Homebrew Dullahan (type |) Species Details

Fey Experiments

A Dullahan is a type of fey creature born of the unseelie court. many think Dullahan resemble the undead due to their headless nature but really both head and body are kept completely alive by an incurable curse brought unto them by an ancient forbidden dark Fey ritual. The Dullahan are created when a unseelie takes a humanoid race, disembowels it, and commits itself to a dark ritual in which the being is brought back to life as a Dullahan, a headless being. Due to this cruel experimental ritual the unseelie test on people, the Dullahan suffer from memory loss of their past former selves and can only remember bits and pieces and sometimes dream of their past lives, however they can always recall their true name, or the name they had before. For the most part the Dullahan retain their past personalities and flaws they had before the transformation. Only a few rare Dullahan possess and remember more of their past life than others due to a trigger of lasting impression that can not be forgotten. Dullahan are also completely capable of producing offspring, however, like the tiefling, the offspring will be a dullahan.

Dullahan society

Since they so closely resemble humanoids, Dullahan tend to be able to enter other societies with relative ease compared to tieflings, half-orcs, or other hated monster races. However Dullahan are still very feared and viewed negatively by other races and societies because of their unnatural skin color and their unintentional trait of being headless and are described as being evil incarnate, creepy, sickening, and often compared to monsters. Dullahan tend to keep their apperance hidden in order to save themselves some unwanted attention and discrimination from civilians and merchants when not around their kind or close friends. Dullahan have been known to set up society's comprised of only them and select others who are peaceful towards them, or their spouses, Most of these societies being located out of the way of other societies or people. Oddly enough some elven and gnomish societies are welcoming and friendly to the Dullahan while others view them rather sympathetically. All things considered however, Dullahan are still extremely rare to encounter in large cities, preferring to reside in the town or village they think they had lived in from their memories if they can recall it, like to live a nomadic life, or just prefer to remain in the feywild if that is where they underwent the ritual. Dullahan are generally neutral or chaotic in alignment and rarely ever lawful and have been known to be good despite what other races that are hostile to them may say.

Physical Appearance

Dullahan are regarded as stunningly beautiful or chiseled while they wear their head, almost like an elf, and resemble humans or elves with Pale blue or Light grey skin, some being a combination of both mixed in. their eyes are black, and some Dullahan literally have non-lethal, ethereal smoldering flames on the edges around the eyes that burn pale blue or purple, while the iris can be any natural or unnatural color. A Dullahan's hair can be any natural color but is frequently obsidian black, shiny grey, or pale blue to pale white. Dullahan’s usually have mouths that are very wide that they can open to the sides of their face but lose this “ability” slowly after aging past forty, for after age forty, Dullahan tend to evolve into more human-like beings then monster, sadly this is one of the only known main traits a Dullahan loses after aging, but still useful for scaring less people and not attracting unwanted/unneeded attention. While a Dullahan’s head is separated from its body a non-lethal, ethereal pale blue or purple flame forms on their wounded neck and on the bottom of the head that serves as a sort of “string” that shows that the head and body are connected and acts as a means for the body to hear and see as well as for the head to speak. When the flame is looked upon or perceived by any magical means then one would see a light, floating, ethereal string coming out of the flame, connecting the head and body. This string is unseverable by any means and only ever snaps when the Dullahan is killed or dies. The flame extinguishes once the Dullahan dies. When the Dullahan “wears” its head a thin “indent” that goes all the way around the throat shows that the head is “disconnected” from the body and out from this “indent” seeps ethereal smoke same in color to the fire a Dullahan possesses. 

Dullahan Names

Most chosen Dullahan names are usually repeating syllables or words, or they may adopt a another human sounding name, at least the names they or others gave themselves are this way. Dullahan tend to not willingly give out their true name to anybody other than other Dullahan or close friends, so as to not attract attention and make enemies of people who fear or despise Dullahan. Its true name is the name it had before it was made, and its chosen name is the name the Dullahan gave itself or received from a friend and the Dullahan adopted. Dullahan treat their names very seriously and importantly and tend to keep their true names completely secret, only sharing it with somebody they trust with their very life or even love, and tend to dwell on trying to find a chosen name for quite awhile. However very rarely a Dullahan might take on its true name as its chosen name as well, or might take on the name of a person in its faint memories of its past life that it thinks it knew.

Head destruction

When a Dullahan's head is destroyed, the Dullahan becomes an it "dies" and becomes an empty husk controlled by Myrkul, that runs across the countryside killing all people that the he tells it to. these Dullahan have had their souls ripped out and the only way to revive them is to repair the head if able and then cast the resurrection spell after getting the soul from feywild, and swaying the other soul to come back from whatever afterlife it goes to. Dullahan have two souls, when a Dullahan dies these two souls split up and one (its soul from before the transformation) goes to one of the afterlife planes according to its past alignment (must be wrote down in the backstory slot on the character sheet), while the other goes to the feywild where it wanders endlessly till the end of time.

Dullahan (type |) Traits

your Racial traits are below

Racial Ability score increase

Ability score Increase: Your Charisma Increases by 2 and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age

Age: Whether they were born by a dark ritual or reproduction, Dullahan mature at the same rate as humans, but can live far longer. They become adults or mature at about age 20 and can live up to 300 to 350 years. When a Dullahan matures it stops physically aging, much like an elf or the timeless body feature of the monk.

Alignment type

Alignment: Dullahan tend toward neutral alignments because of their belief of death and sorrow comes equally to everyone at its own pace, and to avoid being considered monsters or unintentionally picking a side. However it isn't uncommon for one to be chaotic.

Dullahan size

Size: The average Dullahan are about as tall as the average human, however some can get as tall as half orcs at times to as small as a dwarf. Your size is medium.

Base walking speed

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Basic languages

Languages:  you can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.

Fey Ancestry

Fey Ancestry: you are immune to magical sleep and have advantage against being charmed

Nightbound Darkvision

Nightbound Darkvision: You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern colors in darkness, only shades of grey. While in direct sunlight your basic vision and darkvision is reduced by 20ft. During the middle of the night and while obscured in shadow your basic vision and darkvision increases by another 60ft.

Frightening

Frightening: You have proficiency in the intimidation skill.

Hybrid Nature

Hybrid Nature: Your creature type is fey in addition to humanoid. You become a target of any spell, ability, or effect that affects either of your creature types.

Dormant Trance

Dormant Trance: Dullahan do not need sleep. Instead, much like elves, they enter a dormant state and remain semiconscious for 4 hours a day. This has the same effects as a long rest would for another race. While in this trance roll a d100, if anything 50 or below is rolled then nothing happens other than you rest, but if you roll a 51 or above then you enter a very faint dream state in which you remember and relive bits and pieces of your past life or the beginnings of the fey ritual before your disembowelment. You have a 25% chance of remembering this faint and hazy dream when you wake up. Keep in mind that the dream you are reliving while in this state is faint and hazy and even if you do remember it when you are awakened it will basically be impossible to interpret it to its fullest. Dullahan have however rarely been able to identify and locate people in their dreams in real life, like their parents or the unseelie who transformed it.

Natural Headlessness

Natural Headlessness: Your head and body are separated, the wound that separated them never healing or mending, although at the cost of an action you may choose to attach or detach your head from your body.

While your head is separated from your head you gain the following effects:

 

  • You can't die by decapitation or disembowelment
  • You always know the exact location and direction to your head unless its on another plane in which when you set foot upon said plane you then instantly receive the information, or if there is an effect that prevents divination magic.
  • Unless your head is being carried by you or another creature, it can be targeted, its AC being yours, not including dex bonus or armor bonus from armor not including a helmet. You can not suffer damage twice from an area of effect spell because of this. your head instantly fails all Strength and Dexterity throws. 
  • When separate, both body and head can see and hear
  • Your body can't speak, but it can consume food and drink and even cast spells with verbal components as long as the head isn't silenced or gagged
  • The non-lethal, ethereal flame that leaks from your throat and the bottom of your head sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.

Natural rider

Natural rider: You add your proficiency bonus to animal handling rolls to manage all manor of horses and steeds if you don't already, and if you do then you now have double proficiency while doing animal handling rolls for horses or steeds 

Dullahan reaper training

Dullahan reaper training: You have proficiency with the War Scythe, Chain sickle, Sickle, and Whip

Reapers strike

Reapers strike: Once you reach 3rd level, if you are fighting a creature that has a head, you are not being currently weakened by the effects of gold, if your wielding a war scythe, chain sickle, or sickle and you are attacking with it, then if you are to roll a natural 20 on your attack roll, then for the damage roll your weapon becomes magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances, and gains a bonus 1d6 of damage, the damage type being necrotic, and the necrotic damage ignores the resistances the creature has to it, if any. if the creature then dies from this effect, it is instantly beheaded. After you deal out the damage for this attack your weapon goes back to normal, until you fulfill all the requirements again. If you roll a natural 20 and fail or succeed to meet all the requirements then the normal rules for a nat 20 attack still apply, however your d6 necrotic damage bonus is not increased whatsoever. at 7th level the 1d6 of necrotic damage turns into 2d6, a 3d6 at 14 level, and a 4d6 at 20th level 

Unseelie magic

Unseelie magic: You know the “Toll the Dead” cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level you may cast the “knock” spell once per short/long rest, and you may cast the “Find steed” spell once a day, the steed will always be a warhorse and its type will always be either your choice of fey or fiend (but never celestial). Once you reach 5th level you can freely cast “vampiric touch” spell at its lowest level, once every short/long rest. Wisdom is your modifier for these three spells. Once you reach 9th level you may summon a Nightmare (read beast manual for monster statistics) from the abyss to be your steed of the night. You have charges for this spell equal to your charisma modifier that recharge every week (Example: if you have a charisma modifier of +3 then you have a max of three charges. Once you use them all you must wait a week for them to recharge). The nightmare is friendly to you and your companions as long as it resides, and follows orders from you that would cause no obvious self-harm. The nightmare stays with you for 2d4 hours plus your charisma modifier to each roll, or until it’s hit points reach 0, in which the nightmare is magically transported back to the abyss. While the nightmare is under your possession it is considered both a fey and a fiend for as long as it resides with you. In addition, the nightmare can be stored in your shadow as an action, and retrieved from your shadow as a bonus action. If they nightmare is attacked by you or one of your companions, or an order of obvious self-harm is given, the spell breaks and the nightmare is now hostile towards you and your companions

Weakness to gold

Weakness to gold: You are vulnerable to gold tipped weapons and have a -1 to all saving throws and attack rolls while clad or chained in gold. Gold tipped weapons deal fire damage to you in addition to their normal damage type (example: if you are hit with a gold tipped weapon, and its damage type is piercing, slashing, bludgeoning, etc. then its damage type is fire as well as its original damage type) When picking up, holding, or starting your turn 5ft. Within something made of gold, make a wisdom saving throw of DC 15. On a failed save make a constitution save of DC 10, take 1d4+1 fire damage and drop the gold item, or be thrown 5ft. away from it if able (only if you were standing 5ft. Within the gold item/object), on a failed save, or on a successful save you may hold the gold item for 1d4-1 minutes until you must make the constitution save again or you may drop it before then. During this amount of time or until you drop the gold item or step away from it, you are frightened of everything that is holding, or is gold that you can see (you have disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks). If you succeed on the wisdom save then the same thing happens as if you succeeded on the Constitution save but the time until you must make another roll increases to 1d8-1 minutes, and you are not frightened during that time period.

Headless rage

Headless rage: if your head is stolen, you enter a rage-like state where you lose all reason and will pursue you head to the end of the earth, even to the depths of hell. While in this rage state you cannot do anything but search for your head. you take half damage from sources other then the creature who stole your head however they have the advantage on their attack roll, you have a +2 bonus on all attacks and damage focused on the thief of your head, and have a +2 bonus on any check made to help you locate the creature that stole your head (determined by your DM), and you take 1d6 +1 psychic damage everyday that you do not have your head when it was stolen. All these effects end after you get your head and take action to put it on.

Absolute death

Absolute Death: at 16th level you may cast the "power word: kill" spell once every three days, twice every two days at 18th level, and three times a day at 20th level.

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