Deep Dive - The Oni
Demons, spirits, malevolent forces of evil. No matter what you name them, the Oni has a storied history in Dungeons & Dragons. Pulled from Japanese lore, the Oni were known for their incredibly evil ways, murdering and eating human flesh whenever possible. They could transform themselves into humans, allowing the creatures to mingle amongst us, all the while they figure out which one of us would taste the best.
OD&D - Oni
Armor Class: 3
Move: 10”
Hit Points: 100
Magic Ability: Wizard - 16th
Fighter Ability: Lord — 10th
Psionic Ability: Class 6
The Oni first appears in The Dragon #13 (April 1978) in The Japanese Mythos article by Jerome Arkenberg, which features several creatures from Japanese folklore, including the kappa and tengu. Right off the bat, we are told that an Oni is a devil with horns, three eyes, toes, and fingers, as well as having a wild coloration of skin from pink or red to blue and grey.
If you do end up fighting one of these foul creatures, be ready to see way more than you might like as they only wear tiger-skin loincloths. They are vile and evil creatures, so it is very likely that they will try to kill you and eat you, but luckily they aren’t very bright so you can probably outsmart them, though it is a strange juxtaposition since they are 16th-level wizards… who are typically known as being very smart individuals.
The final point we want to address involves a trigger warning for sexual abuse against women. If you wish to skip this part, please jump down to the next section.
The lore for the Oni includes that they ‘delight in the human female’ and carry them away to rape them. We're strongly against this type of content appearing as part of a monster’s lore and being published by a game system.
Topics such as sexual assault should be explored only with the consent of everyone at a gaming table. When writing monster lore, a game system should not force the Game Master or players to confront these topics, even knowing that the Game Master can ultimately change the lore to best fit their table. We're including this section on their lore so as to not gloss over uncomfortable elements of the game’s history and to push ourselves, and others, to do better.
AD&D (1e) - Oni (Common)
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 1 - 100
Armor Class: 4
Move: 9”
Hit Dice: 8
% in Lair: 10%
Treasure Type: A
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 3-10/3-10
Special Attacks: Spells
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Average
Alignment: Lawful evil
Size: L
Psionic Ability: Nil
Level/XP Value: VI/650 + 10/hp
This edition starts us out with three distinct Oni, all found in the Oriental Adventures (1985) sourcebook. We have the Common Oni, the Go-zu, and the Me-zu, who are all fearsome creatures you don’t want to run into on a dark and dreary night. Though, we shouldn’t say creatures as they are all classified as spirits. Call them what you may, but if you're feeling especially brave, you can typically find them inhabiting areas that would fill the typical person with dread, like stereotypical graveyards and haunted buildings, but also in deserted ruins and rocky mountains.
The Oni all have similar appearances. They have one to three eyes and one or two horns perched atop their head. All of this can be a bit disconcerting if it's the first time you encounter one, especially since they come in various colors like red, green, black, and orange. If you happen to run into a blue Oni, you are staring at what most people call an Ogre Magi, but they are actually an Oni, not an ogre.
In addition, their arms and legs are covered in thick, coarse hair, while their hands end in dirty, thick talons. We don’t know why they are apparently always dirty, but they are. If you are wondering who they are wearing, why the Oni dress in the same style as the locals, which means no more tiger-skin loincloths for them, though their clothes are disheveled and ragged as fashion isn’t a high priority for them.
The Common Oni is the cruelest of the bunch. When we say cruel, we mean evil to the core, taking pleasure in the suffering of others. They live in solitary places such as rocky mountains and various haunted locations. Unfortunately for us, they sometimes take up residences close to roadways, enjoying the fear and horror on their victim's faces as they attack passersby.
If you do end up having to fight for your life against them, they have several ways they can dispose of you with. They have those nasty claws we mentioned before, but they also typically wield a two-handed sword, that they can wield with a single giant hand, and can cast a variety of spells, like fly or invisibility. Additionally, they might even have a posse of monsters with them, like goblin rats, who will eagerly watch as the Oni tears you apart.
Up next are the Go-zu Oni who are lawful neutral creatures that serve in the Celestial Empire’s forces, basically the good gods for the Oriental Adventures book. Beyond killing in the name of their emperor, the Go-zu also guards the lands of the dead and will shepherd those creatures less than willing to move on, like you when a Common Oni tears you asunder.
The Go-zu stand up to nine feet tall, have the head of a bull, and are as strong as hill giants. They will use various weapons but can also attack with their claws, and gain bonus attacks based on how many horns are on top of their head. They also have a host of spells they can cast, like fear, polymorph self, and fire shuriken. If you try to fight back, don’t bother turning invisible since they can always see you and, even if you do land a blow, they regain three hit points every round automatically. All in all, it's for the best that they are lawful creatures that must have a good reason to attack you.
The strongest of the lot is the Me-zu Oni. To mix it up a bit, the Me-zu stands as tall as an ogre, though they definitely aren’t one, with a horse's head resting on its shoulder. It's got to make for quite the sight. They also serve the Celestial Emperor but with a higher rank than their cousin, the Go-zu. They can use all the same weapons as the other Oni but also like to use whips and lassos. Thank goodness they, too, are lawful neutral.
The Me-zu are as strong as storm giants and regenerate three hit points a round. They have the same spellcasting abilities as the other Oni, but can also turn astral or ethereal twice a day, which means you can’t hide from them, ever, especially if you were planning on turning invisible. It’s probably for the best anyways, as you'll want to be upfront and honest with them or suffer the consequences. The very painful and gruesome consequences.
The Oni do pop up in an adventure in Dungeon #15 (Jan/Feb 1989) in the adventure The Dragon's Gift written by Thomas M. Kane. It is an Oriental Adventures module where a poor Oni Go-Zu has conflicting messages, and it's on you to convince the Oni to let you pass, failure results in death.
2e - Oni (Go-Zu-Oni)
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Solitary or band
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: High (13-14)
Treasure: S
Alignment: Lawful neutral
No. Appearing: 1-20
Armor Class: 0
Movement: 9
Hit Dice: 12+8
THAC0: 9
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attack: 6-16/6-16/1-10
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: Regeneration
Magic Resistance: 20%
Size: L (8’-9’ tall)
Morale: Champion (15)
XP Value: 11,000
Monstrous Compendium: Kara-Tur Appendix, 1990 TSR Inc.
The Oni appear in the Monstrous Compendium: Kara-Tur Appendix (1990), and we get a revisit to those same three Oni we all know and love; the Common Oni, the Go-Zu-Oni, and the Me-Zu-Oni. While they all mostly stay the same, the Common Oni does some get upgrades, though we are a bit confused on that part. Why does the evil to the core Oni get shown all the love? We suppose everyone likes a bad boy that they can fix.
Don't go thinking the Common Oni have gone soft with their changes. They are still the same evil, vindictive and murderous spirits you want to avoid. They look as ugly and act as ugly as before, no matter if they are black, orange, or green. Their attacks remain the same as before, but they do get a new ability where they can spew molten copper up to ten feet away once a day, dealing 4d6 damage on a hit, which is one way to really ruin someone’s day, but also a great way to get rich. While copper might not be worth much to our fantasy heroes, copper pieces still run the economy of most villages and you won’t see them turning their noses up at belched-up copper.
You really, and we mean really, don't want to piss off an Oni. Once enraged, they will charge at you with their claws or swords, ready to slice your head off. The Oni may also act like a crazed spirit when hungry, bringing the term hangry to a new level. They'll eat all sorts of meats and game, which include the flesh from your bones. They could care less about their hygiene or physical looks, but do have a sense of pride. Insult them, and feel their wrath. An Oni may commit evil acts and slaughter travelers, but if you blame them for a crime they didn’t commit, they are going to seek revenge and clear their name and reputation.
Three odd items of note in the Oni description. First, Oni love to dance and sing. After a successful battle, you may find a group of Oni playing red and blue flutes, dancing their black hearts out. It can be quite the sight since the Oni can travel in groups of up to 100. We recommend not interrupting them, or their anger towards you will make you wish for a portal to send you straight to the Abyss. Second, an Oni loves treasure as much as the next guy, so much so that they will swallow their gold to keep it safe.
Finally, there is a mythical island where old Oni go to live out their final days in peace. It's rumored to be somewhere in the middle of the Celestial Sea. Is it real? We don't know since anyone who has attempted to visit the island was never heard from again, maybe they never wanted to leave its scenic views, or maybe they were eaten. Who can tell?
It's said that on the island are massive mountains of black diamond, beautiful beaches, and rivers in which molten silver flows. On the flip side, the island is also rumored to be surrounded by tall iron gates and protected by miniature black Oni. Don't let their size fool you; these little Oni are just as strong as regular ones. Discovering the island would seem akin to the first island in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) if the Lilliputians were psychopathic horned spirits who could polymorph and spit flaming copper.
Dungeon #33, Jan/Feb 1992 TSR Inc.
Finally, the Oni appear in the Dungeon #33 (Jan/Feb 1992) adventure Mad Gyoji by Colin Sullivan. Oni are even featured on the cover! The Oni have finally hit the big time, and as we'll soon see, that means enough new types of Oni to make your head spin. In this adventure, the party has to deal with a bed-ridden and cursed village mayor. They’ve been cursed by some sort of wasting illness and the party must find out who created the curse and end it somehow. As you might guess, an Oni is involved, though really just as a guardian for the true boss in the adventure. The Oni has made a deal to eat any intruders that try to enter Mad Gyoji’s realm, which keeps the Oni very well-fed.
3e/3.5e - Oni, Common
Large Giant (Spirit)
Hit Dice: 8d8+24 (60 hp)
Initiative: -1 (Dex)
Speed: 20 ft.
Armor Class: 16 (–1 size, –1 Dex, +5 natural, +3 ashigaru)
Attacks: 2 claws +11 melee; spit copper +4 ranged touch
Damage: Claw 1d6+6; spit copper 4d6
Face/Reach: 5 ft by 5 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Spit copper, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: -
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +1, Will +3
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 8, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 13
Skills: Climb +10, Listen +4, Spot +4
Feats: Cleave, Power Attack
Climate/Terrain: Temperate mountains, hills, plains, forests, and underground
Organization: Solitary, unit (2–8), company (9-20), or host (21-100 plus 4-40 bakemono or goblin rats)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
Me-Zu, Common Oni, Go-Zu
Oriental Adventures, 2001 Wizards of the Coast
The Oni are shown a lot of love in this edition with the release of the Oriental Adventures (2001) sourcebook, though there is a blight we will address at the end of this edition that has to do with some ogres. In Oriental Adventures, fifteen different types of Oni are detailed, which is a lot, but they are split into two categories for ease of discussion.
First, we have the regular Oni which includes Common Oni, Go-Zu Oni, and Me-Zu Oni. These are those lesser spirits we have been talking about, though we do feel like ‘lesser’ is a misnomer since they are quite powerful with the weakest, the Common Oni, a Challenge Rating 7 monster while the Me-Zu Oni is the strongest at Challenge Rating 10. After those three, we have the Shadowlands Oni, who inhabit the Shadowlands, a foul planar landscape filled with evil and cruel fiendish creatures and was created by Fu Leng, a powerful spellcaster, who had plans on conquering but that quickly came to an end when some heroes rose up and defeated him. Now, the Shadowlands are a dangerous environment that is slowly leaking evil energies into the material plane, slowly corrupting creatures with the Shadowlands Taint that makes them evil and cruel, which probably explains why there are so many Oni that make their home there.
Let’s first go back and talk about the regular Oni we all know and fear. The Common Oni has long, silver, black, or green hair, often down to its shoulders with long fangs of gold or ivory. All of their abilities carry over from the previous edition, including spitting molten copper into your face. After them are the Go-Zu Oni who have the head of a bull with large snouts, small ears, and two long horns. They dress fancy, with nice robes and shiny armor. The clothing is representative of their station in the spirit army. They wear fine robes and polished armor appropriate to their station in the spirit army. The Me-zu Oni command the spirit armies, and if you thought the Go-Zu Oni's armor was fancy, wait till you see the glare from the armor worn by the Me-Zu. They are the biggest of the Oni, measuring 10 feet tall and weighing up to 1,000 pounds, and have horse heads.
The rest of the Oni from the 3rd edition come from the Shadowlands, which you probably know as the Shadowfell. They are the most common horror in the Shadowlands, and the Oni horde seems limitless to many. The Oni from the Shadowlands are unlimited in their variety, but the most common are the ones presented in this sourcebook with the Akuma, Ashi, Byoki, Gekido, Haino, Kamu, Kyoso, Sanru, Shikibu, Tsuburu, Ugulu, and Yattoko.
In addition to those ‘common’ types of Oni, we also get a tiny bit of information about Oni leadership with four Oni Lords who are in charge of the Oni Masses. These lords give their names to the more common Oni that they spawn with their names being Akuma, Tsuburu, Shikibu, and Kyoso.
Akuma, Kyoso, Shikibu
Oriental Adventures, 2001 Wizards of the Coast
Each of these Shadowland Oni have their own unique abilities, but they have a few things in common. First, they are immune to poison and resistant to cold, fire, and acid. They can transform their size from small to large, and they have telepathy so they can whisper sweet nothings directly into your mind… or tell you how good you will taste after they kill you. To save our sanity, we are just going to touch on their key abilities, instead of getting too in-depth with each one.
Our first is the Akuma no Oni who are ten feet tall and look so starved that you can see their bones, but don’t think they are weak because they are covered in a metal-like hide that makes them very strong. With their three long tongues that are constantly on fire, you better believe that they are going to be dealing fire damage, which they utilize when they grab you with their tongue and begin burning you.
Ashi no Oni resemble an ankheg with several thorn-studded tentacles sprouting from its body. They use these tentacles to lash out at their enemies and inflict a horrible poison that drains your strength, dexterity, and constitution. Up next, the Byoki no Oni kind of appear like gaunt humanoids covered in blotchy skin that oozes black pus and has a horrific smell, though what often gives them away is that they have the head of a praying mantis. They seek to spread plagues and if you happen to die from their plague, you immediately rise as a zombie.
Gekido no Oni are rage-filled monsters with leathery skin and sharp barbs that run down their spine. Coupled with their long claws and sharp teeth, you better be prepared for a hard-fought fight as they fly into rages and seek only the complete destruction of all creatures. In contrast, the Haino no Oni are quite the sneaky Oni, who typically just attack while under the cover of darkness. In their natural form, they appear as humanoid toads with bulging eyes and a gruesomely long tongue that they use to suck out your bodily fluids.
Kamu no Oni are muscled humanoids who don’t have a head, but does have a giant mouth where their neck should be. They comprise much of the Oni horde you’d face in the Shadowlands, but that doesn’t make them a pushover. If you fight one of these creatures, they are going to try and grab you, and if they do, you are going to get turned into a snack as they get a free bite attack against you each round they hold you.
Kyoso no Oni look like a mound of grossness or a long worm of flesh, topped with a female torso and a blank face with nine curved horns that grace its skull. These Oni are found typically underground where they stalk their prey, though while you might think subterranean ambush predators would be melee focused, they prefer to keep their distance and shoot unholy fire at their enemies.
Sanru no Oni are four-armed, bat-winged fiends that kind of look like a harpy who happens to love eating rotted flesh. They typically attack by flying past you and lashing out with their claws, hoping to tear you apart in their flybys and leave you bleeding out in the dust. On the squatter side, Shikibu no Oni are dwarflike humanoids with blank green eyes, orange fangs, and a blue beard. Out of all the Oni, they are the trickiest as they rarely stick to their natural form, but take on the guise of others, attempting to spread hurtful lies to others, and delight in the mental anguish of others.
Tsuburu no Oni are a giant blob, which is actually just a gigantic stomach covered in thick purple skin that weighs up to 8,000 pounds. It seeks to only feed, grabbing onto anything within its reach and shoving it down its comically large mouth and its tooth-lined throat, delighting in every squirm and useless thrashing from its prey. Luckily, you have deadlier Oni to worry about, like the Ugulu no Oni which are massive creatures that stand over 15 feet tall with purple hide covered in coarse hair, while two giant horns jut out from its head. The Ugulu no Oni rely on their raw physical strength to crush the bones of their enemies, rarely using guile in combat as they believe that their physical strength is more than enough to defeat every opponent on the battlefield.
Our final Oni, the Yattoko no Oni are 15-foot long chitinous venus flytraps with a toothy maw, a head with two large multifaceted eyes, and mandibles that just want to gobble you up. These insect-like Oni dwell largely in desert regions where they burrow under the sand and wait for you to come by. Once a creature gets close to their trap, they launch themselves out, pincers first, and seek to cut their opponents in half with a single bite of their pincers.
You may have forgotten, after fifteen Oni, that it is finally time to talk about the ogre in the room, more specifically the Ogre Mage. This sourcebook claims that the Ogre Mage is just a variety of Oni, but we reject that claim. The Monster Manual (2000/2003) makes no mention of Oni, and while Dragon #349 (Nov. 2006) might try to claim the same, we’d also point out that the only time they say “Oni” in the Ecology of the Ogre Mage article, written by Tim Hitchcock, is in a chant to keep demons out. In addition, we refuse to believe that ogres and Oni have anything in common beyond wanton destruction. If you think they do, then we insist that you be the one to tell the Oni that they are just ogres. We’ll just be back a few dozen miles, where it’s safe.
4e - Oni Night Haunter
Level 8 Elite Controller
Large natural humanoid / XP 700
Initiative +7
Senses Perception + 5; darkvision
HP 180; Bloodied 90; see also hypnotic breath
AC 24; Fortitude 23, Reflex 21, Will 2
Saving Throws +2
Speed 8, fly 8 (clumsy)
Morningstar (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon Reach 2; +13 vs. AC; 1d12 + 5 damage, and a Medium or smaller target is pushed 1 square.
Hypnotic Breath (standard; recharges when first bloodied) ✦ Charm, Sleep Close blast 5; +11 vs. Will; the target is dazed (save ends). First Failed Save: The target falls unconscious (no save).
Devour Soul (standard; at-will) ✦ Healing, Psychic Affects an unconscious target only; +13 vs. AC; 2d10 + 4 psychic damage, and the oni night haunter regains 10 hit points. This attack does not wake the unconscious target.
Deceptive Veil (minor; at-will) ✦ Illusion The oni night haunter can disguise itself to appear as an elderly Medium or Large humanoid. A successful Insight check (opposed by the oni’s Bluff check) pierces the disguise.
Gaseous Form (standard; sustain standard; encounter) ✦ Polymorph The oni night haunter becomes insubstantial and gains a fly speed of 8 (hover). It can enter and move through a porous obstacle that would otherwise prevent movement (such as a door or a cracked window). It remains in this form as long as it sustains the power.
Alignment Evil / Languages Common, Giant
Skills Bluff +13, Insight +10, Stealth +12, Thievery +12
Str 20 (+9) Dex 16 (+7) Wis 12 (+5) Con 18 (+8) Int 12 (+5) Cha 18 (+8)
Equipment morningstar
Oni Night Haunter; Monster Manual, 2008 Wizards of the Coast / Sam Wood
While the Oni aren’t as well loved in this edition, which would be quite hard to do, we do get several iterations of the Oni, their first being in Monster Manual (2008) with two Oni, the Oni Night Haunter and the Oni Mage. We get some concerning language in their description, calling them ‘ogrelike’ but they are at least called formidable and cruel, so it isn’t all negatives.
Luckily, the first thing we do learn in the lore is that the Oni are in no way related to ogres, even if they have a few visual similarities to them. In addition, they keep slaves and a ton of treasure, because that’s how their status within society works. The more treasure and slaves they have, the higher in the hierarchy they are going to be, though that might just be because the strongest rule and take from the weaker Oni.
In addition, you might not always know you are talking to Oni because they can disguise themselves and infiltrate society. Luckily, there is a surefire way to see if someone is an Oni. If they are rich, they like to talk about how great and lordly they are, they constantly talk down others who are poorer than them, you might be talking to an Oni… or a venture capitalist hedge fund manager, but we repeat ourselves.
Oni Mage; Monster Manual, 2008 Wizards of the Coast / Sam Wood
Looking at the Oni in this book, the Oni Night Haunter is an expert prowler, slipping into small villages and towns to devour sleeping victims. They utilize their magic to appear as harmless humanoids, typically someone elderly, and then uses a special breath weapon, hypnotic breath, to knock their victim unconscious. Once it has its victim where it wants it, it then begins devouring its soul, which heals the Oni and starts wracking the victim with intense psychic trauma until death. We can only imagine they say ‘sweet dreams’ as they stick a straw in their victim and begin draining them dry.
The Oni Mage settles the debate between Oni and Ogre Mages for good as it states that Oni Mages are sometimes mistakenly called Ogre mages. So there you have it, Oni are not ogres and ogres are not Oni and we’d appreciate it if you stopped spreading such misinformation. Looking at the Oni Mage’s abilities, you better be ready to get hit by freezing winds, arcs of lightning, and, if that wasn’t enough, a big greatsword swinging into you. They are powerful spellcasters and powerful swordmasters, so it’s better to just run from the fight as their only weakness is not having someone to kill.
Spiritmaster; Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead, 2009 Wizards of the Coast / Derk Venneman
It’s not long before we get even more Oni with the sourcebook Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead (2009). This sourcebook features two Oni, with only one of them being actually undead while the other just thinks souls are neat and subsists on the souls of the dead, creating undead servants to carry out their will. To no one’s surprise, these Oni often prowl the Shadowfell on the hunt for wayward and lost souls that they can devour, these souls are then used to grant them greater knowledge, power, and longevity.
The Oni Souleater is an undead creature who scavenges and forages across the Shadowfell, tricking creatures with its deceptive veil into thinking it is a real and kind creature, before it then eats them. It attacks primarily by ripping and tearing at your soul, which causes necrotic damage and ends up immobilizing you in place, probably out of fear, and you lose a healing surge, which is one of the main ways to heal yourself and are incredibly valuable. If you ever run out of healing surges, you die and your body is reduced to dust, which doesn’t seem great for your lifespan. If you are curious, the number of healing surges you get per day is based on your class and Consitution modifier, so a fighter gets nine plus their modifier, a cleric seven plus modifier, and a wizard only gets six plus modifier.
The Oni Spiritmaster likes to stick to the edges of any battle, preferring to keep their claws clean of blood. Luckily they have some constant companions that always keep them safe with their Howling Spirit minions that they create by ripping out souls and forcing them to work for the Oni. Howling Spirit minions are bound to the Oni and will put themselves in harm's way to protect them. In fact, the Oni can feed on one of its minions when it wants to recharge a power they may have already used. The Oni definitely gets more out of this relationship, though we can’t imagine that the minions have any say over their treatment. While you're fending off these undead shadows, the Spiritmaster bombards you with its various attacks from a distance, safe in the knowledge that it will soon have new minions to add to its spirit pals.
Oni Devourer; Monster Manual 2, 2009 Wizards of the Coast / Wayne England
Monster Manual 2 (2009) closes us off with three new Oni to rip the flesh from your bones. We get the Oni Devourer, Oni Overlord, and Oni Thunderer, all evil-doers who delight in causing mayhem, pain, and death. Oni Devourers are more or less lackeys, but don’t think they are pushovers. They often disguise themselves as other creatures, infiltrate isolated towns, churches, and other locations, and then just have fun all night devouring humanoids. They often are used to sink their teeth into a point of interest to their master, learning secrets and dismantling the leadership from within.
Oni Overlords may be the masters of Devourers, as they are power leaders with a violent and cruel streak a mile wide. Typically Overlords like the subtle touch that other Oni have, mostly because they just want to show off their wealth and power, probably because they are retired from a life of deception and just want to enjoy being cruel and mean without lying about it. If you get in a fight with one, get ready to just get clobbered about as they are powerful warriors who bolster their allies to keep them in the fight longer.
Oni Thunderer; Monster Manual 2, 2009 Wizards of the Coast / Wayne England
The last Oni are the Oni Thunderers, powerful skirmishers that make even the Overlords look like pushovers, though interestingly, they still serve masters. We would think that if you are the strongest of your kind, you’d be in charge, but these Oni seem content to serve evil dragons, demons, and even the undead. Though, you better treat them with respect because the moment that their master disrespects them, they leave and seek better employment elsewhere, and may even leave a nasty review of their old master on the internet.
These Oni attack by spinning and twirling their spiked chain, striking and tearing into their enemies. If they target you with their attacks, get ready to leave the safety of your allies as they can grab onto their targets and drag them about, pulling them into dangerous and hazardous terrain or just deal extra damage to you if you remain twisted up in their spiked chain.
The Oni do get to appear through several adventures in Dungeon magazines, though sadly we don’t get any new Oni to frighten and devour your adventuring party.
5e - Oni
Large giant, lawful evil
Armor Class 16 (chain mail)
Hit Points 110 (13d10+39)
Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft.
Str 19 (+4) Dex 11 (+0) Con 16 (+3) Int 14 (+2) Wis 12 (+1) Cha 15 (+2)
Saving Throws Dex +3, Con +6, Wis +4, Cha +5
Skills Arcana +5, Deception +8, Perception +4
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Common, Giant
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) / Proficiency Bonus +3
Innate Spellcasting. The oni’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13). The oni can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: darkness, invisibility; 1/day each: charm person, cone of cold, gaseous form, sleep
Magic Weapons. The oni’s weapon attacks are magical.
Regeneration. The oni regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point.
Multiattack. The oni makes two attacks, either with its claws or its glaive.
Claw (Oni Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.
Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) slashing damage, or 9 (1d10 + 4) slashing damage in Small or Medium form.
Change Shape. The oni magically polymorphs into a Small or Medium humanoid, into a Large giant, or back into its true form. Other than its size, its statistics are the same in each form. The only equipment that is transformed is its glaive, which shrinks so that it can be wielded in humanoid form. If the oni dies, it reverts to its true form, and its glaive reverts to its normal size.
Monster Manual, 2014 Wizards of the Coast
Only one Oni appears in this edition, within the pages of the Monster Manual (2014). They are creatures of nightmares, hunting and stalking through the night with unending hunger. Their hunger is especially disturbing as they find human babies quite delicious, so you better hope there are some adventurers about that can kill this horrific creature.
Sadly the Oni are compared to ogres and are even called Ogre Mages because they have innate magical ability, but that’s like calling a human spellcaster a dwarf mage just because they kind of look similar. We aren’t quite sure why they would even be called Ogre Mages seeing as how ogres aren’t naturally gifted with magic, but we suppose that maybe more people have heard of ogres, than they have heard of Oni.
If you get in a tussle with an Oni, watch out as they can cast a handful of spells, like cone of cold or sleep, and they are quick to rush in with a glaive and split some heads. They aren’t really as terrifying as they were in the past editions, with their big move a single use of a cone of cold spell, and then just two glaive attacks a turn. For low-level adventurers, they’d make a pretty suitable boss for a game focused on political intrigue, but for everyone else, they are pretty much a push over with little going for them.
The Oni are creatures of nightmares, hunting through the darkness and devouring the living. They are cruel and powerful, and they come in a huge variety of forms so you never have to worry about getting stale with your favorite monster. Also, they are definitely not ogres, so can people please stop calling them an ogre mage? Those are two different things!
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