The core Ronin bluebook is based on historical gameplay, but there is a pdf resource on the Osprey website by the author Craig Woodfield that includes some fantastical creatures from Japanese lore that can optionally be included in games. I picked up a few that looked easy to paint, so went on a little side quest before painting up my buntais.

Above is a Yamabushi (model from Test of Honour). In Ronin, they’re mystical hermits with magical powers to assist in the slaying of mythological monsters. They can only be hired by a buntai if one of the other buntais in the game have hired a creature, but also they can’t join a buntai that has a creature in their ranks. For colors, I pulled inspiration from the famous samurai rabbit, Usagi Yojimbo. I tried to paint up its sword as if it’s magical and not just a metal blade. I dunno…maybe I should have gone with a metal color.

The large Oni above is from Reaper Bones and the three little Amanojakus (small Oni) from Zenit. I kinda wanted to give them creature of the night vibes so went with darker blue skin and yellow eyes. Oni can also run as their own buntai with Amanojakus as members, so these guys could be their own group or hired into the more devious buntais.

The collection of Kappa (water goblins) above are from Khurasan Miniatures. This is another group that can be run as their own little buntai. Unlike the other models though, they can’t be hired swords into another warband. They’re either a buntai on their own or they can be set up around the table as npc creatures for the players to deal with. It’s this second option that I had in mind when adding them to the collection. It seems like an easy way to add some extra life to the scenarios…have the battle take place near a Kappa lair.

Ok, next is the less fun part of painting up humans…