I was recently asked to explain about my interpretation of onis. As my reply got longer and longer, I thought it might be the perfect time to post an unreleased picture* (Feb 2011) accompanied by a lore-dump. Please excuse any differences between the onis of Japanese folklore and those of fictional Nian.
*This is the same oni from Oni's Ire. CREATION: Records of onis extend past the origin of the written language 2500 years ago, deep into the rich oral histories of Nianese legend. These mighty beings were fashioned by the gods out of mountain boulders to guard temples and sacred sites, a job that they simply grew bored with and abandoned to pursue their own selfish desires.
PERSONALITY: Onis are warlike, eager for a challenge, and savor the thrill of a close fight. Unfortunately, their large size and incredible strength mean that genuine challenges are few and far between. They get bored easily. This is often mistaken for true laziness. They are selfish, greedy and have a love of food and strong drink. This combined with their boredom means a well-fed oni can reach impressive sizes. Villages that attempt to neutralize their parasitic problem by overfeeding their unwanted guest find that it's a very difficult thing to do without emptying their silos. Plus, a fat oni can be even more difficult to dislodge as body weight doesn't seem to inhibit their fighting ability or ferocity.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE: Onis might be a formidable race and a threat to humankind if they had any sort of cohesion or longer attention spans. They do not. Onis either avoid each other, warily trade news, or they fight. Most live solitary lives in the mountainous regions of Nian, robbing traveler and bandit alike. The boldest will enter the lowlands and claim a village for their fiefdom. This usually puts a large strain on the local food supply, but in return, onis have been known to expel lesser threats, thus becoming unlikely protectors. Onis do not seem to value physical goods (beyond their weapon) and will not stockpile treasure. An oni's success is often measured in access to food and alcohol, which in turn is gauged by their amount of body fat.
NAMES: Amongst themselves, onis have long descriptive, often boastful names like Splits The Mountain, Thirst Rivers Cannot Sate, Thunder Sound Of Mace On Bone, or Foes Run Bloodied And Screaming. But they are given shorter, conventional names by the people around them. Generally the names humans give to address onis directly are flattering- names of beautiful women (regular Nianese sounding names). Onis that make themselves a nuisance generally get derogatory nicknames only used behind their back. "The Stomach," "Lazygut," "Locust," "Belchsong," "Brewer's Ruin," or ironic titles like "Delicate Flower," "Virtuous Maid," or "Gentleness."
APPEARANCE: Onis are 7.5 to 9 feet tall females. Their skin color varies from red (most common) to blue, green, purple, black, white, and gold (least common). They have two (rarely one) horns which are conical, straight to slightly curved, of various lengths and orientations. These horns appear gilded, ivory, or jet. Hair color is somewhat limited to black/ near-black (midnight blue, deep purple) or white / near-white (blonde, silver, light blue). Hair is kept long, wild, and shaggy most of the time. Eyebrows can be surprisingly bushy. An oni's ears are large and pointed. Her body has a robust frame with generous breasts and a wide pelvis. Some onis are highly muscular, whereas others appear soft. All however, are uncannily strong.
WEAPONRY: Onis are most often associated with the kanabō, a heavy iron, two handed spiked club, and they do tend to favor them. However, any large and sufficiently brutal looking weapon will do. Huge cleaver-bladed swords are gaining popularity, followed by giant flails and hooked polearms. Frequently they give their weapons names.
DRESS: Due to their tough skin, onis forego wearing armor entirely. They also seem to be unaffected by cold, and can be seen in the middle of battle or on snowy mountain passes comfortably wearing nothing but a tiger pelt loincloth. Most favor primitively skimpy or topless styles while some have adopted loose fitting robes belted with bright silk sashes. Jewelry is kept to a minimum and sandals are usually worn on the feet.
Please excuse any odd noises coming from the gallery. I don't have a proper testing environment right now, so I have to test my code on the live server! Luckily, patching the file overwriting problem was a simple enough fix. Just had to remember the string concatenation operator in php...
*This is the same oni from Oni's Ire.
CREATION:
Records of onis extend past the origin of the written language 2500 years ago, deep into the rich oral histories of Nianese legend. These mighty beings were fashioned by the gods out of mountain boulders to guard temples and sacred sites, a job that they simply grew bored with and abandoned to pursue their own selfish desires.
PERSONALITY:
Onis are warlike, eager for a challenge, and savor the thrill of a close fight. Unfortunately, their large size and incredible strength mean that genuine challenges are few and far between. They get bored easily. This is often mistaken for true laziness. They are selfish, greedy and have a love of food and strong drink. This combined with their boredom means a well-fed oni can reach impressive sizes. Villages that attempt to neutralize their parasitic problem by overfeeding their unwanted guest find that it's a very difficult thing to do without emptying their silos. Plus, a fat oni can be even more difficult to dislodge as body weight doesn't seem to inhibit their fighting ability or ferocity.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE:
Onis might be a formidable race and a threat to humankind if they had any sort of cohesion or longer attention spans. They do not. Onis either avoid each other, warily trade news, or they fight. Most live solitary lives in the mountainous regions of Nian, robbing traveler and bandit alike. The boldest will enter the lowlands and claim a village for their fiefdom. This usually puts a large strain on the local food supply, but in return, onis have been known to expel lesser threats, thus becoming unlikely protectors. Onis do not seem to value physical goods (beyond their weapon) and will not stockpile treasure. An oni's success is often measured in access to food and alcohol, which in turn is gauged by their amount of body fat.
NAMES:
Amongst themselves, onis have long descriptive, often boastful names like Splits The Mountain, Thirst Rivers Cannot Sate, Thunder Sound Of Mace On Bone, or Foes Run Bloodied And Screaming. But they are given shorter, conventional names by the people around them. Generally the names humans give to address onis directly are flattering- names of beautiful women (regular Nianese sounding names). Onis that make themselves a nuisance generally get derogatory nicknames only used behind their back. "The Stomach," "Lazygut," "Locust," "Belchsong," "Brewer's Ruin," or ironic titles like "Delicate Flower," "Virtuous Maid," or "Gentleness."
APPEARANCE:
Onis are 7.5 to 9 feet tall females. Their skin color varies from red (most common) to blue, green, purple, black, white, and gold (least common). They have two (rarely one) horns which are conical, straight to slightly curved, of various lengths and orientations. These horns appear gilded, ivory, or jet. Hair color is somewhat limited to black/ near-black (midnight blue, deep purple) or white / near-white (blonde, silver, light blue). Hair is kept long, wild, and shaggy most of the time. Eyebrows can be surprisingly bushy. An oni's ears are large and pointed. Her body has a robust frame with generous breasts and a wide pelvis. Some onis are highly muscular, whereas others appear soft. All however, are uncannily strong.
WEAPONRY:
Onis are most often associated with the kanabō, a heavy iron, two handed spiked club, and they do tend to favor them. However, any large and sufficiently brutal looking weapon will do. Huge cleaver-bladed swords are gaining popularity, followed by giant flails and hooked polearms. Frequently they give their weapons names.
DRESS:
Due to their tough skin, onis forego wearing armor entirely. They also seem to be unaffected by cold, and can be seen in the middle of battle or on snowy mountain passes comfortably wearing nothing but a tiger pelt loincloth. Most favor primitively skimpy or topless styles while some have adopted loose fitting robes belted with bright silk sashes. Jewelry is kept to a minimum and sandals are usually worn on the feet.