Dullahan

[Amanojyaku]

Dullahans are an ancient race, one whose origins have been lost to time. They claim to be precursors, of which race varies depending on how much the dullahan in question is playing up the angst, cursed by the gods for the folly of siding willingly with the C'tan. The sad reality is that their forebears bore witness to the War in Heaven, as one of the few uplifted races who weren't terribly involved with either side.

Regardless of their origins, Dullahans belong to the Raven Queen, in body and soul. Few openly worship other deities, primarily rebellious sorts living away from their thanes around the Ghoul Stars. Most such Dullahans are known to be doomsayers, popping up every so often in the public eye just to spout some inane prophecy of doom and gloom before disappearing again. Dullahans very rarely ply the Astral Sea, showing a notable tendency toward discomfort in most spelljammers; they vastly prefer open-topped vehicles, preferably with a basket for their heads so that they can feel the wind on their necks.

Physical Characteristics
Average Height: 1.7-2.1m
Average Weight: 85-100kg
Languages: Trade, Spirit-tongue
Common Personality Traits: Eighth-grader syndrome, fatalistic, patient, poetic, quiet
Common Physical Traits: Detachable head, sinewy build, gold allergy, quiet footfalls, monotone voice
Example Names: Celty, Rigor Mortex, Ashes of the Ivory Forge, Soul Who Cries Crimson for the Yet to Fall, Lala

Racial Statistics
Characteristic Bonus: +1 to Willpower or Composure
Skill Bonus: +1 to Stealth and Drive
Power: Don't Lose Your Head: Your head can be removed as easily as simply picking it up off your shoulders as a Ready action. Berks trying to hit your severed head take a -2k0 penalty (as if they were making a Called Shot), but do not roll a Hit Location. You take no penalties for missing whatever's on your head unless it's actually missing or no longer present in the scene.
Size: 4

Racial Feats

Demanding Locksmith [Dullahan]
Closed doors and gates simply know better than to remain such in the presence of Death's chosen people. You can use Intimidation + Composure instead of the normal skill test to break a lock, be it Crafts, Larceny, Tech-Use or any other. By spending a Hero Point, you can open any mundane lock automatically.

Doomspeaker [Dullahan]
You've got a particular knack for the art of crowing, something that borders on the mystical. Gain a free specialty (Doomsayer) in both Intimidation and Performer, and use Composure in social attacks or skill Tests that involve crushing people under your fatalistic ennui.

Drop the Pretense [Dullahan, Paragon]
Once per scene, you can curse a creature within Excellence meters of you as a Half Action. The cursed creature suffers from the effect of an Unluck spell on all tests to defend itself (such as dodging or parrying), but not to make attacks. This curse lasts until the end of the scene... or the end of yourself.

Head Case [Dullahan]
You're a sodding idiot when it comes to taking care of your head. Once per scene, you can use your head as a thrown weapon using the profile of a Frag Grenade, after which it returns intact to your hands on your next turn. You suffer all penalties associated with lacking eyes, ears, and a mouth in the interim, you sodding mephit.

Wyld Huntsman [Dullahan]
The Wyld Hunt was originally founded to track down all of those who had sold the Dullahans' forebears to the C'tan and consign them to the Raven Queen in return for her mercy. You gain Dark Sight and a free skill specialty (Manhunter) that applies to all skill tests made in the pursuit of a specific target.

Physical Qualities

Dullahans are pale, sinewy humanoids almost indistinguishable from Humans at a glance. They have nigh on universally pale complexions, with a general range between milk-white and cyanotic, and hair similarly falling along a spectrum between black and white. A Dullahan's eyes are most commonly yellow or amber in the iris, and rarely an ominous shade of red or red/green heterochromia can be seen. Black sclerae are relatively common among Dullahans.

The most telling difference, though, is that a Dullahan's head separates cleanly from the body at a point just below the voice box. There's clearly some form of magic involved; the bodiless head continues to live and even speak, and feels whatever the body does, while the headless body still acts according to whatever's going on in its displaced brain-box. Most Dullahans are rather cavalier about the state of their heads, since they're pretty much vestigial at this point, while others make a point of wearing stiff-collared clothing to keep their heads in place on their shoulders. A Dullahan's head weighs about 5kg on its own, not accounting for hair.

This has a rather interesting effect on the Dullahan's metabolism. Living so close to death, head always separated from the body, a Dullahan needs very little to eat, able to stretch rations almost three times as far as other humanoids do. They don't, however, have much of a sense of taste... or smell, rather. Dullahans have an exceptional ability to detect base flavors (which would help to determine which of the few things they eat has necessary nutrients), but lack the nuanced olfactory sense that allows other humanoids to taste things other than "salty," "sweet," and the like.

Of particular note is that Dullahans tend to react poorly in the presence of gold. It can cause them various allergic reactions, from breaking out in hives to sneezes violent enough to launch their heads off their shoulders to just turning their skin green. Since this kinda ruins the mystique, most Dullahans try to play off as just finding the idea of collecting material wealth (of which the vast majority of people on the Wheel find gold symbolic) that can't be brought into the next life reprehensible. Or sometimes just that they consider touching gold to be bad luck, which isn't entirely untrue.

Playing a Dullahan

Dullahans have a reputation for taking themselves entirely too seriously. They have a culture revolving around death and the inevitable tides of fate, that lends all too well to a grim nature and morbid sense of humor. Dullahans are taught from a very young age to compose themselves properly, as conspicuous attire and behavior is seen as the height of bad taste among their own clans.

Dullahan society is clan-based, and clans may seem repressed and insular to outsiders. This is because Dullahans as a rule cling to the idea that acting aloof and uncaring will impress the younger races and give them greater standing. Exhibition duels and poetry form the backbone of Dullahan entertainment... and among friends only, so too does the practice of "crowing," a sort of verbal joust in which two Dullahans compete to see who can spin the most grim and depressing prophecy on the spot. Sort of like a rap battle, but with doom metal.

Dullahans are generally very hands-off with their own offspring once they reach independence. They do what they feel like doing, and if that doesn't work out, clearly they weren't fated for that career, and simply move on to the next one. Very rarely does a Dullahan stick to something he enjoys if he's bad at it; their minds simply aren't wired for that. Conversely, a Dullahan who is good at something will tend to "help" coworkers who aren't... by crowing, with the intent of pushing them out and into a more fulfilling task. Dullahans are often surprised by how common it is for other races to grit their teeth and prove them wrong instead of giving up.

Dullahan vehicles and wargear often have a foreboding, almost Gothic design to them, favoring dark colors and spikes. Armor and vehicles in particular have specially designed hooks for a specific purpose: carrying the Dullahan's head. Once skilled and fearsome horsemen, the headless folk still prefer small, open-topped ground vehicles as a whole, the thrill of wind whistling between head and neck. About the only time Dullahans really open up to outsiders is when they're driving... to the outsider's dismay.

Dullahan Heroes

For Corvus, the idea that he is the Raven Queen's envoy in the Materium is more than mere crowing. Born with a raven-shaped birthmark in the palm of his hand, he has trained and studied the goddess's scripture almost from the time he could walk, and devoted head and heart to the Raven Queen's ideals. Heretics, tyrants, and rebels alike have all lain low before his grimscythe, and those witnesses to his performance of the Raven Queen's duty all dread his whispered command: "Tremble. Kneel down before me in fear."

Princess Magnificent with Lips of Red Coral is the daughter of a thane, or so she claims. No one knows her true pedigree, only that when she first stepped off that spelljammer onto Dis under the light of an actual sun, all were amazed to witness the odd arrow-shaped scarring between her collarbones glow with silver radiance. Now, the name of Princess Magnificent begets more raw fear from the populace than does Lord Dispater's thought police, as her brutal mastery of martial arts has been put to the test in the name of justice.

Secret didn't adopt her new name because she wanted to sing the truth from the rooftops. No... she changed her name to keep a very important person safe. She claims to have borne witness to the murder of Khaine, the god's dying curse as his killers supped from his blood in an attempt to attain godhood themselves. As she recounts her tale, one of the conspirators turned on the others, killing them in an attempt to claim the power for himself alone... and that there have been others asking after one of them as if she were still alive. Secret insists that this is not the case, but remains on the prowl for those who would threaten her mother in darkness.