Critfall: Headless Horseman

A Halloween boss for Critfall. At midnight in October a headless rider comes for a player under the open sky, on a black horse, with a rusted sword and his own burning head. Critfall rolls every attack, damage roll and save. He never breaks blocks, and if he is still alive at sunrise, he rides off.

Midnight in October

He comes once on Halloween night, and has a 10% chance at every other midnight in October, by the server's real date. Hoofbeats and mist come first. The dates, the chance and spawning all year are in the config, and spawn eggs and /summon bring him any time.

The charge

He charges on his Gallows Steed every 8 seconds. Make a Dexterity save (DC 13) or take the hit in full and be knocked down; a save halves it. Up close, his sword adds fire damage while he has his head, and he sweeps when you crowd him or stand behind him.

Line of fire

He throws his head, and it leaves a line of fire: a Dexterity save (DC 14) halves the damage. The head lands as an item anyone can pick up and throw. Without it he has no fire and rides straight for whoever holds it.

Rider and steed

The Horseman (150 health, AC 15) and the Gallows Steed (80 health, AC 13) each have their own health, boss bar and Critfall profile. Kill the steed and he fights on foot, without charges.

Trophies

He drops the Rusted Executioner's Sword, which rolls 2d6 and crits on 19 or 20, and The Horseman's Head, which you can wear.

Requires

• Minecraft 1.21.1
• NeoForge 21.1 or newer, or Fabric Loader 0.17.3 or newer with Fabric API
• Critfall 0.2.17 or newer
• GeckoLib 4.9.3 or newer
• The Headless Horseman on the server and on every client.

Optional

• Mod Menu on Fabric, for the config button in the mod list.

Works with

• Critfall: Checks 0.1.3 or newer: the saves against his charge and his line of fire use your character's Dexterity save.
• Critfall: Initiative 0.2.0 or newer: he and his steed stay out of encounters, so his fight stays real time.

Open the config screen from the mod list: Mods → Critfall: Headless Horseman → Config on NeoForge, or the config button in Mod Menu on Fabric. Save applies it at once. On a server, the screen shows only your own screen settings.

The server's settings are in config/critfall_horseman/critfall_horseman.json. Each player's fog, camera shake and smoke are in config/critfall_horseman/critfall_horseman-client.json. His health, damage dice and save DCs are in a datapack.

Every option and its default

config/critfall_horseman/critfall_horseman.json

Option	Default	What it does
enabled	true	Master switch. Off, he never comes and his fight does nothing.
natural_spawning	true	He comes by himself at midnight. Off, only spawn eggs and /summon bring him.
halloween_night	10-31	The night he comes for certain, once a year.
season_start	10-01	First night he may come by chance.
season_end	10-31	Last night he may come by chance. The season may run over New Year.
all_year	false	Every night counts as in season.
season_chance	0.1	His chance at each midnight in season, from 0 to 1.
hoofbeats	true	Hoofbeats and mist before he appears. Off, he appears at once.
sunrise_exit	true	If he is still alive at sunrise, he rides off.
fire_damage	true	His sword hits add fire damage while he has his head.
charge	true	He charges on his steed.
head_throw	true	He throws his head in a line of fire.
sweep	true	He sweeps his sword all around him when someone crowds him.
head_passing	true	Players can pick up his head and throw it.
drops	true	He drops his sword and his head when he dies.
boss_bar	true	Boss bars for him and his steed.
lines	true	His lines as titles and on the action bar, with their sounds.
effects	true	Bursts of fire, smoke and mist from his moves, seen by every player.

config/critfall_horseman/critfall_horseman-client.json

Option	Default	What it does
fog	true	Fog closes in on your screen when he is near.
camera_shake	true	Your camera shakes when he charges nearby.
ambient_particles	true	The smoke, embers and fire trails around him and his head.

Free to use in any modpack.

• The Headless Horseman on modroll.studio
• Source
• Issues