Ethereal Doppelganger

Ethereal doppelgangers live on the Ethereal Plane, in buildings that serve as combination showrooms, vaults, prisons, and shops. Ethereal doppelgangers are fond of magic items, and they frequently visit the Material Plane to acquire new ones for their collections. During their stays there, they usually disguise themselves as members of some other race. An ethereal doppelganger often interacts with or joins an adventuring party that it believes can lead it to, or near, a magic item it desires.

In its natural form, an ethereal doppelganger appears as a gangly humanoid with slick skin and white eyes that have no pupils. While traveling on the Material Plane, it usually takes the form of an attractive member of the same race as the group it has joined.

An ethereal doppelganger speaks Common, Infernal, and at least one elemental language (Auran, Aquan, Ignan, or Terran).

Combat

When it plans an extended stay on the Material Plane, an ethereal doppelganger uses its brain lock ability to render a chosen subject helpless, then takes that creature back to its floating home on the Ethereal Plane. In its sanctum, the doppelganger makes the subject comfortable and offers a deal. If the subject allows the doppelganger to assume his or her identity and acquire the desired item, the doppelganger will ensure the subject’s comfort in the interim and return him or her unharmed to any desired location on the Material Plane afterward. If the subject refuses, the doppelganger wipes any memory of itself from the subject’s mind, returns the creature to the Material Plane, and tries again with a new subject. Should the subject agree to the deal and then attempt to escape, the doppelganger sells him or her into extraplanar slavery. But if the subject accepts the agreement and complies with its terms, the doppelganger is as good as its word.

Assume Identity (Su): An ethereal doppelganger can absorb another creature’s mind, memories, and personality. This process requires 1 hour of unbroken physical contact per level or Hit Die of the subject. The target may attempt a Will save (DC 22); if that is successful, the process is negated and the ethereal doppelganger must begin again. A willing creature can choose to waive the saving throw.

After consuming the target creature’s identity, the ethereal doppelganger can assume its form with 100% accuracy. The doppelganger possesses the other creature’s memories, plus its alignment and all of its abilities, except for cleric spells of 2nd level or higher, a paladin’s special abilities, and other powers granted by deities. (This does not deprive the subject of those memories or abilities; it only duplicates them in the ethereal doppelganger.) The doppelganger retains its own damage resistance, darkvision, fast healing, and spell resistance in its new form.

If an ethereal doppelganger commits an act that runs counter to its new identity’s alignment, it is immediately forced back into its natural form for 1d10 rounds. It still retains the basic memories of the assumed identity, though not the deeper memories. If the subject dies before the contract is complete, the ethereal doppelganger immediately reverts to its natural form and loses all of that subject’s memories and abilities.

Brain Lock (Su): As a standard action, an ethereal doppelganger can lock away the higher mind of an opponent up to 300 feet away, provided both are on the same plane and the doppelganger has line of sight to its subject. A successful Will save (DC 22) negates the attempt; failure leaves the subject mentally paralyzed. A brain-locked creature is not stunned, so attackers get no special advantage against it. Furthermore, it can still defend itself against attacks (its Dexterity bonus to AC, if any, still applies), but it cannot move or initiate any actions. A brain lock can negate various forms of special movement and cause harm to the creature thereby. For example, a brain-locked flying creature falls because it cannot flap its wings, and a brain-locked swimming creature may drown because it can no longer move its limbs. The effect lasts 20 rounds, but it can be dismissed earlier.

Mind Wipe (Su): With any successful melee touch attack, an ethereal doppelganger can wipe all memory of its existence from an opponent’s mind (no saving throw).

Plane Shift (Sp): An ethereal doppelganger can use plane shift (caster level 20th; Will save DC 17) at will.

Source: Monster Manual II, page 94. This creature’s statistics block has been updated to version 3.5 as given in the D&D® V.3.5 Accessory Update for Monster Manual II. Fast healing under Special Qualities reduced from 8 to 3 to match the descriptive text as per Errata Rule: Primary Sources.