Tell me about Ninjas.

[Qualidar]

[smartypants] The plural of Ninja is Ninja - no "s". [/smartypants]

 

[Gentlegamer]

Ninja fear Pirates!

ARRRR!

 

[Abe.ebA]

[smartypants] The plural of Ninja is Ninja - no "s". [/smartypants]

Except when it's ninjatachi

 

[Herobizkit]

I gotta go with what I know. See if you can dig up a 2e copy of the Complete Ninja's Handbook from eBay or some such. It has lots of ninja-esque information, especially for role-playing.

Here's one concept: The courtier. They're pretty much the Asian equivalent of James Bond... use their looks and acting ability to get in close to their target, assassinate, then sneak out quietly and unseen.

You could easily accomplish this with the regular Rogue class. You could also use the Bard class and swap out Lore and Inspire X for Sneak Attack and possibly Evasion, as well as giving her a magical edge (which could be described as Chi powers if you want).

 

[Kristivas]

I just used the rogue class and changed the 'fluff' to suit my character. Picking the right combinations of feats and skills can make you a very good ninja-type character, without having to take (imho) an underpowered class (the ninja class in Complete Adventurer).

 

[Nyaricus]

Okay, so back in The Day, great clans of Ninjae and their Pirate buddies on the high seas forged a great empire together, bringing much wealth and prosperity to the land. Then the Dinosaur-riding Robot Wizards came from the elemental plane of Purple and things just went downhill from there....

 

[librarius_arcana]

You need

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRmolYZ4A80

 

[Stormborn]

First let me say to those like Wiz and the others who have been making useful suggestions: Thanks. For those who have been making jokes or linking to "ninja" based sites: Someone please remind me to never put "ninja" in the subject line of a thread ever again.

OK, looks like I have two things to consider:
1) Allow SS to include flanking, which I am reluctant to do as I think the Ghost Step abilites will take care of that. I am, however, willing to entertain the idea.
2) Find feats to enhance Ki abilites to better take advantage of the class' unique nature. Does anyone know of a source for such feats other than the issue of Dragon I mentioned earlier?
3) Suggest focusing on the acrobatic aspects of the class. Herobizkit, I like the courtier idea, I have thought about suggesting that she pose as an entertainer (acrobat, juggler, contortinist) as that would fit with the skils the ninja has (tumble, escape artist). Any one have more ideas for that?

 

[Krelios]

That's incorrect. Against most enemies, the Sudden Strike ability can be used as long as the ninja has uses of Ghost Step (invisibility) remaining. Go invisible, make an attack, and Sudden Strike kicks in. And since the Ghost Step (invisibility) lasts for 1 rd whether you attack or not, you can get full attacks and benefit from it.

That's an interpretation I've heard before based on the argument that "it's not the invisibility spell, so it shouldn't drop when you attack." Of course, the easy counter argument is "it's not greater invisibility, so it should drop when you attack." One interpretation makes them greatly underpowered, the other greatly overpowered. My advice would be to ask your DM which one he subscribes to.

 

[pawsplay]

There are a number of options for ninjas. Ghost step + sudden strike + two weapon fighting can be a very reliable, high damage hitter against living foes. On the other hand, for staying power, Combat Expertise and Improved Feint give you not only a possible AC boost, but the ability to attack every round with a single sudden strike against most foes (some will have a combination of high BAB and Sense Motive, most will not).

Ninjas basically excel at sneaking and nasty smackdowns. They are not as solid as rogues at generally skirmishing, and most of their magical powers get shown up by item and party buffs at high levels, but are still flavorful and useful. Against golems, undead, and the like, ninjas are good at turning invisible and running away, because they can't do much. Shuriken proficiency is a nice perk.

Scouts are good at scouting and melee support, and not just in the wilderness. Assuming you make the usual skill selections, you have a tumbling, sneaking, spotting and listening, lock picking character who just skirmishes intead of flanking.

Spellthieves are also sneaky.

Ranger combined with various Prestige Classes are also sneaky... Dark Hunter, Deepwood Sniper, Dungeon Delver, and so forth. Thief-Acrobat mixes nicely with either Scout or Rogue, or even ninja.