I need to cover my tracks.....

[Chester]

Hello.

So, my group is in the midst of an adventure in which dopplegangers have replaced some people in their hometown. They don't know if there are two dopplegangers or 200. There was a plan to lure the group back home and ambush them, and they THINK they've avoided the ambush.

I have had one group member, the artificer, agree to be kidnapped and replaced by a doppleganger. (He had an opportunity to send the PC out on his own for a while, so it was easy.) The group is unaware of this. It could make for some fun times.

All was going well....until the group remembered that the artificer has a bird homonculous with empathic link. :smallmad:

Well, the artificer player had fallen asleep (we play via Roll20), and luckily when the group realized that the homonculous' spot skill was low, they decided not to use it to follow a suspected doppleganger, so I dodged a bullet there.

I need to now make sure this homonculous doesn't ruin everything. So, a few questions:

1. Would the lack of empathic link cause the homonculous to panic and warn the group?
2. Is there a spell / item that could have potentially given control of the homonculous to the doppleganger?
3. Should we sabotage and break the homonculous (though I fear this would give it away)?
4. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

[Bronk]

I need to now make sure this homonculous doesn't ruin everything. So, a few questions:

1. Would the lack of empathic link cause the homonculous to panic and warn the group?
2. Is there a spell / item that could have potentially given control of the homonculous to the doppleganger?
3. Should we sabotage and break the homonculous (though I fear this would give it away)?
4. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

1: No... Per it's monster entry in ECS, the homunculus actually disintegrated when the artificer died.
2: Sorry
3: Not an issue
4: I think you should spring whatever trap or surprise as soon as possible to avoid questions, or make the Doppelganger an artificer as well.

So, Doppelgangers can copy the appearance of a number of things that are in the right size range, but don't copy any of their abilities. When the doppelganger killed and replaced the artificer, the homunculus would have immediately disintegrated, and since then, the monster wouldn't have been able to replicate the artificer's powers, assuming he usually helps the party.

You can get around this long term by making the doppelganger an artificer as well. He killed the original, then used his abilities to reshape his own homunculus to match the now destroyed one. If you think the other PCs have interacted with the original homunculus enough, you could let them make sense motive checks against it to sense the ruse.

Short term, you could make the doppelganger a wizard, and the homunculus could be an illusion of some kind, or a disguised imp or something.

[OldTrees1]

Which homunculus?
1) The Artificer's would have an empathic link with the still living kidnapped artificer. So every time the imposter's did not match what the Artificer was feeling there would be evidence. But if the homunculus were also replaced?
2) Not to my knowledge
3) Replacing is more subtle than sabotage
4) Yes. Who is this 2nd homunculus?

[Chester]

4: I think you should spring whatever trap or surprise as soon as possible to avoid questions

I think so, yeah. Putting together a doppleganger party now.


When the doppelganger killed and replaced the artificer, the homunculus would have immediately disintegrated, and since then, the monster wouldn't have been able to replicate the artificer's powers, assuming he usually helps the party.

Kidnapped. The artificer is still alive.

[zyggythorn]

First, I am immensely happy that my suggestion got chosen for your campaign.

Secondly, may I ask if the doppelgangers have any class levels? Notably in any sort of "we're friends now" sort of class? Like Beguiler?

Forgive me if I'm wrong (AFB right now), but doesn't empathic link also make the Artificer susceptible to any mind-control ability used by the dop's? The Dop's would realistically be able to know what the parties'make-up is, if one player was sending letters home, after all.

EDIT: With the Artificer kidnapped, it's not out of the question for an enemy to have dominate X on their spell list, and cast it enough times for him to fail. The Homunculus travelling with the party would then be similarly dominated. When the party inevitably finds out their journeying with a fake, your Artificer returns bravely and valiantly! And will spy on them for an extended period of time for any and/or all BBEG's.

Just my gut reaction on that.

[Bronk]

Kidnapped. The artificer is still alive.

Oh, I see. I just thought the 'and killed' was implied in there, what with the doppelganger and all. In that case, you could just have the homunculus try to 'act normal' on pain of the artificer's death.

[quzar]

Which homunculus?
1) The Artificer's would have an empathic link with the still living kidnapped artificer. So every time the imposter's did not match what the Artificer was feeling there would be evidence. But if the homunculus were also replaced?
2) Not to my knowledge
3) Replacing is more subtle than sabotage
4) Yes. Who is this 2nd homunculus?

I'd also go with this. Have the dopple-tificer come with his own homonculous. You can have it be that the original was captured with its master, or have some interesting conundrum where they try to figure out where the second homonculous came from.

[Fizban]

Depends on the exact details of how it went down, and how much you want to account for them in case the other players don't like your "retconning" it when they find out. When the Artificer went off on his own did he take the homunculus with him? If so it was captured as well and you bring a fake or illusion. If the homunculus was specifically left with the party, it knows full well that the person who came back is not it's master and unless it's a particularly dumb homunculus, it won't be fooled. There are Telepethy Tap and Telepathy Block spells, but they won't suffice for this. If you're willing to fiat a telepathy/empathy blocking situation for the artificer, then the doppel could bluff the homunculus and you're good.

If you don't care so much about the details you can just say that the artificer sent his hommunculus off to deliver a message or do some mission, so he came back alone. It sounds like there was active use of the homunculus since the doppel came back though, and that's not something you can really fake. Needs a familiar in disguise or another homunculus to switch.

[Chester]

First, I am immensely happy that my suggestion got chosen for your campaign.

Secondly, may I ask if the doppelgangers have any class levels? Notably in any sort of "we're friends now" sort of class? Like Beguiler?.

So far I have a rogue and a ranger (I used an online character generator that really works well), but looks like I'm adding an artificer and a caster. :smallwink: