Monster Dossier

Dullahan

Dullahan DULLAHAN LEGENDS In Giakhaed, residents recite legends of a cadre of dullahans who drive the "Coach of the Silent," a macabre funeral carriage p...

Level 7

Traits

uncommonlemediumundead

Rules & statistics

Monster Profile

Perception

14

Senses

  • Name
    lifesense
    Range
    60

Languages

Languages
  • common
  • necril

Skills

Athletics
15
Intimidation
17
Stealth
13
Survival
15

Ability Mods

Str
6
Dex
2
Con
2
Int
2
Wis
3
Cha
4

Items

  • full plate
  • +1 hatchet
  • +1 longsword

Defenses

Ac
28
Saving Throws
Fort
13
Ref
15
Will
17
Hp
  • Hp
    95
    Abilities
    • fast healing 5
Immunities
  • poison
  • fear
  • death effects
  • disease
  • paralyzed
  • unconscious
Weaknesses
  • Amount
    5
    Name
    good

Speed

Walk
20

Attacks

  • Range
    Melee
    Name
    keen longsword
    Attack
    18
    Traits
    • magical
    • versatile
    Damage
    1d8+10 slashing
    Types
    • slashing
  • Range
    Melee
    Name
    keen returning hatchet
    Attack
    17
    Traits
    • agile
    • sweep
    Damage
    1d6+10 slashing
    Types
    • slashing
  • Range
    Melee
    Name
    fist
    Attack
    18
    Traits
    • agile
    • nonlethal
    Damage
    1d4+10 bludgeoning
    Types
    • bludgeoning
  • Range
    Ranged
    Name
    keen returning hatchet
    Attack
    14
    Traits
    • agile
    • thrown
    Damage
    2d8+10 slashing
    Types
    • slashing

Abilities

Mid
  • Traits
    • aura
    • emotion
    • fear
    • mental
    Entries
    • 30 feet, 23
    Name
    Frightful Presence
  • Activity
    Number
    1
    Unit
    reaction
    Name
    Attack of Opportunity
Bot
  • Entries
    • Any slashing weapon a dullahan wields becomes keen, and any hatchet it wields becomes returning. If the dullahan kills a creature with a critical hit using a slashing weapon, the target is decapitated as though the dullahan had used Reap on the target. These effects remain only while the dullahan holds the weapon.
    Name
    Head Hunter
  • Activity
    Number
    2
    Unit
    action
    Entries
    • The dullahan removes the head of a dead creature within reach. Each creature within the area of the dullahan's frightful presence must attempt a new save, even if they are temporarily immune.
    Name
    Reap
  • Activity
    Number
    2
    Unit
    action
    Traits
    • conjuration
    • occult
    Entries
    • The dullahan summons a war horse with elite adjustments (page 6) and the fiend trait. This steed remains until it is slain, the dullahan Dismisses it, or the dullahan summons another steed.
    Name
    Summon Steed

Background

Lore

Dullahan

DULLAHAN LEGENDS

In Giakhaed, residents recite legends of a cadre of dullahans who drive the "Coach of the Silent," a macabre funeral carriage pulled by a team of spectral horses. To the west, among the Robreind, Shoufalam warriors whisper of dullahans who hunt down their victims using packs of hellish ebony hounds. And along the western coasts of Stefaliabu, pirates and merchants alike insist of the existence of a black-sailed ship crewed entirely by headless undead sailors.

Riding on a horse as black as night, the headless hunter known as the dullahan tracks down and takes the heads of those it deems unfit to continue living. When closing in for the kill, the dullahan first whispers its victim's name, then swiftly collects its prize, casting a pall of dread upon all who witness the grim execution.

A dullahan manifests when a particularly violent warrior is beheaded and the warrior's soul stubbornly clings to material existence (or is refused entry to the afterlife). Most dullahans return to their former homelands, where they can exact vengeance those they feel wronged them in life (or their living descendants). A dullahan's concept of justice is swift and merciless, and once it has selected a target, it is unwavering in its cause.

Perhaps even more than revenge on the living, a dullahan desires its own rotted head. An individual who wields the head of a dullahan is powerful indeed, for a dullahan will grudgingly serve such a master in the hopes of reclaiming its missing skull. Mighty fiends such as devils command dullahans to harvest souls or lead armies for them, while a mortal might use such an undead warrior to fulfill a personal vendetta. No matter its master's rank or station, however, a dullahan won't hesitate to kill its liege and reclaim its head when the opportunity presents itself.

Most dullahan lairs are abandoned, overgrown ruins or other dilapidated places where severed heads and other trophies line the walls. Some dullahans, on the other hand, are content to simply commit their foul deeds and leave the remains of their decapitated victims in the streets, strewn among a copse of dead trees, or unceremoniously tossed in a bog hole.