[ Outsiders > Fiends > Parochial > Oni ]
Oni
Ogre Magi (5e: CR 7; PF: CR 2–20)
Home Plane: Prime Material
Oni are large, horned ogre-like fiends known for their fearsome, blubbery forms, ornate armour, sharp claws and tusks. Oni are shapechangers who are capable of assuming smaller humanoid forms or larger giant forms. Many are able to fly, turn invisible, manipulate emotions or darkness.
There are many kinds of oni, each specialised in a particular environment, and many of them are considered to be fiends. Graybeards are split on whether or not all oni are fiends, but the most commonly encountered are onidoshi, or ogre mages. These creatures derive their superior intelligence and magical abilities from pacts with Lower Planar creatures, like the baatezu. Planetouched cutters with oni blood in their family trees are known as hungerseeds after their legendary appetites; they are a sort of oni equivalent of the tiefling.
Philosophy: While oni are supernatural yōkai fashioned by the powers of the Japanese Pantheon, they were created to live on the Prime. Some aggressive oni are cunning predators, favouring striking in ambush attacks and then retreating. More subtle oni delight in manipulating mortals, stoking fear or terrorizing mortals. Oni command respect through dominance, using magic and stealth to infiltrate communities, harass the wicked, or establish tyrannical rule. The most tyrannical also see themselves as moral arbiters, punishing sinners and eating the wicked—although they fail to see the hypocrisy of their actions.
Canonical Sources: MC6 Kara-Tur Appendix [2e]; Basic Rules [5e] p336; Bestiary 3 [PF1e]; Bestiary 2 [PF2e] p188; Pathfinder #167 Ready? Fight! [PF2e] p80–81; Monster Core [PF2e] p252–254