Onibaba 鬼婆

Medium humanoid (yokai), chaotic evil

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 119 (14d8 + 56)

Speed 30 ft.

STR 18 (+4) · DEX 14 (+2) · CON 18 (+4) · INT 11 (+0) · WIS 12 (+1) · CHA 8 (−1)

Saving Throws Str +7, Con +7, Wis +4

Skills Deception +2, Perception +4, Stealth +5, Survival +4

Damage Resistances cold, fire (optional, if emphasizing infernal connection)

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14

Languages Yokai Speech, Common (or local dialect), though she rarely speaks more than a few words

Challenge 7

Traits

Mountain Cunning. Oni-Baba excels at using terrain to her advantage. She has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks in rocky or mountainous terrain. Additionally, she can move through nonmagical difficult terrain in those regions without extra movement cost.

Cannibal’s Fright (1/Short Rest). When Oni-Baba first reveals her true, fearsome visage to a creature within 30 feet, that creature must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

Desperate Rage. When Oni-Baba is reduced to half her hit points or fewer for the first time in an encounter, she gains advantage on attack rolls until the end of her next turn, as fury and desperation push her beyond normal limits.

Actions

Multiattack. Oni-Baba makes two attacks: one with Bone Knife and one with Claw, or two Claw attacks.

Bone Knife (Short Sword). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.

Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage, as the blade drips with the residue of prior victims’ blood. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. The target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the condition on a success.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.

Hit: 11 (2d4 + 6) slashing damage. If the target is grappled by Oni-Baba, this attack deals an additional 7 (2d6) slashing damage.

Nightmare Grapple. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.

Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15) if it is Medium or smaller. Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and Oni-Baba can’t use Nightmare Grapple on another target.

Bonus Actions

Savage Feast (Recharge 5-6). If Oni-Baba begins her turn grappling a humanoid that is at 0 hit points (but not dead), she can tear into it, inflicting one death saving throw failure on the victim and regaining 10 hit points.

Reactions

Grisly Maneuver. When a creature within 5 feet misses Oni-Baba with a melee attack, she can twist aside and make a Claw attack against that creature with advantage.

Lair or Environmental Effects (Optional)

If Oni-Baba lairs in a cave or remote hut:

Bloodstained Footholds. The entrance or interior is slick with blood. Creatures without a climbing (PHB, p. 182) must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone when dashing in the lair.

Eerie Whispers. At initiative count 20 (losing ties), Oni-Baba’s hateful murmurs echo. Each hostile creature in the lair must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on its next Wisdom or Intelligence ability check (such as attempts to see through illusions or detect traps).

Behavior & Lore

Oni-Baba was once a desperate mother turned cannibal. She relies on mortal cunning rather than raw magic.

Prefers to lure or trick travelers into her domain, where traps hamper escape.

If she downs a foe, her savage appetites restore her strength, making drawn-out battles riskier.

Lore

Old woman demon preying on travelers, infamous for cannibalistic tendencies.

Oni-Baba is an ancient witch or sorceress who was once an ordinary woman—a real human being. Yet a terrible tragedy twisted her body and soul. Some Oni-Babas bear horns or fangs, but more often they disguise themselves as kindly old grandmothers, revealing no sign of their sinister nature—at least, not until they strike. They usually live alone in small huts or shacks by the roadside, offering weary travelers a meal, a place to sleep, and a warm fire. Deep in the night, when their guests are sound asleep, the witch casts off her disguise, showing her true form as a hideous, demonic crone.

Sometimes, an Oni-Baba is said to arise from a woman who fled into the forest to evade punishment for crimes or cruel deeds. After years living as an outcast, her hunger and bitterness warp both her mind and body until she becomes a mountain witch, feeding on human flesh and practicing dark magic. In desperate times—famines, war, or plague— some families would even abandon their elderly mothers in the deep woods. A few of those unfortunate women survived, driven by rage and despair, and over time they became these monstrous beings.

From Yokai Bestiary 5E, p. 98 · Fern Flower Press