The Identical Men: Stats and Fluff

Disclaimer:

The Identical Men, in all their forms, are not from the Forgotten Realms. Rather, they come from Tezera, my own campaign’s world: there, I attempt to avoid a priori conclusions, and am instead working on figuring out how the various fantasy tropes and creatures could have plausibly come about in this DnD meets Call of Cthulhu smorgasbord.

Some adjustments may be required to blend the lore.

Fluff: #

Pale and thin, with skin stretched tight, seeing the Identical Men is a sure sign of fey involvement. As the preferred servants of the fey, the Identical Men are physically perfect (as the fey prefer not to see mortal blemishes), completely obedient (as all servants must follow all orders), and absolutely silent (as there is no reason for them to talk back). They can shape themselves to fit their master’s needs, and (for their owners/keepers) commanding them is a simple matter of flexing thoughts.

If you listen to whatever fey is giving the orders, the Identical Men’s service is good for them; it would be cruel to expect such perfect servants to fend for themselves in such a harsh world. Hushlings, naturally, have a very different view on the matter.

The Identical Men appear in The Ones who Stayed Behind. Be warned that it contains body horror: self-discretion is advised.

Crunch (DnD 5e): #

Identical Men #

Medium Fey, Lawful Neutral

Armor Class 13
Hit Points 18 (4d8)
Speed 30ft

Damage Vulnerabilites Piercing
Skills Acrobatics +2, Athletics +2, Deception +2
Senses passive Perception 7
CR ½

Lockstep. Identical Men do not typically act alone: rather, they will naturally form as many small groups* of equal number as possible. In combat, track the initiative for the Identical Men by group, rather than by individual. Any other passives that refer to “allies” refers to how many other Identical Men are in that group.
All members of a group will attempt to attack the same target whenever the group acts; if a member of that group is too far away, they will simply seek to join up with the rest of the group.

One, Two, Three. When attacking, Identical Men receive an additional +1 bonus to hit per ally in their group.

We Don’t Think For Ourselves. If the current number of Identical Men cannot be split into multiple groups of equal number*, they receive no bonus from One, Two Three and will lose tactical cohesion. As soon as the number of living Identical Men is reduced to a number where they can be split into multiple groups of equal number, they will do so (ending this condition). Otherwise, one full combat round after this condition begins: one Identical Man will become a Cradle Snatcher, the remaining Identical Men will form small groups as described in Lockstep, and this condition will end. Note that the new Cradle Snatcher maintains the hit points of the original Identical Man.

Prized Puppet. The Identical Men do not possess an individual will. Thus, they receive disadvantage on saving throws against magic such as Command or Geas, and advantage on saving throws against Charmed and Frightened.

Infiltrator. 3x per day, a group of Identical Men can physically change the appearance of their cohort. During this process they can choose to be Small, Medium, or Large creatures. All Identical Men in the group will have the same physical appearance, and follow the grouping rules described in Lockstep.

Mute. Identical Men cannot speak.

Actions #

Hold In Place. Melee Grapple. See page 195 of the 5e PHB.

Strike. Melee Weapon Attack. +2 to hit, reach 5ft, one target. Hit: (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning or slashing damage.

*A single Identical Man is not considered a valid group under Lockstep, but can trigger We Don’t Think For Ourselves.