Welcome to Gaia! ::

It's a big world, and it has a lot of different environments, so it stands to reason that there would be a lot of different animals and monsters too.

So these Will-o-wisps, basically little balls of ambient arcane energy that have condensed to have a semblance of intelligence, they kinda do, they kinda don't, it's complicated.

Since they are born from ambient magic they are far more populous in areas with naturally high levels of magic, such as forests or... (I guess we should talk about what causes an area to have naturally high ambient magical energy), places that have a lot of magical usage are less likely to have Will-o-wisps because the usage drains them. However, they are attracted to concentrations of magical energy, such as the charging of a large spell, and reportedly certain well endowed magi.

In appearance they're little more than a glowing ball, most of the time small but they can grow, the maximum size limited by how much power they contain. The color varies on a moment by moment basis but not by much unless something happens; Their color range is defined by the nature of the magic they are formed from. Usually pastel colors but a few ill intentioned magi have artificially created or altered them to make sharper colors, even black (black never occurs naturally)

Generally they are peaceful and nice, but easily provoked, you don't want to provoke them, when angered they can take a variety of actions, from flat out exploding to consuming the offender any anything around in a magical blaze, accounts even speak of someone having all their life force sucked out of them. As stated, it is a very bad idea to make one of these mad, it is also easy to do if you don't know what you're doing. Most travelers are taught to avoid them at all costs.

Will-o-Wisps will travel in packs if possible. Packs will never exceed ten members but groups of packs will also travel together, though there will be clear definitions between packs in the herd. There is no form or semblance of leadership in the pack or herd.

dude, I was having nightmares about that movie seven years later, and I only saw it once. those damn zombie vultures, what the hell was with them. But it was way too long ago for me to remember anything useful about it.

It's funny what odd things frighten children.
They where the embodiment of the evil that existed inside a race of people.
Long ago these beings cast there evils aside and this gave birth to the evil race. There where only a handful of each of the beings. They where keyed to each other. They fought but never hurt each other. For if any creature on one side was hurt or died one on the other side naturally was inflicted with the same injury or death. Quite interesting for flick really. I was making more light to the strange little side creatures that lived in that world. The land strider's the cage beetle things and the round furry creatures where all neat and imaginative.

On that effect I came into some reading a while back about Dopplegangers.
They are very complected beings but from what I read they are very interesting. They can take many shapes and forms and read minds. They share there thoughts with a collective of pool. So if you kill on they are really not at a loss. Destroy a pool and then you have a problem. Perhaps after we get a few good stories under our belt we could talk more about it. I agree with Marael at the moment. Let me know when it's time to consider these things because I have a few opinions on there general workings.

Could be could be. They do have a sort of borg ( Oh sorry for the star track name drop, wont happen again) way of thinking. They are a very intelligent species and they make it there goal to take over the world. They do it right under our very noses. They have a belief that if they can cover every square inch of the planet this world will die. They want this because they believe a new world will be created for them if they do so. There reasoning to back this claim up is they are sure the moon was the first planet they inhabited.

Hummm, that's sad for them if that is true.
What they strive to do would be inevitably impossible. Which I suppose would be good for the rest of the life on this planet. I suggest this. The creatures cells are unique which allow them to do what they do. The serum you suggest is used for there control has magical property's. So it keeps them in control in two ways. 1) it is what keeps them alive and 2) it naturally keeps them from entering certain areas. So the evil person controlling them would keep the serum with in a anti magic field.

This is from Complete guide to doppelgangers by goodman games and wizards of the coast.


“Characteristics of a Doppelgangers:
This is the first stage of the Doppelganger life cycle. As it gestates, and embryonic doppelganger adjusts to interact with the world around it. It adapts to interact with other creatures that share this environment.; its telepathic and shape shifting abilities are honed to focus on these creatures, and even its natural form is altered to a shape more suited to its new home. The urban doppelganger is designed to interact with sentient humanoids. Its natural shape is bipedal mockery of human form – completely hairless and covered with gray, oily skin. A typical urban doppelganger is about five and a half feet tall; it appears to be spindly and frail, but it is pure muscle and bone beneath the skin and is surprisingly strong and fast. The only facial features it possesses are two large, white eyes that lack any visible pupil. This lack of features does not adversely affect the creature. The primary sense used by a doppelganger is Telepathy; it “sees” thought telepathy and mentally communicates with other doppelgangers. A doppelganger can hear sounds even with out visible ears; it feels the vibrations against its skin. As for missing mouth, Doppelgangers of all ages consume food by engulfing it; a doppelganger simply creates a “mouth” as necessary, then absorbs and dissolves the food. Doppelgangers are omnivorous.
After a certain amount of time has passed, doppelgangers become more introspective. Eventually, their ability to maintain a mobile form slips away. For most doppelgangers, this occurs after about twenty years. This process can be voluntarily triggered, and many doppelgangers choose to advance to the next stage to meet the needs of their community.
A doppelganger does not sleep; instead it enters a meditative state similar to the trance employed by elves. A doppelganger requires four hours of a trace state per day.

Adult: mimic

The second stage of the Doppelganger lifecycle is the mimic- a slow-moving shape shifter that can assume the form of inanimate objects. Most adventures know of the dungeon mimic, which is more aggressive and less intelligent than its urban and rustic realities. In its natural state, a mimic is a blob of oily gray flesh with a mass that can range from three hundred to two thousand pounds. It usually relies on its telepathic senses and vibration hearing, but it can create eyes if necessary.
Mimics are sedentary creatures. A mimic cannot assume the forms of living creatures, and it cannot move quickly. It spends most of the time in a state of trance, communing with other members of its gestalt and listening the thoughts of the creatures around it. A mimic must attain a certain level of mental discipline before it can progress to the next stage of life; this can take anywhere form a few months to a few decades based on the individual mimic. As a result, a community of Doppelgangers may contain dozens of mimic’s scattered around striving to advance to the next stage.


Elder: Doppelstadt

The dopplstadt ( pural doppelstade) is the final stage of the Dopplganger lifecycle. It is a communal entity, formed when multiple mimics fuse together inot a single mass. A doppelstadt duplicates the forms of vast inanimate objects; Urban doppelstadt typically assume the forms of buildings, while rustic doppelstadt mimic groves of trees or other natural formations. The physical abilities of a doppelstadt are extremely limited; it can shift its internal structure, but this is a painfully slow process. Its power is its mind; a doppelstadt possesses impressive mental abilities and maintains a telepathic network that acts as a psychic anchor for the community.
A doppelstadt relies on its offspring to fetch the food it requites. A doppelstadt that is spawing needs a considerable amount of protein, but if it is not engaged in reproduction it can survive with less sustenance. With proper support, a doppelstadt can live for hundreds of years; the maximum lifespan of these creatures has yet to be determined.