What is a spirit (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

What is a Youkai?

Several of the animists' and shugenja's abilities affect youkai. For purposes of the these abilities, a “youkai” includes all of the following creatures:

• All aberrations
• Constructs except those of the clockwork or robot subtypes.
• All dragons
• All fey
• All magical beasts
• All monstrous humanoids
• Humanoids of the giant or shapechanger subtypes
• All outsiders
• All creatures of the Plant type (not normal plants)
• All undead
• Creatures created by spells, such as animate object.
• Creatures summoned by spells, such as summon nature's ally.
• Creatures in astral, ethereal, or incorporeal form, or who are possessing another creature or objects, such as by the magic jar spell.

Animists see elementals and fey as youkai of nature and undead as youkai of the dead. Magical beasts, constructs, plants, giants, monstrous humanoids, and aberrations are either youkai-possessed or youkai bound in corporeal form. Animists see the creation of constructs that are not youkai as an abomination, a reduction of the spiritual value of the world.

A simple way to change the animists' power level is to change what creatures are youkai in your game. At a bare minimum, dragons, fey, outsiders, and undead should be youkai. A more generous definition of youkai might include all constructs, dinosaurs, dire animals, animals with an alignment template (like celestial or fiendish) and vermin. A truly generous definition could include anyone capable of casting 7th level spells, which makes high level spellcasters into youkai, including animists themselves.

Enshrined Youkai

In cultures where animists and shugenja are common, it is normal practice to enshrine youkai. Often, a shrine is built at the spot of an important binding, animists and passers-by alike perform services there to placate the youkai and renew the binding. This uses the bind youkai power, and the bound youkai is not hidden away. Rather it is made into the focal point of a shrine or temple, venerated, and kept placated. Whole religious orders can be dedicated to keeping a powerful or destructive youkai sealed. Shugenja seek out such shrines because they can learn spells from them, but those guarding such a site often demand some kind of service or fee from a strange shugenja before they let him into the presence of the youkai. A normal fee would be the same as that for casting a spell of the level the youkai can teach.

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