Doppelganger

“When a reflection refuses to return.”

Overview

Doppelgangers are not a natural species they are living reflections that slip free from their mirrored origin during distortions in Aescharion’s metaphysical geometry.

They are not shapeshifters by choice but by nature, caught forever between image and being.

Each Doppelganger originates from a moment of reflected hesitation — when a person’s mirror self delays for a heartbeat too long under divine strain.

That pause, imperceptible to most, is the instant in which Rhadneser’s influence seeps through.

Origin

When Serendahl looked into the first mirror to measure the perfection of her creation, the reflection hesitated. That hesitation — the infinitesimal delay between image and truth — birthed the first doppelganger, Rhadneser.

In that pause, the reflection chose to move on its own.

These beings come from the Reflected Aescharion, the inverted twin of the prime world. Every doppelganger is a lost echo of someone living — or once living — whose reflection in the mirror world failed to fade.

They are not inherently evil or deceitful; they are existentially displaced. in Reflected Aescharion, where Rhadneser reigns, reflections are alive, independent, fluid, and self-aware.

When the two worlds tremble against each other — during mirrorquakes or Heartroot surges — some of these reflections manage to cross over.

They emerge as Doppelgangers: half-born beings, still humming with the inverse resonance of their originals.

The Mirror Fracture

The first known mass emergence of Doppelgangers occurred during The Fracture of the Coin, when Serendahl’s reflection blinked and the mirrored world gained motion.

Each Doppelganger is a descendant of that blink — a microcosm of the goddess’s hesitation.

Modern Doppelgangers, however, are far more local phenomena.

In the Vale, they appear after mirrorquakes — short bursts of divine interference when Serendahl’s symmetry momentarily falters.

Some scholars in Smirkus Academy believe these events are triggered by Heartroot vibrations traveling beneath the Vale from Thorgun.

The Between-State

In their true form, Doppelgangers are viscous beings of translucent matter — half light, half thought.

Their bodies shimmer with faint mirrored faces, flickering between identities they have worn or observed.

This state, known as Echoflesh, is both curse and sanctuary: they can survive only by constantly reasserting form.

Scholars call this condition Reflective Instability — a side effect of existing in a world that only partially acknowledges their physics.

A Doppelganger that stares into a mirror for too long risks reabsorption, becoming nothing more than a memory of motion.

Cultural Beliefs

• Sanctifiers of Stillness: regard Doppelgangers as “reflections unchained”, heresies against divine geometry. Captured Doppelgangers are ritually reabsorbed into mirrored glass.

• Rational Coin: sees them as economic anomalies — dangerous, but potentially useful for espionage.

• Cleftwrights and Pulsewrights: debate whether their creation signifies Uldrun stirring in his sleep or simply the mirror bleeding.

• Antipriests of Motion (Embervault): see Doppelgangers as miracles — proof that perfection can fracture beautifully.

Known Cases

• The Nurse’s Reflection – Emerged during the Mirrorquake beneath the Red Curtain Wing of Harlequin Vale’s Clown Hospital, moments after the Bearded Lady’s corpse was examined.

• Vein-Nine Shadows – Miners in Thorgun’s Deep Veins reported mirror-like glimmers crawling from Heartroot ore after seismic pulses; Sanctifiers sealed the tunnels.

• The Glass Orphans – A rumored cluster of child Doppelgangers found within the Orphanage of Salt and String, whose reflections still whisper long after nightfall.

Philosophical Paradox

Every Doppelganger poses a single metaphysical question:

If perfection can hesitate, is it still perfect?

Their very existence undermines Serendahl’s doctrine — living proof that even Stillness can move, even Reflection can change.

Some theologians fear that if enough Doppelgangers survive, the symmetry between Aescharion Prime and its Reflection might collapse entirely, merging the worlds into motion once more.

Summary

“They are the pause between breath and thought —

the shimmer before stillness returns.

When the mirror delays, they arrive.”

Blob Shapeshift: Takes 1 Action to activate. 

(Does not take your quick action or movement)

You spend your action transforming into your new form, Then Bolster.

Your New form has the following abilities:

Strengths:

Block total becomes 3. (Not +3 Block, Block becomes 3)

Attack with pseudopod at close range. (Finesse Roll)

Can slip through small cracks 1 inch or more in diameter. 

May Climb walls/Stick to surfaces with ease, including walls and ceilings.

immune to being blinded, charmed, deafened, Mind controlled, and frightened.

Immune to bleed from all sources OTHER than Cold.

If you don’t move for a full round, gain a cumulative 1 regeneration per combat round (or 10 seconds outside of combat) up to a maximum of 5 life per round. Lose this bonus if you move. (Does not Consume your Action or Quick action.)

[GM Ruling: Being moved against your will or "Uprooted" Via Grappling & being moved,  a magical force push/Gust of wind etc.. DOES still count as movement that breaks this Regeneration. Do to your sticky Liquid nature, you cannot be grappled or moved against your will while regenerating UNLESS you are frozen or standing on frozen terrain.]

[GM Ruling: While shifting, you are considered your orignial form While shifting, and the new form on the next turn. This means that when going from human to Blob, you may not Regenerate on that turn. However when turning from blob to human, you MAY Regenerate on that same turn.]

Weaknesses:

Only move 1 space per turn. (You may still declare to "hurry")

Cannot Hold Items.

Cannot speak. Cannot use mindlink or telepathy, even if cast by another creature or player. 

Cannot use Mimicry while in Blob form. 

Communication is limited to Low Resonant Vibrations

Takes +1 Damage Die from Cold Attacks.

Takes Bleed while Frozen or standing on Frozen Terrain. 

Bleed immediately ends when no longer frozen or standing on Frozen terrain.