Headless Horseman
- Armor Class
- According to armor worn
- Hit Dice
- 7 (or more)
- Attacks
- Weapon (1d6)
- Special
- fear, undead immunities incl. cold/acid/poison/electricity, vampire-like turning, immune to sleep/charm/hold
- Move
- 9 (also see mount)
- HDE/XP
- 9+/1,100+
Description
A Headless Horseman is a powerful undead warrior. A headless horseman appears in knightly garb, similar to what it wore in life. Of course, as the name indicates it is headless, but a jack-o-lantern, helmet, or other decoration could be worn above the neck. Upon sighting a headless horseman, characters of less than 5th level must make a saving throw against magic or be stricken with fear, running away until out of sight.
Each headless horseman is a Fighter with a level equivalent to its HD, and attacks appropriately. The headless horseman can be Turned by Clerics (as a vampire, but roll at -4). As with all undead, it is immune to Sleep, charm, and hold spells, as well as cold, acid, poison, and electricity.
A headless horseman is always accompanied by its mount, usually an undead (skeletal steed, see page 237, or a zombie horse as on page 287), warhorse, or similar creature. Occasionally, a more powerful mount might accompany a higher-level headless horseman, perhaps even an undead dragon. This undead mount is fearless and can only be Turned if the headless horseman itself is successfully Turned first.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.