#Chapter 1 Yoma Bestiary - Faces of Reviving Hell

Contents

5 yoma exclusive to Chapter 1. This is a new operating block that keeps the rank standards (Mob, Minion, Veteran, Elite, Lord) from the main 08-02 Yoma Bestiary, then layers on only Reviving Hell's common gimmicks: revival count, Infinite Grit, and wound recovery.

Core references

- Required: Yoma Bestiary Basics · Combat Flow · Wounds and Defeat

- Required: Zone Gimmicks · Maneuver System

- Reference: Encounter Design · Balance

References in this supplement

- Required: Core Economy · Barrier System

- Required: Reviving GM Guide · Spirit Realm Environment

- Same chapter: Chapter Overview · Chapter NPCs · Act 4 Siege

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#Yoma Summary for This Chapter

| 4 | blood-mist lesser oni (血霧小鬼) | Veteran | Acts 3·4 | Mist transformation (incorporeal shift) · wound recovery | | 5 | undecaying chieftain (不朽將) | Elite | Act 3 | Can be spoken with · recommended to avoid through negotiation |

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#Reviving Hell Common Gimmicks - Apply Across This Chapter

All 5 yoma in this chapter share the following three rules. Do not repeat them in each individual stat block.

#Revival Count

When a yoma's Wounds reach 0, roll a revival count (d10) instead of instant death. Until the count is reached, it is treated as "fallen." When the count reaches 0, or when an Exorcism check succeeds (success Target Number 13), it truly dies. While the count is running, another yoma's revival technique can roll the count back from just before 0.

[Revival Count]
- When Wounds reach 0: roll d10. Result = count (round units)
- At the end of each round, count -1. When it reaches 0, true death.
- While count is running: fallen state (cannot act, fixed Defense 10).
- Before count 0, a successful Exorcism check (2d10+Wisdom+proficiency >= 13) causes immediate true death.
- If fallen inside the Barrier (domain), no count is rolled; immediate true death.

#Infinite Grit

When a yoma's Wounds are 1 or lower, all attack technique checks +1. This represents the final flailing struggle at the edge.

#Wound Recovery

At each lull, the yoma's Wounds +1 (up to maximum). This is nullified inside the Barrier or in an Exorcism barrier environment. Tactics that force a lull are therefore disadvantageous for the PCs.

Reference: For the narrative basis of revival, grit, and recovery, see 03-06 Hell GM Guide §Reviving.

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#Yoma 1 - Tyrant of Revival (蘇生暴君, Lord Rank)

#Scent

A red giant, three meters tall, stands in the middle of the iron-colored plain. His two golden horns are broken and half-melted. The wakizashi mark at the center of his chest has not healed, and black blood flows down in rhythm before dropping onto the iron ground. The sound is regular, like a heartbeat.

There are two sounds. One is his own breath: a bellows scraping iron. The other is the sound of the kubikiri and gaki chains lined up behind him. When the tyrant steadies one breath, every yoma on the battlefield steadies its breath one beat later. Synchronization without command.

The smell is burning iron and old stagnant blood. People notice it first only when the wind blows from behind him. It is fitting to describe the PCs as "knowing him by smell before they see him."

Up close, he is unexpectedly quiet. This being does not shout. He only walks slowly, and with each step the ground sinks by 1 centimeter. When the Barrier's wooden wall begins to tremble from that vibration, the siege has truly begun.

#Law

Tyrant of Revival (蘇生暴君) — Lord-grade
Wounds 8, Defense 18, Energy 15
Courage+5, Physique+4, Presence+2, Wisdom+1
Domination +8 (including Fear Aura)

Lord-grade exception values: Wounds 8 and Courage+5 are exceptions to the main Lord-grade ceiling operation. Follow the ceiling from main 08-02 §Great Oni and Shuten-doji, but approve Courage+5 as a Chapter 1 climax-boss privilege.

#Techniques

Special:

• Fear Aura (恐怖の氣) [stance] 2 Energy: while maintained, PCs in the same zone must roll Courage >= 13 each breath. On failure, checks -2. Maintaining can be canceled freely.
• Revival count exception: the tyrant cannot be defeated in this chapter. When his Wounds reach 0, move to a resealing/retreat check instead of revival count (see "withdrawal conditions" below).
• Wakizashi wound (weakness): on a successful shot Target Number 15 against the wound on his chest, he cannot act for 1 round + cumulative strike points +3.
• Direct Barrier Assault resistance: Direct Barrier Assault cannot be evaded with a maneuver. Only Barrier repair responses are possible.

#Special Rule - Direct Defeat Impossible and Forced Withdrawal

With the weapons of a 1st~2nd-dan PC party, the tyrant cannot be destroyed immediately even if his Wounds are fully reduced to 0. Instead, if cumulative strike points (NTP) reach 15 or higher, the tyrant abandons "this day's attack" and retreats.

When NTP reaches 15: the tyrant hesitates once, presses a hand against the wound in his chest, then withdraws. The siege ends.

#GM Operation Tips

The tyrant is "terrifying, but rational." If you only repeat roars and direct hits, the scene becomes monotonous. Between rounds, mix in an attempt at conversation (naming Akihisa or the commander), stopping, and staring, leaving the aftertaste of "why does this one go this far?" Direct Barrier Assault begins in earnest from round 4. Until then, build tension through wandering and remnant command.

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#Yoma 2 - Rusted Kubikiri (錆首切, Elite)

#Scent

A mid-ranking warrior in rusted iron armor. The forehead of the helmet has been torn away and half turned into iron dust. One hand holds a head-cutting blade (首切刀), and at that blade's tip, a single strand of uncut hair flutters in the wind.

His steps are slow. But once he declares a "cut," the speed belongs to another dimension. The movement is not pulled by his own weight, but by the weight of the blade. He does not bleed: his body has already dried out.

There is almost no sound. Only the scratch of rust on armor, and the dull thud when his feet touch the iron ground. Sometimes, very rarely, you hear him readjust his grip on the hilt; that is the signal for a beheading declaration.

The smell is rust and old blood. Beside the place where the kubikiri sits, several headless corpses are always piled up. He is not staring at them. He is simply beside them. This "being with them" amplifies the fear.

#Law

Rusted Kubikiri (錆首切) — Elite
Wounds 4, Defense 15, Energy 10
Courage+2, Finesse+2, Physique+1
Domination +4

#Techniques

Special:

• Revival count cap 2 times: the kubikiri uses this chapter's common count, but on the third time Wounds reach 0, it truly dies with no count. "It rises only twice."
• Corpse Collector [aptitude]: if 3 or more corpses (Minion-grade or higher) exist in the same zone, techniques +1. An instinct to sit beside corpses.

#Special Rule

• Beheading limit: [Licensed] is 1~2 times per game. If overused, 1st-dan PCs are in instant-death territory. The GM does not name a PC who "already has no 1-Wound margin" for Beheading (implicit rule).
• No revival inside the Barrier: if Wounds 0 happens inside the Barrier, skip revival count and immediately inflict true death.

#GM Operation Tips

Trigger the kubikiri's revival immediately after the PCs declare that "it's over." Use Beheading once at the peak of tension. When PCs who met a kubikiri in Acts 2~3 meet it again in the Act 4 siege, describe it as the same kubikiri (keep identifying marks such as a crack in the helmet seam).

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#Yoma 3 - Reviving Gaki (蘇生餓鬼, Minion · Squad Yoma)

#Scent

They have low Wounds, but they come in groups. Gray bodies with only the bellies swollen, limbs thin as sticks. Their eyes are sunken and lightless, and their mouths are dark red from licking the iron-colored ground.

One gaki forms a group as thick as a human arm. Four, five, eight. When they turn their heads all at once, they turn in the same beat. This synchronization is the identity of a gaki squad: individually they are close to beasts, but as a squad they are an army.

The sound is a low moan. It does not come from one body; the entire squad takes it up with gaps between them. "Ah-" "Ah-" "Ah-." Every four beats, the moan cuts off once.

When they revive, black hands burst out first from beneath the iron-colored ground. Then those hands drag their bodies upward. Always describe this when the PCs first witness it. After that, the revival count d10 is understood not as a simple die, but as "fear."

#Law

Reviving Gaki (蘇生餓鬼) — Minion (squad 4~6 bodies)
Individual: Wounds 1, Defense 10
Squad Domination +2 (individual +1)

Techniques (triggered by command: Energy paid by a tyrant or kubikiri commander):

Special:

• Squad formation: standard 4~6 bodies. Act 2 has 5 bodies, Act 3 has 5 bodies (+kubikiri), and Act 4 goes from 8 bodies in the 1st wave to 12 bodies in the 3rd wave.
• Full revival count type: when a gaki's Wounds reach 0, it always rolls a d10 count. On 1~3, revive at Wounds 1 after 1 round; on 4~7, after 2 rounds; on 8~10, after 3 rounds. True death comes from count 0, being inside the Barrier, or an Exorcism check.
• Corpse-layer dependence: revival only on the iron-colored ground. If it falls inside the Barrier, skip the count.
• Nullifying revival: dismember the corpse (axe/spear 1 round) or burn it (3 rounds) to make the count immediately 0. This is the functional lesson of Act 2.

#Special Rule - Wandering Energy

Following the wandering yoma rule in main 08-02 §Yoma Techniques and Energy, a squad without a commander acts on its own judgment with Energy 10. However, in Chapter 1, a commander (kubikiri or tyrant) is almost always present, so command activation is the default in actual play.

#GM Operation Tips

Gaki are the fear of numbers. Individually they are weak, but repeated revival exhausts the party. The GM rolls each revival d10 as an open die every round to maintain tension. The moment in Act 2 when PCs "learn" corpse dismemberment is this chapter's lesson: to stop revival, the answer is not cutting, but dismembering.

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#Yoma 4 - Blood-Mist Lesser Oni (血霧小鬼, Veteran · Squad Yoma)

#Scent

A small gray yoma. Its height is around a person's waist. Its limbs are fluid because it is still condensing into mist from ground where blood has dried. Sometimes it has three fingers, sometimes five, sometimes none.

There is almost no sound. When it moves, the air slips like brushing cloth. This is the lesser oni's trait: hearing can barely detect it. Smell comes first: the smell of copper and blood dissolved together.

It has two movements. In solid form, it runs as if crawling on all fours. In mist form, it floats on the wind. At the moment of transition, its body seems to "scatter" once; that moment is this yoma's point of terror.

It appears in groups only on the Blood Plateau in Act 3. When 3~4 bodies surround the PCs in a semicircle, the center body is solid and the two ends are mist. This is the standard formation. PCs must immediately judge which side to attack.

#Law

Blood-Mist Lesser Oni (血霧小鬼) — Veteran (squad 3~4 bodies)
Individual: Wounds 2, Defense 13 (solid) / 18 (mist)
Squad Domination +3 (individual +1)

Techniques (triggered by command):

Special:

• Mist Transformation (霧化): at the start of each round, roll d10. 1~4 solid, 5~10 mist. Physical attacks are effective only in solid state / in mist state, incorporeal rules apply (main 08-02 §Incorporeal). Physical 50% nullified, exempt for characters with Exorcism.
• Enhanced wound recovery type: when reduced to Wounds 1 or lower in solid state, it automatically becomes mist at the start of the next round + recovers to Wounds 2. To interrupt this gimmick, the PCs need a concentrated hit of 3 Wounds or more in one check.
• Revival count: shared by the squad. Count can proceed even if Wounds reach 0 in mist state.

#Special Rule - Mist Countermeasures

#GM Operation Tips

Roll mist transformation d10 as an open die at the start of each round. Let PCs judge "this time it is solid" and adjust their actions. The 3-Wounds focused-hit condition is difficult for 1st-dan PCs without maneuvers, so in Act 3 it naturally functions as a learning element for focus and coordinated-attack maneuvers.

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#Yoma 5 - Undecaying Chieftain (不朽將, Elite · Negotiable)

#Scent

A tall yoma in iron-rust armor. A cape of peacock feathers hangs from his back, and in one hand is a broken spear with half its point remaining. In the other hand is a fragment of a paper scroll, wet and torn. Sometimes he unfolds that fragment and looks at it.

His face is hidden inside the helmet, but a voice comes out. A low, slow male voice. His tone mixes Japanese and Korean. A hint that he is the afterimage of a previous drifter. He takes one beat too long to say each word: the speed of a dead person groping through memory.

He moves little. Standing, or sitting. Often he leans his back against a stone pillar in the ruins. Even if the PCs approach, he does not attack first. First, he stares. If this stare continues for about 30 seconds, the conversation opens after that.

The smell is surprisingly faint. Besides iron rust, there is only soil and dry leaves. He is a being that has become one with the ruins. Only when combat begins does the smell of blood start to rise; it comes from a wound he was deliberately hiding.

#Law

Undecaying Chieftain (不朽將) — Elite
Wounds 5, Defense 15, Energy 11
Courage+2, Physique+3, Presence+2, Wisdom+1
Domination +4

#Techniques

Special:

• Softened revival count type: when Wounds reach 0, roll count d10, but no Exorcism check is required. True death comes from count 0 or an explicit PC "pacification" check (Exorcism Target Number 13).
• Can be spoken with (negotiation route): allow a negotiation check instead of combat. See table below.

#Special Rule - Negotiation Route

PCs who want to avoid combat with the chieftain may attempt conversation. The base check is 2d10 + Presence + Negotiation proficiency >= 17.

The clue revealed on Target Number 17 success connects to the Chapter 2 bridge information in 10-07 Rewards and Bridge. This information can never be gained through combat.

#GM Operation Tips

Do not portray the chieftain as too strong. He is a "sad and tired" being. Present him so that pity is felt before fear. If a 1st~2nd-dan PC party chooses combat, the chieftain answers with his true Elite values (Wounds 5, Defense 15): expect the average PC to risk serious injury 2~3 times. However, when the chieftain uses [Licensed] Old Name Calling, have him call not a PC's name but the name of a dead person (a previous drifter). That leaves a narrative aftertaste that the negotiation route can still be recovered even during combat.

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#Encounter Combination Table - Placement by Act

Follow the Domination-sum standard from main 08-01 Encounter Design.

#Act 2 Standard Encounters

#Act 3 Standard Encounters

#Act 4 Siege Waves

Details are subordinate to 10-04 Act 4 §Wave Action Table. Summary:

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#Core Harvest Table

Follow the harvest Target Number rules in main 01-03 Core Economy.

#Expected Chapter 1 Harvest

This harvest amount is the baseline for storage balance at the start of Chapter 2.

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#Environmental Interactions

#Yoma × Iron-Colored Ground

The iron-colored ground is the foothold for revival count. If the PCs lure a yoma inside the Barrier or to the edge of the Blood Plateau, they nullify revival. See the "zone-boundary lure" maneuver in main 05-05 Zone Gimmicks.

#Yoma × Fire

Braziers, torches, and flint can be used with environment Target Number 11~14.

#Yoma × [Incorporeal] Attacks

Follow the main incorporeal and [Incorporeal] rules (§Exorcism Immunity Table):

• Incorporeal 50% nullification: exempt with Exorcism Novice (1 point)+.
• [Incorporeal] attacks: no Exorcism means automatic-hit grade / Novice (1 point) normal Defense -2 / Trained (2 points) normal Defense -1 / Licensed (3 points)+ fully normal Defense.

Among the yoma in this chapter, only blood-mist lesser oni (mist state) has the incorporeal tag. The others are corporeal.

Onmyoji and monk Exorcism attacks can:

• make a true death check (Target Number 13) against a yoma whose revival count is running
• nullify the wound recovery gimmick
• exempt against the mist lesser oni's incorporeal check

#Yoma × Inside the Barrier

In zones where Barrier HP remains, revival count and wound recovery are both nullified. Luring yoma into the Barrier is tactically favorable for PCs, but it also carries the risk of Barrier HP loss.

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#Response Standards by PC Dan

The basic premise of Chapter 1 is PCs at 1st~2nd dan. Direct defeat of the chieftain and tyrant is prohibited.

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#Acts 2~4 Yoma Appearance Schedule - GM Reference

#Act 2

• Standard route: gaki squad 5 + kubikiri 1
• Strengthened route: + additional gaki 2
• Weakened route (party fatigue): gaki 3 + kubikiri 0

#Act 3

• Approach step: lesser oni squad 3 (scouts)
• Ruins step: kubikiri 2 + gaki squad 5
• Inside the ruins: undecaying chieftain 1 - negotiation first
• Return step: gaki 3 (remnants)

#Act 4 Siege

For details, see 10-04 Act 4 §Wave Action Table.

• 1st wave: gaki 8 + kubikiri 3
• 2nd wave: gaki 10 + kubikiri 4
• 3rd wave: gaki 12 + kubikiri 5 + lesser oni squad 6
• boss: Tyrant of Revival (Direct Barrier Assault begins from round 4)

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#Next

• Act 4 siege procedure: 10-04 Act 4
• Rewards and Bridge: 10-07 Rewards and Bridge
• Main Yoma Bestiary: 08-02
• Reviving narrative guide: 03-06 Hell Motifs

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"The yoma of this land do not die. Our weakness is there. And our victory is there as well." — Hoshino Gensho, while accompanying the party in Act 3.

"Do not try to kill it. Push it back. For the second night." — Kamijo Akihisa, at the Act 4 operations meeting.