Over-Category: Biophage
Kingdom: Glitch
Beings that are biophages are those who eat and survive by the consumption of other living and materials or various nutrients that reside in the earth or native terrain. Glitches are utterly alien beings. Many of them have innate magical abilities drawn from the creature's alien mind rather than the mystical forces of the world. However, they eat, sleep, and breathe.

Doppelgänger 

Doppelgängers are infamous for their shapeshifting abilities. These creatures clearly have the morph trait. In their unmorphed form, doppelgängers appear as tall, gaunt, gray-skinned humanoids, whose thin hairless bodies make them appear, to human eyes, sexless. Their heads are bulbous, with formless faces and bulging eyes that are a pale-yellow hue and lack visible pupils. This form gives the impression they are physically weak, but that should definitely not be assumed. Doppelgängers can assume the shapes of any medium-sized bipedal creatures from 42 inches to 7 feet and from 75 to 275 pounds. Further, the doppelgänger can duplicate clothing and equipment; however, duplicated armor and weapons are not truly iron or other material but rather part of the creature’s body with only the appearance. Obviously, a morphed dagger cannot be handed to another being. That said, real weapons can be employed at the skill level of the doppelgänger using it. Skills can be learned by the creature. However, if using the form-morphed “cosmetic” weapon, then it would strike as a savage attack like the creature’s unmorphed form. One powerful ability of the morph trait is that a doppelgänger has no need of a wardrobe, as it can change the appearance of clothing with a single action. Further, this attire adjustment is not part of the daily change limitations nor does it hamper the sustainability of one’s form. Again, adding the appearance of wearing furs does not actually protect the creature from cold. Its range of temperature extremes is the same as humans. Obviously, a long-term solution for a doppelgänger is to acquire and use real weapons, armor and even occasionally clothing. That said, the biofield of the doppelgänger is highly adaptive, making it nearly impossible, short of true sight, to identify the being as anything but what it appears to be. Clearly this offers a doppelgänger a lot of social deception and confusion. Doppelgängers have a reputation for stalking, killing or disposing of persons then assuming their place. There are those of this species who do that, but most of society would be shocked to learn how many doppelgängers are experiencing mundane lives among other members of society. The reputation of the creature exists because that is often what is discovered and those who live that lifestyle have become mentally unstable through a lost of identity, which creates psychosis. The morphing of a doppelgänger is not limitless. One can take on a new form once per day for up to two hours at a time. However, doppelgängers seek to establish personage. This does not mean to be famous, important or conspicuous, but in their native form, doppelgängers lack identity. Not assuming a façade, one can lose its sanity. To accomplish this goal, sometimes small groups of doppelgängers work together to have a common history of co-workers, family members, traveling companions and the like. Others work solo. Whatever the method, the goal is the same – to establish a presence of the anima. To become an established entity, the doppelgänger first chooses the type of being it wants to become: gender, society role and status, skills, abilities, temperament, ideology and even ethics. To accomplish this, the creature can wander through a society to feel its psychometry and collective unconscious. Many believe that this species can read minds and detect the thoughts of others. This is partially true, but not in the way typically considered. This is a trait that only exists during the genesis phase of becoming an individual existence. The history and memories of time are etched into people and structures that are consistent items of a culture. Thus, if a doppelgänger wanted to have its new persona to be a musician, the creature might spend several days in a music hall and theatre. Through the gleaning of the experiences that happened there, these parts would start to form the psyche of the creature the doppelgänger is becoming. It is possible that the formless version might follow a person or two, absorbing the character from them. This process requires from three days to up to two weeks. The longer it takes, the more details that are defined; however, it also means the new essence will have very complementary skills and identity; that life will be very specialized. A more diverse being can exist by finalizing the existence in a shorter amount of time; however, this version will not have as many skills or well-defined details. Further, as this new identity forms, the memories of previous life before more difficult to remember. Skills may be lost as well. While the lifespan of a doppelgänger seems to be unknown, their brains can hold only around two decades of previous memories. Important parts of past lives may remain, but most details become lost. It is important to understand that this quintessence will be tied to those people or places in a meta-physical way. Should the buildings be destroyed, perhaps burned down, or those people die, the ease of maintaining the form of this being becomes more difficult. Even should those linked items of identity endure, there is an expiration date for the doppelgänger’s personality. On average this is four to ten years, but it might last up to three decades in extreme cases. However, if those things tied to the doppelgänger are lost, then maintaining the identity will completely collapse within three to six months with episodes of instability along the way. Part of maintaining this morphed form and nous is the doppelgänger’s diet. While one eats the foods that naturally support its morphed body, the species also consumes around an ounce of quicksilver weekly (an extra 8 bits in monthly lifestyle expenses). Often this is hidden by blending into a sauce or spice. The method is not important; however, increased consumption of quicksilver can extend that time when the connection has been lost. By consuming an ounce each day, a dilapidated identity might be able to be maintained for up to a year after the loss of connection. Of course, a doppelgänger is primary a shape-shifter, meaning even after becoming an existence, morphing to other things is still possible. Even still, once per day and maintaining for up to two hours, a doppelgänger can take on a different form. However, the risk of performing this regularly is that it weakens the bond of the creature’s current persona. The more often one morphs, the sooner the identity will crumple.

Notes:	Morph Can Acquire Skills from Person or Society
Body:	15 ( STR:4, AGIL:3, RESIL:3 )
Mind:	13 ( LOGIC:3, PERC:3, JUDG:3 )
Spirit:	12 ( WILL:3, FAITH:2, MUSE:3 )
Movement:	50 feet
Size Category:	Medium
Armor Class:	10
— ATTACK METHOD —
Attack:	Claws
Number of d20s:	2
To-Hit Modifier:	+4
Damage Type:	cleaver
Damage:	2 to 3 pts
— ATTACK METHOD —
Attack:	Acquired Skill
Number of d20s:	5
To-Hit Modifier:	+4
Damage Type:	edged
Damage:	2 to 6 pts

Skills

Savage Fighting