Muuthar - Doppelganger (MOO-thar)

The Muuthar are a race of creatures in Nedia gifted with the innate ability to change their form at will. Very little is known of the race, which comprises Mimics and Doppelgangers, as they are secretive, elusive, mischievous, and sometimes violent. What can be "known" is merely conjecture.

It is widely believed by Imperial scholars that mimics and doppelgangers are, in fact, the same species at different stages of life. Although it is well documented that doppelgangers can -- and often do -- reproduce by impregnating humanoid species with their own kin by disguising themselves as an attractive male, researchers suggest that the stages of life for the Muuthar are independent of reproduction. That is to say, an individual Muuthar can live its entire lifespan having never been in another stage of development, and whole lineages of mimics can exist before finally ascending to doppelganger status.

How Muuthar move onto the next stage of life is up for debate. Some theorize that mimics can advance through consuming a certain amount of intelligent humanoids; others say a mimic must be taught by a doppelganger; still others propose mimics evolve through rare cases of mimic colonies. Whatever the case, mimics and doppelgangers abound in the world.

Curiously, a pervasive legend insists that there is a third stage of development. This legend insists that a Muuthar can evolve beyond the doppelganger stage and gain heightened abilities. While a doppelganger can only mimic what it has seen, this third stage of development can alter its appearance to be anything it chooses, so long as it is humanoid.

These heightened doppelgangers, sometimes called changelings, do not exist according to research done by Imperial scholars. Instead, scholars pose that these "changelings" are the result of the adolescent stage of the doppelganger lifecycle when born of humanoid mothers, which is fraught with seemingly bizarre abilities.

Origins

Legend holds that the Muuthar originated from humans. They all trace their ancestry back to one woman who was greatly vain and self-absorbed. She spent her days decorating herself and was very proud of her image. Some tellings say she even slept next to a mirror so she could see her reflection even when she rested.

What she didn't know was that something was looking back from the Mirror Dimension. After a time, this being could restrain himself no longer and he reached through the mirror for the woman to be with her. When he had entered Nedia, he appeared to the woman as herself, and they became deeply enamoured with one another. Their children became were numerous, some claiming more of their mirror dimension ancestry and others presenting more of their human.