Oni Mage

Oni Mages are practitioners whom primarily learned from Oni. Due to the nature of how Oni were formed, this practice is subtle and deceptive. <ref>Oni
Ties to an era when spirits attempted to establish their own province and domain separate from humanity, and even went to war with humanity, sending forth brutes and assassins. Oni magic is subtle and deceptive, aimed at infiltration, distraction, hampering and creating openings. Oni Magic stands in contrast to many practices in that it is actually more effective if not used in a way that spirits are made familiar with over time. Oni magic is typically learned as a series of ‘tricks’ taught by hard to access Others, with added benefits if the use of the trick surprises the spirits (that is, is unexpected or creative, and/or hasn’t been used in a long time), rekindling old memories and passions, or if it is dramatic and interesting. - Pact Dice: The Practices - Wbow Version</ref>

Methodology

Oni magic combines conflict and interaction into a surprise-oriented practice. Unlike most every other practice, their spells are more effective when used in a manner that defies pattern and convention. They favor traps, backstabs, deceptions or misdirections aimed at combat, and general-use anti-practice stuff. Many of their tricks also require special conditions to be met to use or to unlock the full potential of their abilities. They excel at deflecting or bypassing some practitioner offenses and defenses, but are weak against direct assaults and hard barriers.

Typically Oni mages learn the art through their blood lines, and are referred to by the House they were born into. Ronin mages are a subsect of Oni mages without a family to draw knowledge from. Instead they learn from the Oni itself, an item, or a source of power, though it comes at a steep price.

Basic spells usually fall under projectiles, barrier bypassing, empowerment, nullification, or concealment. Some employ the use of specialized Ofuda to avoid using up all of their tricks too quickly.<ref>Oni Mage
Ties to an era when spirits attempted to establish their own province and domain separate from humanity, and even went to war with humanity, sending forth brutes and assassins. Oni magic is subtle and deceptive, aimed at infiltration, distraction, hampering and creating openings. Oni Magic stands in contrast to many practices in that it is actually more effective if not used in a way that spirits are made familiar with over time. Oni magic is typically learned as a series of ‘tricks’ taught by hard to access Others, with added benefits if the use of the trick surprises the spirits (that is, is unexpected or creative, and/or hasn’t been used in a long time), rekindling old memories and passions, or if it is dramatic and interesting.

Background

Oni Mages typically pick up their art through family lines, tracing back to the time when spirits and Others tried to divorce themselves from humanity in a stab at self preservation. In Practice and in the eyes of other Practitioners, they are functionally assassins, thieves, and deceivers with a strong combat focus. Part of their dark reputation stems from distant history, when practitioners took the side of the spirits in the war against humanity, gaining power for their betrayal.

In terms of terminology, Oni Mages draw heavily from Eastern influences in naming and reference, even though they can be from anywhere. A practitioner who was taught by family is frequently referred to by their House name, the family line that their craft was derived from. A plural of such practitioners might simply be called ‘House Kuro’, while a single practitioner might be ‘Son of Yama’ or ‘Blackhedge Mage’ for the houses of Yama and Blackhedge, respectively.

The remainder of practitioners are taught by an ‘oni’ or self-taught with the assistance of some item or source of power, and are termed Ronin Mages.

Oni themselves are the result of past attempts to break away from humanity and create an independent spirit kingdom. Many Others were embroiled in the cause, and shed their labels and natures to share out their strength. As such, Oni have elements of Faerie, Goblins, Spirits, Ghosts, and other forces, typically clad in iconography and traditional dress that marks them as something turned Oni. One that was once Faerie might be very attractive and slender, with old fashioned clothes, but it is not Faerie anymore and does not harbor the same weaknesses.

Oni typically have masks, traditional symbols of binding or restriction (cuffs, collars, chains), paper, old clothing or weapons (pre-1600s), cultural blending, stark contrasts of light and dark and either natural weapons (horn, fang and claw) or personal decoration (masks, gloves, tattoos) echoing these things. Oni are broken up into castes and successively greater Oni tend to take more and more of these decorations and play them up, with the greater ones bearing clothes, scrolls, and/or weapons to the point that they fill a room. A moderate oni noble could bear a weapon rack on his back with a dozen weapons, with pauldrons and gauntlets fit for a giant floating in the air around him, autonomous. If these things are not floating or carried, lesser Oni may bear them or may bear the greater Oni on a palanquin.

In terms of disposition, Oni are merciless, first and foremost. They are defined by hate and spite, cold resentment, and an inclination to cling to history. Very frequently they won’t deal with people not from Houses, or they will only deal with people with a steep and inevitable price to be paid. As such, a given Ronin may only have the Oni with her teaching her things because she has agreed that when she has murdered everyone on her list of people who wronged her, she will lose her life and her spirit will be dragged into an eternity of darkness. Complex cursed items with a tendency to find their way into the hands of mundane mortals and perpetuate their own existence are common Oni items that they contract from practitioners (if they don't have different practitioners make different parts so the item's course might be harder to avert).

When they lost the war, the Oni were bound to convention. The ongoing struggle to escape and bend the rules of convention has led to a form of practice which works against many common assumptions. Oni Mages are stronger when they defy pattern and convention. While weak on their own, techniques are stronger when used infrequently or as a surprise, to the targets and to the spirits.

In terms of Pact Dice game mechanics, a tentative suggestion might be…

Power was used...	Strength
This encounter	Halved each time
For the first time this encounter	Normal
More than two encounters ago	2-3x Normal
So long ago GM forgot about it	Five times normal

Further, most common practices have special conditions that unlock additional potential or make them conditional to use. We see some of this in Ogre magic. The techniques may be combat-leaning with an emphasis on things like, "The more contact the target has with the ground, the more effective this is at binding them" or "If the target is bleeding, this poison is more effective". When targets aren't taken out of combat, the Oni Mage may well have to bury them under layered ailments. The target is hit with a simple trick that sends them sprawling- they're on the ground so another trick binds them there. They can't move, so a concentrated cloud of poison is created around them, where it can finish them off.

Most Oni Mage practices are traps, backstabs, deceptions or misdirections aimed at combat, and general-use anti-practice stuff.

Why be an Oni Mage?

Oni Mages have some advantages in that they can deflect or bypass some practitioner offenses and defenses. They are weak against direct assaults and hard barriers, but are otherwise fairly effective at working against practitioners and making their lives hard.

They can also bypass some weaknesses. It's common knowledge that an Oni Mage family had an artifact that allowed one lie every three years. Such knowledge colors the interactions of councils with families of Oni Mages.

Oni themselves are versatile and varied, but again, are weak against direct assaults and favor flanking, traps, setup, or conditions. Some have gimmicks, like sapping strength for every word someone says around them, or stealing your face if you make eye contact.

Some Basic Practices for an Oni Mage

Black Dart (Missile) - A ranged attack art, throwing a knife at a high speed. Aware targets have a higher chance to dodge the dart. Targets who cannot move or defend themselves take more damage. Targets who are in the midst of practicing, performing an action that can be interrupted, or otherwise preoccupied such that they will not move are maimed. Effect diminishes with recent use, as described above.

Eclipse Step (Breach) - Trick. Can mark out a path and cross physical barriers. At the most basic use, crossing through glass windows without breaking the glass. With more advanced use, can pass through walls if the moon shines on either side, or go from the ground, up a wall, to a rooftop. On a battlefield, these paths way allow one to move without difficulty through some hazards and avoid attacks of enemies while moving along the path. Works with mere gestures and focus if the moonlight and shadow are both pronounced (and if the practitioner’s abilities are sufficient). If they are not, can take time in advance, typically with a blade held out and a means of creating a path of light or shadow- the blade may be held up, the light reflecting off of the edge to draw a line, which Eclipse Step can then be used with. May take several rounds, depending on ability and environment. Oni Mages and Oni can cross this path naturally, but others generally only do so with practice.

Oni Eye (Empower) - Trick. The practitioner chooses an art or an offensive trick and declares it alongside a target. After a set number of rounds (often 3) they can use the art with added strength (multiplicative with rare use, multiplicative with conditions met), and it isn’t counted as being quite as recently used. Variants exist, depending on the family (Lotus Eye = target everyone in range after a delay, Stone Eye = the effect lasts far longer)

Seal Hand/Foot (Pacify) - A basic ofuda that most Oni Mage practitioners can draw themselves. Made as a ranged attack, or slapped on as a physical attack (for double duration), hampers the use of one limb or slows movement with a pronounced limp.

Fade Into Mist (Obscure) - Trick. Produces a cloud of mist, and the practitioner can elect to enter the Spirit World. If they do, they may be more vulnerable to some practices, if the enemy looks for them there, but they are otherwise undetectable to conventional sight and Sight and can choose somewhere nearby where they reappear. One cannot generally take offensive action while in the spirit world, and must remain there for one round before reappearing. Size of cloud and distance of movement before being revealed greatly increase with puissance and time between uses.

More Complicated Stuff...

Ofuda - A common approach, because they can cover many of the bases for an Oni Mage, being usable without frittering away or revealing all of their arts. Ofuda are slips of paper with symbols inscribed on them. While they can be (and are often mixed up with) ordinary runes and symbols tied to the standard spirit world, Oni Mages use ones that the Sight will identify as different, and the script is distinctly different and more ornate. Thrown at a target, they imply an if/then effect. They usually require the help of an Oni to make and the breadth, strength, and assortment a practitioner might get are dependent on their power and their relationship to the Oni. Once used, an Ofuda is consumed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Weaverdice/comments/8ghs3l/pact_dice_campaign_help/dycdis7/?context=3</ref>

Notable Oni Magi

• Blue Heron Institute pupils Davion Reese, Mike Storey, and Damaryon Steyn
• Yadira Kennedy and her family
• Darren (example in Demesnes.)<ref>Darren is a dabbling Oni

practitioner, bartering with those Others who eschewed label and sought to war against Practice itself.  Many Oni went out of their way to specifically attack, subvert or exploit the convention of Practice, and Darren barters with Oni for these techniques to supplement his general practice as an illusionist.  Sharp knives, in a sense, to wield in the fog.  He creates his Demesne as a place to practice and catalogue this knowledge, for it comes with strict rules.

[...]

Darren marks out a table, lit from an unseen source of light, surrounded by shadow, and the tableaus depicting

the various arts he’s learned and gifts he’s been given, kept secret 

enough by the dark.  He makes the space one for Oni to be invited to, a difficult process when Oni are opposed to practice.  He makes the central space of the Demesne one that is for Oni, not himself, as something of a counter-Demesne or forfeited space.  With this, the invitations become easy.  With the right props, such as tea poured into a

golden cup, the assumption of a visit from a specific Other is enough 

that they can easily travel to him, stepping out of the shadow and to the opposite end of the table.

- excerpt from Demesnes, quoted in Bonus Material: Demesnes Text </ref>

References

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