3.5 Ninja

[hong]

On the other hand, there are plenty of videogames, especially old arcades, where you kill ninjas by the dozen (Shinobi anyone?). I am led to believe that the efficiency of ninjas decreases in proportion to the number of ninjas at the same location, so that one ninja is a lethal killer but a hundred ninjas are just mooks.

Now I wait for Hong to come and correct my pluralization...

Effin' trolls. You know very well that the plural of mook is meek.

 

[LoneWolf23]

On the other hand, there are plenty of videogames, especially old arcades, where you kill ninjas by the dozen (Shinobi anyone?). I am led to believe that the efficiency of ninjas decreases in proportion to the number of ninjas at the same location, so that one ninja is a lethal killer but a hundred ninjas are just mooks.

Now I wait for Hong to come and correct my pluralization...

Oh, that's a given. The Power of Ninjitsu is a Constant, so that the more Ninjas there are, the less powerful each one is. However this division of power is moderated by Clan seperation, to that each Clan derives it's own pool of Ninjitsu. This is why you can have situations where the one survivor of a single clan, thus becoming an Uber-Ninja, can take on dozens of Ninjas from other clans easily, then gets challenged by the remaining few Ninjas..

As for the whole Ninja Class thing, here's how I'd handle it:

-Take the Monk Class.
-Replace it's starting Bonus Feats with Sneak Attack.
-Change some of the Class Skills around to make it more Rogueish, such as trading Knowledge (religion) for Disguise and Perform for Acting.
-Replace some of it's Class Weapons, such as the Handaxe and Javelin for the short sword (for the Ninjato) and the crossbow for the Light Bow (more traditional for Ninja).

And voila! A basic fighting Ninja class! And if you want to add more mystical tricks, you can multiclass into Sorceror or Wizard...

 

[Eye Tyrant]

Wow! Lots of opinions on the ole Ninja...

So, there is no update to previously published 3.0 material, there is no 3.5 version (except for that found in Dragon, which I don't have). Otherwise I need to create or convert the class myself... I like the idea of Monk/Assassin best myself, but perhaps the Ninja should be a Prestige Class...

Worst part is, this PC belongs to my "Cheese-Master" (i.e. Power Gamer) also referred to as "The Cheese Wiz". He made up the PC using 3.0 rules before the revision and has now returned with it to my 3.5 game. I don't mind him playing a Ninja type (currently Ninja2/Monk3/Assassin7), but the cheese he puts on his PCs (and what he's changed since last playing in my game) makes me suspect, so I have to go through the PC with a fine toothed comb... I know I will find glaring mistakes (or things not revised to 3.5) and I will need to help my player re-invent this PC to fit with my game and other players/PCs...

Any suggestions from my fellow DMs?

 

[rgard]

The closest thing IMO is a Monk/Assasin. Has Stealth, Unarmed combat, Decent Unarmored AC, Death/Sneak Attack, Supernatural powers/Spells.

That just spells Ninja to me.

That's a great combo!

 

[Remathilis]

That is because many Ninjas are trained in the School of the Disposible Black Ninja, a semi-secret society that half-trains ninjas, gives them black pajamas, and sends them out by the bushel to find 80's movie/videogame heroes and destroy them. Its non-descriminatory, rates are low, and job-placement is guarenteed.

For a while, they where branching out into urban ghettos, creating the Disposable Ninja Gang Syndrome (DNGS) that infiltrated the videogame market for most of the late 80s and 90s.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

Hmmm, cheesy American stereotype of ninja vs. Yakuza from "Versus." Now that would be a fun fight.

*Ninjas jump from the trees and then start to walk sideways, because, you know...that's sneakier .*

*Yakuza looks up, "Huh. How 'bout that." BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! All the while jumping through the air, twisting, and flipping. And voila. Dead ninjas everywhere.*

I was reading the Osprey book about the Japanese battle of Sekigahara and the preceeding campaign, which was in 1600. During the seige of one castle, the castle's lord employed a ninja to steal the seiging army's banners. Succeeded quite nicely as well. So the beseiged fly the banners from the castle thinking to insult them. Instead one army thought that their partner army had won the castle and so pressed the attack. D'oh.

 

[babomb]

...ninjas...ninjas...ninjas...ninjas....

Now I wait for Hong to come and correct my pluralization...

: The plural of Ninja is Ninja, and anyone who speaks the dreaded word "Ninjas" must immediately pay penance by singing the "Name Game" using the word "Ninja." (Ninja Ninja Bo Binja, Banana Fana Fo Finja, Me Mi Mo Minka, Ninja!) Repeat offenses require the offending player to sing the game using random Japanese names suggested by the other players (Let's do Toshiro!). Failure to complete this simple task results in the loss of 1 point of honor.

Sing.

What the hell is this mythology about ninja being uber-powered characters??? I asked a friend whose university studies were about Japanese language and culture, what he did think about ninja in a rpg. He said that they don't have to be overpowered (gestalt characters when everyone else isn't ); he said that in old Japanese medieval tales, ninja were portrayed as persons without honor, and a samurai would make an easy job of a score of ninja all by himself. Hence, a ninja doesn't have to be a uber-gestalt-something.

Yeah, you're probably right. But more modern works (both in America and Japan) have ninja with supernatural stealth, speed, and jumping ability and sometimes magic powers, something of a monk/sorceror/rogue/fighter. See <i>Naruto</i>, <i>Flame of Recca</i>, or the aforementioned <i>Ninja Burger</i> for an example. Interestingly enough, many of the sources (e.g., <i>Ninja Burger</i> and the new <i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) have ninja following a code of honor. In <i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>, they explicitly say they follow Bushido! The medieval tales are more accurate, but this way's probably more fun.

 

[takyris]

I personally prefer ninjae, but that's just because I know that the legend of the ninja actually comes from ancient Greece, and later Rome, from whence it came to Japan. Examples are rife in all of the ancient languages, and in their modern derivatives.

Ninjao, ninjas, ninjaot, ninjamus, ninjatis, etc.

And of course, je ninje, tu ninjes, il/elle/on ninje, nous ninjeons, vous ninjez...

 

[Eye Tyrant]

Ok... I submit...

Thread officially hi-jacked... :\

 

[Prince of Happiness]

Sing.



Yeah, you're probably right. But more modern works (both in America and Japan) have ninja with supernatural stealth, speed, and jumping ability and sometimes magic powers, something of a monk/sorceror/rogue/fighter. See Naruto, Flame of Recca, or the aforementioned Ninja Burger for an example. Interestingly enough, many of the sources (e.g., Ninja Burger and the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) have ninja following a code of honor. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, they explicitly say they follow Bushido! The medieval tales are more accurate, but this way's probably more fun.

The film Azumi's also pretty explicit on the super powered ninja gig. I mean, when you get hamstrung and can still jump like the Incredible Hulk, I'd have to say that you're doing pretty good.

It's also a good set up for a ninja vs. wu xia hero battle in the air*!

IMC, a ninja could probably do a lot of cool stuff, but if it comes down to a knockdown, drag out fight and you get out of it, well good for you, but your clan still thinks you suck. You shouldn't have gotten into a fight in the first place.

*or skipping on the surface of a lake, in the tree tops, off the mountains, roof top to roof top, or whatever...