Onmyoji

Overview / Role in Yamato

Onmyoji are masters of spiritual balance, straddling the boundary between life, death, and the unseen world. They serve as healers, diviners, exorcists, and protectors, maintaining the delicate harmony between mortals, yokai, and kami. Their expertise allows them to cleanse necrotic energy, neutralize curses, and conjure shikigami—spirit familiars that aid in combat, investigation, or ritual. In Yamato, Onmyoji are indispensable, acting as advisors to leaders, mediators in disputes, and guides for communities navigating the spiritual realm.

Origins and History

The Onmyoji class stems from the ancient practice of Onmyo-do, a discipline blending astrology, divination, elemental magic, and spirit communication. Early Onmyoji were court advisors and ritualists, mediating between the living and the dead and interpreting omens to guide rulers. Over centuries, their craft expanded to include healing, exorcism, and summoning. Onmyoji became vital during conflicts with yokai and spiritual unrest, with their skills preserved and refined in factions such as the Celestial Hand, Spirit Wardens, and the Arcanum.

Philosophy and Way of Life

Onmyoji dedicate themselves to understanding the flow of spiritual energy and the balance of yin and yang. They treat life, death, and the ancestral plane with reverence, believing that harmony requires careful observation, patience, and precision. While most pursue knowledge to heal, protect, and enlighten, some Onmyoji are drawn to morbid curiosity—studying Yomi, rebirth, or the powers of the dead. The class embraces responsibility, ethical action, and spiritual discipline, but its dual nature allows for both benevolent guidance and, occasionally, subtle manipulation.

Training and Practices

Onmyoji training is a lifelong pursuit, combining meditation, ritual practice, talisman crafting, and spiritual combat. Apprentices learn to sense and interact with spirits, summon shikigami, perform exorcisms, and cleanse corruption. Divination, astrology, and necromantic understanding are also essential, along with mastering protective and offensive rituals. Talismans, prayer beads, and specialized calligraphy tools form part of the Onmyoji’s toolkit. Training often occurs in temples, shrines, or specialized academies, sometimes in direct mentorship under experienced masters.

Relations with Society

Onmyoji occupy a position of both reverence and wariness. Their counsel is sought by rulers, samurai, merchants, and yokai alike. Communities rely on them for spiritual guidance, healing, and protection, while less scrupulous Onmyoji may exploit superstition or greed for personal gain. They are deeply intertwined with major factions: the Celestial Hand employs them for spiritual oversight, the Spirit Wardens for healing and mediation, and the Arcanum for research and preservation of mystical knowledge. Their presence is often essential wherever spiritual imbalance threatens life or society.

Appearance and Symbols

Onmyoji typically wear robes or garments inscribed with protective symbols and elemental motifs. Talismans, charms, and inked seals are often carried, either as tools of summoning or wards against corruption. Shikigami may be manifested in scrolls, figurines, or folded papers. Their attire blends practicality with ritual significance, marking them as both spiritual guides and formidable defenders of balance.

Factions

  • Celestial Hand: Oversees death, ritual, and cosmic balance, utilizing Onmyoji for exorcisms, funerary rites, and spiritual advisement.

  • Spirit Wardens: Focused on healing, spiritual mediation, and preserving harmony, Onmyoji provide crucial support in both daily and crisis contexts.

  • Arcanum: Scholars and archivists who study relics, spirits, and mystical forces, employing Onmyoji to research, analyze, and protect sacred knowledge.

  • Independent / Freelance: Some Onmyoji travel freely, offering services to communities, adventurers, or factions in exchange for coin, reputation, or spiritual insight.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths: exceptional spiritual awareness, mastery of exorcism and healing, ability to summon shikigami, divination and talismanic expertise, support-oriented versatility.
Weaknesses: limited direct physical combat ability, reliance on preparation and rituals, vulnerability to overwhelming martial force without allies, potential ethical ambiguity when tempted by power or greed.