Hound of the Many-Faced Devil. Guillotine Hound. Face Thief. The head hunter goes by many names, but its origin is always the same. The Many-Faced God, a devil seeking to improve her place in the hellish hierarchy, created the first head hunter from the carcasses of hounds. She sewed a different animal head onto each hound and animated them with foul energy, giving them one purpose in life: to collect more heads for her.
A pack of head hunters can be quite a challenge due to the variety of heads they possess. Rarely do any two hounds within the pack have the same head. They are aggressive when encountered and can sometimes be found raiding small villages and encampments. Each hound seeks to kill a victim, tear its head from its body, and return that head to its lair. A successful pack of head hunters could have hundreds of heads in its lair.
Head hunters can swap their head for another they’ve found by forcefully removing their current head using their front paws. They then shove the new head onto the stump of their neck. Over two to three days, the new head will bind itself to the neck. Changing heads most often occurs because the old one has become damaged and no longer functions properly, such as a cracked jaw or broken horn.
Head Hunter
Medium Fiend, Typically Chaotic Evil
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 13 (+1) | 2 (-4) | 10 (+0) | 4 (-3) |
Skills Perception +2, Survival +2
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages —
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Improved Critical. The head hunter scores a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
Many-Faced. The head hunter has one of the following heads: Acidic, Horned, or Venomous (choose one or select randomly).
Actions
Bite (Venomous Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage and the target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or have the poisoned condition until the end of its next turn if its a creature.
Ram (Horned Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage and the target is pushed horizontally up to 10 feet away.
Spit (Acidic Only). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 90 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (3d4 + 2) acid damage.
Downloads
Further Reading
Pair head hunters with hounds of eternal chaos to track down specific targets and retrieve their head.
Combine a head hunter with the head of a raptech to give it a grapple.
Imagery created with Midjourney.
