D&D Homebrew Races - The Mortal Dullahan / Headless Horseman

      A homebrew race of death-born, headless knights for Dungeons & Dragons 3e/3.5; created by Aboleth Eye!  Inspired by the Dullahan from Irish folklore, Washington Irving's American folktale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and more modern incarnations of the headless horseman--including the Headless Rider from Japanese urban legends and light novel series Durarara!!
    As always, though this homebrew was made with D&D 3.5 edition in mind, with a few tweaks you can absolutely use this material with Pathfinder 1st edition! -- Aboleth Eye

    Known as “headless riders” and even "headhunters of the gods"; true Dullahans are some of the most terrifying entities to roam the planes!  Veiled in death, riding a vicious steed blacker than night and holding aloft a chain of spines and their own severed head; these dark creatures chase down their victims and deliver upon them agonies more brutal than the mortal mind can fathom!  
    True Dullahans, however, are but entities of unfathomable cruelty and soul-shattering fear.  They are summoned by the paranoia of mortals, born to punish the perpetrators of abomination and wanton bloodshed.  And yet, as mortal born creatures, they have a far more humble beginning to their tales.  On the Material Planes these creatures are known as Mortal Dullahans.  Before they are seemingly chosen to take the reigns of a dreadful nightmare and ascend to the power of an outsider--if ever chosen at all--they must serve upon the Material Plane!

    Mortal Dullahans are a breed of fey born from the Planes of Shadow and Negative Energy finding purchase upon the Material World.  Where an act of unspeakable cruelty occurs--its magnitude so great it psychically wounds the soul of the world--a Mortal Dullahan may emerge!  The offending act must be so great a sin that the souls of its victims themselves rot away to nothingness, unable to be swept away by psychopomps or divine guides to their eternal resting place in the planescape.  

    And thus, literally born of hatred and vengeance darker than shadow, the mortal dullahan emerges!  They obsessively skulk the roads of mortal men; a living embodiment of punishment for crimes too foul to speak.  And they embrace their design, cruelly yet valiantly inspiring fear, respect and dread wherever they roam.  Some embrace their macabre traditions and hunt the living for sport.  Others decide to live lives of dedication to honorable gods of death and war.  

The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane, John Quidor (1801-1881)

Public Domain via Smithsonian American Art Museum

Origins & Physiology

    The dullahan are a rare species of fey, born from a combination of dreadful times and acts too gruesome to name.  They manifest on the Material Plane on the darkest of nights, where the moon is too ashamed to witness the night's events.  From where blood has been spilled unjustly and victims are desecrated foully beyond name.  

    Supposedly when a perpetrator of such crimes is to die, their crimes never uncovered or punished, their shadow itself will reject their peaceful demise.  On moonless nights, when midnight tolls upon the clocks and the unpunished soul awaits a peaceful death, ominous events begin to disturb the night!  The winds howl, animals bay in fear, mirrors crack from side to side...  
    Finally, with a great scream of hatred and agony that awakens sleeping souls for miles, the perpetrator's shadow tears itself from the earth!  It rises up to stand wholly before the accused, their voice shouting forth the crimes committed!  The accused is paralyzed with fear, unable to flee the sight of their shadow-self rising and delivering a death they never imagined! 
    The dullahan then pulls forth a great blade, forged in the shadows of those who suffered such heinous crimes unavenged.  And it uses this mighty weapon to sever the criminal across the neck.  This great wound slays both the body and soul; the unpunished becoming the eternally punished!  And as the accused's dark mirror, the dullahan's own neck is cut as well!   
    The wicked victim's head (their soul trapped within) is then dragged through the darkest planes, to be tormented by the lowest castes in the Lower Planes.  The dullahan's misplaced head vanishes into shadows, leaving a plume of ghostly flame emanating from their severed neck in its absence.  And upon the final toll of midnight, the dullahan speaks their name forevermore: Vengeance!

    The legendary sight is terrible to behold, for the accused soul as well as those unluckily to be present.  Many onlookers hair turns white from horror, in streaks of entirely for many years after.  Their own shadows twist unnaturally, itself attempting to flee this avenging entity but bound to its anchor of a physical living body. 
    Only the innocent, children and those whose hearts and souls have never once considered sin, are seemingly unaffected by this creature rising and naming itself vengeance--a kindness the planes grant it seems.  

    According to folklore from those living in dullahan-haunted regions, this is the common thought as to how these dark fey manifest.  However, across continents and cultures, mortal dullahans arise in other ways.  But always the night is marked forever cursed, and the region becomes all too aware there is an avenging spirit now riding its roads by night... 

    Several cultures rather believe that a mortal dullahan arises when a person is slain and their head is stolen from their corpse.  The energies of the earth are called to action, drawn to the wrath of the deceased until the corpse reanimates with unholy fire. 
    Others suggest that mortal dullahans are merely legends made real: roads made famous by highwaymen and bandits, or even regular monster attacks, gather psychic energy from peoples' belief.  The belief manifests as the mortal dullahan, who becomes the scapegoat-slash-bogeyman of the region to be feared and blamed!  

    Many speculate that a mortal dullahan can only ascend when another is born, taking their place in the cosmic order.  A True Dullahan may only ride across the planes as harbinger when another manifests to continue punishing humanity for its collective sins.  

    Considering it is unknown how many dullahans exist across the planescape (mortal or true), no one can confirm this theory.  But it is a popular one, backed up by new ideas about conservation in mass and energy across all planes...  None can claim to know this for certain, however; nor can anyone survive long enough in the presence of a True Dullahan to confirm any theories...

    

    Mortal dullahan manifest from shadows as muscular adult humanoids from the neck down, typically choosing to wear simple black clothing or armor.  Their bodies are usually in a grayish tone of any humanoids can have.  From halfway up their neck, unlike a normal humanoid creature, the dullahan have no heads.  

    Instead, from where the neck suddenly ends, a spout of dark smoke and heatless flame always emanates.  This ghostly energy is the literal lifeforce and sentience of a mortal dullahan--it changes hue and flickers in response to its personality and emotional responses.  If grievously wounded, dying or in areas where the atmosphere is unbreathable, the flame of a mortal dullahan typically grows weaker and turns a dull harrowing gray...

    To living creatures the flamespout is completely heatless and inflicts no harm, though moving a hand through the flame will give the dullahan discomfort comparable to a bad stomach ache.  The flames move and waver as if some unseen wind is affecting them; in reality the flames of a dullahan’s head are moved by their emotions.  While typically a dullahan manifests with a very serious personality, some dullahans have been known to unleash great eruptions of their flaming energy in moments of extreme rage or even embarrassment.  These agitated flames have been seen reaching as tall as great heights, but it cannot extend more than fifteen feet above their physical body.  

    The flame of a dullahan can never go out so long as they are alive and well.  Despite not having any visual sensory organs, the mortal dullahan can see, hear and speak through this firespout as a person can.  They also consume food and water through their flames, which is instantly burned to nothingness or evaporates as it is absorbed.  Though lacking a recognizable respiratory system, dullahans must breathe as all fey and humanoids.

    Sadly the dullahan have an extremely dulled sense of taste, and often over-season their food or succumb to gluttonous mannerisms to compensate.  Ironically, some mortal dullahans acquire a taste for flesh and blood.  Something about their flames and bodies can supposedly taste the sins of the original creature--and the greater the sin, the more delicious it is to them...  Some even take to hunting corporeal undead for food, finding corrupted flesh more delectable and satisfying... 

    The physical bodies of mortal dullahans are comparable to a humanoid creature.  Their flesh is harmed and bleeds as expected, though their bodies are more resilient to necromantic and death-affecting magics.  

    Mortal dullahans develop muscle mass at a much faster rate than most humanoids, another indicator of their supernatural nature.  While they are strongly tied to the Plane of Negative Energy, they are living creatures and lose their vitality upon contact with negative energy as normal.  

    Regardless of gender, dullahans stand tall (typically between 5 feet nine inches to six foot five).  Their muscular frames weigh usually between 200 and 280 pounds.  

    Despite their classification as "mortal" dullahan, they are fey who live incredibly long lives.   A dullahan typically reaches middle age at 200 years of age, old age at 450 and venerable age at 800.  The dullahan believe if they never reach ascension to true dullahan within one thousand ears they will fade back into the Plane of Negative Energy.  Often, a mortal dullahan will not fade with dignity and quiet--becoming more and more erratic in the pursuit to ascend as a true dullahan and live on forever.

Personality

    Every dullahan is born knowing there is a stark difference between right and wrong; that there are clear divides in place between concepts and things all throughout the planescape.  They manifest typically with the mental capacity of young adult humanoids, most like elves for their far-reaching sense of scope.  

    Mortal dullahan manifest onto the Material Plane with a goal they aspire to reach--to become a True Dullahan.  True dullahans are powerful outsiders who live glorious and violent lives riding from the Plane of Negative Energy.  They are incredibly dangerous and hateful to all living things.  They ride infernal nightmares as their steeds and traipse about the vast ocean of planes and demiplanes to answer some unseen call to slaughter.  

    It is up to the experiences and ambitions of the newborn mortal dullahan whether or not they will ascend to their full potential as true dullahans…  However, many mortal dullahan are content to live as they wish until time inevitably catches up to them.  To go quietly back into shadow is seen as dishonorable, especially if the mortal dullahan never tries to ascend.  But the path of ascension is lined with incredible cruelty and violence, which puts off the more moralistic and just among these dark fey.

    

    As living incarnations of violence with no salvation and punishment for sins committed, most mortal dullahans are not well-received.  When they rarely interact with mortals, many of these fey wear helmets to hide or obscure their fiery nature.  Some even take delight in wearing jack-o’-lanterns over their heads, allowing their pale flames to lick out of the pumpkin’s carved eyes and smile.  Oddly if a jack-o’-lantern is used as a head covering, it will never rot so long as it is worn.

    Dullahans do not have any unifying sense of community or even kinship between them.  Each mortal dullahan rides their own path, though they often believe in making specific moral and ethical choices above others.  Other fey tend to recoil to interact, since the dullahan are tied to mortal sins rather than primordial energies.  They are given respect due to their purpose in the cosmic order, but they are considered cruel, morbid and strange to the more beautiful and naturalistic fey.  They are also just as likely to slay other dark fey, since they embody justice and vengeance--which most evil fey cannot comprehend from their immortal perspective.

 

    Pride is a common flaw among the dullahan race.  Being born with a terrifying, powerful image of one’s potential and that disdain typical of the fey combine to create very serious, self-assured personalities.  Even if they develop more chaotic tendencies, a dullahan is always sure of their willed actions and choices.  

    The dullahan are born from blood and death, so they have no reservations about inflicting harm on others.  Violence is not always their first reaction due to their lawful nature, but they know it is necessary in dangerous situations.  And even the least lawful among them will unsheathe their weapons against those that offend their personal code.  

    Some dullahan hone devastating martial skills to slay living creatures in terrifying gory displays, to inspire fear as well as respect for their skill.  They master fighting with whips and swords, and inspire dread with every strike on the field of battle.  Because of their truly grim outlook and personal code of honor, they typically rely only on their armor for protection.  Shields are seen as dishonorable and cowardly--and no shield can protect the corrupted from death for long.

    It is said that True Dullahans wield whips made from the spines of their victims; and some evil mortal dullahans (especially antipaladins seeking ascension) will fashion truly wicked weapons to flay and terrify their enemies from yards away.

    As fey associated with the Planes of Shadows and Negative Energy, sentient undead are often on friendly terms with dullahan.  Some of these headless fey even amass mobs of the walking dead to serve them and their cause--or to gather quarry for an amusing hunt.  However, non-evil mortal dullahans will commonly destroy corporeal undead on sight--for honor, but also the temptation of consuming their tainted flesh in their fires.

    The focus of a mortal dullahan is hard to redirect.  It takes clear convincing to give up their quarry or show mercy towards someone who offends them.  But if a mortal dullahan swears to enact vengeance upon a target or hunt a creature to the ends of the earth; believe it.  Oaths are incredibly powerful among them, and they fulfill every oath sworn with grave reverance.  Oathbreakers deserve death, even if the mortal dullahan must break one themselves to maintain their code of honor.  An oathbreaker dullahan will either go mad from the twisting of their morals, or will seek an honorable warrior to destroy them in a duel.

    Hunting and horsemanship are very ingrained among dullahan culture, as limited as it is.  A dullahan typically becomes attached to a single mount as long as the animal lives, preferring to engage and care for them rather than interact with people.  Hunting hounds, wolves and other pack hunters often follow and serve a dullahan during its lifelong crusade.  They are hunters like these dark fey, and good meat is always guaranteed in the path of a dullahan's warpath.

    The dullahan also enjoy hunting for sport, not just for vengeance.  Every ten years or so, on the darkest night of autumn, many dullahan arrange long-standing hunts among their kind.  Typically these Wild Hunts choose a region that has gone without conflict for many years; and they will descend upon it and all those living within it for the sake of balancing some cosmic offense.  Other hunts may form when a divine entity or god declares a single target to be hunted--they hear the call to catch this slippery prey and deliver cosmic justice.  

    The Wild Hunt is potentially a time where a mortal dullahan may culminate their lifetime of achievement and ascend as a True Dullahan!  But there are very few survivors of Wild Hunts to interview and either confirm or deny this possibility.    

  

    Mortal dullahans typically fall into lawful alignment, as they are often confident that their philosophy and standards are better than all others.  Many hope to become True Dullahans, the scourge of all living, and they might embrace their disdain to act in a lawful evil manner.  

    Most of these dark fey choose to become fighters, honing their skills with riding and hunting.  They take delight in facing evil creatures of great power, and will work alongside mortals who share the same quarry and drive to hunt.

    The paladin of tyranny (lawful evil paladin) class is also quite common, depending on the specific dullahan's cruelty and obsession with ascending.  They are also the more likely to ascend as a true dullahan, in truth; but the obsession with destroying life may also keep them from being able to see the cosmic big picture of the true dullahan's purpose.  Those who go mad with bloodlust tend to become antipaladins (chaotic evil paladins) to ride across the world in mad glee

    However, not all mortal dullahans pursue violence.  They look closer towards those on the Material Plane and realize all living things are not tainted the same.  They pursue the paladin class to recognize where the evils of the plane truly reside.  Paladin dullahan are also more able to interact with humanity and work alongside them.  Sometimes a paladin dullahan will become venerated as a local saint and protector to a settlement.  Some suggest that icons of beheaded saints were actually mortal dullahan who regained their heads and identities for their righteous crusades.

    Rarely a mortal dullahan will devote themselves as a cleric.  True Dullahans follow a call for punishment and slaughter that goes beyond even the most evil of gods.  However, they can fathom the mysteries and channel the power of gods far more easily than other creatures.  Non-evil mortal dullahans typically worship Wee Jas, the goddess of death and magic.  They rarely believe in or feel they are worthy to worship good-aligned gods, due to their origins from the stain of atrocity.  

    Evil-aligned dullahan clerics often beseech gods of violence and death like Nerull or Hextor.  They serve them by committing atrocities in their name, hoping for the reward of ascension.

Mortal Dullahan Racial Traits

    The following are the racial traits for all Mortal Dullahans:

• Medium Fey (native)
• Mortal Dullahans are native to the Material Plane, gaining the extraplanar traits when traveling to a different plane of existence.
• Racial Hit Dice: 4d6
• Racial BAB: +2
• Racial Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +4
• Racial Skills: Climb, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Know (nature), Know (planes), Ride, Sense Motive
• Racial Skill Points: (6 + Int modifier) x 7
• Racial Ability Scores: Strength +2, Constitution +2, Wisdom +4, Charisma +4
• Mortal dullahans are tough warriors who are in touch with the world about them, for good or ill.
• Base Land Speed: 30 feet
• Special Qualities:
• Headless (Ex): a Dullahan cannot be killed by execution or severing of the neck, making them immune to the effects of vorpal weapons and choking weapons (such as garrotes or hanging ropes).
• A Dullahan can wear items that go on the head (helmets, tiaras, etc.) but are unable to wear items that go over the eyes (lenses, goggles, etc.)
• Immunities: immune to magical sleep effects and gaze attacks
• Lifesense (Su): A Dullahan can sense all living creatures within 30 feet of themselves (including invisible creatures) without any skill check or saving throw.
• Low-light Vision
• Resistant to Death: +2 racial bonus vs necromancy and death effects
• Vulnerable to Turning: Dullahans are strongly tied to the Plane of Negative Energy and can be turned as if they were undead.
• Horsemanship: Ride is always a class skill for Mortal Dullahans.  They prefer to ride black warhorses above all other mounts.
• Racial Proficiencies: a Dullahan is naturally proficient with spiked chains and whips (including whip-daggers) and all light and medium armor (no shields).  
• Special Abilities/Attacks:
• Spell-like Abilities: Caster level equals racial Hit Dice, save DCs are Charisma-based.
• At-will: detect undead, inflict minor wounds.
• 3/day: inflict light wounds.
• 1/day: death knell, hold person, searing light.
• Level Adjustment: +3
• ECL: 7+.  A mortal dullahan with 0 class levels is considered a 7th level character.
• Challenge Rating: 6
• Favored Class: Fighter.   
• Alignment: usually lawful.  Dullahans are born from bloodshed, and they have strong feelings about taking violence into their own hands--believing in whatever cause they are set against. 
• Languages: The mortal dullahan naturally speak Sylvan and Common.
• Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Celestial, Elven or Infernal.

Mortal Dullahan Character Options

    The following are racial character options for Mortal Dullahans:

• Nightmare Mount [Racial Class Substitution]
• Class: Antipaladin or Paladin of Tyranny/Slaughter (or other evil-aligned Paladin alternate class)
• Level: 5th.
• Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the standard paladin's special mount.
• Benefit:
• Nightmare Mount (Sp): A 5th-level dullahan paladin gains the service of a lesser nightmare to serve them.  This ability is identical to the paladin's special mount class feature, except that the paladin is treated as six levels lower (minimum 0) for the purpose of determining the mount's bonus HD, natural armor adjustment, and Strength adjustment (but not other special abilities). 
• For example, an dullahan antipaladin's lesser nightmare mount doesn't gain the adjusted statistics of a 5th-level class mount (+2 HD, +4 natural armor adjustment, and +1 Strength adjustment - see The Paladin's Mount) until they are 11th level.  
• It gains the other special abilities of a paladin's mount at the normal levels; e.g. empathic link, improved evasion, share spells, and share saving throws at 5th level, improved speed at 8th level, command at 11th level, and spell resistance at 15th level).  

• Restored Head [Racial/Monster Feat]
• Prerequisites: Mortal Dullahan, Lawful alignment; Smite class ability (evil, good or chaos)
• Benefits: The mortal dullahan's eternal ride and pursuit of ascension rewards them with their lost head returned.  They gain their severed head as a special magical item.  They can wear it atop their necks for short times to activate its fearsome capabilities, or throw it at enemies to terrify them.
• At-will the mortal dullahan can cast locate object for their head as a caster of their character level.   
• The dullahan can wear their head in the head magical item slot, gaining a +6 magic bonus to either Diplomacy or Intimidate checks (chosen upon wearing).  They can either make their face more terrifying and monstrous or peaceable and friendly upon wearing it.  Donning their head is a swift action they can take on their turn.
• Additionally while worn, the dullahan at-will can make a special single demoralize check that affects all creatures in a 30 foot radius that would be affected by their smite ability.  If the creature already has a range/radius bonus to their Intimidate checks, the head increases the radius by an additional +30 feet when used.
• After 1 hour of wear or after this special demoralize maneuver is used, the mortal dullahan must immediately remove their head or else it catches fire (suffering 1d6 damage per round it remains).  They must wait 2d6 minutes before wearing their head again.
• The mortal dullahan can also use their head as a ranged thrown weapon within 30 foot range.  This is a standard action that targets either a single creature or 5 foot square; provoking attacks of opportunity as any ranged weapon.  If targeted at a single creature, it functions as a +1 flaming club for damage purposes.  The head cannot be enchanted further by anyone except the dullahan themselves; requiring Craft checks in runecarving or tattoos to mark magical symbols upon the head.
• Regardless at who or where it is thrown, the head immediately unleashes a terrible scream that affects all creatures in a 10 foot radius that their smite ability would affect.  The creatures affected must make a save against the dullahan's immediate demoralize check.  The head falls to the ground safely, but can be 
• Special: The mortal dullahan can only benefit from their head's abilities while lawful-aligned.  Otherwise it is just an inert object of incredible significance to them.  A neutral or chaotic-aligned mortal dullahan 
• Additionally, if the dullahan's head is ever stolen or lost they cannot gain another and their Wisdom score suffers a permanent -8 penalty until it is returned.  They do not gain 
• Any damage suffered by the head is passed on to the mortal dullahan.  If the dullahan destroys their own head or that of another mortal dullahan they die instantly (no save).  
• If the head is destroyed the dullahan cannot gain another until they kill a number of living creatures equal to 10 times their Hit Dice and succeed a DC 15 Charisma check.  

NPC/Monster Entry

Dullahan Harbinger	5th level Fighter
Size/Type:	Medium Fey
Hit Dice:	4d6+5d10+18 (60 hp)
Initiative:	+0
Speed:	20 feet [in armor], 50 feet [on warhorse]
Armor Class:	16 (+5 armor, +1 dexterity)
Touch / FF AC:	11 / 15
BAB/Grapple:	+7/+11
Melee Attack:	mwk Whip-dagger or mwk Longsword +13/+8 melee
Ranged Attack:	mwk Longbow +8/+3 ranged, 100 foot range
Damage:	mwk Whip-dagger (1d6+4 19-20/x2), mwk Longsword (1d8+4 19-20/x2);
	mwk Longbow (1d8 x3)
Space/Reach:	5 ft / 5 ft (15 ft with mwk whip-dagger)
Special Attacks:	Spell-like abilities (CL 4th)
Special Qualities:	Headless, Lifesense 30 ft, Low-light Vision;
	Immunities, Resistant to death, Vulnerable to Turning
Saves:	Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +6
Abilities:	Str 18, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 17
Skills:	Climb +8*, Diplomacy +10, Handle Animal +15, Intimidate +15,
	Jump +6*, Know (nature) +9, Know (planes) +9, Ride +12, Sense Motive +8
	Sense Motive +8 -- *AC Penalty -3
Feats:	Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack, Weapon Focus (longsword/whip-dagger);
	Combat ExpertiseF, Improved TripF, Intimidating StrikeF
Environment:	any Forest, Hills or Mountains
Organization:	Solitary (with warhorse mount)
Challenge Rating:	11
Treasure:	Standard
Alignment:	Usually Lawful Evil
Advancement:	By Character Class (Favored: Fighter)
Level Adjustment:	+3

    These headless harbingers are terrifying opponents who have given into the thrill of the hunt.  They may never ascend as a True Dullahan, but they will enjoy riding down mortal souls and drinking in their terror regardless.  

    Mortal Dullahans normally speak Common and Sylvan; the Harbinger has learned to speak Elven and Infernal.

Combat

    Dullahan Harbingers on crusade ride down their quarry on their powerful mounts.  They utilize their whip proficiency to trip their prey from a distance before coming in close to behead their targets.  They also make use of their incredibly frightful appearance to demoralize their opponents into running--it is more fun for them to down down moving targets.  

    Despite their incredible strength, the Dullahan Harbinger is an agile and intelligent opponent.  You may be lucky enough to convince them to fight one one one (or even one verses many), in exchange for them ending their hunt.  Pride is a common flaw, and worthy prey are worth being bested for.  But they are merciless killers and will use their spell-like abilities in duels to halt weaker foes in place and sustain themselves from the fallen (with hold person and death knell).  

Spell-like Abilities:
    At-will: detect undead, inflict minor wounds (DC 13)

    3/day: inflict light wounds (DC 14)

    1/day: death knell (DC 15), hold person (DC 15), searing light.

        Caster level 4th, save DCs are Charisma-based.

Immunities: magical sleep effects and gaze attacks

Resistant to Death: +2 racial bonus vs death necromancy effects

Vulnerable to Turning

The Dullahan Harbinger is a 5th level fighter with the following allocation of the elite array: Str 15, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 13; with an increase to Strength at 8 Hit Dice.

Author's Note:

       As an American kid from the East Coast, the tale of the Headless Horseman always came up around Halloween ghost story.  Or rather, I got told the general premise of Washington Irving's short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, written in 1820.  And really, the only things American kids retain from that tale is just the climactic encounter with the entity.  In the tale proper, it isn't even confirmed whether or not the Headless Horseman is real nor not--it could have been a prank upon the cowardly protagonist, no one but the author knows. 

    We got to watch the Disney animated short in my Catholic elementary school--odd but hey it was the mid 90s.  Then in 1999 Tim Burton gave us Sleepy Hollow, a film blending his goth-y aesthetics with murder mystery vibes, the Hessian lore no other adaptations tell young kids, and lots colonial American paranoia and violence.  That sparked the entity back into the public consciousness, but this was still very early internet days and as a completed story it didn't feel like there needed to be more said.

    It isn't until later in life that many American kids learn that the Headless Horseman is a carryover from European folklore--a terrifying spectre, known as the Dullahan in Irish folklore. 
    And there are lots of smaller adaptations that continue to be told across the world--too many to name here, so I will bring up a couple notable ones.  There was a supernatural crime drama show called Sleepy Hollow in 2013, which turned the Headless Horseman into a biblical Horseman of the Apocalypse.  An interesting development on paper to be sure; but I never got a chance to see it in its four season run.  Apparently it didn't end well, on or behind the camera...

    In Welsh and British folklore, we potentially see a resemblance to the dullahan through the tale of Gawain and the Green Knight.  The Green Knight, obviously representing some fey or nature spirit, has his head removed honorably in a duel with the Arthurian knight Gawain.  Gawain then is compelled to make a journey across the land the next year, to receive the same honorable beheading.  Very allegorical and strange, but the tale has stood out among most Arthurian canon.

    And it isn't just nature gods who often share the dullahan's headlessness.  All throughout European folklore, as Christianity spread, there are many headless human beings depicted in art and stories carrying their own heads.  Known broadly as cephalophores, they typically meant to represent a saint or holy knight, martyred by beheading yet still moving and speaking while carrying their heads.   Cephalophores walk the earth speaking prayers and journeying on to present their heads to their god or Jesus Christ.  They are a holy sort of ghost story, only dying from their wounds when their task is done and the Holy Spirit leaves them.  They are obviously meant to further the propaganda of the Church and saint's unreachable levels of holiness they guilt you for never reaching.

    Another unique dullahan-like figure comes from Hindu mythology--the goddess Chhinnamasta!  Another figure of life-taking and violence, but also life-giving and passion.  Her head was severed by her own hands, and from her neck her head and two attendants drink of her blood like a great fountain.  She is truly a goddess of contradictions, an entity of divine power that mortals are helpless to fully comprehend her majesty or symbolism.  I am fascinated and really want to read more about her.  As I am not as well-versed in Hindu mythology, I recommend reading the linked Wikipedia article and its information sources.

    From Japan we actually got a modern spin on these creatures!  While Japan has had a long history of personifying the night and all things unknown through yokai and other spirits, the age of urban legends and creepypastas gave rise to a new phenomenon.  The Headless Rider--a motorcyclist riding through dark megacity streets, all without a head!  A victim of a cruel joke (a piano wire strung over the road they ride), forever revving their engines and silently howling for vengeance.

    And in 2004 Japanese author Ryōgo Narita blended together this new Headless Rider legend with classic Dullahan myth for their first light novel series Durarara!!  Set in the sprawling, urban city of Ikebukuro, internet chatroom gangs clashed for territory with old-school street thugs, while supernatural entities prowled behind the scenes.  Entities such as a cursed hivemind-afflicting katana, as well as a mysterious motorcycle courier searching the city for her missing head.  That series personalized the dullahan as a protagonist of her own story, rather than the harbinger of death antagonist archetype.  

    The Dullahan as a figure of random violence, of death's swift approach, of the eternal searcher for their identity; you would think they would have been adapted into ttrpgs like Dungeons & Dragons when they were getting started.  But aside from a third-party book--The Iconic Bestiary: Classic Fey by the now-defunct Lion's Den Press--it seemed that D&D's humble beginnings in the 1970s (and decline by the 2000s) missed out on the resurgence of these unique creatures. 
    Pathfinder picked up the slack with it, though; being more open source and active during the roleplaying game decline of that time.  But I always wondered how these harbingers of hell would work in the D&D cosmology and setting--so here we are!

    Also, even through Pathfinder, we never got to see Dullahan as characters and protagonists of their own stories.  And some part of me needed the dullahan in my own games!  So I wrote up the mortal dullahan; and now I share it with you with a fresh take and coat of black paint!  I hope you enjoy using these dark yet honorable fey in your own games!

    Hopefully, this brand new Dullahan Harbinger can inspire new adventures for you and your players!  Perhaps your own group, one spooky night during Halloween, comes across a figure running in the dark woods far from civilization?  They have committed a great sin or taboo without knowing, and the Dullahan Harbinger has either caught the scent, or was called upon by some wicked soul against them (a la Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow).  

    Perhaps if you help the soul recover the Dullahan's missing head or get them to a far-off temple for ritual cleansing, you may save them from a cruel, undeserved death? 

    But be warned, interfere in a Dullahan's hunt and you may find yourself the dark fey's newer, more attractive quarry!  Especially if your own crimes outweigh this panicked soul's...

    Have fun with these guys!  And thank you for reading all this!

    

Aboleth Eye