#shapeshifter week

Not all shapeshifters are perfect when they adopt a new form. Sometimes they leave some sort of telling flaw that will give themselves away, but it is usually minor and can either be hidden by the shifter or overlooked by those it's trying to deceive.

Using flaws gives shapechangers a bit of distinction or even personality from one to the other.

Physical Flaws

The form the shapechanger takes is imperfect. The nature of the shapeshifted form is revealed by one of the following flaws chosen at random (roll 1d20):

The form's eyes are an unusual shape or color.

The shapeshifter has an extra digit on one hand, reflected on the forms it takes.

Their skin has a slightly different shade or color.

The form has a bald spot hidden by their hairstyle or headwear.

The shapeshifter has a birthmark that appears on all forms it takes.

The form is missing a tattoo or piercing from the base creature.

The shapechanger messes up ears, which appear to be from a different species whenever it takes a form.

The shapeshifter has a tail that it tucks into its clothing whenever it takes a new form.

The form has sharper teeth than normal.

The form has an extra eye somewhere on their body.

The shapechanger finds it tiresome to change their entire body and opts to leave areas covered by clothing in its true form.

The form emits a strange odor at all times.

The shapeshifter doesn't know how to use vocal chords so it never speaks.

The shapechanger has trouble with hair and renders it as one solid mass with hair-like texture.

The form is clammy to the touch.

The creature's true form is revealed by moonlight.

The creature's true form is revealed in darkness.

The creature's true form is revealed when they become wet.

The creature's shadow shows its true form.

The creature's reflection shows its true form.

Social Flaws

Whether or not the shapechanger is able to read the thoughts of creatures it's mimicking, it isn't a perfect actor. It has its own personality that might leak into its new persona. Choose a social flaw for the creature that could give away its true nature (Roll 1d20):

The shapeshifter forgets the name of its persona.

The creature mispronounces names of people or places.

The shapechanger's accent affects the new persona.

The shapeshifter unintentionally shifts its voice higher or lower.

The shapechanger has a unique habit or tick.

The shapeshifter keeps its likes and dislikes despite its persona.

The creature does not accurately reflect the morals of the creature it's mimicking.

The shapechanger's intellect is different the creature it's portraying and it shows.

The shapeshifter is prone to lying even if it doesn't help sell its character.

The creature is a little too assertive when convincing allies into dangerous situations.

The shapechanger is overly paranoid of being discovered.

The creature falls in love with new form and is consistently caught looking in mirrors or examining themselves.

The shapeshifter talks to itself as if the person it's mimicking is there with them.

The creature, unused to this arrangement of taste buds, becomes obsessed with tasting new things.

The shapechanger does not know what empathy is.

The shapeshifter does not speak the correct language.

The creature is attached to a keepsake which it brings with it regardless of the form it takes.

The shapechanger forgets about the traits of its form, like whether it can fly, breath underwater, etc.

The shapeshifter can recall names but does not recognize them by appearance.

Here's a list of 50 quest hooks involving creatures from both the Monster Manual and from the content I created during Shapeshifter Week. New creatures have links to the posts that contain their statistics. Existing Monsters can all either change their shape naturally, cast polymorph, or cast disguise self.

Quest Hooks (d100)

| 01-02 | A group of Doppelgangers are getting into trouble all over the city. Everyone wrongly blames the local paladin hero who the Doppelgangers have taken the form of.

| 03-04 | A Therianthrope is capturing and replacing the creatures in a certain city district with younger Therianthropes.

| 05-06 | A covey of Green Hags disguised as three humans have started a bookstore and is selling books that trap their readers in their stories.

| 07-08 | A Doppelganger has taken the place of a town's wizard even though it can't cast spells. Now it has to cleverly imitate the spells that the locals pay for.

| 09-10 | An Oni has taken the form of an innkeeper and is devouring the guests it deems the most "appetizing."

| 11-12 | A Hagunemnon has appeared in a populated city and is massacring citizens like a wildfire. Everyone is in a panic but no one can determine the cause thanks to its ability to shapeshift.

| 13-14 | A Tula Hag's mud creatures, in the shape of parents whose souls she has trapped, are going back to town and bringing their children to her river.

| 15-16 | A kraken is demanding worship from a cliff-side village of Kuo-Toa. The kraken is actually a Doppel-Gang that lives in a cave at the base of the cliff.

| 17-18 | A Monopod has accidentally gotten itself into a situation where a dwarven kingdom thinks it's their lost king. Now it is having the dwarves raid for treasure which it hoards in its new "home."

| 19-20 | Children have started playing relentless pranks throughout a village. When questioned, they all say they got the idea from a talking animal; really a Puca in disguise.

| 21-22 | A Doppelganger has fallen in love with a humanoid and keeps taking new forms in hopes of wooing them, but keeps getting rejected.

| 23-24 | A dwarven guide offers to guide the party through a complex cave system. In truth, it's a Monopod that is leading them to a trap to steal their loot once they are dead.

| 25-26 | A Bouda is posing as a blacksmith in a small village. The items it makes are cursed.

| 27-28 | A damsel in distress is rescued. However, she has been replaced by a Succubus that wishes to take advantage of the damsel's wealthy noble husband.

 | 29-30 | A hunter has offered the PCs the chance to hunt a powerful monster in return for gold. In truth, the hunter is a Weretiger that wishes to hunt them.

| 31-32 | A Sea Hag pretends to be a woman trapped on a desert island, flagging down passing ships and offering them a tropical banquet laced with Midnight Tears.

| 33-34 | A Swarm Shifter is "bugging" the offices of diplomats, and is blackmailing them using the information it has gathered.

| 35-36 | A magic item's blueprint calls for a certain type of flower. It turns out that the flower described is actually a Blodeuwedd that knows the secrets of the item's creation.

| 37-38 | A Doppelganger is using its talents to lift heavy pockets and get away clean.

| 39-40 | A Phasm has killed all the monsters in a dungeon in order to pretend to be all of the monsters by itself. As heroes "slay" one monster, it retreats in the form of a ghost only to impersonate the next monster that would have been in the next room.

| 41-42 | A Quasit has decided to convince young women that he is a prince disguised as a toad, and they need only to kiss him to return him to his true form.

| 43-44 | A Werebear has snuck into the ranks of a military encampment in the forest. Angry at the newcomers in its territory, it is picking off the soldiers one by one.

| 45-46 | Creatures travelling a certain road report strange surreal sightings or experiences. A Puca is to blame.

| 47-48 | A Green Slaad disguised as a dwarf mage is looking for the control gem of a Gray Slaad who hid it within a lost dwarven mine. It intends to use the gem to force the Gray Slaad to reveal its secrets of ascension.

| 49-50 | A Deva has taken the guise of a street urchin to investigate an evil cult growing in a city.

| 51-52 | A Couatl senses its impending death and seeks out another Couatl to mate with in a dangerous land. Disguised as an elven druid, it looks for heroes to help find another Couatl.

| 53-54 | An Incubus has seduced a member of the royal family and is now convincing their partner to introduce unfair laws and taxes on their people.

| 55-56 | A popular gladiator in a tusked helm is actually a Wereboar intent on spreading its curse to other pit fighters.

| 57-58 | Leshies warring over territory have led to each taking on disguises and recruiting wandering heroes to slay one another.

| 59-60 | An Aswang's true identity has been discovered by a group of people. Now it's trying to clean up the mess by either erasing the memories of witnesses or killing them, one by one.

| 61-62 | A Mechadaptor Titan has been built to protect a city's vault, but the construct will no longer follow commands.

| 63-64 | A Hamrammyr has found its way near a dragon's lair and is trying to devour more and more powerful creatures until it thinks it can kill the dragon. Powerful monsters' corpses litter the surrounding wilderness.

| 65-66 | A Yochlol has infiltrated a group of drow rebelling against the matriarchy to tries and dismantle the rebellion from within.

| 67-68 | An Aranea seeking a certain magic item has disguised as a noble to task heroes to quest for it, promising wealth it does not possess.

| 69-70 | A Leyak is committing arson throughout a town while trying to frame other creatures for the deed.

| 71-72 | An entire forest is overrun by one gigantic subterranean fungi that is spawning Sporiforms to spread itself elsewhere. 

| 73-74 | A Doppelganger has replaced a local hero for the fame and fortune. When a great monster threatens the town, they turn to their "hero," who wants nothing to do with it.

| 75-76 | A Silvermaster has appeared in a palace decked out with plenty of reflective decor for it to move through. Now the palace's attendants are disappearing one by one, seemingly slain by their own weapons.

| 77-78 | A Lamia attends noble banquets disguised as a noble themselves, beguiling the rich into divulging their trade routes and shipments for it to disrupt.

| 79-80 | A mischievous fey disguised as a repairman is replacing people's broken furniture with Mimics.

| 81-82 | A gang of Wererats are recruiting new members by spreading their curse to unwilling civilians.

| 83-84 | Imps in the form of rats are transporting hidden messages to members of a thieves guild throughout a city.

| 85-86 | A Rakshasa is selling demon-possessed magic items while disguised as a merchant.

| 87-88 | A Silver Dragon has taken up residence in a town as a kindly old woman who claims to be a historian. Their horde of artifacts is left proudly on display, with surprisingly low security.

| 89-90 | A Vampire has risen from a church's catacombs thanks to an ancient curse. A strange mist or swarm of bats can be seen leaving the church each night at dusk and returning before each dawn.

| 91-92 | A Mimic ate a moneylender and spawned in their office. A stack of papers is a horde of Mimic Larvae.

| 93-94 | An Ultraloth has taken the guise of a guild leader for a monster hunting company. It's tasking heroes to bring back living monsters which it then sells to evil buyers.

| 95-96 | A farmer's wife was cursed with Werewolf lycanthropy. She tries to keep up her normal life but she awakens each morning next to dead livestock. It's only a matter of time before she turns on her family.

| 97-98 | An ambassador has been replaced by a Doppelganger to incite war.

Shapeshifters come from all walks of life. They aren’t all predisposed to killing other creatures. Here are some motives or ideals

Murderous Monster. (chaotic-evil) The creature thirsts for violence and perhaps even hungers for flesh. It uses its abilities to get close to others, get them alone, and secure the kill. They have the power to get away with anything, so they will get away with the most outrageous things they can. 

Covetous Thief. (neutral-evil) The creature is exceptionally greedy. It knows it can use its abilities to get whatever it wants in plain sight of anybody, and it does so. It keeps its stolen goods in an exquisite abode decked out in finery made for kings. An adventurer might be able to parley with them if they can offer something valuable enough. 

Double Agent. (lawful-evil) The creature is a spy, but no one really knows whose side they are on. It simply shows loyalty to whoever pays it the most, and shows no remorse betraying or even killing someone that trusted them. It’s simply getting paid to do what it’s good at, even if a few poor saps need to burn along the way.

Loyal Spy. (lawful-neutral) The creature tries to use its abilities to act as a spy for a faction or kingdom. Despite its duplicitous nature, it remains loyal to its employer and will not betray them. It has a sense of duty and honor that it adheres to.

Curious Interloper. (neutral) The creature seeks knowledge and secrets and uses its abilities to go where others can't. It acts merely as an observer and collector, choosing not to interfere in peoples' lives. It sees the world as its own personal story for it to witness. If discovered, it is more likely ask questions before running or fighting.

Mischief Maker.  (chaotic-neutral) The creature delights in sowing paranoia with its powers, taking on a form and blaming its antics on the target before quickly moving on to a new form. It revels in the ensuing confusion. Adventurers should be wary of trusting such creatures.

Unseen Vigilante. (chaotic-good) The creature empathizes with outcasts and those treated unfairly or unjustly. It uses its abilities to stealthily exonerate or free prisoners, or to trap and trick evildoers. Someone has to do something, and who better than such a subtle spy?

Entertainer. (neutral-good) The creature uses its abilities to spread cheer, wearing forms like a costume or mask. It will parody important figures or perform one-man plays as all of the characters. It enjoys its abilities and doesn’t hide them or abuse them.

The Leshy is a fey protector of the forests with the power to change his shape into any man or beast. In his true form, the leshy is a giant humanoid with horns on his head and hooves on his feet. His hair and beard are long and made from a tangled mass of grass and vines. His skin is a pale white while his eyes glow an emerald color.

As a defender of the forest, the leshy is very powerful. It can command the beasts of the woodlands, wields druidic magic, and is as strong as an ogre. Leshies are territorial and will sometimes attack anything it perceives as a threat to its home, including other leshies. Creatures that settle near the edge of a leshy’s territory would do well to show their respect. Some humanoids even seek out a leshy in hopes of learning druidic magic themselves.

The leshy is also well-known as a trickster as well as a protector. Those passing near its woods are sure to encounter the leshy in one of its many forms. It often gets creatures lost in its woods or tries to terrify them disguised as a wild animal. It will also try to trick creatures into its gaze, which can cause horrific fits of uncontrollable laughter. Sometimes its pranks can be very inconvenient if not harmful to travelers. Thankfully, the leshy can only see things when they are as they should be. Those who know they are passing through a leshy’s wood can turn their clothing inside-out and wear their shoes backwards to pass completely unnoticed by the leshy.

Leshy

Large fey (shapechanger), chaotic-good

Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 136 (13d10 + 65) Speed 40 ft.

STR 19; DEX 11; CON 20; INT 11; WIS 16; CHA 13

Skills Animal Handling +6, Nature +5, Perception +8, Survival +8 Resistances bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered. Immunities poison Condition Immunities petrified, poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages Common, Elvish, Sylvan Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)

Innate Spellcasting. The leshy's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: fog cloud, speak with plants, tree stride, thorn whip

2/day each: commune with nature, earthbind, entangle, grasping vine

1/day: wall of thorns

Inversion Aversion. Creatures that have their clothes inside out or their shoes on the wrong feet or are otherwise wearing their clothing in a backwards manner are considered invisible to the leshy, although it is still able to hear them.

Shapechanger. The leshy can use its action to polymorph into any humanoid or beast or back into its true form, which is a large fey. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.

Actions

Multiattack. The leshy makes two attacks with either its slam or greatclub and then uses its call animals or tickling gaze, if available.

Greatclub (True Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, 10 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Tickling Gaze (Recharge 5-6). One creature of the leshy's choice that it can see within 90 ft. must make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature begins laughing uncontrollably and takes 18 (4d8) psychic damage at the start of each of their turns. The creature can attempt a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

If you ever see a woman at the edge of a remote stream searching the water, do not approach. It's most likely a tula hag dredging the riverbed for food, or worse. Should you disturb her, she will use her crow-taloned hand to tear out your soul!

Abductor of Children. Tula hags need the blood of children to make their mud hearts and other despicable magic items, so many of their plans involve the  capturing children. The hags, or else their living effigies of mud, infiltrate busy areas and tempt young ones into venturing near her river where she can grab them.

The hags especially enjoy polymorphing kids into fishes that they can then dredge out of the river.

False Towns. When a tula hag has an excess of souls trapped in mud effigies, she can populate an entire village. Whether she replaces the population of an existing community or builds her own new one near her river is up her. This false town can trap travelers hoping to find a place to rest, only to be visited in the night by the hag.

The town also serves as a sort of walking tour of the souls that the hag as taken. She will take fiends through her town to show off her handiwork and strike a deal for her most powerful souls.

The Hag's Cavern. The tula hag's true home resides in a strange demiplane known as a hag cavern, which is accessible only by river using the hag's River Step trait. A creature wishing to find and access the hag cavern with magic will find it all but impossible as the cavern is warded from scrying and detection by divination magic, and a *plane shift* spell can only find the place if the caster has been there before.

Creatures wishing to find the hag's cavern can do so by feeding a river eel with rowan berries and a bone strip carved with arcane markings. This requires a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check to accomplish. The tula hag will inevitably seek out its favorite meal and take the eel back to its cavern. The cavern's opening then appears at the mouth of a random river on the material plane. The cavern returns to its normal state after 24 hours.

Mud Heart. A Tula Hag can create a unique magic item from river mud and child's blood of called a mud heart. The heart is the size and shape of a humanoid heart and drips with sticky mud. The heart can contain a soul if the hag places one inside it with its talon. While housing a soul, it beats like a living heart.

A trapped soul can be used much like a trapped soul using the soul cage spell except that the soul is trapped indefinitely.

The hag can place such a heart filled with a soul into an effigy sculpted from river mud and give it a semblance of life. The mud effigy has the statistics of zombie except it's type is Construct and it's immune to psychic damage. The hag can give these creatures the appearance of the creature whose soul is trapped within. Their true nature only becomes apparent when they are injured to reveal brown mud beneath their skin.

Tula Hag

Medium fey (shapechanger), chaotic-evil

Armor Class 19 (natural armor) Hit Points 127 (17d8 + 51) Speed 30 ft.

STR 18; DEX 15; CON 16; INT 19; WIS 14; CHA 16

Saves CON +9, INT +10, WIS +8 Resistances cold, fire Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren't silvered Condition Immunities charmed, paralyzed, poisoned Skills Deception +9, Insight +8, Perception +8 Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 18 Languages Common, Sylvan, Abyssal, Infernal Challenge 18 (20,000 XP)

Innate Spellcasting. The hag's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). She can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: dancing lights, misty step, ray of sickness

2/day each: cloudkill, dispel magic, etherealness, fear, polymorph

1/day each: dominate monster, weird

Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the hag fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.

Magic Weapons. The hag's weapon attacks are magical.

River Step. The hag can travel quickly by entering a river, stream, or other body of moving water using its action. When it does so, it can teleport to any other point connected to the same body of water or to its hag cavern.

Shapechanger. The hag can use its action to polymorph into any Small or Medium female humanoid or back into its true form. Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.

Actions

Multiattack. The hag makes a talon attack and uses its drowning gaze.

Talon. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage and 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. If the creature is reduced to 0 hit points by this attack the creature's soul is torn from its body and the creature dies. If the hag has an empty Mud Heart with her, she can use a bonus action to draw the soul into the heart. The hag can also use its talon to restrain an incorporeal creature on a successful attack, even if the creature cannot normally become restrained (escape DC 18).

Drowning Gaze. The hag locks it gaze upon one creature it chooses within 60 ft. That creature must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or the creature's lungs fill with water and they begin to drown at an accelerated rate. The creature becomes incapacitated and cannot speak or breathe. The creature makes a new Constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If it fails three times, the creature falls unconscious and begins dying. The successes and failures don't need to be consecutive, keep track of both until the target collects three of a kind. If it succeeds at a save, the effect ends for that creature. The hag cannot use its drowning gaze on another creature while one creature is already being affected by it.

Legendary Actions

The hag can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature's turn. Spent legendary actions are regained at the start of each turn.

Talon. The hag makes a talon attack.

Spell (Costs 2 Actions). The hag casts either misty stepor ray of sickness

The blodeuwedd (pronounced "bluhd-EH-wehth") is a fey creature that can transform at will into a bed of flowers with warm-colored petals. It longs for creatures to listen to its silent song and lay with it, sometimes in more ways than one. A blodeuwedd often hides within a field and sings to lure creatures toward it. Those that get too close may find themselves falling under its sleeping spell. It almost never kills such creatures unless it is threatened, instead hoping to enjoy their company as long as possible.

Sometimes a blodeuwedd does not realize the limitations of other creatures and will keep them under its spell so long that the creature dies from thirst or starvation in its sleep. The blodeuwedd is always upset when this happens and will mourn for the creature before seeking a new field to lie in.

Blodeuwedds live long lives and some will choose to learn druidic spells such as commune with nature, transport via plants, or speak with plants. Druids may seek them out to hear their wisdom of years, wary not to fall under their spell.

Evil blodeuwedd are rare but do exist. Rather than seeking companionship, an evil blodeuwedd tempts creatures to their deaths, using their psychic song to lethal effect. Such blodeuwedd either have cool-colored flowers or their flowerbeds consist of poisonous plants.

Blodeuwedd

Medium fey (shapechanger), neutral

Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Hit Points 68 (9d8 + 18) Speed 30 ft.

STR 11; DEX 15; CON 14; INT 13; WIS 15; CHA 16

Skills Perception +1 Immunities poison Condition Immunities poisoned Senses passive Perception 11 Languages Common, Sylvan; telepathy 100 ft. Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Shapechanger. The blodeuwedd can use its action to polymorph into a 5 foot radius bed of flowers or back into its true form, a Medium fey. It cannot make weapon attacks while in its plant form. Its statistics remain the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.

Sleeping Scent. The blodeuwedd emits a smell that causes creatures to become drowzy. Creatures that start their turn within 30 feet of the blodeuwedd must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour. Creatures that fail their saving throw by 5 or more are also unconscious while poisoned this way. An unconscious creature wakes up if dealt non-psychic damage or if another creature uses their action to wake them. When a creature succeeds at this saving throw or if the effect ends for it, the creature becomes immune to the blodeuwedd's sleeping scent for 1 hour.

Actions

Silent Song. The blodeuwedd sings a telepathic song that subtly wears away at the psyche of nearby creatures. Each creature in a 30 ft. radius must attempt a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) psychic damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful save.

When running a game with a shapeshifter in it, you have to know how to effectively keep the players' characters from discovering it, and how best to take advantage of it.

Have a Plan

Shapeshifters should have a goal to orient themselves toward. Make sure their motives are clear to you so you know how to respond to players' actions. Having a goal can put the shapeshifter into interesting situations. Perhaps they choose to ally with the players for a time to help them achieve a goal, rather than plotting how to destroy them.

Having a goal will also let you think about where and how the players should meet the doppelganger. Whose form will they be taking? Where are they? Does the players' presence help or hinder their intentions?

Gather Information

A creature that can impersonate someone needs to do a lot of research. It needs to learn everything it can about its target, including its routines, relationships, likes, and dislikes. It will have to do this by stalking the creature to observe its habits and investigating their home and asking around about the creature. Such interrogation of strangers would be obvious if done poorly. Common guises that they might take to do this could be a member of the city watch "investigating a crime," a bard trying to learn more about their "new love interest," or a family member from out of town "trying to find their cousin."

This process of information gathering can probably be picked up on by players investigating a shapeshifter (whether they know it or not). A neighbor may have seen someone entering the target's home at odd hours, or people close to them might have been asked strange questions about them. People might have noticed the shapeshifter following their target, but each witness describes a different person following them.

For shapeshifters that can read minds, like the doppelganger, gathering information is less critical. You can roleplay this by having the creature hesitate before answering a question, but then always gives an adequate answer. A mind-reader can only give an answer that someone wants to hear, but not necessarily the correct one. If players interrogate a doppelganger in disguise about what street they grew up on but don't know the answer themselves, then really any answer will do!

Avoid Implication

A shapeshifter should try their best to not get into situations where it might be discovered. This means that avoiding social situations is usually ideal. Sometimes it's impossible to avoid, and when that happens, they should ideally try to be vague with their topics of discussion so they don't have to lie or make up excuses that might be noticed by other creatures.

Situations that call for a Wisdom (Insight) check always run the risk of a player discovering their deception, so they want to make as few rolls as possible. If you want to avoid risking such rolls as the GM, you can avoid a lot of them by having a shapeshifter impersonate someone that the players already trust. Players will be suspicious of a stranger and usually ask for a Wisdom check if they have even the slightest reason not to trust them. But someone they already trust... they won't even pay them a second thought.

When impersonating someone, it also helps to be able to corroborate your identity. Try to give a shapeshifter something that can do this. For nobility, this might be something like a pedigree or writ of authority. For other characters, it might be something unique that belongs to that character which the shapeshifter could have stolen, like a family heirloom.

Don't Get Surrounded

Many shapeshifters don't have the best statistics for taking out multiple creatures. They wouldn't need to sneak around if they could take out a group of heroes! The greatest strategy for a creature like a mimic or doppelganger is to ensure they are only facing one enemy at a time. Mimics should hide in small rooms or confined spaces like closets, garderobes, prison cells, or bedrooms. This will limit the number of creatures they have to take on. Doppelgangers should try to get creatures alone before taking them out. This can be as simple as asking to talk to someone alone. Once alone, the doppelganger can take full advantage of their ambush to quickly take them out and even impersonate them before returning to the group.

Know your Abilities

When a large group of shapeshifters group together, they can coordinate to take on larger forms. Sometimes, a charade can go on long enough that the conglomerate shapechangers become one entity sharing a single mind known as a doppel-gang.

Such a creature uses its size to its advantage and will try to subjugate the small and weak. A doppel-gang will take forms like dragons, giants, or demons to become a tyrant over defenseless town. Still others may desire to be worshipped, and might take forms of angels or sphinxes to gain the adoration of the public. They rely their imposing presence to disguise themselves as they lack many of the unique abilities and traits of such creatures. That being said, a doppel-gang is still a mighty foe. Its combined might still rivals that of smaller creatures and it can read the minds of those it encounters.

Some doppel-gangs are driven insane by their shared minds and will go on rampages while shifting into all manner of creatures like purple worms, dinosaurs, or trolls.

Doppel-Gang

Huge monstrosity (shapechanger), neutral

Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 199 (19d12 + 80) Speed 40 ft.

STR 22; DEX 14; CON 18; INT 12; WIS 12; CHA 14

Saves CON +9, WIS +6 Skills Athletics +11, Deception +7, Intimidation +7, Perception +6 Condition Immunities charmed Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16 Languages Common Challenge 13 (10,000 XP)

Shapechanger. The doppel-gang can use its action to polymorph into a Large, Huge, or Gargantuan creature or back into its true form. Its statistics and hit points remain the same for each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.

Actions

Multiattack. The doppel-gang makes three slam attacks.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 25 (3d12 + 6) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it must make a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be pushed 20 ft. away from the doppel-gang and take an additional 9 (2d6) bludgeoning damage.