Doppel/mimic life cycle speculations

The Complete Guide to Doppelgangers, The Hidden Truth of Doppelgangers, Dungeon Denizens Revisited, Darkness Without Form: Secrets of the Mimic, etc already go into a great deal of detail into the life cycle of the doppelgangers and mimics, so I won't try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, I will synthesis a mix of these. I will refer to these shapechangers as "metamorphs" collectively, and their individual names when specific.

Metamorphs may reproduce both sexually and asexually as circumstances permit. They may reproduce asexually through budding, fragmentation and releasing spores. The many stages or "morphs" of their life cycle are not linear. Individuals may pass through many different stages by maturing, reverting, merging, splitting, and so forth. They are comparable to plants, slime molds, sponges and the immortal jellyfish in those respects.

For example:

• doppelganger →  gestalt mimic → doppelstadt
• hunter mimic → doppelganger → doppelstadt
• spore → plasmoid → hunter mimic → lair-tyrant → metamorphic scholar → failed-apotheosis
• mimicling swarm → hunter mimic → lair-tyrant → elder mimic

Their overall behavior and reproductive methods will generally depend on the organization of the local population. The material in Dungeon Denizens Revisited is based on observations of orphaned hunter mimics that are the equivalent of feral children, whereas The Complete Guide to Doppelgangers is based on observations of highly organized and mind-linked metamorphs. The Hidden Truth of Doppelgangers logically explains that the hunter mimics cannot mature into doppelgangers without telepathic nurturing, which explains the existence of failed-apotheosis mimics seen elsewhere.

Given their metamorphic nature, there are many variants adapted to different environments. Doppelgangers come in urban and rustic variants. Mimics develop alterations and mutations. Lair-tyrants develop psychic powers. Et cetera.

Doppelgangers may reproduce sexually not only with other metamorphs but with humanoids as well, owing to their perfect shapechanging. Such children form the doppels, suitable as PCs; doppels are not hybrids or humanoids with a doppelganger bloodline, but a stage of the metamorph life cycle (obviously this is obscured behind rumors and misinformation). Some remain doppels for their entire lives, a rare few perhaps becoming sorcerers with the shapechanger bloodline/origin, while others mature into doppelgangers. It it a common practice for a doppel born to doppelganger parents to be given up for adoption by humanoid societies.

The origin of the metamorphs is unknown, perhaps even to themselves. The aboleth make extensive use of mimic slaves and symbiotes, leading some to ascribe the mimic's origin to aboleth experiments. Given that the aboleth don't make similar use of doppelgangers (the parasitic lethid already serve that role), the veracity of this origin is questionable.