Anybody knows a good Ninja build

[Vraister]

For an upcoming game I'm toying with the idea of an Whisper Gnom Ninja.

We start at 5th level with 32 point buy.
His stats could be
Str 10
Dex 16
Con 16
Int 12
Wis 16 increased from 15
Cha 10

I'm really unsure which feats to take.

The ninja concept appeals to me but the CAdv Ninja seems really weak compared to other rogues or monk characters.

Maybe someone could give me a few ideas how to make the ninja no utterly useless in combat situations.

If it matters we are playing Speaker in Dreams a city adventure.

Thanks
Vraister

 

[RigaMortus2]

I have a decent build "fun" build, which works GREAT with small races...

If you can afford to take 1 level in Sorcerer, that would be best, though it isn't mandatory for this build. IF so, take Reduce Person as a lvl 1 Sorcerer.

Take the Goad feat. And take the feats leading up to the Tactacile Feat "Giantslayer" from Complete Warrior.

Shrink yourself and you can use this tactic against medium creatures. If you decided not to take Reduce Person, this will only work against Large opponents. Then get into melee distance with an opponent.

Use Goad against the larger opponent. If they fail their save, they will be forced to attack you if they want to do a melee attack. They attack you and you get super bonuses to AC because of size, and from Giantslayer feat (I'm talking a good +15 to AC or so). The Giantslayer feat kicks in and you move to the opposite side of the opponent, and you get a free attack on them and they are considered flat-footed.

This is a good way to tie up a large opponent and still get sudden strikes in on him.

 

[moritheil]

Bah, I don't remember the link, but someone posted their 1 monk/4 ninja uberbuild not too long ago. Unbalancing strike can apparently be quite handy.

 

[rowport]

Ninja is a fun class. I am playing a Ninja/Cleric in one game, and try to maximize his sudden strike abilities. I took two-weapon fighting, since his ghost step (invisible) works for 1 round (not just 1 attack), so he can get two sudden strikes using it. When I run out of ki ability uses per day, I use Combat Expertise/Improved Feint as an alternative way to use sudden strike (remember, it does not work with flanking like sneak attack does). I later plan to take Quickstrike, Neraph Charge, and Deft Strike. With those he can get extra attacks, more sudden strikes, and bypass armor, respectively. (Neraph Charge is quite cool IMO- it is from Planar Handbook).

My overall strategy is to focus on defense- use Combat Expertise, sneakiness, and ghost step (invisible) to stay hard to hit, or better yet, out of sight entirely.

 

[Vraister]

Can you tell me where Quickstrike is from.
Thanks for the advice so far.

It seems to me that the ninja has to work as hard as the ranged rogue to get his sneak attacks off.

 

[rowport]

Can you tell me where Quickstrike is from.
Thanks for the advice so far.

It seems to me that the ninja has to work as hard as the ranged rogue to get his sneak attacks off.

No problem! I hope that it helps. Quickstrike is one of the Traps & Treachery feats for Rogues; it lets you get another attack with a successful sneak attack (which will also apply to sudden strikes, as in the description for "sudden strike"). It is a FFG book, not WOTC, so you might not be able to use it.

You are right about sudden strike being tricky to use, similar to ranged rogue. But, the class features of the ninja make it 'feel' different than a regular rogue, and are cool in their own right. For instance, using ghost step (invisible) is great for denying opponents their dex bonuses (to use sudden strike) but there are lots of other sneaky uses for it non-combat, and it has defensive uses as well. Let me know what else I can help out with. I am happy to share! If you want to go off-line, e-mail to rowport (at) yahoo (dot) com.

 

[Vraister]

Thanks again for your help.

But as it seems the ninja is kinda weak in normal combat situations but I'm going with the class anyway.

I'm thinking of taking Improved Initiativ and Quick Reconnoitor as my feats. Maybe a flaw from UA to get another feat.