Enemy ideas: Japanese yokai

[MobileSuitSonic]

I'm currently doing a bit of everything with my project: a little mapping here and a bit of dialogue there.
When it comes to enemy selection, I tend to go off the beaten path and try to include monsters that are less likely to be used elsewhere. Sure, you have your stock monsters like dragons and trolls and even Greco-Roman Mythology-related ones like the Minotaur and Centaurs.

The stuff I go for goes into Medieval myth (with its headless and dog-headed humans), parts of Greco-Roman that aren't normally trod, and beyond.

It brings me to my subject for this thread Japanese yokai. If you've played any of the Pocky and Rocky games or seen Spirited Away, you know about these. Yo-Kai Watch is pretty much a comedy anime/game series based around these creatures.

They'd make for pretty good enemy ideas if someone had a chance to use them. These are my findings on how they could be used in a game.

Kappa: Probably the most likely to be used. Lives around freshwater and may have Water-based spells.
Keukegen: Definitely usable for abandoned mansions/castles or even swampy areas.
Nue: Was used as a boss in Breath of Fire III.
Gashadokuro: The size alone would make it a boss. Most likely has a Darkness element.
Omukade: Another potential boss. May have Earth and Poison-based spells.
Jorogumo: Poison-resistant enemy. Found in dark areas like caves and dark forests.
Basan: A giant fire-breathing rooster/turkey. You read that correctly.

These aren't really requests, just some idea pitches. If one can think of more that could be used out of this subject, feel free to jump in.

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

I'm assuming your Game happens in a japanese setting else while yokai, yorei, gaki, goryo, shiryo or Oni can be great monster concepts, they are very tied to Shinto culture and Asian myths.

I played a lot of Legends Of the Rings pnp RPG, and they have a great bestiary of the aforementioned creatures.

Kappa aren't a great fit. While they are undoubtedly water spirits, they are closer to trickster and loves more riddling than fighting. Also its hard in a battle system to illustrate their cranial bowl weakness.

The problem with yokai and yorei is that they don't really need to be defeated but exorcised.

One of my favorites is of the Obake type.

http://l5r.wikia.com/wiki/Obake

 

[The Stranger]

Spirits such as the Kappa also exist throughout the world. In the UK we have creatures such as the Grindylow, Each-Uisge, various water hags (Jenny Greenteeth, Peg Powler, etc) and a whole host of more friendly\ambivalent spirits - Asrai and what not. The Basan seems very similar to certain depictions of the Cockatrice.

There were some more creepy Japanese spirits I've read about. I can't remember their names, though. One looked human but lacked a face. Another one was just a blob of foul smelling, decaying, flesh which haunted lonely roads and graveyards. There were also corpse eating spirits and even ghostly pirate\sailor things which haunted the seas around Japan. Like I said, I can't remember their names; I just found them to be very menacing and creepy.

 

[MobileSuitSonic]

I'm assuming your Game happens in a japanese setting else while yokai, yorei, gaki, goryo, shiryo or Oni can be great monster concepts, they are very tied to Shinto culture and Asian myths.

I played a lot of Legends Of the Rings pnp RPG, and they have a great bestiary of the aforementioned creatures.

Kappa aren't a great fit. While they are undoubtedly water spirits, they are closer to trickster and loves more riddling than fighting. Also its hard in a battle system to illustrate their cranial bowl weakness.

The problem with yokai and yorei is that they don't really need to be defeated but exorcised.

One of my favorites is of the Obake type.

http://l5r.wikia.com/wiki/Obake

Well, there is a country with Chinese and Japanese influence at one point (alongside an Arabian-themed kingdom).

Exorcisms, hm?
Gives me an idea for when I get to that part of the game.

 

[Demi_Fiend]

Yokai based enemies are a pretty cool concept.
Just some ideas:

• Oni: Big, lumbering demons from Japanese lore... and they have iron clubs!
• Tsuchigumo: Half-spider, half-tiger. What more could you want?
• Tengu: Humanoids with bird-like characteristics.
• Nekomata: Two-tailed cat Yokai that can take human form.
• Orochi: Eight-headed snake/dragon. Could be a boss.

 

[gstv87]

(I'm assuming that "yokai" is a generic term to name "spirits" or "monsters" in japanese. Never heard the term before)

Start by thinking what your characters represent, and what opposes them.
Is it something surreal or ethereal like time or age? If it is, then you can personify that in a spirit.
(hell, that's the oldest form of storytelling EVER!)
As Niten Ichi Ryu says, if they're tied to Shinto lore, does your game universe merit them showing up? Can they speak "tradition" and "mystery" to your characters? What do they represent within the game and to your characters, that you would say "THIS is perfect for that"?
(don't respond.... that's what I would ask)

On the other hand, do you *want* to include yokai on your game for the sake of artistic decoration?
If so, then you will have to worry about the story making sense to include them in the first place.
You can still mention them, without going to the point of depicting them as they're usually depicted, if they don't go with the style of your game but you want to have them.
If you know the show Supernatural, their mythical creatures often appear as regular humans, even for creatures that are not know to take human form.

it's a compound problem, of art and writing not always going together.
you'll have to make a compromise for either of them, depending on the game.

 

[MobileSuitSonic]

(I'm assuming that "yokai" is a generic term to name "spirits" or "monsters" in japanese. Never heard the term before)

Start by thinking what your characters represent, and what opposes them.
Is it something surreal or ethereal like time or age? If it is, then you can personify that in a spirit.
(hell, that's the oldest form of storytelling EVER!)
As Niten Ichi Ryu says, if they're tied to Shinto lore, does your game universe merit them showing up? Can they speak "tradition" and "mystery" to your characters? What do they represent within the game and to your characters, that you would say "THIS is perfect for that"?
(don't respond.... that's what I would ask)

On the other hand, do you *want* to include yokai on your game for the sake of artistic decoration?
If so, then you will have to worry about the story making sense to include them in the first place.
You can still mention them, without going to the point of depicting them as they're usually depicted, if they don't go with the style of your game but you want to have them.
If you know the show Supernatural, their mythical creatures often appear as regular humans, even for creatures that are not know to take human form.

it's a compound problem, of art and writing not always going together.
you'll have to make a compromise for either of them, depending on the game.

For the most part, I wanted some interesting-looking enemies and I'd wanted to pool them from an alchemy of sources: run-of-the-mill RPG fare, Classical mythology, Japanese and Near Eastern folklore, Viking mythology, and the like. Furthermore, they would be in environments suited to their types.

Since most of them are classified as ghosts and spirits, I could very well say that a Necromancer or a Lich is generating them with magic.

I keep running short on ideas for battlers. I currently have 59 different ones in the database am aiming for at least 125 (not counting bosses)

 

[Rhaeami]

If you're going for originality, do be aware that it's more than just things like Yokai Watch that use Yokai already. Pokemon also draws heavily on them. Some are quite a bit more well-known outside of Japan because of things like that, or other such Japanese games that have made it overseas, like kappas in the Mystical Ninja series. Multi-tailed foxes are probably the single most popular, if those qualify.

So, I guess I'm just saying to keep an eye out for some of these being a lot less unique than you'd think.