The Shadowlands Oni (Updated 10-17: oni Overlord)

[demiurge1138]

GEKIDO NO ONI
Large Outsider (Chaos, Evil, Extraplanar, Shadowlands Oni)
Hit Dice: 19d8+133 (218 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 50ft (10 squares)
Armor Class: 30 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +17 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 27
Base Attack/Grapple: +19/+32
Attack: Claw +28 melee (2d8+9/19-20x2)
Full Attack: 2 claws +28 melee (2d8+9/19-20x2), bite +26 melee (3d6+4) and 2 kicks +25 melee (2d6+4)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Fear aura, frenzy, rend 4d8+13, spell-like abilities, trample 8d6+13
Special Qualities: Change shape, damage reduction 15/good or jade, immune to disease and poison, regeneration 3, resistance to cold 10, electricity 10 and fire 10, spell resistance 29, telepathy 100ft
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +15, Will +12
Abilities: Str 28, Dex 19, Con 25, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 17, Taint 10
Skills: Balance +6, Climb +31, Disguise +3*, Hide +22, Intimidate +25, Jump +41, Listen +23, Move Silently +26, Spot +26, Tumble +28
Feats: Cleave, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (claw, bite)
Environment: Tarterian Depths of Carceri (Shadowlands)
Organization: Solitary, knot (2-5) or tangle (6-36)
Challenge Rating: 17
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 20-38 HD (Large), 39-57 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -

Wiry and stooped, this creature is vaguely humanoid, with leathery skin and a back covered in hundreds of long spines. Its hands and feet end in incredibly long claws. Its mouth stretches across the entire width of its reptilian face, and is filled with thousands of sharp teeth.

The most powerful soldiers of the oni armies, gekido no oni are the physical embodiment of all the rage and hate of the Shadowlands. They respect only the oni overlords, and chafe under the commands of akuma no oni generals, occasionally starting a bloody rebellion. Despite this, the danger they pose to other oni is nothing compared to the danger they pose to all other life in the multiverse. Worse yet, they are fairly common oni, traveling in huge tangles and killing all in their path.

A gekido no oni’s full height is about 9 feet, but they generally walk bent over and hunched unless raging. They weigh approximately 400 pounds.

Combat
A gekido no oni begins combat by trampling opponents, rolling into a spiny ball and barreling over them at high speeds. After crushing unworthy opponents, they join melee with their claws, teeth and powerful kicks, only using their spell-like abilities if commanded to. Their most fearsome ability is their frenzy, which not even they have perfect control over.

The natural attacks of a gekido no oni, as well as any weapon it wields, are treated as chaotic aligned and evil aligned for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Fear Aura (Su): A gekido no oni can emit a 30ft radius aura of fear as a free action. Affected creatures must succeed on a DC 22 Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell (caster level 15th). A creature that successfully saves against a gekido no oni’s fear aura cannot be affected by that oni’s aura for 24 hours. Other oni are immune to the aura. The save DC is Charisma based.

Frenzy (Ex): Whenever a gekido no oni threatens a critical hit with a natural attack, it flies into a blood frenzy. When frenzying, a gekido no oni gains a +6 bonus to its Strength and Constitution scores, a +3 morale bonus to all Will saves, and acts under the effects of a haste spell. The frenzy also imposes a -2 penalty to Armor Class, but the gekido no oni’s hide actually thickens, increasing its natural armor bonus by +5. A gekido no oni cannot end its frenzy prematurely, and takes no penalties when the frenzy ends. The frenzy lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the oni’s newly increased Constitution modifier.

When frenzying, a gekido no oni’s statistics are as follows: HD 19d8+190 (275 hp); Speed 80ft (16 squares); Armor Class 34 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +22 natural, +1 haste, -2 frenzy); Attack Claw +32 melee (2d8+12); Full Attack 3 claws +32 melee (2d8+12), bite +30 melee (3d6+6) and 2 kicks +29 melee (2d6+6); Saves Fort +21, Ref +16, Will +15; Str 34, Con 31; Climb +34, Jump +54. The damage from the creature’s rend attack increases to 4d8+18, and the damage from its trample attack increases to 8d6+18. The save DC for the trample increases to 30.

Rend (Ex): When a gekido no oni hits an opponent with both claw attacks, it grabs the flesh and pulls, dealing an additional 4d8+13 damage.

Spell-like Abilities: At will – bull’s strength, darkness, vampiric touch; 3/day – cloud of Taint (DC 17). Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma based.

Trample (Ex): Reflex half DC 27. The save DC is Strength based.

Regeneration (Ex): A gekido no oni takes normal damage from jade weapons, good aligned weapons and spells or effects with the Good descriptor.

Demiurge out.

 

[Justice Gundam]

Whoa, excellent job here, Demiurge! The nastities of the Shadowlands are now every match with their CR, and I salute you for this!

The Akuma no Oni is my personal favourite: the raise in al of the mental stats was a great idea, and accounts for their position as commanders of the oni troops: I always found strange that the OA handbook described the Akuma as capable of great cunning and devastating tactical maneuvres, yet they only had an Int score of 11...

Oh, yes, the Ugulu no Oni was pretty bland in the OA handbook. Now, it has more flavour and... yes, its spell immunity is MUCH more effective. (Permanent perfect SR against ONE spell... I wonder what they were thinking when they thought the Ugulu up...)

The Kyoso is also well done: your description and the powers it has are in tune with its role as a secretive, sneaky assassin.

The Byoki... wow, it just made me cringe in horror, in a good way of course! It was just so well-written and descriptive that I could just picture the thing and the terrible effects of its disease. Really powerful as well.

As for the Gekido (it actually means 'fury' in Japanese, btw)... well, I wouldn't want to meet a tangle of those things! My epic-level players could, though... (evil grin)

So, I give you two thumbs up, and warmly reccomend this topic to anyone who's interested in bringing some oni-flavoured 'fun' to their campagn! See ya, and good luck!

 

[Wolf72]

Don't worry about the "fine, don't comment". I was just temporarily bitter. It's gone now.

And I think the regular oni are, if not fine for 3.5, much closer to the mark. Less in need of "fixing". And for the tweaks like skills, feats and the like, the Dragon OA update is what you should go for. It is very good.

Demiurge out.

you don't by any chance know the issue number off hand do you?

 

[demiurge1138]

That was issue 318. The Dark Sun one, I believe. Either that or the "ninjas, pirates and dinosaurs" issue.

Demiurge out.

 

[demiurge1138]

The last of the oni in OA...

TSUBURU NO ONI
Huge Outsider (Chaos, Evil, Extraplanar, Shadowlands Oni)
Hit Dice: 22d8+198 (297 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 10ft (2 squares)
Armor Class: 36 (-2 size, +1 Dex, +25 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 35
Base Attack/Grapple: +22/+43
Attack: Bite +33 melee (3d10+13)
Full Attack: Bite +33 melee (3d10+13) and 2 claws +31 melee (2d6+6)
Space/Reach: 15ft/15ft
Special Attacks: Breath weapon, fear aura, feed, improved grab, spell-like abilities, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Change shape, damage reduction 15/good and jade, immunity to poison and disease, regeneration 5, resistance to cold 10, electricity 10 and fire 10, spell resistance 32, telepathy 100ft
Saves: Fort +22, Ref +14, Will +13
Abilities: Str 36, Dex 13, Con 28, Int 11, Wis 7, Cha 20, Taint 12
Skills: Bluff +30, Concentration +34, Diplomacy +9, Disguise +5* (+7* acting), Intimidate +32, Knowledge (planes) +25, Listen +25, Sense Motive +23, Spot +25
Feats: Alertness, Awesome Blow, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull’s Rush, Iron Will, Multiattack, Power Attack
Environment: Tarterian Depths of Carceri (Shadowlands)
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 20
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 23-44 HD (Huge), 45-55 HD (Gargantuan), 56-66 HD (Colossal)
Level Adjustment: -

This disgusting creature is little more than an enormous stomach, coated in leathery purple hide. Two thin arms dangle from its side, constantly shoveling more food into its gargantuan maw. Over the wide mouth with its lolling prehensile tongue, the thing’s eyes and mouth are little more than slits.

Arguably the most foul of the Shadowlands oni and easily among the most powerful, tsuburu no oni are unending eating machines. The great oni armies leave the tsuburu no oni alone, for the oni’s appetite is insatiable, and it could easily devour any oni that tried to recruit it. They forever roam the blasted heaths of the Shadowlands in search of food, dragging anything that moves or may once have moved into their fanged gullet.

A tsuburu no oni is about 15 feet in diameter and weighs more than five tons.

Combat
A tsuburu no oni will usually initiate combat by “softening” prey in a stream of corrosive bile. In following rounds, it will alternate using its spell-like abilities in defense and grabbing and swallowing its opponents one by one.

The natural attacks of a tsuburu no oni, as well as any weapon it wields, are treated as chaotic aligned and evil aligned for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Breath Weapon (Su): A tsuburu no oni can breathe a 90ft line of corrosive bile as a standard action. Every creature within the area must succeed on a DC 30 Reflex save or take 20d8 points of acid damage. Creatures that take damage must succeed on a DC 30 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of permanent Constitution drain. Once a tsuburu no oni has used its breath weapon, it must wait 1d4 rounds before using it again. The save DC is Constitution based.

Fear Aura (Su): A tsuburu no oni can emit a 30ft radius aura of fear as a free action. Affected creatures must succeed on a DC 26 Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell (caster level 20th). A creature that successfully saves against a tsuburu no oni’s fear aura cannot be affected by that oni’s aura for 24 hours. Other oni are immune to the aura. The save DC is Charisma based.

Feed (Su): When a tsuburu no oni slays a sentient opponent with a soul (in a standard D&D game, this applies to most aberrations, giants, humanoids, magical beasts and monstrous humanoids), it can feed on the corpse, devouring both flesh and life force, as a full round action (this only requires a standard action if the tsuburu no oni uses this ability on an already swallowed opponent). Feeding destroys the victim’s body and prevents any form of raising or resurrecting that requires part of the corpse. There is a 50% chance that powerful spells such as miracle and true resurrection will restore a devoured creature to life. Check once for each creature. If the check fails, the creature cannot be restored to life by mortal magic

A tsuburu no oni advances in Hit Dice by consuming corpses in this fashion. For every three suitable corpses consumed, the tsuburu no oni gains 1 HD and its Strength, Constitution and natural armor increase by +1.

Improved Grab (Ex): In order to use this ability, a tsuburu no oni must hit an opponent with its claw or bite attack. It can then make a grapple check as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If it gets a hold, it can attempt to swallow the grappled creature whole.

Spell-like Abilities: At will – cloud of Taint (DC 19), darkness, greater teleport (self plus 100 lbs of equipment only), stinking cloud (DC 18), telekinesis (DC 20); 3/day – creeping doom, finger of death (DC 22), fly, Tainted aura (DC 23); 1/day – fire storm (DC 23). Caster level 20th. The save DCs are Charisma based.

For the purposes of the weight limit of the tsuburu no oni’s greater teleport spell-like abilities, swallowed creatures count as “self”.

Swallow Whole (Ex): By making a successful grapple check, a tsuburu no oni may swallow a held foe at least one size smaller than itself whole. Once swallowed, a victim takes 2d8+8 points of bludgeoning damage plus 8 acid damage every round until it escapes or dies. In addition, creatures swallowed must succeed on a DC 30 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of permanent Constitution drain every round they are swallowed. The save DC is Constitution based. A successful grapple check allows the creature to climb out of the stomach and into the oni’s mouth, where another grapple check is required to get free. Alternatively, the swallowed creature can escape by cutting its way out with either claws or a light slashing or piecing weapon. Dealing at least 50 points of damage (AC 23) in this fashion allows the creature to escape. Once a single swallowed creature exits, muscular action closes the whole; another swallowed creature must cut its way out as well. A tsuburu no oni’s stomach can hold 2 Large, 8 Medium-sized, 32 Small, or 128 Tiny or smaller creatures.

Regeneration (Ex): A tsuburu no oni takes normal damage from jade weapons, good aligned weapons and spells or effects with the Good descriptor.

 

[demiurge1138]

...And one more. These guys were only hinted at in the book, so I decided to stat them out.

ONI OVERLORD
Large Outsider (Chaos, Evil, Extraplanar, Shadowlands Oni)
Hit Dice: 30d8+300 (435 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: 50ft (10 squares)
Armor Class: 47 (-1 size, +7 Dex, +18 natural, +13 soul armor), touch 16, flat-footed 40
Base Attack/Grapple: +30/+47
Attack: Huge +5 vorpal greatsword +48 melee (4d6+24/19-20x2) or claw +42 melee (2d6+13)
Full Attack: Huge +5 vorpal greatsword +48/+43/+38/+33 melee (4d6+24/19-20x2) and 2 claws +40 melee (2d6+6) and bite +40 melee (3d6+6) or 4 claws +42 melee (2d6+13) and bite +40 melee (3d6+6)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Breath of Taint, command oni, curse of warped ki, gaze, spell-like abilities, terror aura
Special Qualities: Change shape, damage reduction 20/good and jade, darkvision 60ft, immune to disease and poison, reflective reflexes, regeneration 15, resistance to cold 10, electricity 10 and fire 10, spell resistance 38, soul armor, telepathy 100ft, wield oversize weapon
Saves: Fort +27, Ref +24, Will +23
Abilities: Str 37, Dex 24, Con 30, Int 25, Wis 23, Cha 30, Taint 17
Skills: Balance +9, Bluff +43, Climb +46, Concentration +43, Diplomacy +47, Disguise +43* (+45* acting), Intimidate +45, Knowledge (arcana, planes) +40, Jump +56, Listen +39, Sense Motive +39, Spellcraft +42, Spot +39, Swim +46, Tumble +42
Feats: Ability Focus (gaze, terror aura), Awesome Blow, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Improved Bull’s Rush, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-like Ability (wall of fire),Weapon Focus (greatsword)
Environment: Tarterian Depths of Carceri (Shadowlands)
Organization: Solitary, court (1 plus 2-8 akuma no oni, 1-4 kyoso no oni and 4-16 gekido no oni) or army (1 plus 4-16 akuma no oni, 6-36 gekido no oni, 10-100 ugulu no oni, 20-200 kamu no oni, 40-400 fiendish ogres and 40-400 skeletons and/or zombies)
Challenge Rating: 26
Treasure: Triple standard, plus Huge +5 vorpal greatsword
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 31-60 HD (Large), 61-90 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -

A towering figure appears. Although its size is almost overshadowed by the throngs of oni surrounding it, it carries itself with cruel nobility and an air of command. It appears nearly human, with a vicious smirk, a long mustache and a crown of long straight horns on its head. It has four heavily muscled arms, and it hefts with ease a huge greatsword. It wears a suit of red armor, faintly engraved with screaming humanoid faces.

The undisputed masters of the oni race are the oni overlords, six cruel creatures that rule the oni with an iron fist. Although they occasionally war with each other, scrabbling over territory and resources, they usually cooperate, sending their armies to the Material Plane to annihilate goodness and spread Taint. Although their might is extreme and their power immense, there are rumors that the six oni overlords answer to a still higher power, although this is most likely fear-mongering gossip.

The oni overlords are rarely, if ever, seen away from their bleak citadels in the Shadowlands or on Carceri, plotting against their rival overlords and uncorrupted souls on the Material Plane. They will only appear leading their own armies on truly special occasions, such as a battle in which a country’s emperor is present or when truly powerful heroes oppose the oni horde. But even if the wrath of the overlord is rarely displayed, it is a sight never to be remembered by whatever witnesses it leaves alive.

An oni overlord stands over eight feet tall and weighs 500 pounds, armor and all.

Combat
An oni overlord begins combat simply by its presence, using its gaze of pain and its aura of terror to cripple and kill entire armies. It then uses its breath of Taint to corrupt and weaken its opponents. Then it begins to fight in earnest, splitting the battlefield with walls of magical fire and destroying hundreds in storms of destructive fire and choking gas. The oni overlords respect an honorable challenger, closing with them in single combat. This is a challenge the mortal is sure to lose, as the oni’s sword is preternaturally sharp and its claws and teeth relentless.

The natural weapons of an oni overlord, as well as any weapon it wields, are treated as chaotic-aligned, evil-aligned and epic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Breath of Taint (Su): An oni overlord can breathe a cloud of pure corruption in a 120ft cone. All creatures caught in the cloud must succeed on a DC 35 Fortitude save or gain 1d6 points of Taint. Creatures that succeed on the save are punished for their resistance, taking 15d6 points of negative energy damage. Creatures with the Shadowlands or Shadowlands oni subtype are instead invigorated by the cloud, acting as if under the effects of a greater heroism spell for 1 minute. The oni overlord can only use this ability three times per day, and must wait 1d4 rounds between uses. The save DC is Constitution based.

Command Oni (Sp): An oni overlord can use dominate monster at will as a spell-like ability (Caster level 30th), but only against other oni. An oni can resist this effect with a successful DC 29 Will save. The save DC is Charisma based. This is the equivalent of a 9th level spell.

Oni overlords are immune to the command oni ability of other oni overlords.

Curse of Warped Ki (Su): Perhaps the most insidious of the oni overlord’s abilities, once per day upon making a successful touch attack, it can warp and ruin an opponent’s ki energy. Unless the opponent succeeds on a DC 35 Will save, it forever uses the lowest of its ability modifiers in place of the normal modifier for the purposes of attack rolls, damage rolls, skill and ability checks, saving throws and to determine spells per day and the DCs of spells, spell-like abilities, supernatural abilities and extraordinary abilities. This curse is permanent, and only a limited wish, wish or miracle spell can break the effect. The save DC is Charisma based.

Gaze (Su): All creatures within 30ft of an oni overlord must succeed on a DC 37 Will save or be overcome with excruciating pain, taking a -4 on all attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws and skill and ability checks for 1 minute. The save DC is Charisma based.

Spell-like Abilities: At will – animate dead, bestow curse (DC 24), cloudkill (DC 25), cloud of Taint (DC 24), darkness, finger of death (DC 27), fly, greater teleport (self plus 200 lbs of equipment only), mind blank, righteous might, Tainted aura (DC 28), telekinesis (DC 25), wall of fire (DC 24); 3/day – blasphemy (DC 27), implosion (DC 29), meteor swarm (DC 29). Caster level 30th. The save DC is Charisma based.

Terror Aura (Su): An oni overlord can emit a 60ft radius aura of utter terror as a free action. Affected creatures must succeed on a DC 37 Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell (caster level 20th). In addition, any creature failing the saving throw must succeed on a DC 37 Fortitude save or immediately die. A creature that successfully saves against an oni overlord’s fear aura cannot be affected by that oni’s aura for 24 hours. Other oni are immune to the aura. The save DC is Charisma based.

Regeneration (Ex): Epic weapons, jade weapons, good aligned weapons and spells and effects with the Good descriptor deal normal damage to an oni overlord.

Reflective Reflexes (Su): Once per round, an oni overlord can use the blade of its sword to reflect any ranged attack back at its source, even ray spells (such as scorching ray, enervation or disintegrate). The ranged attack automatically misses the oni overlord and attacks the originator of the attack at the attack’s original bonus. The oni overlord must be aware of an attack to reflect it. This is a property of the oni overlord, not the sword itself.

Soul Armor (Su): An oni overlord is constantly protected by a suit of armor forged from the souls of the damned. This acts as a suit of +5 plate mail, except it has no maximum Dex bonus, armor check penalty or speed reduction. If the suit is destroyed (by damage, a disintegrate spell, or the like), the oni overlord can form a new suit as a free action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. When the oni overlord is slain, the suit is destroyed.

Wield Oversize Weapon (Ex): An oni overlord can use Huge weapons without penalty. In addition, it can apply 1.5 times its Strength bonus to damage rolls when using a two-handed weapon, even though it has four arms and can make additional attacks with the other two.

Demiurge out.