decapitate / behead -- take the head off a weakened foe A general finisher: anyone with a proper beheading weapon ready (large blade, spear, or scythe — wielded or tucked at the belt) can go for the neck. Knives, hammers, and staves do not behead. Barehand beheading is a Power feat keyed to your Origin (see below), not a free pass for every Demon or Angel. How you play 1. Weaken the foe (about a third of their health) 2. trapbrand <demon> optional Abaddon prep (Knight+ only; costs chalk or trap paint) 3. decapitate <target> -- strike now, or keep swinging with your blade out 4. decapitate off -- only if you want normal hits in the execute window Decapitation truly kills Vampires, Shifters, Ghouls, and Arachne where a plain swing only re-stuns them (help incap). Against those monster souls the spirit goes to Purgatory at once -- no Earth linger (help death | help purgatory). Against Wendigo or Djinn it fails. Against Leviathans it contains (headless incap). Against Demons and Angels, ordinary steel evicts the smoke or grace from the meatsuit -- use trapbrand on a weakened Knight+ Demon first if you need Abaddon containment (head in hand, body helpless). decapitate <target> strike now for the neck (signature announce + brief) decapitate on re-enable auto-behead (on by default with a blade out) decapitate off stop auto-beheading while a blade is wielded behead ... alias for decapitate trapbrand <target> carve a devil's trap sigil on a weakened Demon (Abaddon prep) reattach head <name> return a severed containment head to the body (ally recovery) Requirements and limits: * Blade path: equip a large blade (sword, machete, axe) or a spear/scythe — not a knife, hammer, or staff — or tuck one at your belt (help equip | help tuck). Machete / sword swings auto-behead inside the finisher window on weakened vampires and other decap-vulnerable prey (help decapitate). * Barehand path: ripping a head off without a blade needs enough Power for your Origin (score Power). Rough walls: Angel Host about 20, Leviathan 65, Demon / Nephilim / Wendigo 110, Shifter / Slayer / God Mantle 155, Vampire 200. Hunters and other mortals still need a blade. Demons cannot barehand-finish Angels; Angels cannot barehand-finish Demons (use smite or Host steel). * Finisher-gated: only fires once the target is at about 35% health or less -- the same window as stake / slay. (Dev-gated body-parts platform: once live, a target whose neck is already disabled opens that window a little early, around 40% -- reward for going for the throat first. Off by default; the plain 35% applies until then.) * Manual decapitate is ready again after 3 combat beats. * A landed decap rolls execute ([EXECUTE] or [EVICT]) only when the swing actually hit the head or neck -- a thigh or gut hit is still a hit, not a beheading. True kills leave severed head loot on the floor. Abaddon containment (trapbrand + behead on Knight+ Demon, or Leviathan decap) puts the head in your inventory. * You cannot behead the incorporeal -- a ghost or haunt has no neck to cut. Use salt, an exorcism, or a banishing instead.