Acephali (Septagoorean)

Acephali (Septagoorean)
No. Enc.: 1d4 (3d6X10)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (60')
Armor Class: 6 (or better)
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: Up to six (weapon)
Damage: 1d4 or weapon
Save: F2
Morale: 11

Headless six-armed humanoids who prowl the wilderness looking for human flesh to feed upon, the Acephalic tribes of Septagoor are ruthless combatants, religiously-motivated cannibals and head-hunters of the worst sort. Their faces are centered upon their torsos and have an almost porcelain-like appearance, dominated by a pair of large eyes and a gaping, lascivious mouth. Most warriors file their teeth into flesh-ripping spikes. All the tribes of these people practice various forms of self-mutilation and modification, embedding jewels into their flesh rather than merely wearing such things.  The Acephali of Septagoor frequently hunt after the pearly hoards of Nguema. They lust after pearls the way Grunters hunt after fresh meat.

Septagoorean Acephali wield spears and wickedly curved axes and swords for the most part, using only light javelins or darts for missile weapons very infrequently. The warriors of these abhuman tribes prefer to get up close and personal in melee combat and will attempt to subdue small groups using nets, weighted ropes and sheer numbers...unless there is a Xing Tian present. Then the Septagoorean Acephali will attempt to kill everyone. As may have been suspected, these acephali are accomplished ritual dancers, grapplers and wrestlers. They almost never use shields, though a few will make use of Xing Tian masks as enchanted shields, but this is a rare mark of special status, often a spell-caster of some type, or some sort of warlord.

Those who are made captives of the Septagoorean Acephali are most often tortured to death and then eaten in a grotesque feast in their honor. A few are put to work as slaves, and in the case of a particularly ambitious would-be warlord, some are retained as teachers and trainers to help instill discipline, tactics or new ways of fighting upon their armies-to-be. Xing Tian are never taken prisoner, never made slaves. Breaking this taboo would unseat even the most feared and respected warlord.

There are rumors of an entirely too-wise Septagoorean Warlord who recently captured a piratical stronghold and has taken a fancy to setting forth as an airship pirate...