#Onmyoji (陰陽師)
Master of yoma. Controls the battlefield through shikigami.
- Role: summoning, ranged sorcery, yoma control, barriers
- Core Attribute: Wisdom (智)
- Core Zone Entry: forced Breakthrough
- Base Class: official onmyoji of the Onmyoryo (陰陽寮). Or a wild mountain caster.
- Three Ways and Six Hearts: Truth or Loyalty. One who follows Astronomy (天文).
- Skills Eligible for Master: Sorcery, Exorcism, Barrier, Prophecy, Stratagem, Fortune
- Starting Automatic Skills: Sorcery Trained, Exorcism Novice, Barrier Novice, Prophecy Novice
#Scent — Reader of the Stars
Onmyoji control the unseen world. They send shikigami to scout, raise barriers to hold back yoma, and curse enemies with sorcery. They are strategic characters who can change the flow of battle without standing in the Front Zone, but the onmyoji themselves are weaker than any other class — because their weapon is not their own blade, but the movement of the stars.
The onmyoji's first tool is the shikigami (式神). A bird folded from paper flies out to scout, and a shadow puppet takes an enemy blade in their place. While the onmyoji sits in the rear writing talismans, five shikigami range across the battlefield. "Onmyoji are weak" is only half true — the onmyoji is weak, but the shikigami around them are like a unit of their own.
The direct line of Abe no Seimei begins with astronomical observation. The motion of the stars is the flow of fate. If an onmyoji says, "the eastern sky is red tonight," the army does not set out. A master of the Onmyoryo sees the enemy's action a breath ahead — before the enemy even takes up a sword, the onmyoji has already thrown the talisman. That is the power of Astronomy (天文). The future is not fixed, but onmyoji see the most likely future.
Tsuchimikado-ryu is a different path. Curses and plots. If you know an enemy's name and date of birth, you can kill them from a thousand ri away. That is why onmyoji are also among the most feared enemies — they kill without ever putting a blade to someone. Yet onmyoji know this as well: the one who uses curses is cursed. Every sorcery shaves away the onmyoji's lifespan. Many 9th-dan onmyoji have white hair while still in the age 30 range. The price of reading the stars is that your own star sets early.
- Recommended Weapons: none (shikigami/sorcery specialist). Self-defense tanto (concealed) or rokushakubo (also a walking staff).
- Recommended Schools: Abe-ryu (Great Shikigami Art — shikigami enhancement), Tsuchimikado-ryu (curses + astronomical observation)
- Recommended Faction Traits: Kagura Domain (official Onmyoryo), Enryokan (spiritual collaborator), Biu Mountain (dangerous alliance with yoma)
#Law — Trait List
#1st Dan: Shikigami Control (式神使役) [Kata]
[Kata] Shikigami Control
Energy: 2 | Limit: per combat equal to Wisdom modifier, minimum 1 time
Effect: summon 1 shikigami in any zone.
Shikigami: Wounds 1, Defense 12, Domination +1. Can be hit instead.Shikigami Actions and Caps (Principle 2)
Shikigami are individual units, not squads. They cannot be targeted by squad orders or overall command.
A shikigami body has no Energy of its own. The onmyoji moves a shikigami with a control action (0 Energy ([Kata])), and this control action shares the 2 times per round cap from rule 3 in
../../co-03-core-rules/co-03-04-action-points.md. Therefore, even if several shikigami are summoned, shikigami actions can be triggered only up to 2 times per round.Because shikigami have no Energy of their own, they also cannot receive the scholar's "Divine Calculation and Ghostly Strategy" transfer. They can be supported only indirectly, by increasing the onmyoji's own Energy.
Details:
../../co-99-meta/co-99-02-core-principles.mdPrinciple 2.
#3rd Dan (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curse (呪い) | [Kata] | 2 | 1/round | 1 enemy within 2 zones takes -3 to its next check. |
| Shikigami Enhancement | [aptitude] | — | — | shikigami Wounds 2, Domination +2. |
| Five-Phase Resonance | [aptitude] | — | — | always know enemy units in adjacent zones. |
#5th Dan (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killing Curse (呪殺) | [Kata] | 3 | 1/round | ranged 2d10+Wisdom >= Defense. 2 Wounds. |
| Shikigami Explosion | [Kata] | 1 | N times/combat | shikigami self-destructs. Everyone in the zone takes 1 Wound. |
| Barrier Formation | [stance] | 2 | maintain | allied Defense +2 in the zone. 1 Energy each lull. |
#7th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Shikigami | [Kata] | 3 | 1/combat | Elite-grade shikigami (Wounds 3, Energy 6). |
| Yin-Yang Reversal | [Kata] | 3 | 1/round | swap allied and enemy Domination in the zone. |
| Eye of Prophecy | [aptitude] | — | — | know 1 enemy action in advance when that enemy takes a breath. |
#9th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night Parade of a Hundred Demons | [Kata] | 4 | 1/combat | summon 10 Mobs into the Core Zone. Enemy Domination -5. |
| Sealing Art | [Kata] | 5 | 1/combat | seal 1 Elite/Lord (cannot act next round). |
| Astronomy | [aptitude] | — | combat start | onmyoji chooses the d100 environmental event. |
#Typical Breath Pattern (5th Dan)
Onmyoji: Energy 10 (10+Finesse 0), shikigami/sorcery
Count 10 — first breath: Shikigami Control(2) + Curse(2) = 4 Count 6 — second breath: Killing Curse(3) + defense reservation(1) = 4 → remaining Energy: 10 - 4 - 4 = 2 (shikigami defense/emergency movement)
#Squad Tactics Traits (Onmyoji)
Slot Rule: Squad tactics traits are included in the class trait choices for that dan. When choosing 3rd/5th-dan class traits, you may choose a squad tactics trait instead of an ordinary class trait.
Onmyoji squad tactics are indirect command. Through shikigami, they control squads at range while the onmyoji stays in the safe rear and controls the battlefield.
| Trait | Type | Learned Dan | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shikigami Command (式神指揮) | [Tactic:Kata] | 3rd dan | 0 (squad order cost waived) | 1/round | dispatch a shikigami as acting squad commander. Activate 1 squad order this round at 0 Energy. Cannot be used if the shikigami is incapacitated. |
| Five-Direction Formation (五方陣) | [Tactic:Stance] | 5th dan | squad order cost+2 | maintain | arrange the squad in five-phase positions. The whole zone gains a weak barrier (yoma take 1 Wound when entering) + squad ranged attacks +1. Released when the squad moves. |
Three Ways and Six Hearts (Squad Tactics): Shikigami Command is Truth (controlling the battlefield through the world's principles). Five-Direction Formation is Loyalty — "to borrow the qi of heaven and earth and form an array is the height of loyalty."
#Zone Bonuses
| Zone | Bonus / Use |
|---|---|
| Rear Zone | onmyoji home ground. Upkeep Energy -1, unlimited range for remote shikigami control. Here, the onmyoji is safe while still controlling the battlefield. |
| Flank Zone | synergy with Barrier Formation. Blocks enemy entry into the Flank Zone. |
| Front Zone | does not go there. An onmyoji in the Front Zone means all the shikigami are dead. |
| Core Zone | requires forced Breakthrough. The onmyoji never enters personally. Sends only shikigami. |
| Outside Zone | shikigami scouting only. The onmyoji cannot enter the Outside Zone personally. |
#Three Ways and Six Hearts Conflict
The onmyoji's core drama is the responsibility of one who sees fate.
- Truth (Way of Mystery): "follow the flow of the stars." The path of astronomical observation. The most onmyoji-like heart.
- Loyalty (Way of Rites): "uphold the duties of the Onmyoryo." Onmyoji under Kagura Domain. Bound to politics.
- Conflict: toward Compassion — "does knowing fate give you the right to decide fate?" An onmyoji who saw the future but does not speak. The heaviest silence.
- Conflict: toward Hegemony — "if you know fate, control fate." Political onmyoji. They become a daimyo's strategist and try to move the realm.
- Fall: toward Demon — "a curse is the most efficient weapon." The darkness of Tsuchimikado. An onmyoji whose character has collapsed curses even their own shikigami.
- Final Conflict: the onmyoji has seen the future. The future of their own death. Do they avoid it, or accept it? If they avoid it, someone else dies in their place (the balance of the stars). If they accept it, their shikigami and companions live. The onmyoji's final divination is not for themselves.
"The stars do not lie. Only — the one who reads them does."
#Example Character
→ Abe Seika — Sample Sheet (1st/5th/10th dan + step-by-step backstory)