[Jupiter_Storm]

I would like to counter with the argument that vampires are supposed to be powerful and feared ICly, even when they're not manipulating things from behind the scenes, and they have a patron deity, unlike dullahans.

Like many things, vampires are strong if built around their strength. The reason they are not feared in the way that they should be is because of the way that the majority of vampire players choose to roleplay them. They don't feel the need to blend in. There was a time when they were, until it was handled poorly and the 'vampire' experience was diluted - like other monstrous races - to being little more than a different set of stats and mechanics which otherwise receives the same opportunities in life as others.

... and there being no reasonable way to deal with one.

There are very many ways to deal with Dullahans (and other races) - the problems described here only shut down a couple of mechanics that represent a fraction of what very specific builds (not every build) are capable of.

They key issue behind this thread is not, primarily, the mechanics of the Dullahan, but the lack of understanding of how one addresses the exciting and unique challenges that something different possesses.

When people became aware of the prevalence of Vampires, they began to carry Holy weaponry. Which incidentally also works on Dullahans. This is the game working as intended, it's not a "build to win" scenario. If you are an adventurer chasing after a literal undead knight, in a life or death scenario, and you do not adequately prepare yourself for what you're about to face, you should expect to have a tough time.

... since there's no reason someone couldn't have a dullahan or a group of them going around attacking people, with the others simply having to find some way around the lack of weaknesses.

Nor should there be. That group of Dullahans in this hypothetical scenario sounds like an evil enemy, creating a challenging conflict that drives the narrative for those whose characters' stories include challenges and adventures. This is an IC issue, which should be resolved ICly, by the IC community. We have eager heroes waiting for their chance to tackle bigger challenges. We have guards.

Perhaps the group of angry murdering Dullahans would finally shake up the IC community and force them to acknowledge that yes, Dullahans are dangerous and should be treated with the suspicion that Dev's lore entry on them suggests that they should be.

... So what actually needs to be 'fixed' here?

Like with Vampires before, we're facing another problem that is potentially about to be handled very poorly, and dilute a race with very unique traits and a very unique reputation into nothing more than a set of slightly different stats which are otherwise "JUST PEOPLE, MAN."

Issues with Monstrous Races should not be handled OOCly unless there is a very clear and glaring exploit (which in this case there is absolutely not, I will outline why momentarily) - the apprehension that you feel about fighting them is something that you should translate to IC, not OOC.

Correct. They're scary, they're tough. Correct, they could absolutely fold somebody if they didn't know what they were doing. Sounds almost like... They should be mistrusted, and watched closely... Just like their lore entry suggests...


+ Soul Rage: Cost: 3 M, Lasts 3 Rounds. Gain 3 Momentum immediately. Lose 10% of your HP at the start of every new round, and gain 3 Momentum - Now, depending on how the game's buffs interpret 'rounds' lately, you're either looking at a 9M or 6M return for your 3M investment, at the additional cost of between 180 (low HP margin, 2 following rounds) - 300 Hit Points (high HP margin, 3 following rounds). This lasts through any stuns, knockdowns or immobilization that are applied.

I don't see an issue with the above. It can be employed for extra burst damage over a short space of time. This is strong, and it's scary, I like that it's scary. You should really be running away from a raging dullahan and biding your time. Sun Tzu would be proud.

+ Interference Resistance: I don't agree that this needs to be changed. Cunning FP management is the only thing keeping Dullahans viable at all, 50% + Scaled SAN is very much fair. Applying to HP recovery as well is very strong, but then again - Dullahans can only heal themselves through their class innates (and Mayelia). The former point means that there are only very specific builds that are going to be a concern in that regard if, indeed, it even is a concern. Anyone can heal in a serious situation.

+ Mandatory Dullahan Armor: Mayelia should definitely not be changed. Bear in mind that a Dullahan's stun (contrary to popular belief) is not actually a stun, and doesn't incur the 50% damage reduction. For a race that essentially always goes last in combat, that heal is pretty much needed - and requires you to use a torso slot that 'could' be used for other wonderful things.

As Soul Rage can be used to cheese people under very, very specific circumstances where you play right into their hand... Soul Burn exposes the Dullahan to a significant amount of return pain.

( EDIT ) - As an addendum, Brent no longer exists as a game character, so the only stake I have in the Dullahan - and Monstrous Creatures - argument, is the experience and threat that they add to the broader narrative of the game.

Even when he was around, he was frequently arrested for raging at whatever triggered him. It isn't my fault that people chose to regard a seven foot tall half-rotted suit of armour (as per the profile description) as a big cuddly meme with antlers.