Converting Monsters from Polyhedron Magazine

[freyar]

Ok, my mind is still scattered from moving and things. Do they need any other special abilities or qualities?

 

[Cleon]

Ok, my mind is still scattered from moving and things. Do they need any other special abilities or qualities?

Yes, the Uran Doppelganger is able to mimic a victim's physical abilities as well as their appearance via a touch attack.

I'd interpret that as being able to gain Str-, Dex- and Con-based skills and extraordinary class-based abilities of its mimicked victim, in addition to the normal effects of Alternate Form.

I'd probably limit the ability-mimicry to the Uran Doppelganger's HD (e.g. max level+3 skill ranks, virtual or otherwise).

 

[freyar]

Hmm, I'm not so sure about that. The original monster seems fairly similar to alternate form in a lot of ways:

The uran doppleganger has a limited shapechanging ability. When an uran assumes a form, it gains all the abilities of its new form except for those abilities dependent upon intelligence, innate magical abilities, or magical resistance. Intelligence here is interpreted to mean the character's mind and personality, not just the attribute Intelligence.

Further, an uran doppleganger retains its own hit points and hit dice, including any current wounds. It suffers any natural penalties or vulnerabilities of its new form (e.g. a goblin's penalties in sunlight). However, like its common. cousin, it always keeps its own saving throws and does not get those of its mimicked form. The uran doppleganger is limited to assuming living, humanoid forms between 4' and 8' tall. It can't become a spectre or a wolf.

Specifically, an uran that assumes the form of a player character gets that PC's THAC0 bonuses for Strength, number of attacks per round (for natural attacks only), damage and damage bonuses, AC, and attribute scores excluding Intelligence. The uran does not get any of the intelligence-dependent character class abilities, since those are based upon the experience of the character and not his physical form. Abilities dependent upon intelligence include spell casting and many other character class abilities.

For example, the uran doppleganger would not get the fighter's THAC0, nor his number of attacks per round. Unlike an animal's number of attacks per round, the fighter earns his as a result of his fighting experience. The doppleganger never gains experience points from adventuring with a party. In contrast, if the uran were to imitate the form of an annis hag, it would get that creature's three attacks per round, since those are a natural attack form of the monster.

The uran doppleganger must touch a person to imitate his abilities. Otherwise, it is only able to imitate the outer form, just like the common doppleganger. This touch usually happens when the doppleganger kills his victim.
An uran can remember the form of anyone it has previously duplicated, and recall that duplicate form at will. To gain the abilities, it must imitate clothing and equipment the character was wearing at the time of the touch. For example, it could not become a duplicate of Slivkin the Thief wearing the plate mail of Raxas the Ranger. Of course, once the doppleganger has transformed, there is nothing to prevent him from changing his clothes or equipment manually.

 

[Cleon]

Hmm, I'm not so sure about that. The original monster seems fairly similar to alternate form in a lot of ways:

Well it depends on how we interpret its "touch duplication" giving it all the target's abilities except for Int-based and magical abilities.

If we just made it standard alternate form, then the main difference between its non-touch duplication is it gains its target's physical ability scores.

I suppose that's all right, but I quite fancied it duplicating things like back-stabbing or skills, since it would make it a much more convincing imitation.

 

[freyar]

Well, it's not just Int-based, but Int-based "class abilities," which seems to cover most anything that comes from training, right? It also doesn't gain BAB or iterative attacks.

 

[Shade]

I'm perfectly satisfied with simply alternate form. For mimicking class features, etc., someone (not me) could easily develop a prestige class similar to the illithid savant to do that very thing.

 

[Cleon]

Well, it's not just Int-based, but Int-based "class abilities," which seems to cover most anything that comes from training, right? It also doesn't gain BAB or iterative attacks.

Yes, on reading the original a bit more closely I realized it didn't support copying class-based (Ex) abilities, but I did like the idea.

Oh well, might as well just make it Alternative Form then, although I'm thinking we should allow them to use their original physical ability score if they're superior.

 

[freyar]

Perhaps it can have both Alternate Form (the "touch" transformation) and Change Shape (the regular one).

 

[Cleon]

Perhaps it can have both Alternate Form (the "touch" transformation) and Change Shape (the regular one).

I thought that's what we'd decided on already.

 

[freyar]

Oh, I thought we were just doing Alternate Form. Anyway, let's just go with those 2; if it wants to keep it's (potentially) better physical abilities, it can use Change Shape.