A new sect for PlaneScape: the Mimics

(Arbitrators, Actors)

by P. Dimitriadis 1996

The only way to understand someone else is to BECOME them. When you can do that, you can always defeat them. More importantly, you may not have to.

Mimic Elder

Sect Philosophy

People disagree on so many things, from what is the nature of reality, to how much taxes people should pay.
A wise cutter is someone who looks at things from all sides, and the best way to understand a side is to understand one (if not all) people who hold that point of view.
This is where the Mimics come in. They are dedicated to looking at things through another person's eyes. Motives vary for joining; sometimes one joins for enlightenment, other people join to get an edge by being able to know how an opponent will react before they do.

Whatever the purpose, a Mimic's goal is to get inside someone else's head, and understand how one thinks. Elves have a saying that a berk can't know the mind of another until he knows his own.
The Mimics invert this saying somewhat; knowing the minds of others is a route to knowing your own. If one could live the life of every person in the multiverse, that person would know everything there is to know.
Mimics come as close as they possibly can to this goal.

Primary Plane of Influence: The closest the Mimics have to a primary plane of influence is the Outlands (not Sigil, although they are considering trying to become a full-fledged faction).
In reality, they have members spread throughout the multiverse, trying to understand the minds of others.

Allies and Enemies: Most factions are neutral to the Mimics.
Because of their desire to learn things by getting into their brain-box (metaphorically), most factions hold the unspoken belief that a Mimic will eventually 'see the truth' after experiencing the lives of so many others, and join the 'right' faction.
The Mimics probably have the best relationship with the Sensates, for they both agree that experience is the key. Sensates try to acquire it for themselves, while Mimics try to get it from others.
In the Outlands, the Mimics are often chosen to settle petty disputes.
While many groups respect the intentions of the Mimics, they are somewhat less enthused with the possibilities of Mimic spies (see below).

Eligibility: The Mimics are, by nature, a very open and accepting sect.
Any alignment is allowed to join, although lawfuls are by far the rarest. The great majority of Mimics are some shade of neutral, naturally gravitating to the least extreme of all points of view.
Thieves, and those in charge of catching thieves, often join this sect for an edge.
A small part of the sect are advocating adopting a rule which insists all new members abandon their real names, although at present this is not necessary.

Benefits: All Mimics are able to, at least to some degree, see into the minds of another person. This is not a psychic ability, but merely comes about by observation and contact.
The Mimic must have been in the regular company of a subject for at least a day, but once that is established, a Mimic can, on a successful Wisdom check, answer any question about what the subject would do in a given situation.
This ability may be used once per day at namer level.
The greatest benefit comes to those Mimics who have the ability, either through a magic item or a spell, to change their appearance. These Mimics can almost always make a perfect imitation of their subject.
Such sublimation of identity is not without risks.
It is rumoured that a few of the oldest members are able to change themselves even without such magic, by sheer force of will.

Restrictions: When a Mimic has studied a subject enough, he begins to empathise with the subject, and is therefore less likely to attack.
Once three successful 'character judgements' (the ability to answer questions in the mind of a subject) have been made, the Mimic is extremely reluctant to attack. In fact, unless a Wisdom check at a -2 penalty is made, he will not willingly attack the subject.
If the Mimic is forced to defend himself, all attacks will be made at a -2 penalty to hit.
When a Mimic is attempting to impersonate another person, this empathy is even more dangerous.
Each consecutive day after the first that a Mimic impersonates someone, he must save vs. Polymorph.
After three days, the save is made at a penalty of 2 for each day beyond the third.
Failing the save means that the character is convinced that he is, in fact, the person being impersonated, and will behave accordingly.
The Mimic may attempt to reassert his identity once per week through a successful save vs. Polymorph.
A final restriction is that when a Mimic is making use of magic to change his appearance, he's unable to create a totally new appearance. He MUST copy the appearance of someone he has seen (although this need not be a person studied extensively).

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