Naming dopplegangers

[Ketjak]

Hi folks!

Dopplegangers normally adopt the moniker of whomever they're impersonating... but what do they call themselves in your campaign?

The latest Eberron article on the Lhazaar Principalities got me to thinking... and the AU mention of their being unbound (IIRC) made me realize they probably didn't call themselves by a standard racial nomenclature.

Then again, they might. What does identity mean to an individual belonging to a race capable of assuming any identity needed at will, even fictitious ones? I'm not sure I buy Goodman Games' explanation:

Names: Doppelganger names are telepathic snapshots of the doppelganger’s mental aura, and have no verbal or written equivalent. Doppelgangers adopt and discard human names as easily as they do human forms. Orphan doppelgangers will typically settle on a single name, since they cannot share their true name with their comrades; however, an orphan may still change its name on a whim.

(BTW, the Complete Guide to Dopplegangers is an excellent resource.)

Interesting idea, though, and probable if one assumes detect thoughts is a normal part of doppleganger communication. Certainly if they can trust the other doppleganger, otherwise probably resisted except in name exchanges.

My tentative (and nascent) opinion is that dopplegangers probably name themselves after their specialty. That is, they all largely infiltrate humanoid societies but there's no easy way an arcane magic user can impersonate a barbarian for long periods of time. Thus a name will be a professional tag - i.e. Politician, General, Warrior - probably with an encapsulated personal history of noteworthy impersonations. In Dopplegangerese, or whatever jibber-jabber they speak. (And you can bet for darn sure cooperative groups have a "Thieve's Cant" they speak among themselves so they can converse a little more freely.)

That last bit rambles. Sorry!

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

That's a darn cool idea. I've never used dopplegangers m'self, but still, a very cool idea.

 

[adwyn]

IMC I always treated dopplegangers as a type of living construct along the lines of a homonculus, and as such they are either given a name by their creator or referred to as so and so's changer.

The first time a doppleganger keeps a form for a long time they tend to imprint upon that persona, and it becomes a default name and identity to use.