Homebrew Oni Race Details

"I swear. An entire village, picked off one by one, like a glutton picking meat off the bone. It started with the livestock... Boris' sheep were the first to go. Just a bloody mess of guts and bones leaving a trail back to the woods. People said there were whispers in the night, a raspy voice telling them there was nothing to be afraid of. My sister, Vanessa, heard 'em, may she rest in peace, and was gone the next day. We found her head down the well. More disappeared after that, but the worst was Mother Greta and the orphanage. Not a single scrap left behind. It's almost worse to think of what it did to the ones it left no trace of..."

Nightmares of Old. Oni are renowned in nursery rhymes as fearsome boogeymen that stalk their prey and inspire terror in children and adults alike. They are very real, but not all of them are like the tales say. While oni are almost universally gruff, irritable, and insatiably hungry, as time has progressed some have moved towards a demeanor of (relative) peace, choosing to protect their territory rather than seek out new victims to terrorize. However, the stories of the past, and the oni of the present who still chose to act in this way, are still a curse upon the more peaceful.

Night Haunters. By the light of day, an oni hides its true form with magic to avoid recognition. These creatures can change their size as well as their shape, appearing as humanoids as they pass through towns, pretending to be travelers, woodcutters, or frontier folk.

Magical Ogres. Oni are sometimes called ogre mages because of their innate magical ability, despite only being distantly related to true ogres. Even oni that have attempted to shed their violent ways still covet powerful magic just as their brethren, and are prone to working for others in exchange for interesting magical items.

Oni Traits

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Given their innate magic, oni live longer than humans, maturing at about 20 years of age and living 110-120 years.

Alignment

Half-orcs inherit a tendency toward chaos from their orc parents and are not strongly inclined toward good. Half-orcs raised among orcs and willing to live out their lives among them are usually evil.

Size

Oni, in their giant form, are much taller and bulkier than even the largest humans, and they average around 10 ft tall. Your size is Large.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Oni Flight

You can use an action to gain a flying speed of 30 ft for 1 minute. You can use this trait once per long rest, increasing to twice at 5th level and 3 times at 9th level.

Darkvision

Thanks to your orc blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.

Shapechanger

As an action, you can change your appearance and your voice, becoming a small or medium humanoid creature. You decide the specifics of your appearance, but you cannot copy a detail you have not seen before. You can use an action to dispel this trait, returning to your natural oni form. A weapon that you are wielding can change size with you, but none of your other equipment will.

Regeneration

On your turn, if you have at least 1 HP, you can use your bonus action to recover 1d4 HP. You can use this a number of times per short rest equal to your 1 + your CON modifier.

Innate Spellcasting

You know the frostbite cantrip. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the gaseous form spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 9th level, you can cast the cone of cold spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Your spellcasting ability for these spells is Charisma.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Giant.

Oni have special traits derived from their innate magic.