Oni, Kijo

This filthy creature is shaped like a woman, but her countenance is that of a devil. Long horns jut from her brow and her hands are twisted into talons. A mane of matted hair falls over her shoulders.

Source Demiurge113
Originally posted on Probing the Membrane of Science

Unlike most oni, the hag-like creatures known as kijo are not created from a disincarnate spirit building itself a body in order to make mischief and feed its desires. Rather, a kijo is created when these spirits, especially ones devoted to envy, spite and revenge, fuse with the body of a mortal woman. Some of these women invite the oni spirits into themselves in order to fulfill a grudge or by accident tampering with powerful spiritual forces, but some are transformed unawares when their own emotional pain and hatred attracts the attention of like-minded souls.

Most kijos are hermits, living alone in remote cabins and caves in order to nurse their sinister plots. Some surround themselves with sycophantic mortals who serve as their agents or pose as mortal soothsayers, healers or herbalists in order to manipulate the desperate. Despite their nature as incarnate souls, they count as hags for the purpose of forming covens, and may ally with either other kijos or with true hags in order to orchestrate truly grand schemes.

A kijo’s spiritual nature makes them natural witches, drawing on the power of their own spite and hatred to gain their spells. Although the sample kijo shown here focuses her spells on stealth and weakening her enemies, other kijo may have very different spell selections indeed. All kijo have a spirit oni familiar, which serves as loyally as is possible for these sullen, wicked things.

Oni, Kijo CR 8

XP 4,800 LE Medium outsider (native, oni, shapechanger) Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +14

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+5 Dexterity, +5 natural) hp 85 (9d10+36); regeneration 5 (acid, fire) Fort +10, Ref +8, Will +10 SR 19

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., Fly 60 ft. (good) Melee dagger +14/+9 (1d4+5/19-20) or 2 claws +14 (1d4+5), gore +14 (1d6+5) Special Attacks spell-theft Spells CL 7th, concentration +11 (+15 casting defensively)   4th – crushing despair (DC 18), poison (DC 18)   3rd – blink, dispel magic, lightning bolt (DC 17)   2nd – cure moderate wounds, invisibility, spectral hand, touch of idiocy   1st – charm person (DC 15), cure light wounds, enlarge person, ray of enfeeblement (DC 15), ventriloquism (DC 15)   0th – bleed (DC 14), detect magic, read magic, touch of fatigue (DC 14)   Patron: Deception

STATISTICS

Strength 20, Dexterity 21, Constitution 19, Intelligence 19, Wisdom 14, Charisma 14 Base Atk +9; CMB +14; CMD 30 Feats Brew Potion, Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Improved Initiative, Iron Will Skills Bluff +14, Disguise +14, Fly +5, Knowledge (arcana) +16, Knowledge (planes) +16, Knowledge (local) +13, Perception +14, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +16, Stealth +17, Use Magic Device +14 Languages Aklo, Common, Giant, Sylvan SQ change shape (Small or Medium humanoid, alter self), familiar, flight

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate hills and mountains Organization solitary, pair or coven (1-3 plus 0-2 hags) Treasure double standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Familiar (Su) All kijo have a Spirit Oni familiar. This functions as the familiar of a 7th level witch. Levels in witch stack with a kijo’s caster level for the purposes of the familiar’s abilities, but no other class levels do so.   Flight (Su) A kijo’s flight is supernatural in nature and cannot be dispelled   Spells A kijo casts spells as a 7th level witch. Although she does gain a patron, she does not gain hexes unless she takes levels in the witch class.   Spell-theft (Su) As an immediate action three times per day, a kijo can attempt to steal a harmless or beneficial spell cast within 30 feet of them. The kijo and the caster of the spell make opposed Spellcraft checks – if the kijo succeeds the check, she is treated as being the target of the spell. Using this ability lowers the kijo’s spell resistance for 1 round.

Kijo Covens

Only rarely will a kijo join a coven without being its undisputed leader, and they maintain their positions with a mastery of physical and emotional abuse even hags find cowing. All the members of a coven that contains at least one kijo can use the spell-theft ability once per day so long as they are within 30 feet of the kijo.