Evolved Mimic

Evolved Mimics are creatures of perpetual adaptation. Unlike ordinary mimics, which disguise themselves as objects and wait for an unsuspecting victim, an Evolved Mimic actively studies the world around it. Every creature it encounters represents a potential new trait, and every battle provides its body with new information to exploit.

An Evolved Mimic's physiology is never truly fixed. Its limbs can become weapons, its flesh can reproduce the properties of magical objects, and its body can incorporate the traits of creatures it has studied. A dangerous opponent might leave behind more than a corpse—it might leave behind claws, wings, scales, regeneration, supernatural senses, or some other useful aspect of its nature.

The greatest Evolved Mimics eventually blur the distinction between imitation and evolution. They can reproduce extraordinary abilities that should belong only to legendary creatures, adapt their bodies to withstand attacks that once threatened them, and rapidly shift between the traits they have accumulated over a lifetime.

No two Evolved Mimics are quite alike. One might carry the resilience of a troll and the senses of a dragon, while another might have learned to reproduce the properties of enchanted weapons and extradimensional magic items. Their abilities are shaped not by tradition or formal training, but by the creatures, treasures, and dangers they encounter.

Level 3: Mimic Form

Your body can reshape itself into useful forms.

You can reshape portions of your body into weapons, shields, and useful tools with which you are familiar. An object created this way functions as the corresponding item.

You can change one of these forms whenever you could draw or stow an item. You can also change a form without an action when doing so as part of an attack or other action.

The weapons and shields created by this feature are extensions of your body and can't be disarmed from you.

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Magical Enhancements

When you study a magic weapon or shield, you can reproduce its magical enchantment through Mimic Form.

For example, after studying a +2 long sword, you can transform part of your body into a +2 long sword.

Mimic Form can reproduce a magic item's enhancement bonus, but not its other magical properties.

A magic item's other properties can instead be acquired through Magical Assimilation.

Mimic Form doesn't count as an Active Adaptation.

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Level 3: Adaptive Assimilation

Your body can learn from the things you encounter.

An adaptation is a property or ability acquired from a creature or magic item.

Creature Adaptations

You can assimilate an inherent ability of a creature you've encountered.

Examples include:

• Natural weapons
• Movement modes
• Special senses
• Resistances
• Immunities
• Regeneration
• Defensive traits
• Physiological features
• Supernatural biological abilities

When you spend at least 1 minute studying a creature, you can assimilate one of it's inherent abilities.

When a creature you've fought dies, you can immediately assimilate one of it's inherent abilities without spending 1 minute studying it

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Magical Assimilation

You can also assimilate the magical properties of magic items you study.

When you spend at least 1 minute studying a magic item,  you can assimilate one of its magical properties.

The assimilated property functions as it does for the original item unless the property relies on the item's physical construction or another object.

For example, after studying a Bag of Holding, you could assimilate its extradimensional storage and gain the ability to store and retrieve objects from your body in the same manner.

You can assimilate passive and functional magical properties, but not charges or consumable properties.

If a magic item's property allows it to cast a spell, you reproduce the effect of that property rather than gaining the ability to cast the spell normally.

Limitations

You cant assimilate:

• Class features
• Legendary Actions
• Legendary Resistances
• Abilities dependent on a specific creature, location, or external object

If your Repertoire is full when you assimilate an adaptation, you must replace one adaptation in your Repertoire. You forget the replaced adaptation.

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Active Adaptation

Only your Active Adaptations grant you their benefits.

Whenever you assimilate an ability that requires an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you are proficient with that roll when using the assimilated ability.

If the ability uses the creature's Proficiency Bonus, use your Proficiency Bonus instead.

Whenever you finish a Long Rest, choose your Active Adaptations from your Repertoire.

Your Active Adaptations represent the traits your body is currently expressing.

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Level 7: Adaptive Predator

Your body instinctively responds to dangers presented by your opponents.

Your number of Active Adaptations increases to 3, and your Repertoire increases to 8 adaptations.

When a creature damages you or forces you to make a saving throw,  you can take a Reaction to adapt to the effect.

You gain an appropriate defensive adaptations against that effect until the end of the encounter with that creature.

The adaptation can grant you one of the following benefits, as appropriate to the effect:

• Resistance to a damage type dealt by the effect
• Advantage on saving throws against the effect
• Immunity to a condition imposed by the effect
• Advantage on ability checks made to escape the effect
• Another defensive physiological benefit appropriate to the effect

The adaptation must directly respond to the ability or effect that triggered it.

Once you adapt to an effect, the adaptation applies whenever that creature uses the same or substantially similar effect against you for the remainder of the encounter.

You can use this feature multiple times during the same encounter, but only once per round because it requires a Reaction.

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Adaptive Strike

Your body learns how to alter its weapons to suit your opponent.

Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature that has triggered Adaptive Predator, you can change the damage type of that attack to Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Necrotic, or Poison.

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Adaptive Offense

Your body also learns how to overcome your opponent's defenses.

While you are adapted to a creature through Adaptive Predator, you can ignore that creature's Resistances and Immunities to the damage dealt by your Adaptive Strike.

In addition, if the creature possesses a special physical defense that would normally reduce or prevent your attack from damaging it, you can reshape your body to bypass that defense when reasonably possible.

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Rapid Adaptation

Whenever you finish a Short or Long Rest, you can replace one Active Adaptation with another adaptation in your Repertoire.

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Level 10: Apex Evolution

Your body has evolved beyond simple mimicry.

Your number of Active Adaptations increases to 4, and your Repertoire increases to 12 adaptations

Extraordinary Assimilation

You can now assimilate extraordinary and supernatural abilities that are inherent to creatures you encounter.

For example these abilities can include:

• A dragon's breath weapon
• A beholder's eye rays or Antimagic Cone
• A phase spider's ability to move between the Material and Ethereal Planes
• A vampire's Misty Escape
• Powerful regeneration
• Supernatural venom
• Extraordinary senses
• Natural teleportation
• Unusual forms of movement
• Powerful defensive traits
• Other inherent supernatural abilities

An assimilated ability functions as it does for the creature from which you acquired it, unless the ability relies on a statistic or characteristic you don't possess.

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Level 15: Perfect Predator

You have become the ultimate expression of adaptive predation.

Your number of Active Adaptations increases to 5, and your Repertoire increases to 16 adaptations.

Instant Adaptation

You can replace one Active Adaptation with another adaptation in your Repertoire as a Bonus Action.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, regaining all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

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Level 18: Ascended Adaptation

You have transcended the need to consciously adapt. Your body responds to danger almost before your mind recognizes it.

Your number of Active Adaptations increases to 6.

Instinctive Adaptation

When you use Adaptive Predator, you can choose to use the feature without expending your Reaction.

Once you do so, you can't use Instinctive Adaptation again until the start of your next turn.

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Immediate Evolution

When you roll Initiative, you can replace any number of your Active Adaptations with adaptations from your Repertoire.

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