Oni, Wind YaiA third eye rests on the forehead of this ornately robed giantess, her figure half-shrouded in the darkness of a starry night that swirls continuously about her.Wind Yai CR 16Source Pathfinder #54: The Empty Throne pg. 88
XP 76,800
LE Huge outsider (air, giant, native, oni, shapechanger)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +28DefenseAC 31, touch 11, flat-footed 28 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +16 natural, –2 size)
hp 230 (20d10+120); regeneration 5 (acid or fire)
Fort +20, Ref +9, Will +17
Resist sonic 5; SR 27OffenseSpeed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee mwk morningstar +32/+27/+22/+17 (3d6+12) or 2 slams +30 (2d6+12)
Ranged shocking missile +21 touch (4d6 electricity plus deafen)
Space 15 ft., Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks roaring gale
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; concentration +21)
Constant—cloak of winds, fly
At will—darkness, gaseous form, invisibility (self only), levitate
3/day—control weather, quickened shout (DC 19), wind wall
1/day—chain lightning (DC 21), whirlwind (DC 23)StatisticsStr 35, Dex 16, Con 22, Int 15, Wis 20, Cha 21
Base Atk +20; CMB +34; CMD 47
Feats Awesome Blow, Cleave, Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (shout), Weapon Focus (morningstar)
Skills Bluff +28, Disguise +28, Fly +25, Intimidate +28, Perception +28, Perform (string) +28, Sense Motive +28, Stealth +17
Languages Common, Giant
SQ change shape (Medium, Large, or Huge humanoid; alter self or giant form II)EcologyEnvironment temperate mountains
Organization solitary, gang (2–4), or storm (5–8)
Treasure standard (masterwork chain shirt, masterwork morningstar, other treasure)Special AbilitiesRoaring Gale (Su) As a standard action three times per day, a wind yai can select a point within sight on which to conjure a violent updraft, violently flinging its opponents into the air. When it uses this ability, the wind yai must make a single bull rush combat maneuver check (CMB equal to the wind yai’s caster level + its Cha bonus; +21 for most wind yai) against all creatures in a 10-foot-radius burst. Any creature with a CMD score lower than the result of this check is hurled 1d6 × 10 feet straight up, and lands prone in a spot 1d4 × 5 feet from its original position. The wind yai selects the direction it wishes to throw its victims, and may select a different direction for each victim, though each must be thrown in a straight line. Creatures take falling damage for any impacts while traveling up or down in this way; if a creature collides with an object during its sideways movement, both the creature and the object take 1d6 points of damage and the creature is knocked prone in the space adjacent to the obstacle.
Shocking Missile (Su) As a swift action, a wind yai can fire a bolt of electricity from its third eye as a ranged touch attack. This attack has a range of 180 feet with no range increment, and deals 4d6 points of damage. If the creature struck is wearing metal armor or is made of metal, it instead takes 4d8 points of damage. Upon being struck by this attack, the victim must make a DC 25 Fortitude save or be deafened for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based.DescriptionWind yai may take after the graceful cloud giants in general appearance, but given their hard, icy stares and the brooding manner in which they carry themselves, observers may not immediately relate the two races. Whereas cloud giants wear their finely made robes and ornate jewelry with an air of regality and serenity, their oni imitators manage to make even the humblest garments and adornments seem ostentatious, and are always shrouded in an air of darkness that many liken to an ill omen. Though wind yai look as though they have one foot in the light of day and the other in the darkness of night, the shadow that perpetually swirls about the otherworldly beings is not the result of any natural source; in actuality, the supernatural night that constantly follows wind yai is a raw magical manifestation of their foul intentions and evil nature.
Wind yai do not shape the winds—they force their will upon them, commanding the powers of the sky to commit acts of domineering brutality with none of the natural grace normally associated with the element. Whereas a cloud giant is always accompanied by a gentle breeze, the malicious wind yai brings with it only furious storms, the chaotic winds tossing its hair about and blowing dust into its unblinking triad of eyes.
A wind yai is 20 feet tall and weighs over 5,000 pounds.EcologyA wind yai does not appear to walk upon the ground so much as glide across it—but even then, its exaggerated movements and overbearing demeanor make every footstep a thunderous stomp. An unexpected wayward breeze is enough to throw a stony-faced wind yai into a fit of rage, the delicate motions of nature an ever-present reminder of the wind yai’s own blustering presence and lack of grace. Thus are wind yai desperate to gain some semblance of control over the capricious winds, and they use their sheer might and monstrous resolve to bend that untamable force to their will, taking pleasure in not only controlling nature, but also using it for unnatural acts of destruction.
Wind yai tend to wear thick, showy robes and heavy jewelry, though their great strength still allows them to move swiftly and with ease. Like all yai, wind yai each possess a third eye through which they can emit rays of destructive energy. In the case of wind yai, this powerful beam takes the form of a lightning bolt, as the oni channel the very essence of the storm into their attacks, simultaneously electrocuting their opponents while rendering them deaf with the cacophonous boom of thunder that follows the attack. They also possess the unique ability to send their foes flying into the air, commanding bursts of wind to carry their enemies aloft and bring them crashing back to the earth.Habitat & SocietyCloud giants possess one other thing wind yai yearn to claim mastery over—their instruments. But rather than use such delicate tools to create melodious works of art, wind yai are interested in their more destructive properties, and have a particular respect for bards, especially those who bend others to their will with their music. Thus do they tend to seek out such rhythmically inclined individuals, and when faced with a foe who possesses musical skill, wind yai will invariably seek to keep that individual alive, so they can force it to serve as the wind yai’s enslaved jester and musician. An ensnared performer is usually forced to entertain its master until its fingers are cracked and raw and it inevitably falters while playing. Wind yai are hardly patient creatures, but nothing sets them off in quite the same way as a weak or inept musician, and even the most innocent mistake can mean the fatal end for an indentured bard. When wind yai are not presented with a suitable performer to capture and dominate, they seek out magical instruments, having a particular affection for rare, magical instruments, especially those with strings. A wind yai takes great pride in its musical possessions, and also finds a unique pleasure in assembling masses of enslaved musicians to perform thunderous symphonies.
Wind yai also take great pleasure in dominating cloud giants, perhaps even more so than bards, as they revere cloud giants’ heavenly melodies above all others. Rather than apprehend these giants one by one, however, wind yai seek to dominate entire tribes of such beings, using their powers over the skies to trick particularly superstitious groups into thinking the oni are earthbound demigods or celestial messengers sent from on high. Groups of wind yai can be an even fiercer force, gathering entire legions of cloud giants under their command and leading them in aerial campaigns against helpless creatures on land. Evil cloud giants tend to make the best soldiers for wind yai leaders, though if the oni can manage to sway good-aligned cloud giants under their banner, the subsequent wars they wage are all the more satisfying.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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