they do with the devourers. Dvergar and Olm do not trust them and tend to slay them immediately upon discovery. Antlings, with their chitinous bodies and spindly legs, canât be properly copied and thus treat doppelgängers with wariness rather than open hostility. They are, after all, excellent sources of information on the depths, especially water sources that would be disastrous to tunnel into.
Stats: As Doppelgänger from The Monster Overhaul, with the following changes: No claw attack. Instead, tentacle grab attacks. D4 damage plus immediate grapple.
Can return to their true octopus form and move like one. Somewhat more clumsy on land, but can swim like a fish and squeeze through any opening larger than five inches.
Can also look like objects or part of the local terrain. Wizard vision and similar sources of detecting illusions give them a somewhat uncanny look when disguised.
Morale 7, not 9. Voice is burbling rather than inhuman screams.