Don't Lose Your Head (PEACH)

[Scorpina]

Headless Creature

Humanoids and monstorous humanoids who have died in combat or by execution often do so when their head parts company with their body. However, this means that most who die in this manner were not ready to pass on, and cling violently to life - many of them rising as headless undead.

Sample Headless Creature, Headless Hobgoblin
Size/Type: Medium Undead (Augmented Humanoid)
Hit Dice: 3d12 (18 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armour Class: 19 (+1 Dex, +3 studded leather, +4 natural, +1 light shield), touch 11, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+3
Attack: Longsword +2 melee (1d8+1/19-20) or Slam +2 melee (1d6+1) javelin +2 ranged (1d6+1)
Full Attack: Longsword +2 melee (1d8+1/19-20) or Slam +2 melee (1d6+1) or javelin +2 ranged (1d6+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Horrific Appetence, Seeker of Heads
Special Qualities: Blindsight, Head Recognition, Reunion, Turn Resistance, Undead Traits
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +5
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 13
Skills: Bluff +7, Disguise +7, Move Silently +8
Feats: Combat Expertise, Improved Feint
Environment: Any forest
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: Double standing
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: --

[size=2Combat:[/size]

Headless hobgoblins retain their grasp of strategy and tactics, but are typically encountered alone. As such they typically develop strategies for battle well in advance, and attack only when they have a clear advantage. A headless hobgoblin also retains its racial hatred of elves, and will attack them first – trying to sever their heads with its Seeker of Heads ability.

Horrific Appearance (Su): Any living creature within 60 feet that views a headless hobgoblin must succeed on a Will save or immediately become panicked. A creautre that successfully saves against this effect cannot be affected by the same headless hobgoblins’s horrific appearance for 24 hours.

Seeker of Heads (Su): Many headless hobgoblin’s are bitter about the loss of their own head, and seek to inflict their suffering on others. Any slashing weapon wielded by a headless hobgoblin is treated as a vorpal weapon when being used against a humanoid or monstrous humanoid that has a head. Creatures slain in such a manner rise as headless creatures in 2d4 days.

Blindsight (Ex): Despite the loss of it’s sensory organs, the headless hobgoblin can operate effectively without vision. This ability makes invisibility and concealment (even magical darkness) irrelevant to the headless hobgoblin (though it still can’t see ethereal creatures and must have line of effect to a creature or object to discern that creature or object). This ability operates out to a range of sixty feet.

The headless hobgoblin usually does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice creatures within range of its blindsight ability. .

Head Recognition (Su): A creature in possession of the head which previously belonged to the headless hobgoblin may use it to make a rebuke attempt against the headless hobgoblin as an evil cleric of the headless hobgoblin’s character level. The headless hobgoblin’s turn resistance does not apply.

Reunion (Su): If a headless hobgoblin is reunited with it’s head it is allowed to go to rest, and becomes an ordinary corpse immediately.

Turn Resistance (Ex): A headless hobgoblin has +4 turn resistance.

Creating A Headless Creautre

"Headless" is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature that ordinarilly possess a head(referred to hereafter as the base creature).

A headless creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type
The creature’s type changes to undead (augmented humanoid or monstrous humanoid). Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

Hit Dice
Increase all current and future Hit Dice to d12s.

Speed
Same as the base creature.

Armour Class
The base creature’s natural armor bonus improves by +4

Attack
A headless creature retains all the attacks of the base creature, except those dependant upon the head, and also gains a slam attack dealing normal damage for a creature of it’s size if it didn’t already have one. If the base creature can use weapons, the headless creature retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons (except bite or gore). A headless creature fighting without weapons uses either its slam attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A headless creature armed with a weapon uses its slam or a weapon, as it desires.

Full Attack
A headless creature fighting without weapons uses either its slam attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a slam or other natural weapon as a natural secondary attack.

Damage
Headless creatures have slam attacks. If the base creature does not have this attack form, it deals normal damage for its size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons other than bite or gore retain their old damage values.

Special Attacks
A headless creature retains all the special attacks of the base creature, except for breath weapons, gaze attacks and other abilities dependant upon the creature’s head. Additionally, all spell-like abilities with verbal components are lost, as headless creatures are unable to speak. The headless creature gains the abilities listed below.

Horrific Appearance (Su): Any living creature within 60 feet that views a headless creature must succeed on a Fortitude save or immediately become panicked. A creature that successfully saves against this effect cannot be affected by the same headless creatures’s horrific appearance for 24 hours.

Seeker of Heads (Su): Many headless creature’s are bitter about the loss of their own head, and seek to inflict their suffering on others. Any slashing weapon wielded by a headless creature is treated as a vorpal weapon when being used against a humanoid or monstrous humanoid that has a head. Creatures slain in such a manner rise as headless creatures in 2d4 days.

Special Qualities
A headless creature retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains those described below.

Blindsight (Ex): Despite the loss of it’s sensory organs, the headless creature can operate effectively without vision. This ability makes invisibility and concealment (even magical darkness) irrelevant to the headless creature (though it still can’t see ethereal creatures and must have line of effect to a creature or object to discern that creature or object). This ability operates out to a range of sixty feet.

The headless creature usually does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice creatures within range of its blindsight ability. .

Head Recognition (Su): A creature in possession of the head which previously belonged to the headless creature may use it to make a rebuke attempt against the headless creature as an evil cleric of the headless creature’s character level. The headless creature’s turn resistance does not apply.

Reunion (Su): If a headless creature is reunited with it’s head it is allowed to go to rest, and becomes an ordinary corpse immediately.

Turn Resistance (Ex): A headless creature has +4 turn resistance.

Abilities
As base creature. As an undead creature, a headless creature has no Constitution score.

Skills
As base creature

Feats
As base creature.

Environment
Any, usually same as base creature.

Organization
Solitary.

Challenge Rating
Same as the base creature +5.

Treasure
Double standard.

Alignment
Always evil (any).

Advancement
By character class.

Level Adjustment
--

[Sergeantbrother]

Looks good, but you forgot the part about not crossing running water ;)

[Scorpina]

...that's vampires, isn't it?

[ExHunterEmerald]

Looks good, but you forgot the part about not crossing running water ;)

Ichibod says what?

[Seffbasilisk]

By having a level adjustment, you're allowing players to use this as a race. You might want to reconsider that.

[Scorpina]

Eh, characters can play it if they want - if they don't mind being completely mute and such...

[Rigeld2]

Giving the Vorpal ability for a measly +2CR...

Yeah... no.

edit: and with Blindsight who needs a head? You can use Sign Language to talk. Make the LA - and then PCs cant use it at all.

[Shiny, Bearer of the Pokystick]

The horrific appearence seems a little...over-the-top for what it supposedly represents....

[ExHunterEmerald]

Well, your character would have one big problem outside combat. Kinda hard to go into the city without your freaking skull...
Also, I get a big Herbert West vibe from this...

[Scorpina]

Well, I've removed the LA. It's not really intended for PC use...

[dragonseth]

I think the CR adjustment is a little low for the abilities it gets.

[Scorpina]

Mmm, I was afraid of that.

What would be better? +3? +4?

[Rigeld2]

5 or 6 at least imo.

An ability damage "field" with a decently high Fort save, all bladed weapons turn vorpal, Turn Resistance, Blindsight..

by the by, Spell Like Abilities dont have verbal components, so you cant lose them by losing your head.

[Zeal]

Special Attacks: Horrific Appetence

Otherwise, main issue is with vorpal, maybe there should only be a 10% chance to decapitate.

Awesome concept though.

[dragonseth]

Um, normally Vorpal is 5%...

[Zeal]

Well, that's what I get for not checking the vorpal rules before posting.

[Thray]

I would say Horrific Appearance just looks weird. Normally fear effects cause someone to run away or take a penalty on rolls-why does it do ability damage?

[Nasrudith]

Agreed, maybe nasuea as an effect would be better.
As has been alerady stated cr two is wayy too low.

[DMgrinder]

Watch your head. 8)

[Behold_the_Void]

Perhaps instead of vorpal, make it so that when it drops a creature it will coup it when able and remove the head. Removes the vorpal bit so it's not too strong.

Remember, the vorpal quality is the equivalent of a +5 enhancement bonus, it's not the kind of thing you want to give out to just anybody.

[dragonseth]

I honestly have never used Vorpal, it sucks horribly in my opinion. I mean, we see a LOT more natural 1's than 20's at my tables. I actually got it one time, to see if I could get it to kick in. It never did. The character died before he ever rolled a natural 20. I don't think it should be worth a +5. I would MUCH rather have +5d6 damage for that much instead. So, for me at least, adding Vorpal isn't that big of a deal.

[Scorpina]

Well, Seeker of Heads only makes slashing weapons vorpal against humanoids and monstrous humanoids. It's not quite the same as actually being vorpal. Plus, as with any vorpal weapon, the creature has to score a critical hit for it to work.

In any case, I've upper the CR to 'same as the base creature +5' and replaced the ability damage from Horrific Apperence with the possibilty of becoming panicked.

[BelkarsDagger]

Should this not be able to use any skills related to talking, seeing, or hearing? Technically they have no organs to make it possible, or maybe just a reeeaaaaaal big penalty to them, I'm not that good at balancing.