Homebrew Yokai Species Details
I swear I've seen Moaldir be drunken under the table once by a Yokai, he might've not been trying but even if that's true - that was a lot of ale.
In the rainforests of the Guìzhòng de if one were to hear scuttling in the distance, or the crash of falling bamboo. It would be easy for one to assume that they were being stalked by various different creatures.
Will o' wisps follow these noises, friendly creatures floating past to calm adventures and in the distance you see it. A Yokai child not even 10 years old, anyone would find them harmless to approach.
Legend has it that not a single adventurer in the past have ever survived an encounter with a Yokai, their visages terrify those of weak hearts and to outsiders they are viscous in their assaults. Never anger a Yokai or else you won't even live to regret it.
Denounced their Gods
Back in the Old Realm the Yokais split from their Oni clan, denouncing their god in the process. The death and destruction brought on by the gods angered the Yokai and drove them to hate any form of worship. However the Yokais are actually favoured by two of the gods despite their hatred towards them as they find the Yokais a very amusing race. The god Hamir considers them as his favourite people, as their attire and traditions seem to be accidentally influenced by him. The god of nightmares Ghoulla also finds them amusing and sends them will o's wisps as friends of the night - Yokais hate will o' wisps.
Despite their hatred for the gods, Yokais do not go out of their way to destroy places of worship or force clerics to denounce their religion. They understand others worship for the gods but from a purely beneficial stand point as those who have complete faith in the gods confuse and annoy them. Non native Yokais regardless of being raised with traditional Yokai values still have a slight prejudice against the gods and their worhsip.
Kazoku no Senso
Although appearing as a large and tough race Yokais fear death more then anything. Yokais aren't sure what the afterlife holds for them as they denounced their god centuries ago. No clans have explored what the afterlife could hold and rather adventured into methods of extending their lives. Despite this fear over anything else they wish for their families to live longer then themselves. They take this to such an extreme that they hunt down any of those who dare to even touch of on their family.
Back in the earliest years of the new realm a clan of Yokais called The Kitagawa were attacked by a village of humans. These humans were almost as cunning as the yokais themselves and attacked the clan for days. As the Yokais became fatigued an ambush from behind was made by the humans, their target were the children and women who had taken refuge in a barn. They were being watched over by one Yokai guard named Tadashi, this Yokai faced with certain death from tens of human fought to the death to protect his clan. He held the ambush off just long enough for the rest of The Kitagawa to return to the fight, he spent his last breaths protecting his family.
The Honour in Clans
Yokai's clans aren't known for their abundance but rather their strength and savagery. Yokais are known for their strength and cunning making them savage and terrifying foes. They despite this are a very honourable race and leave those too weak to fight as messengers to tell others of their strength. They use their reputation as a savage and cunning race to scare off others from their land, to live nice and quiet lives in the mountains.
A Demon's Love
Yokais care a lot for each other and once they find a mate they stay together for life. Even out of relationships they treat everyone in the clan with the utmost respect regardless of if they were the shogun of the clan or one of the newly born children. Yokais find every race other then themselves extremely untrustworthy and always assume the worst out of other races however once you break through their untrust they'll become a companion for life.
Yokais don't have a very high beauty standard and in fact the men of the clans find the hairier the woman the more attractive. The women of their clans usually find any large male attractive regardless of weather it's muscles or fat. However the most attractive part they find about each other is their personality and are also seen in interracial relationships with other races. These interracial relationships (if not with a human) unfortunately don't result in offspring as their genes are very aggressive and the food required to nourish a baby Yokai becomes very taxing on the females, on the opposite side other species usually don't survive the gestation period in a Yokai mother as they are unfortunately consumed.
Yokai's lifespan closely resembles a humans towards the beginning of their lives, at the age of 18 Yokais enter their adulthood, although the start of their lives resemble that of the humans their adulthood extends far into 500 years. Yokais visually vary a lot between clans with some being extremely different from one another, it is not uncommon for Yokais to be born with animal like patterns, one to two fleshy horns, animal like ears, noses, eyes and tusks. A Yokais skin is usually red or blue and can be various combinations of the two and less commonly being shades of colours between the two, however more commonly Yokai's hair colour usually is a silvery or inky black colour.
Eternal Warriors
Adult Yokais live long into their five hundreds, appearing as immortal beings to those outside of the Yokai race. It is more common for a Yokai to be killed long before they die of old age, to prevent this their skin is extremely tough and their blood boils.
The children that can’t learn to fight are protected by their natural defences, their tough skin makes it hard for any monster or foe to penetrate their flesh and even if one was to cut into a Yokai they'd be burnt by their blood.
Yokai younglings are tough ones I'll tell you that, even in a sparring match their endurance is unmatched.
Hunter Gatherer
When a clan settles , Yokais are designated to search their surroundings for wildlife. Yokais strong enough to go on these expeditions usually return with an abundance of food and pelts. Those Yokais who are consider not fit to hunt for food and materials are designated to gather any fruits and herbs in the surrounding area, once these Yokais have gathered all the food in the area they then construct huts and shelter for the children and livestock.
The territory that Yokai clans cover extends for kilometres and any encampments that they pass through are formally challenged to a war game. Those who lose against the Yokai's clan are given the option to leave their camps, those who refuse this offer are usually squashed with force. However if a clan is to lose in this war game apologise to their opposition and gain a great respect for them, allowing them to live in their territory. Both results end with the Yokais winning.
Wandering Clans
There are major Yokai cities however most of the Yokais live in wandering clans. Clans are basically just large groups of Yokais lead by a shogun that had earned his rank through challenging the original shogun to a duel. Most Yokais are found living in various different clans that they are very dedicated towards, these clans are usually very distinct from one another but all having one similar trait handed down throughout the generations.
Special Enemies
If a Yokai's clan had entered a war game with a camp they treat every one of their opponents with respect, not underestimating a single one of them. However if a camp loses in their war game and does not choose to leave that clans territory the Yokais shut them down with brutal savagery.
If a Yokai fights any clerics or paladins their worship drives them mad, they tend to target those of faith if not because of their hatred for the gods they'd do it just to prove their faith is worthless. If a Yokai were to fight against a warlock however they'd focus them and kill them ten times over, as a warlocks mere presence angers them to their core.
Yokais tend to draw Will o' wisps close just by existing, these Will o' wisps tend to light their way in the dark and keep them company. Yokais hate Will o' wisps with every fibre of their beings as they believe that the deity Ghoulla continues to send them to annoy the Yokais - Ghoulla sends them to keep the Yokais company as he feels they are lonely without a god.
Clan Conflicts and Groupings
If two clans were to ever clash for territory they enter a war game like they would with any other encampment however - unlike with other races if one clan were to lose they could choose to challenge the shogun of the winning clan to a duel. If the losing Yokai were to win this duel he would become the shogun of both clans and form a shogunate, the original shogun would still lead his old clan however the old clan will go by the winning clans name and the original shogun will act under the new shogun's orders. If the winning Yokai were to win this duel he could choose to either add the losing clan to his own forming a new shogunate under his leadership or he can choose to take half of their belongings and send them on their way.
Yokai Culture and Beliefs
Yokais are very proud people and hate the worship of the gods. Outside of their clans they see any and all worship of the gods pointless and selfdestructive, they see the magical benefits to their worship but would never lower themselves to that standard. In their clans they see any and all members as a part of their family and will protect them to the bitter end, outside of clans they see their party as their clan and will treat their party members the same way traditional Yokais would.
Yokais outside of their clans are usually hired as body guards and bouncer due to their pride and their unwavering ideals. They are usually stereotyped as very strong and conniving people and a people you are to treat with aggressive hospitality.
Spirits
After denouncing the gods yokai began to build their new societies around spirits that are found around the Guìzhòng. These spirits although not worshiped like gods have influenced the yokais culture, influencing their dress and architecture. After many years of following these spirits eventually the yokais forms change to suit their spirit, changing the number of horns they possess, their hair colours and sometimes even giving them patches of scales among their skin.
Wards
Yokais have developed a sticky residue they use to stick pieces of parchment to places they believe are places of worship. They have created a language they use to seal spirits in these abandoned areas to keep clans safe from evil spirits, besides this they also use very thick ropes lined with these wards to seal off certain areas from the deities influence. Despite them not believing in any sort of superstition they still cling to these wards as their only real protection from the gods, these wards can be found randomly throughout the forests and mountains that the yokais reside in and can be found on things as mundane as a random stone or tree to massive abandoned temples.
Yokai Warlocks
With their distain towards the gods Yokais rarely tend to pray to the deities for power. Very rarely do some clans worship a god for power although every Yokai understands that praying to one does grant them powerful boons. Becoming some form of cleric or paladin is very taboo amongst Yokais and usually occur once a Yokai has been left alone and desperate. Despite Yokais being extremely savage towards outsiders they are not an evil race and only appear as such because of how ferociously they protect their families, however only a truly evil Yokai is insane enough to become a warlock. Yokai warlocks despite being extremely rare tend to either hide in a clan under a shogunate or are the ruler of a shogunate clan, those in a warlock's shogunate are either under the influence of their patron or are being forced to bend to their will - never is this relationship consensual.
Yokai settlements
If a Yokai shogunate becomes too large to continue to wander from camp to camp they form a settlement, the leader of shogunate is elevated to emperor and the lesser shoguns become members of their parliament. These Yokai cities usually become more open then they were as clans and allow other races and outsiders to inhabit their settlements, however they allow this under strict supervision. If an outsider attempted to enter a Yokai settlement they must have their family registry (or any other form of identification in your world) and must pay a sum of one hundred silver for each day they spend in their without being a full fledged resident.
Yokai settlements are some of the most powerful cities in their countries and tend to be extremely efficient and difficult to topple. Many Yokai settlements are siege ready regardless of weather or not their area requires this and many hunter groups from the old shogunates are outfitted as their guards. The original hunter groups are usually elevated to being the emperor's personal guard and many are appointed to tutor any new recruits for the towns guard stations.
Will o' wisps hang high over the Kyoki Prefecture. It is a beautiful sight met with constant slurs and shouting.
Yokai Traits
Your Yokai character has the following racial traits.Ability Score Increase
Your Strength and Constitution score are increased by 2.
Age
Yokais reach adulthood at age 18 and live up to 500 years.
Alignment
Yokais are savage protectors, who believe that all members of their clan be treated with the utmost respect. They also respect strength above all else and believe that races who rise up to the Yokai's strength are worthy of respect. They are usually Lawful good but appear to others as Lawful evil.
Size
Yokais are usually over 6 feet tall and weigh between 100 and 200 kilograms. 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.
Boiling blood
When you receive damage from a melee attack after dropping below half health, the attacker takes one hitdice worth of the elemental damage associated with your clan's spirit. This effect only affects the melee attacker and does not have a limit to how many enemies invoke this affect per round.
Primal Intuition
You have proficiency in two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, and Survival.
Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common, Orc and Goblin.
Tough Skin
You can't take any amount of damage equal to or under your constitution modifier. (this affect does not apply to Psychic, poison and acid damage.)
Comments