Oni, Void YaiThis towering, three-eyed horned giant carries himself with the self-assurance of an undefeated champion of countless wars.Void Yai CR 20Source Bestiary 3 pg. 210
XP 307,200
LE Huge outsider (giant, native, oni, shapechanger)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, true seeing; Perception +29DefenseAC 36, touch 9, flat-footed 35 (+9 armor, +1 Dex, +18 natural, –2 size)
hp 379 (23d10+253); regeneration 15 (fire or good spells)
Fort +24, Ref +9, Will +21
Immune cold; SR 31OffenseSpeed 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (good); 60 ft., fly 60 ft. without armor
Melee mwk greatclub +39/+34/+29/+24 (3d8+25/19–20) or 2 slams +38 (2d6+17)
Ranged void missile +23 touch (6d6 plus energy drain)
Space 15 ft., Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks commanding voice, energy drain (2 levels, DC 28), void trap
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th; concentration +27)
Constant—fire shield (chill shield), fly, true seeing
At will—deeper darkness, gaseous form (self only), greater dispel magic, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), invisibility (self only), minor creation, vision
3/day—cone of cold (DC 22), demand (DC 25), dominate person (DC 22), major creation, mass charm monster (DC 25), polar ray, teleport object (DC 24)
1/day—implosion (DC 26), plane shift (DC 24)StatisticsStr 44, Dex 15, Con 32, Int 18, Wis 23, Cha 25
Base Atk +23; CMB +42; CMD 54
Feats Awesome Blow, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (greatclub), Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Power Attack, Staggering Critical, Vital Strike
Skills Acrobatics +17 (+25 when jumping), Bluff +30, Fly +20, Intimidate +30, Knowledge (arcana) +27, Knowledge (history) +24, Knowledge (nobility) +24, Knowledge (planes) +27, Perception +29, Sense Motive +29, Spellcraft +24, Use Magic Device +30
Languages Common, Giant
SQ change shape (Large, Huge, or Gargantuan humanoid; giant form II), void formEcologyEnvironment cold or temperate mountains
Organization solitary
Treasure double (masterwork full plate, masterwork greatclub, other treasure)Special AbilitiesCommanding Voice (Su) A void oni gains a +4 racial bonus on the save DC of any charm or compulsion effects it uses against humanoids.
Void Form (Su) A void yai may become incorporeal as a swift action. In this form, it appears as a solid black shadow of its true form. It gains the incorporeal subtype and incorporeal defensive ability while in void form. Any gear or armor the yai carries becomes incorporeal as well—it loses its AC bonus from armor and natural armor, but gains a deflection bonus to its AC equal to its Charisma modifier (+7 for most void yai, for an AC of 16). It may still speak while incorporeal and can still use its spell-like and special abilities.
Void Missile (Su) As a swift action, a void yai can launch a bolt of darkness from its third eye. Damage caused by this missile is negative energy damage. This attack has a range of 180 feet with no range increment.
Void Trap (Su) When a void oni uses any teleportation effect on itself (including its greater teleport and plane shift spell-like abilities, but not its teleport object spell-like ability), it can choose to arrive at its destination in void form as a free action. When it does so, it leaves behind a temporary lesser sphere of annihilation in a square of its choice that was part of its space before it teleported. This sphere of annihilation cannot be caused to move by other creatures, but the sphere itself moves at a fly speed of 30 feet (perfect) toward the closest Tiny or larger creature on the oni’s next turn. If no appropriate creature is within 30 feet, the sphere does not move that round. If the sphere enters a square occupied by a creature (or if a creature touches the sphere), that creature is affected as if by a disintegrate spell (CL 20th, DC 23). Once the sphere damages a creature with this effect, the sphere vanishes—it also vanishes on its own after 24 hours in the unlikely event that it never discharges on a creature. The save DC is Charisma-based.DescriptionThe concept of the void is a difficult one for many individuals to grasp, for it encompasses more than just an absence of anything. The concept of “void” as an element also represents the heavens above, the dark places between the stars, the nature of the spiritual world, and even the capacity to create and envision new ideas. The void yai represents all of these possibilities, interpreted in a way that exemplifies the evil of the oni race.
Unlike lesser oni, the void yai does not represent any single humanoid race—the closest it comes is perhaps the rune giant, and certainly the void yai superficially resembles monsters of legend, with its dark, heavily muscled body, horns, and fangs. A void yai manifests when the combination of an extremely powerful oni spirt and an overwhelmingly evil location intersect at precisely the right time. Rarely, an eldritch transformation spontaneously elevates an existing yai to the vaunted status of void yai—whispers of vile rituals that an oni can perform to quicken this transformation keep some sages awake at night, for if such rituals existed, then all oni could potentially become void yai—a sobering thought indeed, given the void yai’s daunting capacity for cruelty. As with almost all oni, the void oni’s use of weapons and armor seems like cruel overkill. A void oni is 20 feet tall and weighs 10,000 pounds.
Void yai turn toward the Material Plane to satisfy their desires, lording over lesser creatures with the aid of the void. A void yai usually claims a huge territory, bringing much larger creatures to heel as servants. As with fire yai, a void yai makes frequent use of lesser oni as its minions, but prefers to surround itself with whatever giant tribe or society it has conquered. Rarely, a void yai commands kingdoms of smaller humanoids, but since the immense void yai has no ability to assume the shape of such small and insignificant creatures, it often feels awkward and out of place. More so than other yai, void yai are ashamed of their true appearance—their vanity is such that most are masters of using their change shape ability to appear as breathtakingly handsome or beautiful giants, and it is in this form they prefer to live. Only when combat begins does their rage take control, causing them to revert to their true, horrific shapes.VoidlordsBetween the considerable power of the typical void yai and the divine might of the oni daimyos exists a middling category of unique void yai. But to even use the term “middling” in this context is something of a folly, for these unique void yai, known collectively as the voidlords, are among the most powerful creatures to walk the Material Plane.
While void yai typically content themselves with ruling nations, voidlords arrive with a greater mission—to control entire worlds and bring all that dwell upon these worlds to their knees. Voidlords are always void yai with additional racial Hit Dice or class levels—levels of fighter, monk, and rogue are favorite choices for voidlords. These powerful outsiders generally eschew spellcasting classes under the opinion that might and the oni’s inborn supernatural abilities are a greater path to conquest than mortal magic. In addition to having the typical void yai abilities, each voidlord possesses an additional number of powers keyed to that voidlord’s particular area of focus. Two sample voidlord foci are listed below, but these represent only a tiny fraction of the total possible.
Martial Arts: A voidlord of martial arts always attacks with unarmed strikes—it is treated as a 20th-level monk with the flurry of blows ability for the purposes of determining its damage and number of attacks per round with its unarmed strikes. This voidlord gains Stunning Fist as a bonus feat, and gains the use of the following spell-like abilities three times per day: forceful hand, grasping hand, and greater shout.
Swordplay: A voidlord of sword fighting always carries a sword of some sort—typically a katana. These voidlords gain the ability to use the following spell-like abilities three times per day: blade barrier, keen edge, and mage’s sword. They are automatically proficient in the use of swords, and any sword they wield is treated as a +5 weapon, in addition to any other magical qualities the weapon might have. A voidlord of swordplay can also permanently transform any magic weapon (save for artifacts) into a sword of any size or type by touch.Creatures in "Oni" CategorySource Bestiary 3 pg. 205
Oni are a race of evil spirits, native to the Material Plane, that manifest physical bodies based upon the shapes and desires of humanoid mortals. In pure spirit form, an oni is nothing but a disembodied evil longing for the sins of the flesh. In this form, oni are harmless and invisible. The majority of these bodiless oni were once kami who failed their wards, or more often, who deliberately abandoned them. As punishment, they were stripped of their ability to form a physical body and then cast into the void. Rarely, a mortal creature's soul can become a disembodied oni upon death, or in even rarer cases, after a truly evil individual has undergone a particularly vile ritual that ends in suicide. These oni are more often destined for positions of great power and strength than most.
Eventually, an oni's spirit manifests a physical body on the Material Plane. The methods by which this may occur vary, but the process generally takes place in areas already despoiled by sin, tragedy, or cruelty. The type of oni a spirit transforms into is influenced by a wide variety of variables, ranging from the nature of what the oni spirit was before to the location where it is reborn into the realm of flesh and blood. Once an oni manifests its physical body, that body becomes its true form for the rest of its life—all oni are shapechangers, but this original form is the form in which they are born and the form they revert to upon death.
An oni's true form is always similar to that of a specific type of humanoid, save that it is always deformed and monstrous to look upon. Tusks, additional eyes, or strangely colored skin are common physical attributes. Yet while they have hideous forms, all oni are capable of changing their shape to assume forms more pleasant to the civilized eye. The type of shapes an oni can assume depend upon its species, but all can transform into some form of humanoid. Oni use this ability to infiltrate humanoid societies, either to prey upon the weak or to rule them in disguise.
In order to understand oni, it is important to consider that most of these beings were once spirits tasked with protecting a material realm they now believe is undeserving of such care and concern—indeed, the physical world is to be dominated and consumed. They arrive in physical form starved for sensory experience, and never fully sate their desire to gorge on such experiences. Most oni seek to attain positions of leadership and power, often in the guise of a normal humanoid, in order to secure a never-ending supply of sensory experiences. It is also important to understand that oni's immoderation is also motivated by their corrupted and evil natures—that is, no pleasure is more enjoyable than one that deprives or wounds another.
Oni retain their hatred of the kami upon reentering the Material Plane as physical creatures, and often their depredations and violations of the world can be directly tied to their efforts to destroy kami or the kami's works. Oni tend not to congregate with others of their kind, being most comfortable in positions of leadership over enslaved or oppressed societies populated by humanoids they can masquerade as. Yet, at times, particularly powerful oni abandon this mindset and instead gather to their side entire legions of oni drawn from all types. The oni known collectively as the yai—oni with an affinity for true giants—are most often responsible for such actions, and when a yai builds such an army of oni, the humanoid lands shake with terror.
Theoretically, as many types of oni exist as there are types of humanoids, although in reality, certain types of oni are much more populous than others. The ogre mage, an oni associated with ogres, is the best-known and most commonly encountered type of oni, for reasons that still send scholars of oni lore into spiraling arguments with seemingly no end. Beyond the oni detailed on the following pages, the atamahuta (ettins), ja noi (hobgoblins), nogitsune (kitsune), and wind yai (cloud giants) are relatively well known. Oni with associations to bugbears, great cyclopes, stone giants, trolls, troglodytes, and other races exist as well. And above even the mighty void yai there exist the oni demigods—entities of nearly incomprehensible power known as the oni daimyo. Known Oni Daimyo Countless oni stalk the world, slaking their greed and bloodlust to the misery of humanoids. The great leaders among the oni, beings known as daimyo, are as numerous as the nations of the world, and all oni seek to climb the rungs of power to become such powerful entities. The following list includes oni daimyo that have power in ways that make them known and feared outside their own domains. Most of these nefarious oni command armies or control points through which other oni can enter the world. - Akuma, the Horned King (ogre mage)
- Chimon, Hunter of Blood (ogre mage)
- Guyuku, the Sea Devil (water oni)
- Inma, Empress of the World (void oni)
- Muronna, the Dark Mother (ogre mage)
- Nataka, the Red King (fire oni)
- Onmyuza, Dancer in Flesh (ogre mage)
- Ushitora, Keeper of the Oni Gate (void oni)
- Uzumae, Daimyo of the North (kuwa oni)
- Yabu, Lord of the Kazan Caldera (fire oni)
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