Aside from kitsunes, what are some cool possible races for a Japanese/Chinese high fantasy campaign? Is it just oni, tengu, kappa, hengeyokai races like the tanuki, bakeneko and jorogumo, and tsukomogami (living objects)?
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The Shirime is just the outline of a human that bends over so big glowing eyeball is staring at you from its butthole.
The ocean monk is a gigantic black mass humanoid that sinks ships.
The jorogumo is a spider woman that snatches up men to eat them.
Gashadokuro are giant invisible and invincible skeletons that bite your head off so the blood sprays down its neck. You know one is close when you have ringing in your ears.
Sickle weasels hide in dried grass and slice your legs open with burning cuts.
There is a frickton of yokai.
>Sickle weasels hide in dried grass and slice your legs open with burning cuts.
Why? Just for the sake of causing pain?
Pretty much. If I remember right, they travel in groups of three; one knocks you down, the second slices you up, and the third places a medicine on the cuts so they don't hurt, just bleed, before they run away - they think it's a hilarious "game".
Like most "historical monsters" they were likely a way to scare people away from a more mundane, and very real, danger.
In this case, tall grass that can hide sharp things to step on (maybe venomous snakes, or just a regular old hole so you trip and break your foot). But that's not as cool/impactful as butthole weasels with knives that frick up your legs for shits and giggles.
Other examples would include:
Shape shifters: stranger danger
Lake/river monsters: if you can't swim stay out of the water
etc.
The exceptions are usually "wouldn't it be fricked up if...?" like
or otherwise mostly harmless things that just makes you wonder if the one telling you about it wasn't just tripping balls at the time.
Shirime are a cautionary tale about blown out sodomite buttholes.
https://yokai.com/?redirect_to=random
Maybe they are prankster vampires.
I'm fairly certain the medicine was the other way around, where it covers up the bleeding but leaves the sudden stabbing pain.
I always assumed it was just people trying to rationalize an explanation for someone ending up with a Charley Horse or other sudden leg cramp.
I like Betobeto-san. He’s invisible, and when you are walking alone at night he follows you, matching his pace to yours, getting closer with each step, hearing the sound of geta sandals against the ground.
You just need to step to the side, say “After you Betobeto-san.” and then he’ll continue, and walk off until you can’t hear him anymore.
Gives new meaning to the term “giving the stink eye”
>Shirime
I mean probably a racial bonus against sneak attack or being surprised. I imagine their culture is either super relaxed because any one who would try to do something shady is likely to be being observed by someone, or conversely super repressed and paranoid.
I think the oni idea is pretty solid. A lot of them have jobs in the underworld as jailers and torturers. Could be a good start.
Thanks, what about my Kitsune idea? And do you have any more for other kinds of Yokai besides them being the result of curses, like Kappa maybe being descended from those who abused a Kami in turtle form, perhaps?
Hello? What about my oni? Where do I out them?
We already have THREE threads asking this question. Can't the fricking auto-generator be set to NOT shit out the exact same threads in a short order?
I like to have a race related to legends of crane immortals. Either angelical winged people, animal shapeshifters, or wise, graceful avian humanoids, with some ancient contention with tengu.
Would they be Ninjas too then? Because Tengu have a big association with them.
Why would they be ninjas?
They would be more Chinese in influence so wuxia types, probably. Monks with jian swords as monk weapons or maybe Zhuge Liang type strategists doing war magic. Swordsages in 3.5. They could have a mutually supportive arrangement with the tengu where the cranes do overt warfare and the ninja do covert operations. "Armies of Day and Night". Or their kingdoms/empires could be bitter rivals due to these opposing philosophies.
How about you just keep freakshit out of "your setting".
Oh look, it's the fun police. Dont have any friends or family to give you attention?
>f-fun police!
>meanwhile continues to post furry
>comes into a thread about nonhumans
>complains that it's not about humans
this entitlement is why nobody likes you.
Catgirls
Given that China and India are near each other, I presume that any races in a fantasy India might be seen in the China equivalent. Does anyone have any good ideas besides Rākshasas, Nagas, and beastfolk of animals native to India, like elephants?
Garudas are birdfolk that were mortal enemies of the nagas.
Ainu. And you haven't covered China at all.
Start with the basics. Monkey, Pig. Elephant.
Because they're fricking buttholes.
>Pig
Why Pigs? I can get the others, but Pigs don't really fit for me.
It's no coincidence that boars show up in JRPGs and video as enemies.
In fact, the entire fricking Chinese Zodiac should show up.
Pic related.
Do you know what the frick oni and tengu are in the first place? Go read some Usagi Yojimbo.
>In fact, the entire fricking Chinese Zodiac should show up.
So there should be enemy races based off dogs then? I thought that they were man’s best friend.
There's almost endless youkai you could spin into full races, what do you think you're missing from the pile of things you already listed?
Yes
My favorites are the divine.
Every region has its own earth god, usually taking the form of an old man, that you may get the attention of by hitting the ground very hard in a pattern like knocking.
cursed armors / vengeful spirits like bishamon from darkstalkers. also jiangshi.
homie Japan has a gorillion fricking cool youkai and shit for you to have fun with, literally just google up a website that talks about them.
Friendly reminder most yokai only date back to the mid 1800’s.
Also most youkai aren't actual mythological monsters anyone ever believed in, just spoopy ghost stories made up by Toriyama Sekien for the sake of entertainment.
Humans
Hideous pot belly oni that rape men and eat women.
What about ways that we can make the races in said campaigns more than just copying the myths and legends directly? For instance, maybe Oni were created artificially to be warriors by some group, only for the process to go too well and allowing them to escape control. Or maybe Kitsunes are the descendants of Inari instead of just their servants. Failing that, perhaps modifying classical races to better fit such worlds could work.
I need to put oni in my campaign, that I have. How could I do this? Help?
My go-to Asian stand in when I run 5e is typically a race of monkey people known as Houzi-Wong. The exact racial abilities vary but generally include proficiency with polearms and the Performance and/or Deception Skill.
There's an insane number of different kinds of humanoid yokai. Futakuchi-onna and Rokurokubi would be contenders.
And Korpokkur obviously.
Ningyo if you give em legs.
As far as Chinese races go, you'd want to include fairies and jiangshi.