Dopplegangers are devious shapeshifters that take on the appearance of other humanoids, throwing off pursuit or luring victims to their doom with misdirection and disguise. Few creatures spread fear, suspicion, and deceit better than dopplegangers. Found in every land and culture, they can take on the guise of any individual of any race.  

Stealing Secrets

  A doppelganger's adopted form allows it to blend into almost any group or community, but its transformation doesn't impart languages, mannerisms, memory, or personality. Dopplegangers often follow or capture creatures they intend to impersonate, studying them and probing their minds for secrets. A doppleganger can read a creature's surface thoughts, allowing it to glean that creature's name, desires, and fears, along with a few scattered memories. A doppleganger impersonating a specific creature as part of a long-term plot might keep its double alive and close at hand for weeks, probing the victim's mind daily to learn how to behave and speak authentically.  

Hedonistic Swindlers

  Dopplegangers work alone or in small groups, with group roles shifting from con to con. When one doppleganger takes the place of a murdered merchant or noble, the others take on a number of identities as circumstances warrant, playing the parts of family or servants while they live off the victim's riches.  

Changelings

  Dopplegangers are too lazy or self-interested to raise their young. They assume attractive male forms and seduce women, leaving them to raise their progeny. A doppleganger child appears to be a normal member of its mother's species until it reaches adolescence, at which point it discovers its true nature and is driven to seek out its kind to join them.