Moryo Oni
Moryo Oni (CR 10)
No matter how many or how few Gods you believe to exist, the truth of the matter is that spread across all possible realities there are Gods uncountable. Since Gods have a much higher order of perception than mere mortals, they have worked, over the eons, to form a structure, a Celestial Cascade, with the multitude of deities able to interact with one another and their worshipers in a way that allows the greatest harmony.
Perhaps not in your world, (or maybe it is!) a small portion of the Celestial Cascade became more highly organized than most, and became known as the Celestial Bureaucracy. The Celestial Bureaucracy is vast beyong reckoning, even though it is a small portion of the Cascade, and is probably the single largest Deific structure in existence. As a result, the servants and minions of the Celestial Bureaucracy can be found in almost every world, even ones that have never heard of the Bureaucracy, or even the Cascade!
These servants and minions are known as the Oni. They are a large collection of humanoid beings, empowered with Celestial might. And that is the end of their similarities. Oni come in all colors, with variable faces and features, variable numbers of limbs, and with widely varying degrees of autonomy and kindness. Some Oni are quite benevolent, while others would cause a Demon to cower in fear from their awfulness. It should be mentioned that Oni are not exactly evil, but they are also emphatically not good, and they are very very alien compared to most other creatures. It is rare indeed to meet an Oni who has your best interests in mind, and even if they do, Oni are remarkably changeable and fractious creatures, and are likely to turn on you in a heartbeat, purely on a whim.
The Moryo Oni is the least of the commonly encountered Oni. They are tall, strongly built creatures with skin of various shades and features that are quite mutable. Some Moryo Oni are loyal to the Celestial Bureaucracy, while many others have 'drifted' and are now free agents, doing as they will in whatever worlds they find themselves in. Moryo Oni are always wilderness spirits, associated with trees and rivers, with mountains and deep crevices. If encountered in a dungeon or civilized venue, they will always have a certain wild air to them, disheveled hair or roaming eyes or clothing and gear decorated in natural scenes. Oni are beloved by deities and are masters of the Art Of Balance, and will be unpredictable at the best of times. In all cases, they have a wild and violent streak that makes them dangerous, so approach with care!
General
CR 10 Hit Dice 15
XP 9,600
CN, Medium, Monstrous Humanoid
Init +5; Senses Precise Hearing 20 ft, Keen Hearing 60 feet, Perception +15
Defense
AC 30, touch 19, flat-footed 25 (+6 armor, +5 dex, +5 natural, +4 deflection)
hp 175
Fort +13, Ref +10, Will +10
Aura: -
SR: -
Special Defenses: -
Immunities: -
Weaknesses: -
Offense
Speed 50 ft.
Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.
Single Melee Studded Club +16 (2d8+10/19-20x2)
Full Melee 2x Studded Club +16 (2d8+10/19-20x2)
Ranged Asymmetric Longbow +16 (2d8+10/x2), range increment 100 feet, max range 1000 feet
Full Ranged 2x Asymmetric Longbow +16 (2d8+10/x2), range increment 100 feet, max range 1000 feet
Special Attacks Ying-Yang, Channel Divinity
Action Points 0
Statistics
Str 16, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha16
Base Atk +10; CMB +16; CMD 26
Feats Power Attack, -4 to-hit for +8 to damage with Studded Club
Skills Sense Motive +18, Knowledge, Planes +20
Languages Celestial, Reave, Common, Abyssal
Special Abilities
- Ying-Yang (Su)
Once per encounter, as a move action, an Oni may forcibly exchange positions with another creature, the both of them flying wildly through the air. To use the Ying-Yang ability, the oni must have line of sight and line of effect to their target, and vice-versa. The Oni must be within 30 feet of its intended target. The Oni declares they are using Ying-Yang, and they swap places, both of them moving up to six squares, and each ending up in the starting square of the other. This ability is only usable on a foe the same size as the Oni or smaller, and both parties of the movement must be able to fit into their ending squares without squeezing. Ying-Yang is resolved as two simultaneous forced movements, and each is resolved simultaneously, then the sudded club attack is resolved. No Ying-Yang movement ever provokes attacks of opportunity or bonus attacks of any sort.
During this forced movement, the Oni is allowed to make a single Studded Club attack on its startled foe, as they pass by each other in the center, at the normal chance to-hit and inflicting normal damage if they hit. The victim is not allowed to make an attack in return, even if they normally have some power or ability which would permit such a thing. As with all forced movement, either the Oni or the victim may fall prone at any point along the path of the travel to end the forced movement in that square. If one of the creatures affected by Ying-Yang falls prone or otherwise resists some or all of this forced movement, the Oni does NOT get a Studded Club attack unless they have already become adjacent, and may be forced to end their movement early as the other person in the Ying-Yang affect may now block their movement. Falling prone or otherwise resisting must therefore be declared before the Oni makes their attack roll.
- Channel Divinity (Su)
Oni are creatures of the Divine, and as such they may call upon Divine Power. Once per encounter (or up to once per minute outside of combat) an Oni may Channel Divinity. This burst of divine magic can have one of two effects:
One: The Channel Divinity heals the Oni and any allies for 5d6+1 points of damage, and inflicts a -1 to-hit, damage, saves, and ability checks on all foes within thirty feet of the Oni's space.
Two: The Channel Divinity damages all foes of the Oni for 5d6+1 points of damage (Will Save, DC 19 for half damage) and grants a +1 to-hit, damage, saves, and ability checks to all allies of the Oni.
Note that multiple applications of Channel Divinity will always heal or inflict damage, but the buffs and debuffs DO NOT stack. All buffs and debuffs from Channel Divinity last until the end of the encounter unless removed first. Note that this is considered to be both positive and negative energy damage, will hard/heal the living and the dead equally, and is resisted by both positive and negative energy DR.
Treasure
sell value of approximately 5,000 gp
Combat Tactics
Oni are strange and alien foes, wearing weird armor and carrying strange weapons and having weird coloration with horns and eyes. To reflect this strangeness, Oni have a weird power, Ying-Yang.
Ying-Yang is odd and powerful. Oni can use it on themselves as well as their enemies, and they will be smart about it. If they have a friend in trouble, they will use Ying-Yang to pull them out of trouble. Oni can and will fall Prone to cut short their own motion, leaving a foe who has been pulled out of position.
Oni have a very capable ranged attack capability, and will be content to stay at range and fire away with their Asymmetric Longbows. If they are taking damage, each round one of them will use Channel Divinity to heal themselves. Oni can keep up this 'fire and heal' trick for quite a long time.
Once the battle closes to melee, Oni will use Ying-Yang as they see fit to improve matters for themselves. They will move foes away from allies, place them in flanks, and otherwise use Ying-Yang to bedevil their foes in many ways.
Fighting Oni is a very different battle than most, with positions on the field liable to change abruptly and chaotically. Oni are also opportunists, and will use their high ground speed and Power Attack Feat to do such nasty tricks as flank a prone opponent and get Power Attacks on them, which is certainly enough to get your attention.
Once battle is joined Oni will never withdraw. Dying on the Prime Material Plane is not a big deal for an Oni, so they have little fear.