Headless horseman

Dragon Quest monster Headless horseman
Art by Akira Toriyama Japanese デュラハンナイト Romaji Deyurahan naito First appearance Dragon Quest XI

The Headless horseman is a recurring monster in the Dragon Quest series, first appearing in Dragon Quest XI. It is an undead knight on horseback resembling the legendary headless horseman.

Characteristics

Headless horsemen are dullahans that wield a long spiked flail that drags along the ground and a shield with a horrific screaming visage on it, mounted on the backs of heavily-armoured horses. They wear breastplates, gauntlets, and greaves made of plate mail over chain mail, faulds made of brass scales, and have ragged red capes that hang from their shoulders. The knights swing their flails with reckless abandon and can spur their mounts into performing a bloodcurdling whinny that strikes fear into the hearts of their enemies. Their mounts are able to be ridden after defeating the rider in battle. The headless horseman and its kin can also be faced as foot soldiers.

Appearances

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Headless horseman (デュラハンナイト Deyurahan naito)

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack
	524	12	190
Defense	Agility	Experience	Gold
195	91	1,111	190

Bestiary no.	#272
Family	Undead
In-game description	These nasty knights gave up all pretense of chivalry long ago, and now aid the strong and prey on the weak.
Spell(s)	Oomphle
Skill(s)	Blocks attacks with its shield Call for backup (Dullahan) Swings its weapon with reckless abandon (three random attacks on party members at 60% damage each) Whinny (damages and attempts to stun entire party)
Location(s)	Gallopolis Region (second act) Dundrasil Region (second act, night only)
Item(s) dropped	Equable emerald1⁄16 Platinum shield1⁄128

Evasion	Fire Resistance *	Ice Resistance *	Wind Resistance *
N/a	-110%	0%	0%
Rock Resistance *	Light Resistance *	Dark Resistance *	Zap Resistance *
0%	-125%	25%	-125%
Drain Magic Resistance	Whack Resistance *	Poof Resistance	Poison Resistance *
0%	100%	50%	0%
Paralysis Resistance *	Fuddle Resistance *	Snooze Resistance *	Dazzle Resistance *
50%	50%	25%	50%
Sap Resistance *	Blunt Resistance	Deceleratle Resistance	Spooky Aura Anathematise Resistance
0%	0%	0%	0%
Fizzle Resistance *	Stun Resistance *	Stumble Resistance *	Charm Resistance *
25%	99%	0%	100%
Beguile Resistance *	Double Down Resistance *	Elemental Resistance *
50%	0%	0%

If a headless horseman is sparkling, its mount can be ridden after defeating it in battle. The headless horseman's mount functions similarly to a normal horse, having the ability to gallop at high speeds. In the Nintendo 3DS and Definitive Edition of the game, this horse actually moves at a higher speed than a normal one. Additionally, the headless horseman's mount is able to perform a whinny in the 3DS version, which forces monsters hidden underground to jump out and startle them.

Vicious version

Vicious headless horseman (デュラハンナイト・強 Deyurahan naito・kyō)

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack
	1,103	24	347
Defense	Agility	Experience	Gold
350	180	1,629	416

Bestiary no.	#458
Family	Undead
In-game description	Headless horsemen driven to dangerous extremes by the dark power of the Lord of Shadows.
Spell(s)	Oomphle
Skill(s)	Blocks attacks with its shield Call for backup (Vicious dullahan) Swings its weapon with reckless abandon (three random attacks on party members at 60% damage each) Whinny (damages and attempts to stun entire party)
Location(s)	Path to Trial Isle (third act, night only) The Sage's Trial - The Fierce Forest (3DS version only)
Item(s) dropped	Equable emerald1⁄16 Platinum shield1⁄128

Evasion	Fire Resistance *	Ice Resistance *	Wind Resistance *
N/a	-110%	0%	0%
Rock Resistance *	Light Resistance *	Dark Resistance *	Zap Resistance *
0%	-125%	25%	-125%
Drain Magic Resistance	Whack Resistance *	Poof Resistance	Poison Resistance *
0%	100%	75%	0%
Paralysis Resistance *	Fuddle Resistance *	Snooze Resistance *	Dazzle Resistance *
50%	50%	25%	50%
Sap Resistance *	Blunt Resistance	Deceleratle Resistance	Spooky Aura Anathematise Resistance
0%	0%	0%	0%
Fizzle Resistance *	Stun Resistance *	Stumble Resistance *	Charm Resistance *
50%	99%	0%	100%
Beguile Resistance *	Double Down Resistance *	Elemental Resistance *
50%	0%	0%

Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key

Headless horseman appears as an A-rank monster of the Undead family exclusive to the SP version of the game.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

Headless horseman

Icon	Family	Max HP*	Max MP*
		1,320	330
Max Attack	Max Defence	Max Agility	Max Wisdom
580	620	530	450

Bestiary No.	#485
Rank	B
In-game description	Headless knights who ride savage steeds. Having set aside the chivalric code long ago, they prey upon the weak, protect the powerful, and always, always fight dirty
Talents	Destroyer (lv. 1)
Guaranteed traits	Insta-Oomph (lv. 1) Demonsbane (lv. 20) Deadly Touch (lv. 40)
Large-size exclusive traits	Tactical Commander (lv. 1) Defensive Impulse (lv. 1) Close Scraper (lv. 60)
Habitat	This monster has no natural habitat
Items	N/A
Synthesis chart	X
Notable synthesis

Fire Resistance *	Water Resistance *	Wind Resistance *	Earth Resistance *
-25%	0%	50%	50%
Explosion Resistance *	Ice Resistance *	Electricity Resistance *	Light Resistance *
0%	50%	0%	0%
Dark Resistance *	Debilitation Resistance*	Bedazzlement Resistance *	Antimagic Resistance *
25%	0%	-25%	50%
MP Absorption Resistance *	Confusion Resistance *	Sleep Resistance *	Paralysis Resistance *
50%	0%	0%	0%
Stun Resistance *		Poison Resistance *
25%		50%
Instant Death Resistance *
0%

Trivia

• In Celtic mythology, a dullahan is a rider clad in black and riding a black horse that carries its severed head in its hand like a lantern. It is said that when it stops riding or calls out someone's name, they will die. The dullahan is believed to be repelled by golden objects. It is believed to be the embodiment of the Celtic god Crom Dubh.

Gallery

• 

  XI polygon model

• 

  A vicious headless horseman

• 

  Rivals card

• 

  Scan Battlers card

Similar species

• Headless Honcho
• Headless hunter
• Headless norseman