YOKAI GUIDELINES
RULES & RESTRICTIONS
Respect the Role:
Portray your yokai according to its specific folklore. Kitsune are not oni; mujina do not act like tengu. Stay true to your type, and avoid turning your character into a meme or stereotype.
Embrace Mystery & Limitations:
Yokai are spirits with flaws and mystique. Do not power-game, metagame, or publicly flaunt supernatural powers without narrative reason. Mortals should not easily understand your true nature—reveal it only with proper buildup and player consent.
Use Abilities Responsibly:
Any mind-affecting, possession, dream-walking, or body-altering powers require explicit consent. Permanent or semi-permanent effects (e.g., soul marks, curses, bindings) must be approved by the faction lead.
Research & Respect the Mythos:
Understand the lore behind your chosen yōkai and represent it with cultural respect and narrative depth.
Separate IC from OOC:
Do not use out-of-character information (e.g., “I’m a yokai”) to gain advantage or pressure others. IC actions must remain in-character, and OOC disputes should never influence roleplay outcomes.
Activity & Consequences:
You must stay active in yokai-related storylines or spiritual events when relevant. Inactivity or rule-breaking may result in character removal, power lock, or narrative consequences (e.g., your yokai being sealed, consumed, or banished).
Permissions:
Spirit characters are strictly prohibited from passing injury permissions to mortals
On Romance:
You may not RomanceRP with yokai. This rule is non-negotiable. You can, however, still hold love for the spirit of a loved one if they have passed on. As a spirit, you no longer hold any sexual desire, nor will to act on romantic feelings. You can still cherish your living loved ones, but keep it at that.
I cannot believe I needed to make an addendum for this. Do not the yokai. - cultist
TIERS & ABILITIES
Yokai are divided into a tier system, which will be decided upon application, Tiers 1-5. With that, most yokai are either benevolent or malevolent, falling into passive, aggressive, or neutral categories. A benevolent yokai should not curse freely, whereas a malevolent yokai would rarely bless a mortal. A spirit can increase it's strength by gaining publicity, through fear, or worship.
- A yokai’s power scales with the extent of its influence. It may choose to be feared as a malevolent spirit or revered as a local deity. The more souls it influences, whether through fear, faith, or misfortune, the greater its strength becomes, whether by design or by chance.
- Cursing involves placing a spiritual claim upon a mortal’s soul, allowing the yokai to afflict them with misfortune or unrest. These curses can range from subtle disturbances, such as nightmares, whispers at the edge of hearing, or growing shadows, to more severe ailments like wasting sicknesses, emotional instability, etc.
- Tragedies demand a significant expenditure of spiritual energy, binding a fragment of a yokai’s essence to a location to manifest a catastrophic event. These calamities, such as a landslide, house fire, or fatal accident, often result in severe bodily harm and may leave the site permanently haunted.
- Blessings, like curses, place a spiritual claim upon a soul. Rather than inflicting harm, they grant aid, whether by curing illness, bestowing a unique ability, or forming a protective ward that repels the influence of weaker malevolent spirits.
- Miracles are rare, powerful spiritual events performed by a yokai that bend reality in a supernatural but benevolent way, often in response to extreme devotion, desperation, or karmic imbalance. It is not a tragedy, nor is it simply a blessing; it is something larger, sacred, and unexplainable, even among spirits. These acts may come at the risk of the yokai’s unraveling or, should the kami look upon them with favor, grant a surge of spiritual strength in return.
- A yokai classified as a Greater Spirit and above can also use their power to curse or bless artifacts, which can act as vessels for their power, either bolstering it or acting as an anchor to fall back on if their main body is destroyed or consumed. These artifacts can also be bestowed upon a mortal to inflict curses or grant blessings. The effectiveness of the artifact depends on the spirit’s tier level. (ie, a malevolent greater spirit’s artifact will not affect an elder spirit.) Elder Spirits and above can also use an artifact to establish a realm for themselves and other spirits to thrive in.
- Artifacts can be made by condensing an immense amount of spiritual energy into a premade object. By doing so, a spirit can use the artifact to bolster their spiritual strength, or act as an anchor to fall back unto with death. Special artifacts can also grant certain abilities to mortals.
- Realms can act as a haven within the spirit realm, where only spirits that have been invited can enter. If a Lesser Spirit enters a realm, it cannot leave without the Elder Spirit’s permission, acting as the spirit’s given afterlife. The designated artifact, which was used to establish the realm, cannot be removed without the realm's destruction.
YOKAI CLASSIFICATIONS
LESSER SPIRITS
- Eligibility: Open to all players with a valid in-character death certificate.
- Nature: Intangible and non-corporeal. These spirits exist between realms, unable to fully interact with the physical world.
- Haunt Restrictions: Cannot interact with the physical world. Haunts are limited to minor interactions. This can be quiet disembodied whispers, minor air temperature changes, briefly altering shadows, etc.
- Examples:
Hitodama, Yūrei, Ubume, Funayurei
GREATER SPIRITS
- Eligibility: Available to players who hold the “Trusted Player” role.
- Nature: Fully formed magical entities capable of physically interacting with the world. They often possess unique powers and personalities. No matter the tier, they will always be stronger than any Lesser Spirit.
- Haunt Restrictions: Can interact with the physical world, though they are limited when it comes to publicity. Haunts are limited to non-life-threatening injuries, but may kill with player consent. Player discretion is advised, as acting out could result in role removal.
- Examples:
Tengu, Kappa, Bakeneko, Oni
ELDER SPIRITS
- Eligibility: Reserved for the Lore Team and Admin+
- Nature: Powerful beings with immense spiritual energy, often bordering on divine entities. These yokai are rare and embody legendary status. No matter the tier, they will always be stronger than any Lesser or Greater Spirit.
- Haunt Restrictions: Can interact with the physical world, and may kill without player consent, though again, player discretion is advised. Elder Spirits should be reclusive and know not to show off abilities to the public, or make mass displays of power unless part of a greater event ploy.
- Examples:
Nurarihyon, Onyro, Nine-Tailed Kitsune, Shuten-dōji
KAMI
- Eligibility: Reserved for Admin+
- Nature: Ancient, mythic beings with immense power. They can act as local deities or guardian spirits. These yokai are rare and embody primordial forces of nature or legendary status. No matter the tier, they will always be stronger than any Lesser, Greater, or Elder Spirit
- Haunt Restrictions: No restriction. The Kami do as they please, though are at risk of being overthrown by their fellow Kami if they act out of turn.
- Examples:
Tsumiyaku-no-Kami, Kadomori-no-Ishigami, Yūyami-no-Kami, Unmekumo-no-Kami
SOUL-DEATH
Even though one may be deceased, spirits are not invincible. They are at constant risk of being consumed by others, banished to hell, or permanently put at peace in heaven.
Malevolent spirits typically aim to consume and devour other spirits, whereas Benevolent spirits seek to protect and aid spirits in reaching heaven. For the sake of writing characters, consuming another greater spirit should be done scarcely. The following explains the restrictions on consuming another’s soul.
Lesser Spirits cannot consume the souls of others, as they have far too little spiritual energy to do so.
For a Greater Spirit to consume the soul of a Lesser Spirit, one must have valid RP reasoning for doing so.
For a Greater Spirit to consume another Greater Spirit, they must have valid RP reasoning to do so, and must be two tiers higher than their prey.
Many, if not all, Lesser & Greater Spirits should fear and respect Elder Spirits, as they hold the ability to obliterate and consume souls much more easily.
All Lesser, Greater, and Elder Spirits fear the overwhelming power of Norowarejima’s Kami, as they can instantaneously devour or obliterate souls.
WARDING
Malevolent spirits despise holy relics. Be it shrines or blessed artifacts, they should avoid these areas and objects at all costs. If trapped in the vicinity of a blessed object, they run the risk of being sealed, exorcised, consumed, or obliterated in SOUL-DEATH. Likewise, benevolent spirits cannot stand to stay near occult ritual sites or cursed objects. If trapped in the vicinity of a cursed object, they can be sealed, exorcised, consumed, or obliterated in SOUL-DEATH.
INVOKING
Just as spirits can be warded, they can also be invoked, summoned by a mortal to serve a purpose. However, this act often comes at a steep price: the summoner may sacrifice part of their soul or become bound to the will of the spirit they’ve called. When invoking a benevolent yokai through ritual or prayer, the spirit may be persuaded to assist, though rarely without cost or condition.
APPLICATION
Minecraft Username:
Age (Optional):
Activity Level:
List previous Warns/Bans:
List previous Yokai Applications (if any):
Yokai Type & Lore:
What is a [your yokai]? Give us a summary of their origin, folklore basis, or your interpretation. Please clearly define if they intend to be benevolent or malevolent.
Strengths & Weaknesses:
Your powers should be balanced. Please list both advantages and clear limitations.
Soul-Death Mechanics:
Explain how the SOUL-DEATH system works, to show that you understand your yokai can be permanently shelved, exorcised, consumed, or obliterated.
Curse & Blessing Methods
Explain how your yokai bestows blessings or inflicts curses upon a mortal soul. Describe the methods they use, the form these effects take, and the nature of the blessings or curses themselves.
Warding & Invoking Methods
Yokai can be repelled by rituals, sacred objects, talismans, or prayers. Likewise, they can be summoned. Describe how your yokai might be warded against or invoked.
Yokai Description:
Describe your yokai’s appearance, demeanor, behavior, and personality. Feel free to include alignment or role in the world.
Art/Image References:
Concept art, drawings, or reference sheets, skins, figura models are welcome.
Do you understand that with acceptance, your spirit is forever at risk of SOUL-DEATH?
While an extreme punishment, the faction lead may revoke your spirit character with valid reasoning.
Please provide proof of your eligibility for a spirit role.
For example, a death certificate, “Trusted Player” tag, Lore Team, or an Admin rank.
written by @usercultist
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