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If a human /human shaped creature were to have a horn, horns or crest on their head, what shape, positioning and number of horns would be the best for the most damage?

The human will be very muscular and almost like a wild animal, maybe even on a leash by its master, when let to run free it just attacks in a rage violently headbutting whatever is in its way, using its hands to grab or pin their victim down as it keep headbutting them until their skull is smashed down into a bloody mess.

It doesn't need to make evolutionary sense having the horn so the horn can be any shape, if the horns/ crest are on the larger side more muscle can be added to the creatures neck structure an other body parts if needed.

Edit : the creature will be an individual not a race, it will be kept in a cage most times until it is needed but the story is set in urban areas and forests at times so really wide horns may not work, im also thinking the creatue will have a build closer to a gorilla with elongated arms so it has more range and strength for grabbing hold of people.

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    $\begingroup$ Close forest environment, or open savanna - or other? My first thought was that the Irish Elk, died out because antlers were too big for the post-ice-age environment. $\endgroup$
    – Escaped dental patient.
    Commented Oct 4, 2019 at 22:00
  • $\begingroup$ because its a caged animal almost, environment doesn't really matter. now those are some antlers lol that elk is pretty cool. $\endgroup$
    – user59653
    Commented Oct 4, 2019 at 22:25
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    $\begingroup$ The skull and neck is a bigger problem, and will likely need to be solved first. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Oct 5, 2019 at 1:16
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    $\begingroup$ @John repeated, forceful headbutting just about works with a regular human head. I'm sure it could be upgraded to murderous effectiveness by a suitable force-concentrating object. There'd be some serious long-term musculoskeletal issues, but that doesn't sound like a big concern for the OP... $\endgroup$
    – Starfish Prime
    Commented Oct 5, 2019 at 10:11
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    $\begingroup$ headbutting another human head works, headbutting anything else is like using an egg as a hammer, the human head is just about the most poorly designed head for any kind of headbutting. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Oct 5, 2019 at 13:16

1 Answer 1

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The horn(s) have two jobs: concentrate the outgoing force to maximize damage to the other party and to dissipate the incoming force (while being strong enough to not break).

If you have ever seen actual head butting used in combat, the center of the forehead just below or at the hair line seems to be the strongest part of the front of the head. You can usually find a slight bump under the skin there (unless I'm special and I just ran my head into way too many things when I was young).

I can see two decent shapes:

  1. A knob of bone in the high center of the forehead seems to be the best location. Reinforcing bone should thicken the forehead and spread the force to the rest of the skull.
  2. A shape like the prow of a ship. This has the force concentrator and the reinforcing shape all in one.

Personally, I like option 1 better since I think that the sides of the prow shape could end up being weak spots.

Needless to say, the spine and neck muscles will need to be beefed up with any option here (possibly limiting the movement of the head) to give added strength. The winner can't breed if he's paralyzed from the neck down.

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  • $\begingroup$ good points, I was already thinking of the ship like prow, maybe withit taking up most of its face. Theres some really cool creature design on pinterest with creatures having a head structure like this, even if it makes less sense than the knob of bone I prefer the look, would the prow need added structure to make it stronger? note this creature wont be taking down armies with its head just the odd hunting mission. $\endgroup$
    – user59653
    Commented Oct 5, 2019 at 13:26
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    $\begingroup$ @Aizen-sama, While added structure would make things stronger, you start to get into a weight vs benefit issue. the main structure you would need would be bracing going from one side to the other. What you don't want is for the force on the tip of the prow to spread/flatten the prow (ripping open the sides or back of the skull). The one who gets the off center hit is will be the winner as they break through the side of the prow. $\endgroup$
    – ShadoCat
    Commented Oct 9, 2019 at 22:37

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