Homebrew Copycat Species Details

Copycat

 ERIK LAY DEAD IN THE SNOW. 

HIS BODY WAS STILL WARM, BUT THAT WOULDN’T LAST. THERE WAS A DECISION TO MAKE. 

    SUMA, OR AT LEAST THAT WAS THE SELF IT WAS USING, FOR NOW, KNELT IN THE SNOW AND PRESSED HER PALM AGAINST ERIK’S FOREHEAD.

    “YOU FOUGHT WELL, MY FRIEND.” IT LIKED SUMA. THE MEMORIES WERE ESPECIALLY VIVID. SHE HAD BEEN AN IDEALIST, AND SINCE SUMA WAS AN IDEALIST, SO WAS IT. SUMA BELIEVED THAT THERE WERE TWO DEATHS: ONE UPON THE DEATH OF THE CORPOREAL BODY, AND THE OTHER UPON THE DEATH OF THE LEGEND. ERIK’S DEATH HAD COME TOO SUDDENLY, HIS STORY CUT OFF BEFORE THE CLIMAX. SUMA HAD LIKED ERIK, AND IT LIKED ERIK TOO. HE HAD BEEN A GOOD MAN -- A STRONG MAN.

    SUMA CLOSED HER EYES. HER FORM RIPPLED, CLOTHING AND SKIN MOMENTARILY SHIFTING THROUGH A PECULIAR GEOMETRY OF PURE BLACK. ERIK GOT UP OUT OF THE SNOW AND WALKED ON. 

    THERE WAS A LEGEND TO WRITE. 

 

A shadow on the wall that doesn’t fit. A close friend that has seemed a little off since last Tuesday. A black cat that you keep seeing from the corner of your eye. Copycats are a race sprung from the pages of a fairy tale, but not the happy kind of story where the prince marries the princess. This is a story where the princess subsequently eats the prince. 

Information found at r/UnearthedArcana 

Born of Longing

Copycats are born of mirrors of darkness. An old darkness. One that has sat and ripened over the centuries until it becomes... sticky. Perhaps it is due to ambient magical fallout from a vale where the veil between worlds is thin against fey and fell. Perhaps not. If the darkness looks too long into its own reflection, something is going to crawl free. 

 

Regardless of the reason, a Copycat is reflection given a single longing: to be.

 

A Singular Skill

Alive only in the sense that a virus is alive, driven by this single imperative, a Copycat locks the capacity for creativity. These little darknesses covet the existences and lives, the treasured selves, of others; incapable of forming their own, they try to do so by stealing them, usually from those they have killed.

 

Despite their inability to do anything but copy, their facsimile is perfect: they not only imitate the physical form, but take on reflections of thoughts and personalities from the dead. Lacking their own opinions, memories, morals, desires, and loves, the Copycat is, in a sense, a parasite that duplicates all things that make up a complete self and, once it has enough, stitches together a simulated identity from the copied fragments. 

 

Perhaps it says something about cats that all Copycats naturally settle into a shape that mirrors the nature of one, comprised of nothing but reflections of shadow. Observing one is an unsettling experience, something usually caught in the corner of your eye, a break in expected reality. A quick glance to confirm, and, well, it was an overactive imagination after all. Just an old friend, greeting you with a smile. 

 

Wanderers

After a time, filled with experiences, thoughts and desires, they acquire ---for all intents and purposes---a personality, through one entirely dependent on the personalities of the creatures that the Copycat has encountered. 

Copycat Traits

The traits for the Copycat are as follows.

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1

Type

Because of your strange origin, you are considered a monstrosity.

Age

Copycats do not age in the traditional sense, and as such are functionally immortal. They die when they have achieved their goal - to truly become themselves.

Alignment

The alignment of a Copycat is usually that of their Recalled Copy but can vary and shift depending on what form they copy.

Copying

As an action, you can transform your appearance or revert to your natural form. 

• You can only duplicate the appearance of a creature that you’ve seen within the last five minutes, and you revert to your natural form if you die. 
• You do not decide what you look like: the transformation will always be an exact replica, including the sound of your voice and your smell.
• You can appear as any creature of Small or Medium size, though none of your game statistics change. If you transform into a non-humanoid creature, you are limited in the actions you can perform by the nature of your new form. 
• Your clothing and other equipment don’t change in appearance, size, or shape to match your new form: however, if the creature you are copying is wearing clothing and gear, you may create an exact copy of it. The copied clothing and gear are non-functional and any copied item leaves contact with your body ceases to exist.

True Self

Your natural form is a cat-shaped amalgam, of shadow. You are limited in the actions you can perform based on your cat-like body, and you can’t speak, cast spells, or take any other action that requires hands or speech. Additionally, you are immune to any spell or effect that would alter your form, even if you are willing and attempt to cast such a spell or effect on yourself other than Copying.

Recalled Copy

You have one Recalled Copy. This is a specific appearance you can transform into as part of your Copying ability, ignoring the five-minute rule. Confer with your DM as to the appearance of this copy, as well as the memories the copy had before you acquired its identity.

Stolen Copy

You gain fragmented but circumstantially useful memories of creatures you copy that have been dead for no more than a day. If you then stay in that form, more memories will unlock over time. The DM chooses how many memories to give you, and when. Regardless of what memories you obtain, this ability improves your copy. You have advantage on any Charisma (Deception) checks you make to avoid detection. 

In addition, you gain a proficiency in a tool or skill of the DM’s choice whenever you transform into a copy that isn’t your Recalled Copy, based on the form you assume. This proficiency lasts for as long as you remain in that form.

Language

You can speak, read, and write Common. Whenever you transform into a copy, you gain one language that the creature you are copying knows. This language lasts for as long as you remain in that form.

Size

Copycats are housecat-like, with a length of about 3 feet from nose tip to tail tip and never weighing more than 25 pounds. Your size is small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 ft.