"The Great Sage Who Pacifies Heavens" © Xiaobao Studios, accessed at their ArtStation here

[Sponsored by @mr-w-rambles, who wanted a dwarven oni that targeted ancestral veneration specifically. The name is derived from the Japanese shuju, "dwarf" and shi, "death".

Edit: After talking with the sponsor, I've made a few adjustments. I gave them the ability to change their favored clan by eating another dwarf, which makes his plot work better, and I've also included some references to the conversation about alcohol in the comments. That being said, a shujushi already has a better Fort save than a low-level dwarf would, so it's not that big of a tell.]

If you're interested in sponsoring monsters, want to see my bonus writing, or just want to help a girl out, check out the Creature Codex Patreon here]

Oni, Shujushi CR 9 CE Outsider (native) This stocky humanoid is gray skinned and shaggy, with curved horns like a bull and tusks in their lower jaw. They carry a massive polearm and their hair and beard seem to move on their own accord.

The shujushi are a lineage of oni whose destructive envy is turned towards dwarves. To these highly individualistic and selfish spirits, the community and traditions of the dwarves are disgusting to the highest degree, and they despise dwarven ancestral veneration and deep respect of history. Rather than forming an entirely new body when they materialize, the jealous shujushi possesses the corpse of a dwarf, molding it into an oni. Although shujushi have much less versatile shapeshifting than most other oni, they can mimic the characteristic features of the clan to whom their body belonged to the point where they regularly fool the living members of that clan. If a shujushi desires to prey on another clan, they devour the corpse of one of that clan's members, either freshly slain or by disturbing a tomb instead.

A shujushi’s typical MO is to seek out living members of “their” clan and pose as a relative. If the body they possess dies apart from their clan, they may even pose as their own body, begging off any protests of their death as rumors or lies. If they are accepted by their “family”, they act as cuckoos, stripping resources from their supposed relatives and destroying their reputation with other dwarves or with outsiders. A shujushi especially enjoys climbing the clan's ranks to obtain a position of power, directing the whole clan in destructive ways. If their ruse is seen through, they instead join a rival clan, claiming to be a defector and helping their new allies destroy the clan that rejected them. Shujushi are good but not great mimics of dwarves, which is most notable with their relationship with alcohol. Shujushi have no inherent poison resistance, so those that drink can get drunk faster than their dwarven compatriots, and those that don't drink may also attract suspicion. Dwarven clans that suspect a shujushi is among their ranks may hold drinking contests as a way to strengthen their bonds while ferreting out the impostor.

As fits any good dward, shujushi fight clad in armor and with stout weapons like axes and hammers. Their beards are mobile, even in dwarven form, although they usually keep them still to avoid suspicion—these animate beards help them in grappling, shoving enemies around and preventing the shujushi from being tripped or disarmed. Shujushi are skilled at fighting dwarves, and target dwarven foes above all others if they have a choice. They tend to use their spell-like abilities in combat only if opponents stay out of melee, or in order to cover for an escape from a losing fight. Although they are not undead, shujushi are affected by positive and negative energy as if they are, and the tenuous grasp of their spirit on their dwarven bones may cause them to be stunned if someone attempts to exorcise them.