Doppelganger (starting race) - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Before gaining polymorph control */ tweaks

2026-02-27T01:08:43Z

‎Before gaining polymorph control: tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: /* Before gaining polymorph control */ some copyedit

2025-12-03T11:59:53Z

‎Before gaining polymorph control: some copyedit

Joes: THEM roles, typos

2025-05-24T13:26:41Z

THEM roles, typos

Umbire the Phantom: pothole

2025-04-25T23:38:49Z

pothole

Umbire the Phantom: wordsmithing

2025-03-24T05:42:41Z

wordsmithing

Umbire the Phantom: pothole, todo

2025-01-16T18:14:26Z

pothole, todo

Umbire the Phantom: potholes et. al.

2024-11-24T10:14:34Z

potholes et. al.

Umbire the Phantom: /* Before gaining polymorph control */ word choice

2024-02-20T20:03:08Z

‎Before gaining polymorph control: word choice

Umbire the Phantom: pothole, lede

2024-02-12T04:57:35Z

pothole, lede

Umbire the Phantom: some touch-ups

2024-02-11T12:34:23Z

some touch-ups

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 ** [[Hill orc]]s are guaranteed at level 2, and are [[strong]]
 ** [[Barrow wight]]s are guaranteed at level 3, and can additionally drain levels.
-** [[Human mummy|Human mummies]] are inediate and normal speed, although not guaranteed until level 6.  They make a good form if you want to wait around an altar and sacrifice. Human mummies have greater carrying capacity than their [[elf mummy|elven counterparts]], and are available at the same level.
+** [[Human mummy|Human mummies]] are inediate and move at 12 speed, although they are not guaranteed until level 6. They make a good form if you want to wait around an altar and sacrifice. Human mummies have greater carrying capacity than their [[elf mummy|elven counterparts]], which are available at the same level.
-** [[Salamander]]s (guaranteed at level 8) are humanoid with good AC and speed, and have 2 weapon attacks, a fire touch, and a fire crushing attack.
+** [[Salamander]]s (guaranteed at level 8) are humanoid with good AC and speed, and they have 2 weapon attacks, a fire touch, and a fire crushing attack.
 ** Doppelgangers can start polymorphing into [[mind flayer]]s with a reasonable chance of success at level 6 or 7; the [[intelligence-draining]] [[tentacle attack]]s will make short work of most monsters, but is useless against mindless or headless one, and is downright dangerous to use against monsters with harmful passive attacks. Tentacle attacks are suppressed when attacking monsters such as cockatrices.
 * [[Major demon]]s and [[devil]]s generally have low natural AC, good attacks, and are a source of powerful pets through demon gating. Additionally, several of the weaker demons and devils become guaranteed polymorphable forms before a doppelganger gains intrinsic polymorph control at level 9.

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 ** [[Human mummy|Human mummies]] are inediate and normal speed, although not guaranteed until level 6.  They make a good form if you want to wait around an altar and sacrifice. Human mummies have greater carrying capacity than their [[elf mummy|elven counterparts]], and are available at the same level.
 ** [[Salamander]]s (guaranteed at level 8) are humanoid with good AC and speed, and have 2 weapon attacks, a fire touch, and a fire crushing attack.
-** Doppelgangers can start polymorphing into [[mind flayer]]s with a reasonable chance of success at level 6 or 7; the brain-eating attack will make short work of most monsters, but is useless against those without heads or brains, and downright dangerous against monsters with passive attacks. Tentacle attacks are suppressed when attacking a cockatrice.
+** Doppelgangers can start polymorphing into [[mind flayer]]s with a reasonable chance of success at level 6 or 7; the [[intelligence-draining]] [[tentacle attack]]s will make short work of most monsters, but is useless against mindless or headless one, and is downright dangerous to use against monsters with harmful passive attacks. Tentacle attacks are suppressed when attacking monsters such as cockatrices.
 * [[Major demon]]s and [[devil]]s generally have low natural AC, good attacks, and are a source of powerful pets through demon gating. Additionally, several of the weaker demons and devils become guaranteed polymorphable forms before a doppelganger gains intrinsic polymorph control at level 9.
 ** [[Spined devil]]s have 18 base speed, are inediate, have good natural AC, hit fairly hard, and resist fire, poison, and level-drain - this is a guaranteed form at level 5. It is strictly better either the elf or dwarf mummy unless you desire access to prayer (the spined devil is a major demon). They cannot wear suits, shirts or cloaks, but can wear other armor.
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 * Although not guaranteed until level 8, a level 5-7 character has a reasonable chance of polymorphing into a [[Basilisk (SLASH'EM)|basilisk]]. They have the same passive attacks as cockatrices, though they are also larger and flagged as strong, making them much more capable of carrying a loaded inventory. As such, they can be very handy for traveling through dangerous early areas such as the [[Gnomish Mines]]. [[Nutrition]] can be a problem since you can't eat statues.
 ** The similar and faster [[asphynx]] may look appealing, but it is very small and has no hands, so it can carry very few items and cannot pick any up at all, though it can hide under them.
-** If you're trapped by a single monster, [[chickatrice]]s are guaranteed at 4 and will stone an attacking monster. However, they have extremely low base HP, can carry very little, and are very slow, so they should only be used as an instakill in case of emergency.
+** If you're trapped by a single monster, [[chickatrice]]s are guaranteed at 4 and will stone attacking monsters that do not resist. However, they have extremely low base HP, can carry very little, and are very slow, so they should only be used as an instakill in case of emergency.
 * [[Death dog]]s are guaranteed at level 2 and are fairly powerful. Their carry capacity is fairly limited though, so they're not good travel forms if you have a lot of things that you want to keep with you.
 * [[Unicorn]]s are guaranteed at level 4. They have high speed and a decent attack, and can use #monster to remove some bad effects.

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 {{todo|Source code references (currently being worked on), Hack'EM info, etc.}}
-'''Doppelgangers''' are a starting race that appear in [[SLASH'EM]], [[SlashTHEM]] and [[Hack'EM]]. Their primary trait is the ability to [[polymorph|change form]] at will, much like monster [[doppleganger]]s. According to the SLASH'EM guidebook:
+'''Doppelgangers''' are a starting race that appear in [[SLASH'EM]], [[SlashTHEM]] and [[Hack'EM]]. Their primary trait is the ability to [[polymorph|change form]] at will, much like monster [[doppelganger]]s. According to the SLASH'EM guidebook:
 {{guidebook|Doppelgangers have the enviable ability to change form at will, at a cost of some mystic energy (mana), although what they become may be a bit of a surprise, even for them.}}
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 ==Roles==
 Doppelgangers can be either [[neutral]] or [[chaotic]], and can be played as any role compatible with those alignments.
 ==Polyself==
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 Doppelgangers do not experience the typical effects of polymorphing into a new version of yourself - most critically, your level and hit points remain unchanged, preventing abuse and/or undue level loss.
-When transforming into a "new" doppleganger, your current peak strength, [[dexterity]], [[constitution]] and [[charisma]] are adjusted to within two points of their current value. If any changed attribute was previously below its peak, the new attribute will be adjusted in proportion to that peak - e.g., if your strength was 15 (max 16), and your peak strength went up to 18, your new strength would be 18 * 15/16. You also have a {{frac|10}} chance of changing genders.
+When transforming into a "new" doppleganger, your current peak [[strength]], [[dexterity]], [[constitution]] and [[charisma]] are adjusted to within two points of their current value. If any changed attribute was previously below its peak, the new attribute will be adjusted in proportion to that peak - e.g., if your strength was 15 (max 16), and your peak strength went up to 18, your new strength would be 18 * 15/16. You also have a {{frac|10}} chance of changing genders.
 Extremely low hit points and energy are healed, and your  nutrition is set to a random value between 500 and 999; sickness and stoning are cured, and the sliming process is not aborted, but instead reset to the beginning. You will always have a minimum of 10 HP and max HP after the polymorph, and your current and maximum power will have a minimum equal to your experience level.
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 ===Unpolymorphing===
-You will revet back to your base form once your polymorph timer expires, and you can also #youpoly at any time while polymorphed to revert back to your base form - you will retain as many hit points as you had prior to polymorphing, barring certain actions that alter your base form's HP (e.g, eating cursed [[royal jelly]]). When reverting back due to a polyform's timer expiring, the game rolls against your constitution - failing this roll causes you to lose half your base form's current HP.
+You will revert back to your base form once your polymorph timer expires, and you can also #youpoly at any time while polymorphed to revert back to your base form - you will retain as many hit points as you had prior to polymorphing, barring certain actions that alter your base form's HP (e.g, eating cursed [[royal jelly]]). When reverting back due to a polyform's timer expiring, the game rolls against your constitution - failing this roll causes you to lose half your base form's current HP.
 If you die of hit point loss while polymorphed and you do not have unchanging, you will change back to your normal form and lose half your HP. However, if you die in any other way (e.g. stoning or being hit by a death ray), it will be permanent. If your polymorphed form was killed by a monster or explosion, you may also have a number of HP equal to your polymorphed form's level deducted from both your current and maximum HP. This penalty will be extracted every time if you have polymorph control, and {{frac|3}} of the time if you do not.
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 However, the "jack of all trades" attribute maximums can also lead to doppelgangers suffering more from the lower attribute rolls - rerolling by transforming into a new doppelganger is a very limited "solution", and can result in even lower stats for those attributes. A skilled doppelganger will need to put their shapeshifting to use to compensate in these cases, and will also need to keep a close eye on their power, especially if casting regularly. Furthermore, a doppelganger must consider their defenses, e.g. employing a high-AC form with full armor coverage versus one with lesser armor, but a higher base AC augmented by racial and role bonuses.
-Finally, survival will hinge on learning the ideal timings and scenarios for #youpoly. Over-reliance on polyforms is generally perilous: simply polymorphing to have an "extra life" can leave you thoroughly weakened if you are killed in that form, and failed polymorphs that reroll your stats or leave you in a much slower or weaker form in the midst of a fight can be deadly. As mentioned in [[#Polyself|the "Polyself" section above]], constant polymorphing can and often will inhibit the exercise and growth of your actual attributes, in turn possibly resulting in much rougher late-game performance. Doppelgangers should select their polyforms carefully, and may need to make additional role-specific considerations - a doppelganger [[Warrior]] or [[Valkyrie]] might tend towards polyforms with high speed or hit dice to complement their strength, while [[Archeologists]] and other 'fragile' roles that are already fast may want a form that is durable, strong and/or capable of hindering foes. Certain forms can also be used to obtain various pets that can serve as aid in battles.
+Finally, survival will hinge on learning the ideal timings and scenarios for #youpoly. Over-reliance on polyforms is generally perilous: simply polymorphing to have an "extra life" can leave you thoroughly weakened if you are killed in that form, and failed polymorphs that reroll your stats or leave you in a much slower or weaker form in the midst of a fight can be deadly. As mentioned in the [[#Polyself|"Polyself" section above]], constant polymorphing can and often will inhibit the exercise and growth of your actual attributes, in turn possibly resulting in much rougher late-game performance. Doppelgangers should select their polyforms carefully, and may need to make additional role-specific considerations - a doppelganger [[Warrior]] or [[Valkyrie]] might tend towards polyforms with high speed or hit dice to complement their strength, while [[Archeologists]] and other 'fragile' roles that are already fast may want a form that is durable, strong and/or capable of hindering foes. Certain forms can also be used to obtain various pets that can serve as aid in battles.
 ===Good things to polymorph into===
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 ====Before gaining polymorph control====
 * Medium-sized humanoids can wear all armor and use weapons.
-** [[Hill orc]]s are guaranteed at level 2, and are strong monsters
+** [[Hill orc]]s are guaranteed at level 2, and are [[strong]]
 ** [[Barrow wight]]s are guaranteed at level 3, and can additionally drain levels.
 ** [[Human mummy|Human mummies]] are inediate and normal speed, although not guaranteed until level 6.  They make a good form if you want to wait around an altar and sacrifice. Human mummies have greater carrying capacity than their [[elf mummy|elven counterparts]], and are available at the same level.
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 ** [[Spined devil]]s have 18 base speed, are inediate, have good natural AC, hit fairly hard, and resist fire, poison, and level-drain - this is a guaranteed form at level 5. It is strictly better either the elf or dwarf mummy unless you desire access to prayer (the spined devil is a major demon). They cannot wear suits, shirts or cloaks, but can wear other armor.
 ** [[Chasme]]s can attack quickly and can repeatedly put foes to sleep. Great for [[Stealing from shops|killing shopkeepers]] (though this will come at the cost of -5 alignment record if you kill the shopkeeper without having them become angry with you due to not waking up).
-** [[Marilith]]s, guaranteed at 7, have normal speed, decent base AC, and attack 5 times. The multiple attack makes [[demon gating]] very effective.
+** [[Marilith]]s, guaranteed at 7, have normal speed, decent base AC, and attack 5 times. The multiple attacks makes [[demon gating]] very effective.
 * Although not guaranteed until level 8, a level 5-7 character has a reasonable chance of polymorphing into a [[Basilisk (SLASH'EM)|basilisk]]. They have the same passive attacks as cockatrices, though they are also larger and flagged as strong, making them much more capable of carrying a loaded inventory. As such, they can be very handy for traveling through dangerous early areas such as the [[Gnomish Mines]]. [[Nutrition]] can be a problem since you can't eat statues.
 ** The similar and faster [[asphynx]] may look appealing, but it is very small and has no hands, so it can carry very few items and cannot pick any up at all, though it can hide under them.
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 * [[Leocrotta]]s are guaranteed at level 6. They are moderately fast and quite powerful, although unable to use any weapons or armor.
 * [[Oviparous]] monsters can provide some highly useful pets via egg laying, especially in the early game:
-** [[Gargoyle]]s and [[winged gargoyle]]s can sit and lay eggs that will hatch has gargoyles; normal gargoyles can wear armor, but the [[fly]]ing winged gargoyles cannot.  Both forms also have excellent natural AC.
+** [[Gargoyle]]s and [[winged gargoyle]]s can sit and lay eggs that will hatch as gargoyles; normal gargoyles can wear armor, but the [[fly]]ing winged gargoyles cannot.  Both forms also have excellent natural AC.
 ** [[Rhaumbusun]], guaranteed at level 2, are weak and slow but very effective at paralysing enemies which can help in scoring easy kills.
 ** [[Soldier ants]] are guaranteed at level 3, and as pets, can if anything be almost too effective - they can often close in, kill and devour weak foes in the time taken for an unhasted player to make even a single move. Creating an army may be tempting, but this can lead to nutrition problems if you can't reach corpses in time. Spawning 2 or 3 is generally more than sufficient.

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 {{main|Polymorph control}}
-Once you have obtained polymorph control, a world of powerful choices is open to you, including [[crystal golem]]s, [[fire vampire]]s, [[vorpal jabberwock]]s, and the nigh-invincible [[giant shoggoth]].
+Once you have obtained polymorph control, a world of powerful choices is open to you, including [[crystal golem]]s, [[fire vampire]]s, [[Vorpal jabberwock (SLASH'EM)|vorpal jabberwocks]], and the nigh-invincible [[giant shoggoth]].
 ==See also==

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 * Starting from experience level 7, Doppelganger [[Flame Mage]]s and [[Ice Mage]]s that #youpoly will be prompted to [[Draconic ritual|"transform into your draconic form"]], which turns them into a red or white [[dragon]] respectively. This role's special ability overrides their previous polymorphing capability, which is often considered to be a bug.{{refsrc|polyself.c|1671|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}{{refsrc|polyself.c|1743|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}
-* Doppelganger Lycanthropes need to have energy available in order to rehumanize, unlike other Doppelganger roles.
+* Doppelganger lycanthropes need to have energy available in order to rehumanize.
 * Doppelganger Undead Slayers are prevented from changing into an undead monster, which simply fails - additionally, if you actively attempt to do so while having polymorph control, you also take a -5 penalty to your [[alignment record]] and abuse wisdom.
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 * Any unique named monster.
 * [[Angelic being]]s.
-* [[Human (monster attribute)|Humans]], including werecreatures - this does ''not'' include [[Keystone Kop (monster class)|Keystone Kops]], since polymorph and most relevant checks rely on <code>[[S_HUMAN]]</code> rather than the human monster attribute.
+* Any [[human or elf]] monster, including [[werecreature]]s.
 ** Selecting "human" or "doppelganger" specifically counts as polymorphing into your own race, and thus guarantees feeling like a new doppelganger.
 * [[Chameleon]]s and [[sandestin]]s.

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-{{todo|Source code references (currently being worked on).}}
+{{todo|Source code references (currently being worked on), Hack'EM info, etc.}}
 '''Doppelgangers''' are a starting race that appear in [[SLASH'EM]], [[SlashTHEM]] and [[Hack'EM]]. Their primary trait is the ability to [[polymorph|change form]] at will, much like monster [[doppleganger]]s. According to the SLASH'EM guidebook:
 {{guidebook|Doppelgangers have the enviable ability to change form at will, at a cost of some mystic energy (mana), although what they become may be a bit of a surprise, even for them.}}
@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 Doppelgangers can polymorph into any permitted monster with the [[extended command]] [[#Polyself|#youpoly]] at the cost of 20 [[power]] - however, a given transformation may fail depending on how much more powerful the desired polyform is. They also gain an [[AC]] bonus for not wearing any [[body armor]] - this bonus is equal to their current level divided by four (with a minimum of 1), and stacks with other AC bonuses, e.g. from their role or dexterity.<ref>[https://github.com/k21971/SlashEM/blob/master/src/do_wear.c#L1809 SLASH'EM do_wear.c, line 1809]</ref><ref>[https://github.com/Soviet5lo/SlashTHEM/blob/v0.9.6/src/do_wear.c#L2035 SlashTHEM do_wear.c, line 1809]</ref> They are still considered human for purposes of determining [[cannibalism]] and same-race [[sacrifice]].
-Doppelgangers' [[attribute]] caps combine the best of all other starting races, save for [[charisma]]: their [[strength]] caps at 18/**,  while their charisma is capped at 15 (even lower than that of [[orc (starting race)|orcs]]), and the rest of their stats cap at 20. Low charisma is of little concern in practice - doppelgangers in need of charisma can simply polymorph into a [[foocubus]] or [[nymph]], which set charisma to 18 and have relatively low base levels. More pertinently, doppelgangers are restricted in two-weapon combat as a tradeoff for their excellent stats and abilities, and reliance on polyself [[#Feeling like a new doppelganger|can potentially hamper attribute growth]].
+Doppelgangers' [[attribute]] caps combine the best of all other starting races, save for [[charisma]]: their [[strength]] caps at 18/**,  while their charisma is capped at 15 (even lower than that of [[orc (starting race)|orcs]]), and the rest of their stats cap at 20. Low charisma is of little concern on paper - doppelgangers in need of charisma can simply polymorph into a [[foocubus]] or [[Nymph (monster class)|nymph]], which set charisma to 18 and have relatively low base levels. More pertinently, doppelgangers are restricted in two-weapon combat as a tradeoff for their excellent stats and abilities, and reliance on polyself [[#Feeling like a new doppelganger|can potentially hamper attribute growth]].
 The following table outlines their base form's maximum attribute levels:

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 ** [[Salamander]]s (guaranteed at level 8) are humanoid with good AC and speed, and have 2 weapon attacks, a fire touch, and a fire crushing attack.
 ** Doppelgangers can start polymorphing into [[mind flayer]]s with a reasonable chance of success at level 6 or 7; the brain-eating attack will make short work of most monsters, but is useless against those without heads or brains, and downright dangerous against monsters with passive attacks. Mind flayers will not be stoned when attacking a cockatrice; the tentacle attack is instead turned off.
-* [[Demon]]s have low natural AC, good attacks, and are a source of powerful pets through demon gating. The weaker demons become guaranteed polymorphable forms before a doppelganger gains intrinsic polymorph control at level 9 as well.
+* [[Major demon]]s and [[devil]]s generally have low natural AC, good attacks, and are a source of powerful pets through demon gating. Additionally, several of the weaker demons and devils become guaranteed polymorphable forms before a doppelganger gains intrinsic polymorph control at level 9.
-** [[Spined devil]]s have 18 speed (almost as fast as speed boots), are inediate, have resistances to fire, poison, and level-drain, have good natural AC, and hit fairly hard - this is a guaranteed form at level 5.  It is strictly better either the elf or dwarf mummy, unless you are working with prayer (the spined devil is a major demon).  They cannot wear suits, shirts or cloaks, but can wear other armor.
+** [[Spined devil]]s have 18 base speed, are inediate, have good natural AC, hit fairly hard, and resist fire, poison, and level-drain - this is a guaranteed form at level 5. It is strictly better either the elf or dwarf mummy unless you desire access to prayer (the spined devil is a major demon). They cannot wear suits, shirts or cloaks, but can wear other armor.
-** [[Chasme]]s can attack quickly and can repeatedly put foes to sleep. Great for [[Stealing from shops|killing shopkeepers]] (though this will come at the cost of -5 alignment record if you kill the shopkeeper without having him/her become angry with you due to not waking up).
+** [[Chasme]]s can attack quickly and can repeatedly put foes to sleep. Great for [[Stealing from shops|killing shopkeepers]] (though this will come at the cost of -5 alignment record if you kill the shopkeeper without having them become angry with you due to not waking up).
 ** [[Marilith]]s, guaranteed at 7, have normal speed, decent base AC, and attack 5 times. The multiple attack makes [[demon#Summoning while polymorphed|demon gating]] very effective.
 * Although not guaranteed until level 8, a level 5-7 character has a reasonable chance of polymorphing into a [[basilisk]]. They have the same passive attacks as cockatrices, though they are also larger and flagged as strong, making them much more capable of carrying a loaded inventory. As such, they can be very handy for traveling through dangerous early areas such as the [[Gnomish Mines]]. [[Nutrition]] can be a problem since you can't eat statues.