Mist veils the moonless night. Amid the swirling cloudscape a flickering flame draws your gaze, its alluring light drawing closer as a thunder rolls over the fog. The thunder resolves into the pounding of hooves on earth, which hails the mist changing to smog. A black figure reveals itself, sucking in the dark, while the horse's eyes flickers from orange to a lurid crimson light.

The knight's head resting on its hand, like a haunting out of ancient tales told beside crackling bonfires. It's Headless the Knight, what's its purpose? What's its destination? Would it be an unexpected help, or the worst of our fears?

Level 3: Eldritch Head

Beginning when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you lose your head, still staying alive in the process. You receive instead a Head with magical properties that can be detached and has its own movement and abilities. You determine its appearance, or generate it randomly by rolling on the Eldritch Head table.

When you acquire your Eldritch Head, you have from then on two states: attached and detached.

Attached

While in this state your Eldritch Head functions as your old head. You see, breathe and speak as you did before. You feed yourself by inserting food into the Head through some available opening, the food is magically consumed.

You can use any Head Antics with the Attached usability. Also, you are immune to any effects that would kill you instantly by cutting your head off.

Detached

As an action, you can magically detach your Head from your body. The Head becomes a creature under your control that you can mentally command until you use a bonus action to attach it again or until reduced to 0 Hit Points.

The Head has the following characteristics:

• Tiny Construct
• AC 18
• Hit Points: 2d10 plus your Constitution modifier, rolled whenever the detach action is taken
• Dexterity 18
• Saving throw modifiers are the same as yours
• Flying speed 30 feet and can hover

You can see, hear and speak through your Head if it is within 500 feet of you. The Head cannot be affected by magical effects that would change its form, such as polymorph.

In combat, the Head shares your initiative count, but takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action.

That action can be the Dash, Dodge, Disengage and Hide actions or some of the Head Antics with the Detached usability.

If your Head is destroyed, you can spend 1 action to materialize it again. It reappears attached to your body. Once you do it, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

While you are in the detached state you can still see, hear and speak normally as if your Head were there, but you cannot eat any food or drink. Your AC is reduced by 1 and you lose your Darkvision if you have it.

As a bonus action you can attach your head back to your body if it is within 5 feet of you. By doing so you return to the attached state.

If the Head disintegrates, or if it has less than its maximum hit points when you attach it to your body, you take 1d10 psychic damage.

The Head disintegrates immediately if it is reduced to 0 hit points, if you use this feature to materialize the Head again, or if you are reduced to 0 hit points.

ELDRITCH HEAD TABLE

And I become Fear

And I become Fear

Attached

As long you have your head attached you can't be frightened.

Come to Hell with me

Come to hell with me

Detached

Whenever your head disintegrates due to damage dealt by an enemy, it can deal 1d10 necrotic damage to all enemies within 10 feet of it.

Crypt Vitality

Crypt Vitality

Attached & Detached

Increase Eldritch Head HP by 1d10. Can be selected multiple times.

Elemental Gush

Elemental Gush

Attached & Detached

Your head becomes capable of making elemental attacks that come out of it. When you get this antic choose one damage type from fire, cold or lightning. When the head uses it all creatures within a 15 foot cone must make a Dex saving throw. A creature takes 2d6 damage of the chosen type on a failed save, and half as much on a successful one. You can pick this antic a second time to increase the damage to 3d6, and a third time to increase the damage to 4d6. You may use this antic a number of times equal to your prof. bonus and you regain the number of uses after you complete a short or long rest. 

Head Hunter

Head Hunter

Attached

When you attack a small or medium creature that has at least one head(s) with a melee weapon that deals slashing damage and roll a 20 on the attack roll, you cut off one of the creature's head(s). The creatures dies if it can't survive with the lost of the head. A creature is immune to this effect if it is immune to slashing damage, doesn't have or need a head, or has legendary actions. If the creature is humanoid and you only have one head at the moment you can take the creatures head and use it as if you materialized a second head. This does not count towards the number of times you can materialized a head between rest.

Jack O' Lantern

Jack-O'-Lantern

Attached & Detached

See normally through magical and nonmagical darkness to 60 ft.

Nightmare Devourer

Nightmare Devourer

Detached

If the head starts it's turn within 20 feet of a frightened creature it recovers 1d6 hit points.

Ominous Figure

Ominous Figure

Attached

When you take the attack action on your turn, you can replace one attack with an attempt to demoralize one humanoid you can see within 30 feet of you that can see and hear you. Make a charisma (intimidation) check contested by the target's Wisdom (insight) check. If your check succeeds the target is frightened until the end of your next turn. If your check fails, the target can't be frightened by you in this way for 1 hour.

Peek-A-Boo

Peek A Boo

Detached

The head can cast invisiability on itself. You may use this antic a number of times equal to half your proficiency bonus and regain the number of uses after you complete a long rest.

Scary Stare

Scary Stare

Detached

The head can cast fear. this feature can be used a number of times equal to half your proficiency bonus and you regain the number of uses after you complete a long rest.

Self Doom

Self Doom

Detached

The head can destroy itself, taking everyone around it with it. Each creature in a 20 foot sphere centered on that point must make a Dex save. Targets takes 6d6 force damage on a fail. Half on a successful save. The head disintegrates after. 

Sentry Of Myself

Sentry of Myself

Detached

You can't be surprised while your Head is within 10 feet of you.

Sinister Survival

Sinister Survival

Detached

Once a day, when your head is within 40 feet from you and it takes damage from a enemy, you can use your reaction to negate the damage and return it to you. It disappears from the space it is in and reappears attached to you. 

Soul Eater

Soul Eater

Detached

When your Head kills a creature, it regains 1d4 HP.

Unvoidable Fog

Unavoidable Fog

Attached

You can cast fog cloud at will.

Wandering Head

Wandering Head

Detached

Increase Head flying speed by 10 feet.

Weird Distraction

Weird Distraction

detached

Enemies have disadvantage to all attacks made against you if you are within 10 feet of your head.

Whispers from the Cemetery

Whispers from the Cemetery

Attached & Detached

The head can cast dissonant whispers. This feature can be used a number of times equal to half your prof. bonus and you regain the number of uses after you complete a long rest.

Head Antics

You learn two additional Antics of your choice at 7th, 10th and 15th level. Each time you learn new Antics, you can also replace one antic you know with a different one. Some Head Antics have prerequisites that must be fulfilled in order to be chosen.

Some of your Head features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature's effects.

Saving Throw DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. 

Crypt Vitality

 

Level	Head Antic	Usability	Effect
3rd	Crypt Vitality	Attached & Detached	Increase Eldritch Head HP by 1d10. Can be selected multiple times.

Phantom Steed

At 7th level, you learn the find steed spell. Your steed has the form of a black or gray horse with eyes that emanate a ghostly glow. Once you use this spell, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.

Vital Bond

At 10th level, whenever your Eldritch Head is within 30 feet of you and it takes damage, you can use your reaction to halve that damage. You then take psychic damage equal to the value that was reduced.

Shadowy Horseman

Starting at 15th level, you learn to ride through the shadows and become one with them. While mounted on a mount that you summoned yourself and is in darkness, you and your mount are invisible to any creature that relies on darkvision to see you in that darkness.

Headless Twice

Starting at 18th level, you can spend 1 action to materialize a second Head without disintegrating the first.

As long as one Head is being used, the other is considered just a common object without any special properties.

When the active Head disintegrates and you are still alive, you can attach the second Head to your body with a free action, which then becomes your active Head.

In addition, now you regain the ability to materialize your Head after a short rest. This feature does not change the number of times you can materialize a Head between rests.