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Helm of the Headless
🕑 Added 2025-08-08 15:42:27 +0000 UTCWondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
This helmet is designed in the likeness of a skull. It has a thick metal collar at its base, which rests around your neck while you wear it. The helmet has 7 charges and regains 1d4 + 3 expended charges daily at dawn. While wearing the helmet, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges to use one of the properties below.
Burning Hands. You can expend 1 of the helmet's charges to cast the burning hands spell from either your hands or your mouth (save DC 15). When cast from your mouth, the spell only requires verbal components in order to cast it. The flames created by the spell are ghostly and green.
Call Phantom Steed. You can expend 3 of the helmet's charges to cast the phantom steed spell from the helmet. If the steed takes damage and disappears, each hostile creature within 10 feet of the steed immediately takes 3d6 fire damage, as tongues of green flame erupt from the steed's phantasmal form.
Separate Head. You can expend 1 of the helmet's charges to separate your head from your body. When you do, the metal collar remains on your neck to magically enclose the newly exposed flesh. For the duration, phantom flames sputter from your neck and separated head. While your head is separated, you can see, hear, and speak normally from it. Your head gains a flying speed of 20 feet and can hover, supported by the ghostly magic contained within the helm; your body and head share the same turn but you can control them independently of each other using your actions and movement. While separated, your body and head are considered different creatures for the purpose of being targeted by attacks and effects, but they continue to share the same hit points and statistics. If a single effect would simultaneously damage both your head and your body, you’re only subjected to the damage once (whichever part of you took more damage). Your head can remain separate for up to 10 minutes, until the helmet is removed from your head, or until you end the effect early using a bonus action. When the effect ends, your head magically vanishes and reappears attached to your neck, and any effect that your head (but not your body) is affected by magically ends on you. If an effect would sever your head from your body (such as by a vorpal sword), you can expend 1 of the helmet's charges (no action required) to harmlessly separate your head in this way instead.
"I'd lose my head if it wasn't magically attached to me."
—Iliza, for the fourth time today since getting that damned helmet
Comments
The Griffon's Saddlebag
Hey! 1) it would work across planes (there isn't a clause to say no, which there usually is if it's necessary). 2) No new save! If your head is affected, the body would be as well when you recombine!
David S.
I love this item and the art for it is great ❤️. Two questions though... Does it work across planes, so if someone planeshifted the head away- would the head come back, the body go to it, or both just die? Other question is what happens if one of them has a spell cast on it like for example Charm Person or the Armor spell and they merge back together- is the whole body affected, is there a new save?
