The VR Legacy Continues

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Checked it, its in the Book of Sorrows. The article, A Kargatane Bookshelf, is a compilation of winner entries of the 1998 Kargatane contest. The entry I referred to is the The Fall of Lady Owen, by Marco A. Torres.

Oh cool, I'd missed that one! Thanks for spotting it, Igor: it gives me another handy reference to cite, in the Insanity section of the Psychology chapter.

Yes, between constant play-acting and the emotional trauma of Wakening that they go through, doppelgangers' sense of "selfhood" is pretty loose at the best of times. Even the sanest doppelganger is in sore need of therapy, by human standards; subject one to a failed Madness save or clonk it over the head, and things can get even more scrambled.

[NeoTiamat]

Oy vey.... Sorry I've been slack in delivering information, but I'm in the process of starting a PbP campaign, so that's been devouring a massive amount of time. Still, I should have the second section within a few days (I've been feeling guilty). Once the campaign starts I'll be able to get back to my old break-neck speed again. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxime Culpa.

Also, I'm the person who's doing the signature NPC, who is a rather interesting fellow, if I do say so myself, (and I do). I'll probably use him in another section somewhere (possibly the Society section if it stays open till I finish the Tactics) but I am promising nothing. (I'm not quite crazy enough to sign myself up for yet more commitments).

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Against my better judgement, I'll ante up a little for this project:

Years ago, when I was writing up Dominiani's private collection of truly unique madmen (Ward Zero) I created a dopp NPC called the Mirror who had been gaslighted by Dominiani so as to have no independent identity. His ability to read thoughts and his shapechanging had fused in such a way that he unconsciously took on the role of key people in the lives of those aroudn him, and really believed he was the person he claimed to be. Dominiani would use him to gaslight other people by having the Mirror pose as a visitor that the subject knew well.

There's also one (potentially) non-evil dopp species you might want to consider: the Su-doppleganger, a PC race from the Dragon Article "Legacy of the Suel Imperium." IMNSHO I'd love to see such a creature stuck in RL fighting against its evil kin.

If you've still got something un-assigned, let me know.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Here's an update on which topics have been claimed so far:


Introduction -- Cover-letter / Why Dopps?

Basics -- Origin theories / Physical anatomy (me & Cabby)

Standard Abilities -- Shapechanging / ESP / Glamer / Traits & Immunities / Skills (Cabby)

Individualized Abilities -- Feats / Classes / Salient abilities / Asset-appropriation / Atypical strains* (Nathan)

Habits -- Impersonation / Secretiveness / Opportunism / Conspiracy

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

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

Society -- Clans / Niches / Status-seeking / Nomads (Cabby)

Tactics -- Replacements / Infiltrations / Covert activities / Psychological warfare (NeoTiamat [& Nathan?])

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

DM Appendix -- Dopps as villains / Constructing dopp scenarios / Staging a PC's replacement / Adventure hooks (Sorti & Dominique)


*- Added at ChrisNichols' suggestion, "Atypical strains" will address other breeds of doppelgangers, e.g. greaters, ethereals, and changelings.


And some other volunteers' contributions:

Artwork (Cabby)
In-character anecdotes (Llana, CorvusCornix)


Just to clarify about the still-unclaimed topics:

"Individualized abilities" is for ways to custom-modify dopps to make them unpredictable, like other VRGs' saliant abilities, plus it'll discuss odd knacks (i.e. feats), dopps with class levels, how they use their replaced victims' assets (political, financial, social) to hamper their enemies, and other twists DMs can give them. "Habits" is for basic info on doppelgangers' way of life, what environments they turn up in, and what sorts of sneaky stuff they might be up to. It's a "hunter's eye perspective", whereas Tactics looks at things more from the dopps' point of view. "Hunting dopps" is this book's version of the stuff we see in every VRG and in VRA -- how do we figure out who's the monster, and how do we get rid of them -- but with the additional issues of coping with doppelgangers' countermeasures, and of not being able to trust one's allies.


Additional topics may also be added, if suggestions are made in time. Either way, there are still plenty of topics to go around, or if someone's already working on a favorite topic, don't hesitate to ask if they'd like to team up!


Oh, and FWIW, we've already got two or three chapters that'll contain secrets passed on by doppelganger traitors, which is the most information I think we can credibly include from such sources. (Any more, and it'd be hard to guess what's real and what's deliberate disinformation! ) Therefore, additional material should either be presented as documents that doppelgangers thought would never be seen by humans, or else as facts coming from non-doppelganger experts.

[Nathan of the FoS]

May I have "Individual Abilities" for $500, Alex?

I'd also like to contribute to Tactics and The Hunt, since I think those blend fairly well (dopp vs. human, human vs. dopp). I don't dare claim those for my own, but I'd like to take a part share, if anyone else is interested.

[Undead Cabbage]

Well, I might as well make the official say.

I'll be taking Society, Standard abilities, and will join forces with Roti for physical anatomy. The NPC I will be writing as will be one that was included in the Zherisia Gazeteer.

I'll also be doing art work. Although by all means, if someone else would like to contribute some, I'd probably kiss you...well, maybe not kiss you. I think instead a hug might be meritted...maybe even a good pat on the back...

...but yes, art work.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

May I have "Individual Abilities" for $500, Alex?

Done ... and heck, you can have it for free!

I'd also like to contribute to Tactics and The Hunt, since I think those blend fairly well (dopp vs. human, human vs. dopp). I don't dare claim those for my own, but I'd like to take a part share, if anyone else is interested.

NeoTiamat is already at work on Tactics, so you'll need to check with him about helping on that topic. Even if he's too far along at this stage, consulting with Neo is probably a good idea, so that hunters' strategies are indeed appropriate for dealing with their quarry.

If nobody else offers to help out on The Hunt, Nathan, we can always do that part together. "Rookhausen" ought to personally narrate that section anyway, so I'd probably wind up co-writing it no matter what; however, two heads are more paranoid than one, so playing "Spot-the-Dopp" is a good topic for writers to share, instead of tackle alone.

[NeoTiamat]

I'm approximately half-way through the physical writing of the Tactics section, and pretty much done with outlining.

That campaign of mine I mentioned? Crashed and Burned, so I'll be able to devote much more time to this.

If you wish, I can send you the information on what I have written so far. I am going to reserve the actual writing of the section for myself, but I'm quite willing to listen to and accept suggestions.

I am quite willing to offer advice or help to whomsoever requests it.

[norms29]

it occurs to me that all the previous Van Richten Guides have dealt with multiple monsters (All werebeasts, numorus strains of vampire, all fiends, all incorporeal undead, Liches, ghosts, and to a lesser extent mummies were each essentially unique by nature, etc)

so, is this going to include other "Doppelganger-ish" monsters? because off the top of my head there's normal Doppelgangers and seperate breed of Dread doppelgangers if memory serves, plus fetchs, I think there's two kinds of them too. I'm not sure what else we might include after that, unless someone want's to mention a wax golem (like Mr. ? from the Carnival)

I'm pretty close to having a every ravenloft book* ever on PDF (thank you DrivethroughRPG.com) so if anyone wants me to look into this, or continuity check anything, drop me a line

*Correction: every Game book, I can't stand reading novels off a computer screen, I don't know why. so I only have three of the RL Novels, none of which are relevant to this project

[Rotipher of the FoS]

I think we've got more than enough to tackle with just doppelgangers, as it stands. A sidebar making the distinction between the dopps and other monstrous "imposters" might appear in the introduction, but mostly to clarify that things such as skin-thieves and doppelganger plants have no connection to the shapechangers this book describes.

That's another reason I wanted to call this a "Research File", rather than a Guide, to be honest: it's an excuse to focus on a more limited category of creature than the original VRGs did. If we tried to write Van Richten's Guide to Imposters, and do justice to all the many, many kinds of monsters that impersonate people, we'd still be writing this netbook in time for the dopps' next Blood Rite!

[NeoTiamat]

I would also like to occasionally contribute a bit to Individual Abilities, if possible. Not writing it or anything like that, but I do have some ideas for things that could be Salient Abilities or Feats.

Shall I write up the ideas and send them to you, Nathan?

Also, I have some ideas about the Tactics section, along with an update, but I'm sending those in an email to you, Rotipher.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Hey, gang! I know that some of you have been working like crazy on your VRF:D topics, while others haven't been in contact with me for a while (if at all). If you've claimed a topic to write up but haven't e-mailed me about it in the last two weeks, please take a moment to send me a progress report, all right? Thanks!


Also, it's high time I set a deadline (eek! ) on submissions for this netbook, so we're all on the same page where time-commitments are concerned. To avoid competing for contributors' writing-time with the Nocturnal Sea Gaz and Player's Guide to Ravenloft, I'm setting it for the following month: January 14th, 2007, will be the due date for text submissions.


For those who'd like to have artwork or minor sidebars of fluff-text -- e.g. Newsbill articles, eyewitness accounts of doppelganger-sightings, etc -- to accompany their sections, and don't care to draw or write these things themselves, please submit a request to me by December 20th, and I'll try to line up someone to produce what you need. No guarantees, now ... but if I don't have sufficient advance notice, it's sure they won't get done!

[ChrisNichols]

I don't have any books with me, but I believe there was a nugget about dopplegangers impersonating Vistani in VRGtVistani. Maybe it will provide an interesting hook.

Hope this helps.

Chris Nichols

[NeoTiamat]

I sent the tactics section in, so that is done at least, along with the Signature NPC.

Speaking of which, may we have a progress report as well? What's done, what's still being worked on, what is empty, etc, etc.

Also, what with Christmas and New Years, do you think we can still meet a mid-January deadline?

[Nathan of the FoS]

I'm about 80% done with the Salient Abilities section.