Doppelganger (Weird Horror!)

[Vondy]

I'm building a doppleganger. They have shapeshift (all Senses), any human form, 0 endurance, and persistent. They can duplicate someone exactly, down to their cellular structure. However, there are some limitations. The transformation takes 20 minutes or so AND they can only shift into the form of a person they've had before OR a person whose flesh they have consumed (lets just call it a pound of flesh ). Some extremely old bloodlines can adopt the form of a person whose blood they have drunk (a liter or so?) without taking actual meat. A last issue is that doppelgangers can typically smell one another (they have highly acute senses - so dogs could also probably tell). As a result there is a slight biochemical trace that could be picked up on if you knew what you were looking for in advance.

 

Next up: they have a weird form of telepathy that gives them "cellular memory" of people they have eaten or whose blood they have drunk by which they gain memories, mannerisms, and information. The amount of information/consciousness absorbed depends on the amount consumed. A little bit would provide flashes, insights, and impressions. A lot (or total consumption would absorb the whole psyche. Its not perfect, however, sometimes its "vague and unclear" and it depends on the skill, experience, and stability of the doppelganger in question.

 

My initial thought is to build this with telepathy, but since its permanent it might actually be a weird form of mental postcognition with skill rolls attached. It would take some time to assimilate all of the information, and for the weak willed it might lead to personality/identity disorders. So it would have some kind of side-effect attached to it (maybe simulated via accidental change for doppelgangers who have identity issues). Another option is to create a group spirit contact to simulate calling up memories, personality traits, and mannerisms of someone you've eaten.

 

Questions:

 

First, how much of a lim would you give for:

 

Can only duplicate people whose flesh they've eaten!

Can only duplicate people whose blood they've drunk!

Smell duplication is imperfect (or would you buy smell, but not the smell group).

 

Second, how would you build the second power?

 

I'm thinking a multipower with telepathy (for tastes and snippets), and postcognition for memories of people they've consumed.

 

Still, what lims would you put on those two powers to simulate the effects. I have an idea, but someone here might have a really elegant idea about how to build this.

 

Let me know.

[Markdoc]

Re: Doppelganger (Weird Horror!)

 

Strange as it may seem, I've already had to answer these questions for a very similar monster

 

Can only duplicate people whose flesh they've eaten!

 

-2. This is not something that can normally be easily and conveniently arranged, and it tends to be a one-time-only thing. Even if the victim survives being snacked on, that's not a guarantee you can do it again.

 

Can only duplicate people whose blood they've drunk!

 

-1 Based on the idea that unlike Flesh eating, it's possible to do this with a victim's cooperation: I based the limit off the fact that this is similar to "can only change powers under certain circumstances" and "requires a difficult to obtain focus" which would give you a -1.

 

Smell duplication is imperfect (or would you buy smell, but not the smell group).

 

I just wouldn't buy the smell group at all. Not buying it doesn't make you automatically smellier: so a dog - or a character with enhanced smell - might be able to identify what you are and would at any rate note you have a distinctive smell. But that's hardly going to be a common occurrence.

 

Second, how would you build the second power?

 

With a mimic pool - a VPP that only changes when flesh or blood consumption occurs. Including skills in a pool is a stopsign power, but as long as you have activated your GM powers, you can sneer at stopsigns. That way mundane skills (the victim was an expert pianist) can be easily duplicated by simply adding PS: pianist. The character's memory can be duplicated by using telepathy - also resident in the VPP (to "read" them at the time of consumption: how high you score indicates how complete a reading you get) and then simply a skill - KS: Personal history of X.

 

For my purposes, how deeply the Doppelganger could read, determined what skills/memories they could access. So, for example, reading the base level gave a maximum of a FAM (so KS: Personal history of X, 8-, FAM: Pianist) in all the associated skills, reading deeper thoughts increased the roll to 11- and access to the basal thoughts gave access to whatever the victim had, plus a very high personal history KS.

 

As an aside, I also dropped "uncontrolled" on the VPP, so the creature could not pick and choose memories. The Telepathy was triggered by the act of eating flesh (in my game, any flesh, so to remain human for long, such monsters *must* prey mostly on humans) and the memories and skills were absorbed in reverse order, starting with those costing most points and working down as the most important parts of the pysche were absorbed first.

 

Finally: I don't know whether it fits your schema, I also added a side effect in which consumption of deeper memories also ran a risk of adding psychological limitations belonging to the target.

 

cheers, Mark

[Bloodstone]

Re: Doppelganger (Weird Horror!)

 

Can only duplicate people whose flesh they've eaten!

Can only duplicate people whose blood they've drunk!

 

I would probably buy the Imitation adder seperatly and then only add that specific limitations to that.

 

Why?

 

Because it's easy to presume that a character that has been a Doppleganger for any length of time will have a lot more alternate forms "memorized" than a novice. Just wanting to look like somone else ends up being an arbitrary part of backstory and/or a matter of bookkeeping. "They're looking for a Caucasian male, so I'll turn myself into that cute Filipino nurse with the eye patch. Haven't used that form since '84..."

 

It's only when they need to impersonate somone specific that the limitation will really come into play.

 

As for the value, it's probably about -1 for the flesh. I'd say more, as it's a pretty big limitation, but it also strikes me as easy to get around outside of combat so long as you can restrain your opponent. And with the shape shifting taking 20 minutes, this is definitely not an in combat ability to begin with.

 

Mind you, they are both such odd circumstances that I don't know that the flesh will really be much more limiting than the blood. However, at last with the blood somone can willing let you take their form without having to suffer loss of life or limb, so that's the main reason I would assign it a lesser value.

 

Also keep in mind, loosing a liter of blood in one sitting is pretty significant. The victim will start to exhibit conditions of mild shock at that point, since they've just lost about a 5th of the blood in their body.

 

Might want to knock that down to 1/2 a liter, as that's roughly how much they take at your typical blood drive.

 

Smell duplication is imperfect (or would you buy smell, but not the smell group).

 

Perhaps only buy Normal Smell, but say that it's ineffective against opponents with Tracking or Targeting Smell?

 

Second, how would you build the second power?

 

KS: Memories of the Consumed or possibly a Skills VPP, depending on what degree knowledge they gain...

[Daemon]

Re: Doppelganger (Weird Horror!)

 

You could buy the Cellular, Imitation adder with the limitation 'Requires successful Sense DNA.'

 

Then buy 'Sense DNA- taste group, Sense, Requires appropriate DNA sample (quantity of flesh or blood, -1 ). This allows the creature a little more leverage in what it can find out by eating someone's flesh. You could buy sense adders to simulate greater ability in elder creatures, or even buy off the limitation.

 

I'm of the opinion that a Mental shape shift handles some of the issues of telepathic impersonation. For greater effect, I agree with the KS or Skills VPP.

 

One thing I also like is very limited Distinctive Features.

 

DF- Doppleganger, Not concealable, Always noticed and causes Major Reaction, Only detectable by Unusual Senses (Enhanced Smell) , Not distinctive in some cultures ( Among Dopplegangers ) - 5 pts.

[Tonio]

Re: Doppelganger (Weird Horror!)

 

You could buy the Cellular' date=' Imitation adder with the limitation 'Requires successful Sense DNA.'[/quote']

 

This would mean they could always Shapeshift, but only Imitate (down to the Cellular level) when they've consumed flesh/blood. I think what Vondy wants is for them to only be able to Shapeshift to Imitate, and only to people whose flesh/blood they've consumed. (That is, no random Shapeshifting... to Shapeshift, they need to consume flesh/blood, then they can Shapeshift, Imitating.)

[Vondy]

Re: Doppelganger (Weird Horror!)

 

This would mean they could always Shapeshift' date=' but only Imitate (down to the Cellular level) when they've consumed flesh/blood. I think what Vondy wants is for them to only be able to Shapeshift to Imitate, and only to people whose flesh/blood they've consumed. (That is, no random Shapeshifting... to Shapeshift, they need to consume flesh/blood, then they can Shapeshift, Imitating.)[/quote']

 

Correct.

[Vondy]

Re: Doppelganger (Weird Horror!)

 

Okay, guys. Thanks for your input. Your thinking was very similiar to mine on the shapeshift and you had good ideas on the memory part.

 

I made some changes to how I wanted the memory absorbption to work, however. I wanted their mimmicry to be more skill than power based, so I will be building that part with vague and unclear postcognition (and an ego roll); and then the acting, mimmicry, observation, and research skills. I also gave them killer shrikes 10 point version of cramming (linked to the postcognition).