The VR Legacy Continues

Discussing all things Ravenloft
User avatar
Rotipher of the FoS
Thieving Crow
Thieving Crow
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:18 pm

The VR Legacy Continues

Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Cover-letter excerpt from a parcel mailed from Paridon to Mordentshire, 760 BC:

Imagine “her” now, Miladies, leaning closer to read along with you. Picture the face that, until this moment, you twins alone had shared; picture it stolen – usurped – by one whose hidden nature is far from sisterly, but exploitative, opportunistic, contemptuous. Feel its protean ambiguity, its alien inhumanity, its insinuative evil … evil, not because it is alien or inhuman, but because it fully understands human principles and obligations and morality – knows them by direct experience, for it heeded them in youth and feigns to honor them in its present guise as one of us – yet it simply does not care.

Imagine it drawing nearer, reading these words in perfect, reflection-like synchrony with yourselves … and reading
your very thoughts, unsettled by these words, as well.

Imagine its
laughter.

And pray that we might use this information to silence its mockery.


*****

“VRS Research Files: Doppelgangers”

Van Richten’s legacy of in-the-field investigation continues this winter

Suggestions, contributions, and/or adventure-hooks will be welcomed and appreciated. :D
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
User avatar
Undead Cabbage
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 623
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 7:39 pm
Location: In one of Neil Gaiman's books, or at least I wish I was.
Contact:

Post by Undead Cabbage »

:shock:

...[Xykon]I think I just had an Evilgasm[/Xykon]
User avatar
NeoTiamat
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 4119
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Post by NeoTiamat »

(OotS forever!)

So is this going to be along the lines of the Domain of the Month thing, or are we aiming for something more like an actual VRG, kind of like we have the Gazeteers?
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
User avatar
Rotipher of the FoS
Thieving Crow
Thieving Crow
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:18 pm

Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

It's a netbook-based continuation of the VRG series. :D

At first, I'd initially proposed it as a web-enhancement to the Zherisia Survey: short, quick, and compiled by the Zherisian FoS cell rather than VR's successors. But between the sheer number of subtopics I figured it ought to address, the juicy opportunity to delve into identity-issues in horror gaming, and my own inability to write less than 10 pages on anything, a full-fledged netbook now seems like the way to go. :wink:

As this is the first FoS netbook of its type, it's very open-ended just how it'll look, and how closely it'll follow the existing VRGs' example. One thing I can tell you for sure, though, is that the twins are the recipients of the doppelganger information, rather than its compilers. Just as 'S' doesn't narrate the FoS-site's Gaz projects, Laurie and Gennifer will be kept off-stage for the VRF:D, though the author will certain address them in the text like VRA's topic-writers often do.
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
User avatar
NeoTiamat
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 4119
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Post by NeoTiamat »

I like. While I'm all but swimming in stuff to write at the moment (I have a campaign I'm trying to do, a secret netbook I'm writing, and my slovenly additions to the Slavic Monsters Netbook I am also writing), I suspect I may still find time to help out.

Could you post just what topics exactly do you think need be addressed, and also what has already been written?

Details, Details!
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
User avatar
Rotipher of the FoS
Thieving Crow
Thieving Crow
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:18 pm

Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Here's the (rough) topic outline I came up with, to try to do justice to the VRG 'tradition' while addressing those issues unique to doppelgangers. Topics written in italics are things I've either finished, mostly finished, or would prefer to handle myself:

Introduction -- Cover-letter / Why Dopps?

Basics -- Origin theories / Physical anatomy


Standard Abilities -- Shapechanging / ESP / Traits & Immunities / Skills

Individualized Abilities -- Feats / Classes / Salient abilities / Asset-appropriation

Habits -- Impersonation / Secretiveness / Opportunism / Conspiracy

Psychology -- Self-identity / Stolen identities / Gender / Worldview / Insanity

Lifecycle -- Breeding / Childhood / "Wakening"
/ Elders

Society -- Clans / Niches / Status-seeking / Nomads

Tactics -- Replacements / Infiltrations / Covert activities / Psychological warfare

Hunting dopps -- Preparation / Identifying dopps / Countering infiltration / The hunt / Tools & weapons / Aftermath / Post-hunt precautions

DM Appendix -- Dopps as villains / Constructing dopp scenarios / Staging a PC's replacement / Adventure hooks



Pretty scary list, eh? :shock:

Seriously, most of the subtopics wouldn't fill a page, and some will require only a paragraph, but it's still a pretty hefty job. In addition to what's listed above, there'll need to be sidebars for game-stats (not that many, as combat isn't these baddies' thing; if a doppelganger actually finds itself in melee, it's because it screwed up! :wink: ), short in-character anecdotes of "doppelganger sightings" (I've already had some volunteers for this :D ), and artwork (which'll have to be by someone else, since I can't draw worth a darn :roll:).

If one of the topics listed above catches your eye, by all means, let me know about it!
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
User avatar
NeoTiamat
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 4119
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Post by NeoTiamat »

I would like to do a few of the Tactics sections, but I probably won't be able to pay any serious attention to this until thanksgiving.

If that's not to late, then I think I'll just appropriate the entire chapter.

Could you elaborate a bit on what you see the subheadings in the tactics section as being? Replacements and Infiltrations seem to be fairly similar, unless I miss my guess. And both of those would go under the auspices of covert activities.
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
User avatar
Rotipher of the FoS
Thieving Crow
Thieving Crow
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:18 pm

Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Hey, if you're willing to do the "Tactics" chapter yourself, be my guest! It actually might work better that way: you could make up an NPC of your own -- an expert on doppelgangers, who'd told the VRF's narrator all about the strategies they employ -- and then write in-character as that person. :D

Basically, "Replacement" is simply how doppelgangers make a living: find someone, learn about them, kill them, pose as them. It's where you would describe their standard M.O. for replacing a person, and what they look for when they choose a target. Often, just one doppelganger will do this by itself; other times, a small group will replace a family, a party of adventurers, etc.

"Infiltration" is what I call it (just me BTW, feel free to swap these terms for something better if you like) when a group of doppelgangers set out to replace a specific faction of people, as a means of achieving a larger objective. This is what the dopps in Paridon have done to the police force and government: not just assumed peoples' identities so they can live comfortably, but taken over a powerful institution so they can direct its activities from within. Often, this requires lower-ranked doppelgangers to assume roles that are pretty humble and demeaning (i.e. servants and toadies), the better to facilitate their superiors' access to victims of influence; getting stuck with such scut-work, in fact, is a big reason why Sodo'd wanted to take over his clan in the first place!

"Covert activities" is a catch-all for the nasty things that doppelgangers get up to -- extortion, sabotage, framing people they need out of the way, etc -- that don't actually require usurping an existing person's life. Between their disguise abilities (great for anonymous spying) and their mind-reading, doppelgangers are able to uncover so much dirty laundry on the people around them that they may not need to replace you to manipulate you: what works for human blackmailers and so forth works for them too. Discrediting people who threaten them or the power their human cover-identities possess (e.g. by convincing others that their human business rivals are doppelgangers! :twisted: ) would also fall into this category.

As for "Psychological warfare", it's pretty self-explanatory. Compared to other monsters from the VRGs, doppelgangers aren't especially powerful; it's their ability to undermine group cohesion and morale which provides their real scare-factor. They know that their best weapon is sowing doubt and suspicion among their enemies, so they do everything they can to set their foes at each others' throats, and render them unsure of their allies' identities, their own identities, or even (via "gaslighting", a ploy tailor-made for dopps :twisted: ) the very foundations of reality.
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
User avatar
NeoTiamat
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 4119
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Post by NeoTiamat »

Allright, I'll do just that, but as I said, it'll be a while before I can turn full attention to it. (Having said that, I'll probably end up being able to think of nothing else and finally giving in and writing twenty pages of text just to get it out of my head. That happens to me alot.)

Hmmm...anyone remember that lovely Hag from the VRG to Witches? Semine? I'd actually been toying around with a Doppleganger villain recently. Basically take one, give him some more depth, some class levels perhaps, and let him loose on the core. Didn't do it because it didn't fit anywhere. Still, the idea of a Doppleganger corresponding with the Twins is far from absurd. Both the VRGs to Werewolves and Vampires feature interviews with the target creatures, and the VRG to Witches has a hag as the main source of info. Furthermore, if any creature could correspond with known monster hunters with a problem, its a Doppleganger.

Okay, I now have an idea, and will write it up sometime soon. Hmmmmmmm......
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
User avatar
Rotipher of the FoS
Thieving Crow
Thieving Crow
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:18 pm

Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Actually, the "interview with a fill-in-the-blank" approach is something I'd thought this book might avoid, as doppelgangers are more secretive than those creatures that spoke openly with Van Richten or the twins. They also have more reason to be scared of hunters, not being as magical or powerful as other monsters the VRGs have described: camouflage is their one trick, so willingly foregoing it in the presence of an avowed monster-hunter would be extremely daring of them.

Now, you could certainly have your doppelganger NPC talk about its kind in the role of a human doppelganger-"expert", in order to pass on skewed information.... :twisted:
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
User avatar
NeoTiamat
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 4119
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Post by NeoTiamat »

Aw...and I already had a nice outcast set up and was halfway through my first page (in my mind at least).

Hmm. I'll need to think on this some more then. I may just send you a copy of my initial plan, and if you still think we should stay away from that, I'll scrap it.
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
User avatar
Rotipher of the FoS
Thieving Crow
Thieving Crow
Posts: 4683
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:18 pm

Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Hey, I don't want to shoot down an idea unseen (that might be way better than mine :wink: ), so by all means, pass it along! But we should talk about this further via pm, so we don't spoil the surprise for others who will want to read the finished book, OK?
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
User avatar
NeoTiamat
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 4119
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:00 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Post by NeoTiamat »

Yes Ma'am.

Come now, there must be some people other then me willing to contribute. Come on folks!
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show
Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24
Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
User avatar
Undead Cabbage
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 623
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 7:39 pm
Location: In one of Neil Gaiman's books, or at least I wish I was.
Contact:

Post by Undead Cabbage »

Over the next couple of days I'm 'testing the water' a bit in my schedule to see if I can contribute. Still deciding where I'd be interested in working.

Roti, should I post the stuff made on the Dopplers for the Zherisia gaz to give some heading? We already covered some aspects in Heirarchy, Niches, Physiology, and a few Salient Powers. What's made it in the final stamp?

Also, any chance I could write in the perspective of a certain *cough* 'hidden' NPC from the Zherisia Gaz? He'd certainly have quite a bit to say about the Dopplers.
User avatar
CorvusCornix
Agent of the Fraternity
Agent of the Fraternity
Posts: 74
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 4:32 am
Location: Hamburg, Germany

Post by CorvusCornix »

NeoTiamat wrote: Come now, there must be some people other then me willing to contribute. Come on folks!
Don't worry, you're not alone, I already signed up for some of the "in-character anecdotes" Roti spoke of. I'll take care of them first before picking more topics.
Post Reply