Stranger With My FaceStranger With My FaceStranger With My FaceStranger With My Face

By Dwayne Stephen Thomas

My nightmare is the same each time. I’m standing in front of a full-length mirror, and in it, I see a woman but who is she? I don’t know why, but the stranger with my face wants to kill me.

Without warning, slender fingers emerge from the other side of the mirror, to rake my face, cat-like. Stunned, I jump away. The stranger leaps forward in the same instant. The surface of the mirror ripples like water, and now she’s standing before me, flesh and blood (but not my own). “No! Stay back!” I yell in panic as she walks towards me. “I don’t want to hurt you!” “Come here!” the stranger whispers in a voice which could be mine, but isn’t.

“Who . . . who are you? What do you want?”

I watch as the stranger draws a sword from a leather sheath at her back. I recognize the sword immediately: The blade is short, the guard worked into the shape of a pair of cats heads. I recognize the weapon because it belongs to me. She has my sword! How is this possible? I can’t think clearly.

“Imposter!” she hisses, “I’ve found you, and now I’m going to kill you!”

Looking down, I see a familiar weapon in my hands. A smile crosses my face as I realize the truth: The stranger’s weapon is nothing more than a copy, a fake (just like herself).

I study the stranger standing before me. She thinks I’m weak, that I don’t have the courage to stand up

to her, but she is wrong. I see her for what she is: A mere shadow, insubstantial; she can never be more powerful than me. I know the stranger must be destroyed; she is loathsome and cannot be allowed to exist.

“Lady,” I hear myself saying, “I don’t know who you are or what your problem is, but if you want a fight

. . . you’ve got one!”

A familiar, yet disturbing grin distorts her features, “Meow, meow, sister.” Without a moment’s hesitation, the stranger lunges at me. She is incredibly fast, but I manage to parry

her attack with my own weapon. We are evenly matched: for every lightning fast strike I make, she is able to dance quickly out of the away. Each time she manages to land a blow, I follow with one of my own.

After several minutes, we are both covered with minor cuts and bruises, yet neither is able to get the

upper hand. An intriguing thought occurs to me: Yes, we are evenly matched, but only as far as our physical capabilities are concerned. I can’t defeat her with strength or speed, but maybe the answer lies within my mind . . . maybe . . .

With sudden clarity, I realize I am dreaming. Nothing here is real; everything is taking place within my

mind. Of course, now I remember . . . I’ve been here many times; I’ve met the stranger before. This time is different however; this time, I know it’s a dream, and this stark realization puts me in control.

I rake the fingers of my free hand across the stranger’s face, leaving a cat scratch that mirrors the one

she inflicted upon me. She doesn’t see the attack coming. Even if she did, there is nothing she could do to avoid it. She jumps back in unexpected pain and I see her eyes widen. I laugh out loud, because I know she understands: My dream, my rules!

“No! Stay back!” she echoes my earlier words and I savor the fear in her voice. I slowly step towards her, and deliberately take the sword from her hand; she does not . . . she cannot, resist.

Ever so lightly, I whisper in her ear: “This fight is over, ‘sister!’” Both swords are in my hands now and I

plunge one, and then the other, into her body. She screams loudly and I am satisfied that she doesn’t sound like me at all.

My dream is the same each time. I defeat the stranger every time; I never lose. I don’t know why I’m

so certain of this, but I am. I watch as the lifeless form of the stranger becomes truly insubstantial, fading like shadows in the morning light. But wait, something is not right here. The stranger is defeated, the dream is finished . . . Why haven’t I awakened?

Something is different this time. What could it be? I replay my own thoughts: She has my face, my

voice . . . but she is not me . . . suddenly, it hits me: IIII am the stranger! Excitement overtakes me: I’ve finally won! The imposter is gone; she is no more!

A lingering question remains and my excitement fades as a feeling of dread settles over me. Why

haven’t I awakened? Am I still dreaming? I try to jolt myself awake. I can’t! No, something is definitely not right here. I should be awake by now. A terrible thought suddenly races through my mind: I wasn’t supposed to survive the fight . . . I wasn’t supposed to win . . .

Oh gods! It is a nightmare . . . her nightmare . . . and I’m trapped in it! I can’t wake up! It isn’t

supposed to happen this way! Please help me, I have to wake up . . .

Check out the D&D monster that inspired the above story. Or is that the other way around? I get

confused.

DoppelgangDoppelgangDoppelgangDoppelganger er er er (Template)

A character that acquires the doppelganger template is an exact “duplicate” of another character. When this template is acquired, there are two separate individuals: the original and the doppelganger (the one who acquires the template). The two exist simultaneously but are completely independent of one another. They are (usually) physically identical, although there are always substantial personality differences (which creates a psychological conflict in the doppelganger to eliminate the “imposter”). Creating a Doppelganger character Creating a Doppelganger character Creating a Doppelganger character Creating a Doppelganger character

This acquired template can be applied to any creature type (referred to hereafter as the “original” or the “doppelganger”, depending on which character is referred to). Use all the original character’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Special Qualities: Special Qualities: Special Qualities: Special Qualities: A character that acquires the doppelganger template is an exact “duplicate” of another character. She has all the special qualities of the original character, and is also constantly protected by a mind blank spell-like effect. The DM is encouraged to distinguish the pair further by providing “cosmetic changes” that have no actual in-game effect. For example: the doppelganger’s voice may echo oddly or sound hollow; the doppelganger is left-handed, while the original is right-handed, etc.

Challenge Rating:Challenge Rating:Challenge Rating:Challenge Rating: Same as the original character +1. Alignment:Alignment:Alignment:Alignment: Always diametric opposite of the original character.

Design Notes: Design Notes: Design Notes: Design Notes: Although evenly matched in most every respect, the CR of the original and her

doppelganger are not equal. The doppelganger’s CR is increased by one over the original’s because she has access to wealth and useful magical items beyond the sort of treasure an NPC of her level would normally use (i.e. the doppelganger is equipped as a PC, rather than an NPC. See Table 5-1 Character Wealth by Level on page 135 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for guidelines on how to equip PCs).

When the doppelganger template is acquired, the duplicate gains mind blank as a constant “spell-like”

effect. If the Expanded Psionics Handbook is used, the doppelganger may instead gain personal mind blank as a constant “psi-like” effect. The doppelganger gains the psionic subtype.

The doppelganger template is intended as a unique opportunity for a PC to face a “mirror image” of

herself (an NPC controlled by the DM). Facing one’s evil twin (sometimes known as a shadow) is an often-used concept in fantasy and science fiction. It is examined in detail in this Wikipedia article and this TV Tropes article. Just for fun, check out the last panel of this hilarious D&D-inspired web-comic The Order of the Stick (#43).

The following monsters are ported into the Knights of Everest setting and modified as follows:

BansheeBansheeBansheeBanshee

Many elves lost their lives during the long journey from Arvanaith to Alphere. Their spirits sometimes manifests as banshees. The banshee is described in Monster Manual II (updated in the v.3.5 Update Booklet).

EosheeEosheeEosheeEoshee Eoshee is an elven word meaning “faerie nightingale”. An eoshee has the body of a golden eagle and

the upper torso and head of a very attractive elven woman. Eoshee possess the same singing and charming abilities as harpies. Eoshee do not have the usual harpy stench however. They have small fangs, visible whenever they smile broadly. Eoshee are native to Arvanaith and very rare on Everest. Most are goodly aligned. They are otherwise as described under “Harpy” in the Monster Manual.

Everlore:Everlore:Everlore:Everlore: The eoshee are a mythical race, existing entirely in bardic tales. The only ‘eoshee’ is actually

a harpy named Melody, whose appearance has been magically altered by an elven bard named Varian. Some years ago, he found himself aboard a merchant ship that ran afoul of a flock of harpies. In the aftermath of battle, while privately mourning the fact that voices of such beauty should be wasted as the lure of such foul creatures, Varian discovered an egg in the harpy nest. On a whim, he took it with him. So began the story of Melody. For more details, see the AD&D adventure Melody by Leonard and Ann Wilson, presented in Dungeon Magazine #48.

DragonsDragonsDragonsDragons

Dragons are described in the Monster Manual. However, a dragon’s alignment is only fixed along the law-chaos axis, while the good-evil axis is variable.

More than any other factor, alignment sets dragons of Alphere apart from those of other settings.

Traditional D&D dragons are concerned more about the good-evil axis; chromatic dragons and metallic dragons tend to say with their own kind because of their common philosophies of evil or good.

On Everest, the law-chaos axis is considerably more important. Those who endorse individualism, wild living, and destruction oppose dragons that favor order, cooperation, and civilization.

Chromatic dragons have a 50% chance to be evil, a 35% chance to be neutral and a 15% chance to be good. For example, a red dragon is always chaotic but may be evil, neutral or even good.

Metallic dragons have a 50% chance to be good, a 35% chance to be neutral and a 15% chance to be evil. For example, a silver dragon is always lawful but may be good, neutral, or even evil.

HobgoblinHobgoblinHobgoblinHobgoblin

Hobgoblins are described in the Monster Manual. The unpredictable conflicts between the fiends of the Underworld sometimes erupt into the world of

Everest. When they do, the hobgoblins are among the first called upon to fill the fiendish armies. Also, check out Dragon Magazine #309 for ‘Paragons of War’, an article on the ecology of the

Hobgoblin.

Troll, EverestTroll, EverestTroll, EverestTroll, Everest Use the rules for the fensir presented in Fiend Folio (updated in the v.3.5 Update Booklet). They are

native to Alphere and lose the extraplanar subtype.

Also, an Everest troll casts arcane spells as a 5th level sorcerer (6/7/4; save DC 11 + spell level). An Everest troll has the normal arcane spell failure chance for the armor it wears (10% in the case of leather armor). Typical spells known include: 0- detect magic, ghost sound, mending, open/close, ray of frost, read magic; 1st- color spray, magic missile, obscuring mist, protection from law; 2nd- bull’s strength, darkness. This supplants the Spells listing under Combat on page 70 of Fiend Folio.

Trolls as described in the Monster Manual do not exist.