Impersonation

From Mizahar Lore

Impersonation is the skill of assuming the character or appearance of another person. Impersonation is a rather involved skill that allows an individual to completely impersonate a specific person or person of a particular occupation. The impersonator is likely to possess knowledge such as that of the subject being impersonated, military procedure, dress, heraldry/rank if necessary. Often they must also be able to speak various languages fluently. The final product is that the impersonator may convincingly impersonate a general type of person/soldier/advisor/etc., with an accurate disguise, proper action and language. Lesser skilled impersonators will find their impersonations slightly flawed in places that sooner or later will blow their cover. The more advanced one is in the skill, the more complete their impersonation will be. This is a skill most often found in use by con-men, spies, and other individuals looking to hide their true identities as well as entertainers who use the skill to amuse the audience.

Prerequisites and Related Skills

• Disguise - While there are a number of supplementary skills that may aid in the overall impersonation, the ability to disguise one's appearance is a necessity. Even the most rudimentary ability to disguise one's self will go a long way in perfecting the impersonation. Without some solid points in the disguise skill, one cannot build their way to learning the full art of impersonation. At least 5 points are required in Disguise in order to take up Impersonation.

Skill Progression

Novice (1-25)
	A Novice Impersonator is just starting out on the road to creating alter egos. Impersonations are rudimentary at best and usually involve the changing of one's voice and the adoption of minor target mannerisms such as posture and gestures. Basic terms and procedures may also be known although the impersonator may find great difficulty fooling someone close to a person being impersonated or someone of the impersonated occupation. The Novice impersonator is also somewhat adept at pretending that they know what they are doing and through this, gain a simplistic knowledge of certain skills that they may use to refine their art.
Competent (26-50)
	The Competent Impersonator has moved beyond the basic mannerisms, posture and gestures of the those they impersonate and have become proficient in prolonging the completeness of their guise for longer periods of time. It is more difficult for others to identify the impersonation as being anything but genuine. Done right, the impersonator could hold the impersonation as long as they desired assuming they put the effort forth. The competent are better equipped to mimic the voices, language and dialect and possess a wider range of skill and knowledge required to complete the impersonation.
Expert (51-75)
	Expert Impersonators are the envy of their lesser peers. They are so adept at mimicking another person that few if any can identify the impersonation as anything but real. Their knowledge and skill at impersonating another is such that only detection methods of the magical form can pierce their veil of deceit. Often, the impersonator undergoes various crude, surgical procedures as well as more refined magical ones to change their appearance in a more convincing, permanent manner in order to further perfect their impersonation. These individuals can become completely different people to the point that they have been known to fool close family members of those impersonated.
Master (76-100)
	Master Impersonators are said to have lost their true identities. They have perfected the art of changing who they are both in mind and body. Many take on completely different lives altogether for extended periods of time; some for the rest of their lives. Their ability to mimic everything about a person is flawless and it is said that such an ability crosses lines that should never be crossed. Only the most powerful, specialized manipulations of djed are capable of discerning the impersonators true identity and even then the only thing usually revealed is that something isn't quite right about the person. They are masters of many trades through the vast repertoire of skills and knowledge attained from their extensive time and effort spent as other people.