"Lock the door, blow out the light;
The hungry Oni haunts the night.
Hide and tremble, little one;
The Oni wants to have some fun.
Hear it scratching on the door;
See its shadow cross the floor.
The sun won't rise for quite a while;
Till then, beware the Oni's smile."
-Children's Rhyme
In nursery rhymes, Oni are fearsome bogeymen that haunt the nightmares of children and adults alike, yet the are very real and always hungry. They find Human babies especially delicious.
Physical Description and Abilities
Oni look like demonic
Ogres with blue or green skin, dark hair, and a pair of short ivory horns protruding from their foreheads. Their eyes are dark with strikingly white pupils, and their teeth and claws are jet black.
Oni are sometimes called Ogre mages because of their innate magical ability. Though they are only distantly related to true Ogres, they share the Ogre's habit of joining forces with other evil creatures.
Behavior
By the light of the day, an Oni hides its true form with magic, gaining the trust of those it intends to betray when darkness descends. These creatures can change their size as well as their shape, appearing as humanoids as they pass through towns, pretending to be travelers, woodcutters, or frontier folk. In such a form, an Oni takes stock of the selection of humanoids in a settlement and devises a way to abduct and devour some.
