Dopplegangers are a pain.

[Ravenall Stormborn]

Ok, starting a new campaign. I'm a doppleganger. My question is this:
Doppleganger can asumme any form medium to small humaniod. The Lycanthrope has the Humanoid Subtype in all forms, including wolf form.

Therefore, it is legal for me to change in to a werewolf in wolf form, but not a regular wolf?

Sidenote: Could you kids throw out some cool things to shapechange in to? I pretty much have hybrid form of werecreatures thusfar, and I'm looking for some fear inpsiring stuff to shift in to.

 

[Sound of Azure]

Sorry, with the errata of the Doppleganger's Change Shape ability, you can't assume the form of a creature with a template, such as a lycanthrope.

As for interesting forms, if you want waterbreathing, you can go with sea elves, or locathah. Avariel form is good or flight.

 

[Ravenall Stormborn]

Ahhhhh lame.

Thanks for the answers though.

 

[Sound of Azure]

Yeah, they're really trying to limit the power of shapechanging magic and effects over at WOTC. Of course, if you talk to your DM, he or she may allow certain animal forms.

I had lots of fun with a Doppleganger PC I played for several months. It (I played them as genderless) took Warshaper, Mindspy, and Spymaster levels. Do you have any particular plans for your PC Doppleganger?

I'll try and come up with some more suggestions for interesting forms.

 

[Ravenall Stormborn]

The general plan is one of the following
#1 start a necropolis somewhere in faerun (not likely to be what we're going to do)
#2 Carve out a little nation/city somwhere on faerun (incredibly likely)

Now the plan will most likely involve us swindling and suckering a whole lot of people, so most likely some psionic, going to the prestige class where you gain permanent thralls, and leadership from complete arcane, or the one from the expanded psionics book.

Something pretty non-combative.

 

[EP]

Don't forget the detect thoughts ability - it can be used at will as a free action and you can come up with some tricky ways to get into an opponent's head and play tricks with them pretty fast, I'd wager...

1. Walk into a room and switch on detect thoughts. If someone within your range is there and has an INT score, you'll know about it.
2. Check with your DM on his/her interpretation of "surface thoughts." If you can get that to mean you can sense their intentions just before they're about to perform them, you might be able to get an initiiative bonus or gain the Improved Initiative feat as a bonus feat when using your detect thoughts ability. You could also gain a bonus to Sense Motive or Bluff, which comes in handy to feint an opponent.
3. Using detect thoughts to pick up an image of a person very important to your opponent and shapechange into them. That should freak them out and give them a penalty to attack you, especially if you shapechange into someone dead.
4. Detect thoughts can act as a type of blindsight but better - you can detect intelligent creatures through stone or metal walls. Once again, very handy.

The detect thoughts spell (and hence, the supernatural ability of a doppleganger) leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Take advantage of it and use that if the shapechanging comes up weak for you.

 

[Storyteller01]

Take a look at this book.

http://www.goodman-games.com/3000preview.php


Warrior PrC for the shifter type (think monk damage with the ability to manifest slashing weapons, acid, etc).

A skill that allows you to utilize your detect thoughts to greater effect (dig deeper for thoughts, suddenly turn into a favored family member before they hit you, etc).

A new type of life cycle; doppelganger to mimic to doppelstadt (BIG mimics).

Rural doppelgangers; they change into animals, but not people.

New religion: a twist on 'There can be only one'. Doppels blieve that by spreading there zietgiest (ie wiping everyone else out) across the world, they will ascend. The world then starts over. The sun is the current zeitgeist, and the stars are those that failed (I think).

 

[Endur]

I'm pretty sure you can turn into a humanoid wolfman if you want. You just can't turn into a "templated" wolfman. So turn into a non-templated humanoid wolfman.

 

[Storyteller01]

Turn into a gatorman, bog trog, troll kin, lizardman, raptorian, winged elf, etc (the first three are in the Monsternomicon for IK).

Green Ronin has the drakeling (low powered half dragon, and no template to stop you).

With those abilities, terrain is not a hinderance for you.

 

[SorvahrSpahr]

hmm i'm not very familiar with the doppleganger, but can they turn into anything humanoid and medium-sized? like a lizardman?