Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

Doppelgangers have been in D&D forever, in one form or another. As is common with 4e, they’re a little different here than they were in older editions. This time, however, it’s 3.5’s fault. They’re in both the Monster Manual and the Vault.

The Lore

4e Doppelgangers are essentially Eberron’s Changelings given a more generic treatment. In earlier editions changelings were people who descended from a “real” doppelganger, but here the two words mean the same thing. I don’t think anything of value has been lost with the change - the defining trait of a doppelganger in any edition is its ability to change shape, and that has been retained.

Much like humans, doppelgangers are people who can have any disposition and alignment imaginable. They don’t have any kingdoms or settlements of their own, and tend to live in those of other races, usually in disguise. I suspect most of them really do want to live peaceful lives, and maybe have a private space where they can drop the disguises and relax a bit.

When they turn to riskier pursuits, though, their abilities make excellent at infiltration, spying, and all sorts of other underhanded activities. That’s great when they’re on your side, and terrible when they’re on the enemy’s.

About 90% of the lore entry for the Monster Vault then goes on to describe the terrible things an infiltrated doppelganger cell can do. They can live undercover for years if necessary! They can disable a city’s defenses from the inside! Kill and impersonate anyone! Your whole family could have been replaced by doppelgangers and you’d have no way to tell! Fear! Uncertainty! Doubt! Despite the assertion that doppelgangers can be of any alignment the tone here assumes none of them are ever up to any good.

I’m guessing the peaceful folks have a really hard time with prejudice from “righteous citizens” who think they’re all evil infiltrators.

As you’d expect, the Eberron setting treats them a lot better, and makes them valid PC choices.

The Numbers

Doppelgangers are Medium Natural Humanoids (shapechangers). They have a base speed of 6, and their signature ability is Change Shape. This minor action lets them take the form of any Medium humanoid. It can be used at will, and they can hold any given form indefinitely, though the disguise drops automatically if they hit 0 HP.

It’s possible to copy specific individuals. Discovering the ruse requires an Insight check on the part of the observer. According to the MM, this is opposed by the doppelganger’s Bluff with a +20 bonus; the MV gives fixed DCs for each stat block that are somewhat lower than that, though still quite hard.

Any additional abilities doppelgangers have aside from changing shape are the product of training, same as with humans. Technically this means they could be paladins and wizards and so on, but all the stat blocks we get here are for the stereotypical rogue-types.

The Doppelganger Sneak is a Level 3 Skirmisher with 45 HP, present in both books. It attacks with a short sword for level-appropriate damage, has a rogue-like sneak attack ability, and can use a Shapeshifter Feint as an at-will minor action that targets Will to gain combat advantage against someone for a turn if they don’t have it from other sources. It’s Unaligned, and the Insight DC for its Change Shape is 30 in the Vault.

The Doppelganger Assassin is a Level 8 Lurker with 69 HP, present only in the MM. It uses a dagger as a weapon, deals more sneak attack damage than the sneak, and can use Shapeshifter Feint. It has one additional ability in Cloud Mind. This encounter power targets the will of everyone in a Close Burst 5. The assassin becomes invisible to anyone it hits with this attack. It lasts for as long as the assassin sustains it (which requires a minor action on its turn), and drops if it either attacks or is hit by an attack. This one is Evil because it’s an assassin, not because it’s a doppelganger. Since it shares a lot of abilities with the sneak and Cloud Mind is more of an escape hatch than an attack power, it should really be a skirmisher.

The Doppelganger Infiltrator is a Level 11 Lurker with 90 HP present only in the MV. In addition to the Change Shape ability shared by all doppelgangers, it also has an improved version called Perfect Replica. This is a standard action that targets an adjacent Medium creature and hits automatically. The doppelganger copies the target’s appearance (including gear!) and immobilizes it for a turn. If the infiltrator attacks the target with its dagger while it’s so immobilized, it deals an extra 6d8 damage, which is considerable given its basic dagger damage is 2d4+6.

If someone attacks the doppelganger whie it’s affecting someone with Perfect Replica, it can use an opportunity action to automatically swap places with the victim so that the attack targets them instead. It’s the classic “who is the real one?” scenario, but no matter who you choose, you’ll choose wrong. The Insight DC for its Change Shape ability is 32.

Finally we have the Doppelganger Master Assassin, a Level 19 Lurker with 142 HP present only in the MV. This seems to be a properly lurker-ish version of the Assassin we already saw. It also uses a dagger to fight, and has a special Assassin’s Strike that does a whole pile of necrotic damage on top of the usual dagger damage, recharging when the master assassin uses Vanish. Vanish, in turn, is a standard action that makes the doppelganger invisible for a turn and allows it to shift its speed.

As a passive trait, the master assassin has Blend In: it can make Stealth checks to become hidden as long as it’s adjacent to at least one other creature. It remains hidden even if it doesn’t have cover or concealment, which is significant since stealth rules had become a lot more strict by the time the MV came out. This is perfect for disappearing in the midst of a crowd, or again for re-enacting the “who’s the real one?” scenario when the adjacent creature is a PC. Only this time you can choose the right one if you have enough Insight. I guess the assassin spent more time training to stab people than honing their shapeshifting like the infiltrator. This assassin is Unaligned, and their Insight DC is 38.

The sample encounter in the MM is level 3: a sneak, 3 human guards, and a human mage. Looks like this sneak just wants to live out a regular life as a member of the city watch. It’s likely its buddies don’t even know it’s a doppelganger.

Final Impressions

I like Eberron changelings so much I wrote them up for GURPS. They work well as a PC race! As possible opposition these stat blocks work well. If some villain is going to hire assassins to go after a late-paragon party, those assassins are probably going to be doppelgangers or the equivalent.