thecreaturecodex:

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Autumn Army – Harionago
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deviantArt user Xatchett

[You would not believe how many vaguely fetishy images turn up on a Google search for hari-onago. Actually, you probably would.

Incidentally, the hari-onago is yet another yokai that was statted by myself and Paizo separately. See their version here. There’s is a much higher CR than mine, so the two could probably comfortably co-exist within a campaign. Just call one “harionna” or something]

Hari-onago

This beautiful pale-skinned woman grins
playfully behind her well-manicured hand. Her hair is long and flows
nearly to the ground, each strand ending in a tiny barb.

Hari-onago are the undead shades of women whose vanity led to the
ruin of their lives and the lives of others. They retain their beauty
even in undeath—what signs of decay they express are subtle and
typically concealed with makeup and perfumes. Hari-onago are more social
than the typical undead creature and live within human societies, the
better to attract attention. Hari-onago crave constant flattery and
praise and delight in their appearances causing jealousy and infidelity.
Those who are foolish enough to succumb to their charms are strung
along on promises for months before being brutally slaughtered.

In combat, hari-onago fight with sharpened nails and their deadly
barbed hair. This hair is used to ensnare and torment victims. The
results of a hari-onago attack are gruesome to behold, and often
interpreted as the handiwork of a mortal maniac. Hari-onago are
infuriated by laughter, interpreting it as being aimed at them
regardless of its true intentions, and may lash out violently at a
laughing man regardless of the setting or consequences. Hari-onago
sometimes live together and form acting companies, geisha houses or
other social groups in which to spin their deceitful webs. These
hari-onago publicly act friendly to one another, but scheme constantly
to gain an advantage over their “sisters”. A hari-onago conforms to the
dimensions of a human woman, and always wears her hair long.

Keep reading

Hari-onago are especially common in the history of Egdwen, arising from the vainest of noblewomen. They are largely solitary, but may associate with dimmer undead to use as brutes or distractions from their own depredations. They have become especially common in the aftermath of Egdwen’s revolution.