Homebrew Ivory Oni Species Details

Once, we were brothers. Those times have long since past, now, I am afraid. I still remember when we were but children, and we thought that your 'evil' red skin meant nothing. Omg period that's what we were back then, in the old days. Now, I send this letter to you, my brother, as my final act of kindness towards you; a warning. I will not rest, nor will our fellow white oni kin, until you lay dead in the dirt.

-Tsuyoi Masayoshi, a white oni paladin, writing to his brother, Tsuyoi Kasai, a red oni necromancer

Fallen Heroes

Long ago, the realms of the dead and the realms of the living were close enough to clash day after day, corpses rising moments after they are killed, ghosts possessing the living, and wraiths ruling the land. Out of the shadows of death and decay, the oni rose, with three kinds of their kin; red, blue, and white. The red were fierce and fearsome, tearing the foul spirits into pieces like wild animals. The blue were cunning and deceptive, looking for the right moment to assassinate powerful leaders. Finally, the white were honorable and just, sparing those whom surrendered, killing only those they had to. When the dead had been driven back, the realms separated once more, the red and blue oni took advantage of the gifts of the living, becoming tyrants similarly to those they had stopped. Seeing this, the white oni drove their kin out of the land, with the reputation of all oni being destroyed by their selfish cousins.

On the Run

In many cultures after the fall of the oni, oni have been depicted as creatures of malice and destruction, laying waste to the land and people who surround them. While some oni attempt to go against this stereotype, they are still hated the same as the rest of their kin, forcing many oni to live an existence of constant running and travel. Many times, an oni may believe their only companions to be similarly hated creatures, such as orcs, or other oni.

Hidden Horns

An oni's greatest symbol of pride are their horns, with each oni having their own unique pair. No two oni have horns that are exactly the same, even the closest of relatives will have tiny differences in their horns. However, the horns of oni are also one of their most distinct traits, making hiding in societies particularly difficult for most of them. To combat this, oni have a natural ability that allows them to shift into a specific alternate counterpart, letting them blend in with other creatures. They also can display traits of their true form, such as their horns or sharp teeth, in this alternate form.

Oni Names

Oni are very close to their families, with many believing that all strangers only bring pain and suffering. They display their family's name before their own, to show their pride that their relatives bring them, as well as to intimidate those who have wronged their family before. The names that they take on all have meaning in their native tongue, Wuxian, usually relating to positive characteristics the parents wish for their child to take on.

Male Oni Names: Akihiko, Dai, Eiji, Hiro, Isamu, Jun, Katsuo, Kirito

Female Oni Names: Ai, Asuna, Chie, Eiko, Harumi, Kaoru, Momo, Ren

Oni Family Names: Araki, Hideyoshi, Ishikawa, Ito, Masuda, Sakurai, Sato, Yamamoto

Ivory Oni Traits

Your oni character has the following racial traits.

Alignment

Oni are vicious raiders, who believe that the world should be theirs. They also respect strength above all else and believe the strong must bully the weak to ensure that weakness does not spread like a disease. They are usually chaotic evil, but alignment varies among the subraces.

Many white oni are impressed by the societies of other races, wishing to emulate their cultures and follow their laws, to become like the races they protect.

Claws

You have sharp, black claws, which are natural weapons you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you make an unarmed strike with your claws, they deal 1d4 slashing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Change Shape

You have an alternate humanoid form. This form is of any Medium or Small race, however, aside from size, your statistics do not change while in this alternate form. You cannot change what this form looks like after you have decided how it does. As an action, you can either change into your alternate form, back into your true form, or show traits from your true form on your alternate form, such as claws or horns. You revert to your true form if you die.

Extra Language

You learn an additional language of your choice.

Protector

As a reaction to a creature within 5 feet of yourself being attacked, you can change the attack's target to yourself. You can use this trait twice, and regain all expended uses after a short or long rest.

White Oni Armor Training

You have proficiency in light armor, and shields.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age

Oni mature at a slightly slower rate than humans, reaching maturity at the age of 25, and living to be around 400.

Size

Oni stand taller than humans do, with most of them being around six feet tall, and the tallest standing at seven to eight feet tall, while weighing a few hundred pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, and Wuxian. Wuxian is a strange tongue, one that tends to ignore traits of other languages, such as writing words as symbols instead of letters.