Editing Su-Doppelganger

'''Su-Doppelgangers''', also known as '''Albino Doppelgangers''', are a species of lesser [[Doppelganger]] native to the [[Greyhawk]] setting for [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. They only appear in a single source, the article "Legacies of the [[Suel Imperium]]", in [[Dragon Magazine]] #241, from which all information stems.

Su-doppelgangers - an abbreviation of "Suloise doppelganger" - are distinguishable from their cousins by their coloration, which consists of ivory- or chalk-white skin and blue eyes. Like a true doppelganger, a su-doppelganger appears as a 6ft tall, androgynous, almost emaciatedly thin, leathery-skinned and completely hairless humanoid with no sexual organs, long fingers and toes, pointed ears that stick out from the heat at a 45 degree angle upwards, and a blankish face with a slash of a mouth and virtually no nose.

Their precise origins are a mystery, but they are believed to have been magically created from Suloise [[human]] stock by a sect of [[wizard]]-[[cleric]]s dedicated to the worship of [[Syrul]], the Oerthian god of lies, treachery and deceit. It's anyone's guess if they were created to be used as weapons against the Baklunish with whom the Suel Imperium was at war, or if they were intended to be tools to seize power from the rulers of the Suel Imperium; their constant internal strife made the Suloise as great an enemy to themselves as they were to anyone else.

Regardless of the truth, the su-doppelgangers survived the [[Rain of Colorless Fire]] and spread out across the world, using their shapeshifting abilities to facilitate their integration into various human and sometimes [[demihuman]] cultures. Unlike true doppelgangers, su-doppelgangers are not inherently murderous, nor completely averse to work; they like their comforts, but they are willing to put in effort to get what they want, and they don't usually enjoy killing - they're more or less a race of wayfaring con-artists than anything else. Su-doppelgangers interbreed with other races, but their children are always more su-doppelgangers, simply disguised as the race of the other parent. 

Compared to a true doppelganger, a su-doppelganger has  more limited abilities. Notably, they have no affinity for magical energy at all, although this may be simply one of AD&D's attempts at "balancing" the race. They do have a unique ability to not only reshape their skin to create the semblance of close-fitting clothing, but also to alter their hands into the shapes of one-handed medium-sized weapons - a useful talent for a race of assassins, one would agree. They also have a [[troll]]-like level of durability, being able to regrow severed limbs or even heads! They do possess a more limited form of the doppelganger's telepathic abilities as well.

A su-doppelganger's physical abilities increase steadily with age and experience. Their shapeshifting becomes more adept, their natural weapons more deadly, their skin toughens and they become faster-moving. A veteran su-doppelganger can become quite a force to be reckoned with if provoked into battle.

Weirdly, su-doppelgangers can not only recognize true doppelgangers on sight (and vice-versa), but they can also do the same with [[skulk]]s, fellow chameleonic descendants of the Suel Imperium. Skulks can also recognize them on sight as well.

=PC Stats=
::Ability Score Minimum/Maximum: Strength 3/18, Dexterity 3/18, Constitution 3/18, Intelligence 6/18, Wisdom 3/18, Charisma 3/18
::Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Intelligence
::Racial Class: Su-doppelgangers can only take levels in the "Su-Doppelganger" class, which only reaches 8th level.
::Special Advantages:
:::Limited ESP: A su-doppelganger can use ESP at will, but only on one target at a time, and can only scan a creature within 30 feet. When attempting to retrieve a critical bit of information during a crisis situation, the target of su-doppelganger's ESP can attempt to prevent this fact being plucked from their mind by succeeding on a save vs. spells, or using magic that specifically blocks telepathy, ESP and scrying.
:::Malleable Anatomy: A su-doppelganger is not slain if its head or limb is cut off, but the drain this inflicts on their body to replace the missing body part means that the su-doppelganger cannot gain experience points or advance in levels again until it receives a Regenerate spell (and simply putting on a Ring of Regeneration won't suffice).
:::Heightened Durability: A su-doppelganger gains a +4 bonus to all saving throws.
:::Unsleeping: A su-doppelganger is immune to Sleep spells, and whilst it must rest, it remains fully alert and can continue scanning its surroundings with its ESP.
:::Charm-Proof: A su-doppelganger is immune to Charm spells.
:::Heightened Skillset: A su-doppelganger starts play with 6 languages (Common plus 5 other human/demihuman/humanoid of its choice) and 4 nonweapon proficiencies. It gains a new language at every every-numbered level it attains and a new nonweapon proficiency at every odd level above the 1st.
:::Borrow Proficiency: By using its ESP to read the mind of somebody, a su-doppelganger can imitate one of their nonweapon proficiencies with a -2 penalty as long as it focuses its ESP on that person.
::Special Disadvantages:
:::Bio-Weapon Affinity: A su-doppelganger cannot learn to wield artificial weapons; for melee attacks, it relies on its own reshaped hands, and it can only make 1 attack per round with them. For missile attacks, it can pick up a ranged or throwing weapon, and use these to their full potential, but it suffers a -2 penalty to its to-hit rolls.
:::Magical Vulnerabilities: A su-doppelganger is vulnerable to Hold Person spells, and its true species can be identified with a True Seeing spell.
:::Humanoid Forms Only: A su-doppelganger cannot create functional unusual appendages, such as wings or gills. At the DM's discretion, it may be able to make physical transformations that can grant minor game effects.

==Su-Doppelganger "Class"==
The su-doppelganger racial class uses the Experience Table, [[THAC0]] and saving throw table for a [[Fighter]]. They can reach 8th level in this "class", and they cannot take any other class. Their level in this class determines their Armor Class, their Movement Value, the Damage value of their natural weapons, the Size Range (in inches) they can assume for their forms, and the Accuracy with which they can imitate a specific being.

A su-doppelganger use a d10 for its Hit Dice, and has 1 Hit Dice per level.

A su-doppelganger can store a "library" of specific forms it can imitate in its memory. The total number of forms it can memorize at any one time is equal to its [[Intelligence]] score; if it learns an additional form, than the oldest of its memorized identities is forgotten to make room.

::Level: AC: MV: DMG: Size Range: Accuracy
::1: 8, 12, 1d6, 66-78, 80%
::2: 7, 12, 1d8, 60-84, 84%
::3: 6, 13, 1d10, 54-90, 88%
::4: 5, 13, 1d12, 48-96, 92%
::5: 4, 14, 2d6, 48-96, 94%
::6: 3, 14, 3d4, 42-102, 96%
::7: 2, 15, 2d8, 42-102, 98%
::8: 1, 15, 4d4, 36-108, 99%

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category: Dungeons & Dragons Races]] [[Category: Greyhawk]]