NOTE: The rules involving supernaturals are only being preserved for the sake of reference. We are not accepting supernatural characters as player characters in the game.

Oni

PC Restrictions: None Yet

Quote: (Coming Soon)

In General

The oni are the demons and goblins of the Bushido universe, responsible for all the ills of the world if the mythology is to be believed. In Buddhist lore, oni created earthquakes, fires, floods, famines, and all manners of other destruction. While this is not factually true in game terms, it is what is believed about oni -- and sometimes what people believe is more important than the truth.

Appearance

Oni come in three basic varieties (to be named later).

The first variety are those who have oni blood, but who do not show it outwardly. In all respects they appear to be human -- but there may have been some bizarre circumstance to their birth. The legendary priest Musashibo Benkei was alleged to have been born of a demon and a woman, with all his hair and teeth intact. Their powers as a demon are limited (see below) for more on this.

The second and probably most common variety are those with oni blood, either halfbreed or fullbreed, who only exhibit a few signs of being a demon. Usually this consists of one to three small horns, about the length of one's finger, protruding from the top or front of one's head. These horns can easily be covered with hair or a head covering. Some other variants among oni include bright red (or even absolutely pale) hair, a peculiar color to the eyes, or some other variation. Most of these are concealable in some fashion.

The third and rarest variety are fullblooded demons. They have the horns, but most visibly they have skin of a profoundly reddish hue, fangs, and claws. Such demons are usually attacked on sight by human beings if they are ever seen by them. It is impossible to conceal most of this without the use of magic.

Most oni will have a Strength of 4-5. Ice Oni may have an Appearance of 3-5, but Fire Oni are usually an appearance of 1-2.

There are several basic varieties of oni:

Fire Oni are the most conventionally recognized - red skin and eyes are usually their trademark look.
Ice Oni usually sport blue or white hair and pale skin, but also have the horns, fangs and claws of oni. Their more delicate features should not mislead the unwary.
[There may be more varieties of oni introduced in the future, but I'm limiting it to this for now.]

The People Themselves

Oni are either male or female, and are born either from other oni or an oni-human pair. The latter is rare, but it does happen, as there are oni who do not fit the mold of the wreaker of havoc.

Most oni live in the mountains or in deep forests, wherever there are enclaves to hide. They are not social; they do not band together with other demons for the most part. Usually they exist only to fend for themselves, but if someone irritates them -- infringes on their territory or steals something of theirs -- they will go to great lengths to make that person miserable. They will destroy property, kill family members, set fires, and on and on. Theirs is not the innocent pranks of the tanuki, but real destruction and death.

The less-fullblooded oni often blend into conventional society. Those with horns may try to cover them up (or even saw them off temporarily, although they will regrow), and those with no outward signs of oni-dom may live their whole lives without knowing what they truly are.

However, if they come into contact or even come near other oni, something happens to them as if by magic: their underlying demeanor emerges. If they have horns, the horns protrude; they become violent and temperamental, irrational, more like the oni they truly are than the human they only appear to be. Fullblooded oni are like this to begin with; being around other oni does not significantly change their temper.

Also, if they lose their temper conventionally, the oni side of them takes over and they go into a frenzied rage. (See below for an explanation of this in game terms.) This is endemic among all oni, kin and fullblood.

Among the pureblood oni, there are stories of a few who are not like the rest -- some who are gentle and instead turn from their past and strive to do good works in the world. It is said, although it has not been confirmed, that such creatures are "touched" by Buddha or Kuan Yin -- made to see the world that lies beyond their selfish nature, and allowed to change it. They are few and far between, and they are almost certainly made targets of by the majority of the oni populace.

Pureblood oni and halfblood oni have a curious relationship. There is a kind of unspoken understanding between them -- each knows what the other is without being told, and a pureblood will almost always try to lure a halfbreed into accepting his wild nature more completely.

The Individual

(This part deals with generalizations. The individual characters do not have to follow this verbatim; instead, it is a manner of helping someone to get ideas)

Past:

If you were of mixed blood, chances are your birth and origins are shrouded in mystery and rumor. Your father was whispered to have been a monster, and your mother might have died giving birth to you. If you had siblings, chances are they feared you or avoided you; there was something about you that drove others away. The few that got close were only interested in taunting you, only to discover (much to their chagrin) your enraged strength.

Pureblood oni tend not to remember very much of anything in their past except the most recent insult or conquest. Whether this is by choice or by nature is not clear.

Present:

The halfbreeds who have managed to bury their past, at least partially, spend a good deal of their lives avoiding their true nature. Perhaps they subsume themselves in a discipline which requires their calm, or which simply doesn't afford them opportunities for rage. Some might even become monks, although how long they last in the discipline of a temple is another story. They live in quiet fear of the day when their grace will be shattered.

Fullblooded oni live for the present. They make no plans and enjoin no contracts with their world; when they are done with something, they leave it and move on in search of something else.

Future:

Halfbreeds face a variety of possible futures depending on how well they cope with their nature. Some might even employ it in the service of another, allowing their demonic rage to be channeled into the service of another (although whether that in itself is used for good or ill is another story entirely!). Some may simply suppress it forever... or some may be ostracized and live the life of a hermit.

Goals:

Most pureblood oni are not goal-oriented -- they live for the moment. The only goals that present themselves are vengeance against actual or perceived wrongs, or obliterating short-term competition. They're not interested in long-term planning.

Halfbreeds, on the other hand, have more of a chance of making real long-term goals as evidenced by the above. They are quite human in that respect, but the animal side of them is always reaching out to disturb those plans.

Fates:

[coming soon]

Nature

[coming soon]

Demeanor

[coming soon]

Drives

[coming soon]

Throughout History

[coming soon]

Powers and Skills

Most oni depend on brute strength and sheer willpower to accomplish their ends. They do, however, have a small gallery of supernatural powers which allow them to expand their capacities.

Oni may frenzy if enraged. In game terms, this is rolled either as Face or Fealty (depending on the circumstances) + any skills that might apply (Meditiation, etc.) to calm one's self. Each successive roll is made at an incremental -2. When the roll fails, the player goes berserk for the number of rounds they are under the roll (i.e., if they need 5 successes and only roll 2, they go berserk for 3 rounds). Berserk means they will fight anyone and anything that gets in their way, with no defense.

Powers present in all oni:

Beast Speech

Allows the oni to communicate with animals.

Skill Roll: Ki + Beast speech.
Requirements: Must be within earshot or speaking range of the animal. If the animal is afraid of the oni, diff.: -2. If the animal is actively running in fear: -4.
Effect: Allows the oni to communicate with other animals.
Duration: Number of successes = number of turns.

Oni Might

Allows the oni to temporarily increase his strength.

Roll: Ki + Oni Might. Uses ki; counts as a spell.
Requirements: Must be in combat; otherwise, it only lasts 1 turn.
Effects: # of successes = # of dice to add to strength.
Duration: Until end of combat.

Powers present only in Ice Oni:

Frost Fist

Allows the oni to freeze something by touching it (or slamming his fist into it!) Note: Cannot be used as a defensive action.

Roll: Ki + Frost Fist. Uses ki; counts as a spell.
Requirements: None.
Effects: # of successes = # of inches radius of the frost.
Duration: Instant. Frost melts normally. Damage from frost is rolled from the same number of successes.

Powers present only in Fire Oni:

Demon's Fire

Allows the oni to start fires at will or incinerate something.

Roll: Ki + Demon's Fire. Uses ki; counts as a spell.
Requirements: Must not be underwater or somewhere else where a fire cannot burn.
Effects: # of successes = # of inches radius of the fire.
Duration: Instant. Fire burns as would a normal non-magical fire. Damage from fire is rolled from the same number of successes.