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Old 10-09-2018, 09:32 AM   #1
b-dog
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Default Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

I am curious if anyone has a headless horseman statted up that would be suitable for DF. I imagine the headless horseman would be some sort of wraith but with some powers for his jack o lantern head? Thanks
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Old 10-09-2018, 11:37 AM   #2
Anthony
 
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Default Re: Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

I was thinking about it, but you'll pretty much have to just invent whatever seems cool, because the only standard elements of the folklore are a horse and a rider who either has no head, or carries his head.
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Old 10-09-2018, 11:55 AM   #3
Not another shrubbery
 
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Default Re: Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

If you have access to GURPS Classic: Monsters, they have a version of The Headless Horseman statted in it. It shouldn't be a big deal to convert that to 4E and tweak it to fit DF.
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Old 10-09-2018, 12:09 PM   #4
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Default Re: Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery View Post
If you have access to GURPS Classic: Monsters, they have a version of The Headless Horseman statted in it. It shouldn't be a big deal to convert that to 4E and tweak it to fit DF.
You have an entry for the Headless Horseman in Gurps Horror (4th) p. 80

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Old 10-12-2018, 02:52 PM   #5
Not another shrubbery
 
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Default Re: Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

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Originally Posted by korbeau View Post
You have an entry for the Headless Horseman in Gurps Horror (4th) p. 80
Hah! I got fixated on the source I first remembered without even thinking about the entry in the newer book *g* And it's almost word-for-word the same!
Neither one actually has a specific stat block, though. You have to take the stats from the main entry for The Ghost (and tweak 'em, if you feel the desire to).
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Old 10-12-2018, 03:00 PM   #6
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

Incidentally, it's worth remembering Washington Irving's source of inspiration:

https://dullahan.com/

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The dullahan is possessed of supernatural sight. By holding his severed head aloft, he can see for vast distances across the countryside, even on the darkest night. Using this power, he can spy the house of a dying person, no matter where it lies. Those who watch from their windows to see him pass are rewarded for their pains by having a basin of blood thrown in their faces, or by being struck blind in one eye.

The dullahan is usually mounted on a black steed, which thunders through the night. He uses a human spine as a whip. The horse sends out sparks and flames from its nostrils as it charges forth
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Old 10-12-2018, 06:41 PM   #7
Dalin
 
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Default Re: Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

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Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
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The dullahan is possessed of supernatural sight. By holding his severed head aloft, he can see for vast distances across the countryside, even on the darkest night. Using this power, he can spy the house of a dying person, no matter where it lies. Those who watch from their windows to see him pass are rewarded for their pains by having a basin of blood thrown in their faces, or by being struck blind in one eye.

The dullahan is usually mounted on a black steed, which thunders through the night. He uses a human spine as a whip. The horse sends out sparks and flames from its nostrils as it charges forth
I've never heard of this before. It is deliciously evocative. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 10-13-2018, 04:11 AM   #8
Devil_Dante
 
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Default Re: Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

cool!! Halloween approaching!! :D
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Old 10-13-2018, 11:54 AM   #9
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

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Originally Posted by Dalin View Post
I've never heard of this before. It is deliciously evocative. Thanks for sharing!
Ironically I first became aware of the dullahan from Japanese cartoons where cutified versions of them are fairly popular.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YLxA9SaCZJ...1600/Celty.png

https://pre00.deviantart.net/7e8a/th..._j-dayx96y.png
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Old 10-13-2018, 06:05 PM   #10
Varyon
 
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Default Re: Anyone have a headless horseman statted up for DF?

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Originally Posted by b-dog View Post
I am curious if anyone has a headless horseman statted up that would be suitable for DF. I imagine the headless horseman would be some sort of wraith but with some powers for his jack o lantern head? Thanks
Personally, I feel the jack o'lantern head to be a bit too silly (even for DF sensibilities). You'd also need to decide the exact details of the horseman - is it a dullahan (as referenced upthread), a decapitated revenant searching for its head, a wraith, or what-have-you. Note the pumpkin bit wasn't so silly in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, where in the dark it would look close enough for the superstitious Ichabod to think it was a severed head (it's heavily implied the "headless horseman" was Ichabod's rival in a costume).

I've recently been playing through Dragon Quest XI, and could be persuaded to make dullahans like they are in that game - their faces are on their shields, which makes for an interesting effect (of course, this being DQ, the designs are a bit silly looking, but that would be easily remedied).

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
Ironically I first became aware of the dullahan from Japanese cartoons where cutified versions of them are fairly popular.
The first I encountered anything of the like was a short story about a girl wearing a red ribbon/scarf on her neck, which she forbid her lover from removing. After their marriage, curiosity got the better of him, he removed it while she slept... and her head fell off. So, when I next ran across them in Japanese media as Cute Monster Girls, it wasn't as much of a stretch as it probably was for others who ran into them previously (note Dullahans are often depicted as reapers, of the grim variety, which makes CMG's of them an odd choice).
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