Oni

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Oni are large, often thuggish and immensely powerful spirits that typically dwell in the mountains and/or hells of Japanese and Chinese mythology. Although vaguely similar to the ogres of the West, Oni are more morally neutral as a whole; dangerous and unpredictable, but not usually evil, and some are even good. Japan is famous for having many monstergirls in its mythology, and oni are no exception; female oni are said to be very beautiful, and even happily marry mortals, but they retain the immense strength and magical powers of their male counterparts, and are said to be capable of making themselves hideously ugly - as in, kill you with fear at the sight of them ugly - when angry.

Oni generally look like giant humans, often with odd skin colors, who may have odd numbers of eyes (1 or 3), 0-3 horns on their heads, fangs and/or tusks. In Japanese mythology, red-skinned oni are commonly said to be impulsive, extroverted, wild and emotionally driven, whilst blue-skinned oni are commonly said to be patient, introverted, calm and logical. Hence the trope for contrasting an emotional character vs a logical one commonly being "Red Oni, Blue Oni".

Dungeons & Dragons

Oni have a long tradition in Dungeons & Dragons, where they were initially ported over as the "Japanese Ogre" of OD&D, which eventually became the Ogre Mage in AD&D. This was described as an ogre, but much smarter, and with both a variety of innate magical abilities and an affinity for spell-casting classes. As such, it was a much greater threat than the standard orgre, which was basically just a bigger, tougher orc or a wimpier giant, depending on how you looked at it.

An AD&D monster directly called the Oni did appear in the Kara-Tur setting, as can be seen here.

In 4th edition, WoTC decided it was time to stop denying that the Ogre Mage was anything other than an Oni with the name changed. They created an entire class of oni creatures, with the Ogre Mage now the... Oni Mage... and added the Night Haunter in their first MM. This creepy sumbitch had a breath weapon that could put victims to sleep, heal itself by draining life from sleeping victims, disguise itself as any elderly humanoid of Medium or Large size, and assume a gaseous form. The second 4e MM added the Devourer, Overlord and Thunderer oni. "Open Grave" introduced two Shadowfell-native oni strains; the Souleater (take a wild guess what he does), and the Spiritmaster, a necromancer subspecies that considers the dead of all species, including its own, to be nothing more than potential servants.

Naturally, as a race that combines lesser-giant strength with magic, oni are pretty much off the playable list as far as most DMs are concerned, seeing them as basically "the gish problem" applied to a race. But, there were two times they had support...

In 2nd edition, the AD&D oni - sorry, "ogre mage" - appeared alongside its Ogre and Half-Ogre cousins in the Complete Book of Humanoids:

Ability Score Range: Strength 12-18, Dexterity 7-18, Constitution 8-14, Intelligence 8-17, Wisdom 3-16, Charisma 2-14

Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Strength, -2 Wisdom

Class & Level Limits: Fighter 9, Mage 8, Shaman 7, Thief 8

+5 hit points at 1st level

Natural Armor Class: 4

Gain the following abilities as they gain hit dice:

1. Cast Gaseous Form 1/day, Fly for 12 turns 1/day
2. Become Invisible at-will, Cast Charm Person 1/day
3. Cast Sleep 1/day, Regenerate 1 hit point per round (reattach lost members)
4. Cast Darkness (10ft radius) at-will
5. Can Polymorph into a humanoid at will, cast Cone of Cold 1/day (60ft cone, 20ft diameter at end, 8d8 damage, save vs. spells for half damage)

+1 Morale

Take damage as a Large creature

Requires double the normal amount of XP to advance each level.

Should use the Honor system from Oriental Adventures

Weapon Proficiencies: Daikyu, Katana, Naginata, Scimitar, Tetsubo, Wakizashi, Whip, Halberd, Spear, Trident

Non-Weapon Proficiencies: Acting, Armorer, Bowyer/Fletcher, Etiquette, Fortune Telling, Poetry, Reading/Writing, Spellcraft, Weaponsmithing, Weaving, Wild Fighting

And then, in 3.5, the "Ogre Mage" was playable right out of the box with the Monster Manual:

+10 Strength, +6 Constitution, +4 Intelligence, +4 Wisdom, +6 Charisma

Large

Based land speed 40 feet, Fly 40 feet (Good Manueverability)

Darkvision 60 feet

Racial Hit Dice: 5 levels of Giant, which provides 5d8 Hit Points, a Base Attack Bonus of +3, and Base Saving Throw Bonuses of Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +1.

Racial Skills: An ogre mage has 8 X (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1) skill points, and its class skills are Concentration, Listen, Spellcraft and Spot.

Racial Feats: 2 bonus feats.

+5 natural armor bonus

Spell-Like Abilities: Darkness (At-Will), Invisibility (At-Will), Charm Person (DC 14, 1/day), Clone of Cold (DC 18, 1/day), Gaseous Form (1/day), Polymorph (1/day), Sleep (DC 14, 1/day). All spell-like abilities have a caster level of 9th and Charisma-based saving DCs.

Regeneration 5, cannot resist Fire and Acid damage, reattach severed limbs rather than regrow them.

Favored Class: Sorcerer

Level Adjustment: +7

After this, the oni as a PC option slipped away. That said, the hagspawn race are described as looking a lot like an oni, and hags were actually considered a subspecies of giant in D&D's early days, so refluffing hagspawn wouldn't be the worst way to get your oriental ogre on...

Ogre Mage Subraces

Five different forms of oni - or Ogre Mage, whichever you prefer - existed in 3rd edition. Two, the Umbramage and the Cereborg, were only to be found in the pages of Dragon Magazine #349's "Ecology of the Ogre Mage". The other three, the so-called "Elemental Magi", are found in the Monster Manual V (5).

Cereborgs and Umbramages tie into the oni creation myth provided in that article, which states that oni are grandchildren of Vaprak by his three demigod sons. The "common" oni are descendants of Muaj, but the unique talents of Muaj's brothers gave rise to different straings.

Cereborgs are characterized by frostbitten-looking blue skin, and their potent powers of the mind rather than the mystical powers of standard oni. Their artwork in the magazine also depicts them as bald with a head covered in a network of bulging, throbbing veins, making it almost look like a brain. Children of Agmori, the most intellectual and domineering of Vaprak's sons, the cereborgs replace the standard spell-like abilities of an oni with the Psi-Like Abilities of Cloud Mind (DC 15, At-Will), Empathy (DC 14, At-Will), Death Urge (DC 17, 1/day), Dimension Swap (DC 15, 1/day), Mental Disruption (DC 15, 1/day) and Psionic Dimension Door (1/day), all with a manifester level of 9th and Charisma-based save DCs. They are noted to most frequently progress as Psions, Psychic Warriors and Soulknives, so any of these would be a logical Favored Class switch.

Umbramages descend from Hakuni, the Vaprak-spawn specialized in deception and assassination. This gives them darkly pigmented skins and a natural knack for stealth. Beyond tending to favor the Rogue, Ninja and Shadowcaster classes, which again would be a likely Favored Class switch, their spell-like abilities are more illusion focused: they can cast Darkness and Invisibility at will, and 1/day can cast Detect Thoughts (DC 15), Enervation (DC 17), Scare (DC 15), Shadow Walk (DC 19), and Waves of Fatigue (DC 18), all as 9th level caster and with Charisma-based saving DCs.

The Elemental Magi are a trio of semi-related oni with elementalism powers, though very distinctive beyond that. They readily band together, as their presence mystically strengthens each other, and are more martial than the common oni; rather than the standard array of spell-like abilities, they are mostly imbued with a small array of elemental supernatural abilities, and all have the Favored Class of Fighter.

Ken-kuni are the shortest and broadest, with marbled gray flesh and three horns; two bull-like, and one jutting from the center of their forehead. These elemental oni are connected to the Earth, giving them the Earth subtype and an Earthshock supernatural attack they can use once every 1d4 rounds. They are the least magical of their kin; outside of their Earthshock, fast healing and damage resistance, their only unique power is their Magic Strike special ability, which lets them treat their weapons as being magical. They are noted as the most territorial of the ken-oni, being neither as clever nor as ambitious as their fellows.

Ken-li are broad-shouldered and massive-chested, with burnished bronze skin and two black horns curving backward from their skulls amidst red hair. They are connected to Fire, giving them the Fire subtype and the ability to both weathe themselves in a protective aura of flame and to exhale a blast of flames every 1d4 rounds. Whilst possessing keen insight and malicious temperament, their arrogance and impulsiveness makes them prone to sabotaging themselves, going on aimless rampages for the sheer pleasure of burning everything that looks flammable.

Ken-sun are the tallest and leanest of the elemental magi, with blue-white skin and a single great horn - some 2 to 3 feet in length - protruding from its forehead. Their writeup states that they have "a rocky appearance", but their artwork doesn't really support that. These oni are tied to the element of Air, and are the most magical of their kin; in addition their subtype, they possess a "Wind Breath" supernatural breath weapon that blows enemies away, a Deflecting Winds aura that surrounds them with a permanent, personal windstorm (unless they wish otherwise), and a permanent Freedom of Movement effect. More notably, they are the only elemental oni with spell-like abilities, being able to cast Control Weather 2/day and Sleet Storm 1/day. Smartest, most ambitious and most leader-like of their kin, they invariably gather large warbands arond them and even become legitimate rulers-through-conquest.

D&D Gallery

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Pathfinder

Pathfinder, meanwhile, took a leaf out of WoTC's book and changed the Ogre Mage into just one breed of an Oni category. Their Oni became a species of evil outsiders, envious spirits whose sheer hedonistic desire caused them to take on the form of humanoids so that they could experience physical sensations again. The Ogre Mage Oni was still pretty vanilla, but the 3rd Pathfinder Bestiary, and the Jade Regent adventure path, added a bunch more oni.

The Fire Yai imitates a Fire Giant, can launch a fiery beam from its third eye, and turn itself into smoke. Craving luxuriant dwelling places, they are the most impulsive of their kind, a reference to the "red oni" mythology mentioned above.

The Ice Yai imitates a Frost Giant, can launch a freezing beam from its third eye, and has a monk-ish Staggering Strikes ability. Egotistic and domineering, they are nonetheless a very disciplined, dedicated, and even-tempered breed, preaching that the threat of violence can be more effective than actual violence. Like the Fire Yai, this taps into the "blue oni" mythology.

The Kuwa is the weakest and most common kind of oni, being based on the human form. The result is a claw-fingered, golden-skinned humanoid with fairly meager magical powers, as oni go. They crave power, but are more cautious than most other oni; they tend to avoid positions of true authority like king or mayor in favor of hiding in the upper echelon, where they can more freely exploit and abuse their powers to live in wealth and luxury.

The Spirit Oni are the weakest of all oni, an "unborn" oni that has been magically coaxed, tricked or otherwise sealed into a mask, which can then be used as a symbiote in order to call upon the oni's magical power. They are pitiful, hateful creatures who loathe being so entrapped, but which are too cowardly to take the risk of destroying themselves so that they can try to reincarnate as a more powerful oni.

The Void Yai is the most powerful form of oni, a towering dusky-skinned giant-form with, among other things, the ability to launch a negative energy beam from its third eye, assume an ethereal "void form", and create a lessened Sphere of Annihilation by use of its teleport powers. The most ambitious of all oni, Void Yai seek to conquer kingdoms to serve them. They hate their true forms as ugly, preferring to disguise themselves as incredibly attractive giants instead.

The Water Yai imitates a Storm Giant, wears unique magical robes, can shoot acid from its third eye, and turn into water. They love beauty, especially beautiful treasure, and seek to surround themselves with it. Noted for being surprisingly frivilous, especially for an oni.

The Yamabushi imitates a tengu, appearing as a crimson-faced humanoid with a big nose and raven-like wings. Proficient with monkly weapons, able to steal voices, but vulnerable to Pattern sub-school Illusion spells, they are noted for their love of trickery and thieving, driven by an urge to collect all the shiny treasure they can. Also, they hate ducks. Seriously, they find ducks so ugly and disgusting that they will actually endanger themselves in combat for a chance to kill a duck. Detailed in Jade Regent #1.

The Nogitsune imitates a kitsune, and possesses a unique form of the Suggestion spell-like ability that can actually be spread to new victims through the speech of those under its command. Hedonists who love killing and fleshy pleasures, they tend to become assassins and spies for both the love of murder & mischief and to get the money to spend on whores, booze and drugs. Detailed in Jade Regent #2.

The Atamahuta imitates an ettin, the notorious two-headed ogre. Distinguished by the way its left head has three eyes and constantly gibbers to itself, the Atamahuta divides its anger & savagery into the right head and its ingenuity and magical prowess into the left. Consequently, it talks through the right head, but casts spells with the left. As a result, it can easily enchant its weapons and is hard to disrupt its casting, as the body can keep protecting itself even as one head casts spells. They crave power and fearful respect above all else, so it incenses them that they often have to find a humanoid to serve as their "face", since their ettin and oni forms alike earn the repulsed disdain of the mortals they want to dominate. Detailed in Jade Regent #3.

The Ja Noi imitates a hobgoblin, but has a hunched back, fiery red skin, and over-developed muscles. It craves the carnal thrill of slaughter, finding the true pleasures of life to be found in the spilling of blood, the shattering of bone, and the thrill of life-risking combat. They yearn for battle and constantly seek out worthy opponents to test their might on; they rarely live long, especially because the followers they amass eventually realise they are expendable to a Ja Noi in its desire for bloodshed, but they see that as just the more reason to live to the utmost whilst they can. Detailed in Jade Regent #4.

The Earth Yai imitates a Stone Giant, can launch boulders from its third eye and grow protective stone spikes from its skin. It craves power above all else, yearning to hold the ultimate ability to inflict ruin. They are smart enough to realise that this doesn't necessarily entail physical strength; a soldier is less destructive than the catapult shot that brings down a castle wall, which is less powerful than the king whose decree ignited this bloody war in the first place. Detailed in Jade Regent #5.

The Wind Yai imitates a Cloud Giant, can fire lightning bolts from its third eye, and has powers relating to control over the wind and weather. Brooding, blustering fiends who desperately want to control the weather with the grace of the Cloud Giants they try to imitate, but who fail due to their lack of delicacy, which incenses them. Detailed in Jade Regent #6.

The Fiends of Pathfinder
Lawful:	Asuras - Devils - Rakshasas - Velstracs
Neutral:	Daemons - Divs - Sahkils
Chaotic:	Demodands - Demons - Lilus - Nindorus - Qlippoth
Any:	Oni
Lords:	Ahriman - Archdevils Demon Lords - Four Horsemen

Monstergirls

Monstergirl depictions of oni can be traced back to Japanese mythology, where some stories stated that females could be incredibly beautiful - at least whilst they were happy.

In standard monstergirl depictions, oni are essentially "Japanese Giants"; they re usually quite close in personality to the standard ogre or giant monstergirl, being tough, blunt, straightforward, enjoying food, drink and sex in copious amounts, often rough lovers, and not prone to taking "no" for an answer. They are almost always closer to ogre-sized (larger than humans, but not hugely so) rather than giant-sized - your typical oni is anywhere from "heads and shoulders taller" to "twice your size", but almost never "building sized". They almost always have luridly colored skin and always have horns, usually cute little nubby ones in imitation of Lum, the iconic oni monstergirl from 80s Japanimation and manga.

In Monster Girl Encyclopedia, oni are divided into two kinds; Red and Blue, for reasons talked about at the top of the page. Red Oni are basically sexy drunken thugs; their only concern is gorging themselves on liquor and finding a cute guy to screw, and they basically try to just take what they want. Blue Oni are more civilized and level-headed; Red Oni choose to act like savages, but Blue Oni try to be reasonable and diplomatic. However, they crave alcohol and are really bad at holding it, which means that when they get drunk, they become as horny and sexually aggressive as their Red sisters.

Oni-Girl Gallery

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  A Red Oni.
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  A Blue Oni.
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