The Ninja Clan (CNH)

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Every ninja (except the Lone Wolf) and shinobi belongs to a ninja clan. Every character who is not technically an Oriental ninja but who is built with the ninja character class rules belongs to an organization with an unusual goal and some distinctive techniques it uses to achieve that goal.
The choice of that clan or organization, as much as anything else, defines a ninja character's role in a campaign.
Before the DM can assign a PC ninja to a clan, or allow him to choose his own clan, he must know which clans are part of the campaign setting and what ninja clans are like.
To design a ninja clan or similar organization, the DM must determine the following information.
==Name==
A ninja clan usually bear the name of its major family. If the most powerful family in the ninja clan is the Isobe family, the ninja clan will probably be called the Isobe clan.
This does not mean that the clan is widely known to be a ninja clan. Publicly, the Isobe clan may govern a large district and rule many other allied and related families. Members of the Isobe family and its most closely allied families will know that it is a ninja clan; families more loosely allied may not. The mysterious ninja clan operating in the district will be referred to by its nickname.
==Nickname==
Many ninja clans also bear intriguing nicknames, often based on local geography or the clan's exploits. A ninja clan based on a tall, black mountain, could be the Black Mountain ninja or the Long Shadow ninja. An NPC clan famous for its poisons might be the Venom ninja or the Serpent ninja. Those known for their intrusion skills might be the Need-No-Doors ninja.
==Known For==
Each clan will have a particular skill for which it is known, at least among its own members, and perhaps among other ninja and those in position to hire ninja.
==Ruler==
The clan or organization leader should have a name, personality, and background. The PC ninja is ultimately responsible to this character, so the clan ruler is one of the most important people in the PC ninja's life.
==Symbol==
Every ninja clan should have a distinctive symbol. Ninja of the clan do not wear the symbol on their ninja night-suits or carry it on ordinary missions. They display the symbol only when they intend to advertise the clan's involvement in a mission. For example, a ninja might leave a medallion or cloth patch bearing the clan's symbol on an enemy's pillow while he sleeps, in order to warn the potential victim that the ninja clan can penetrate his defenses whenever they wish. Typical representative symbols appear with the sample clans in Chapter 9.
==Territory==
This is where the clan lives and the area on which it exerts a substantial influence. Small clans will live in some out-of-the-way place (such as a mountaintop) and exert influence on a small area (typically one village not too far away), while large clans may occupy a regional capital and influence the entire region.
Exerting an influence on an area is not the same as ruling it. A ninja clan might effectively rule the villages nearest its stronghold, but if it is located in a large city, it will probably exert the same degree of influence as would a powerful thieves' guild.
==History==
The DM should develop the history and background of the ninja clan. Some details that the history should include are:
Why the clan became a ninja clan. Most were military service clans with many members who were spies and tacticians. When the clan fell out of favor with the current ruler, its leaders ordered a retreat to some inaccessible place in order to survive. The clan then made their living selling spy services and evolved into a ninja clan.
Which wars the clan participated in, and on which side. Whenever there are wars, ninja clans are hired to perform espionage missions. Deciding which side this clan helped during the various wars in a campaign allows you to determine something about the clan's nature. Does the clan work for whoever pays best? Does it stick with one or two ruling houses regardless of whether those houses are right or wrong? Does it always side with the underdog? (If so, see Poor and Dirt-Poor under "Resources.")
Who were the famous ninja of the clan. Even if the clan ninja are not well known outside the family, the clan's history will always provide tales of members whom today's ninja must live up to. The DM should develop a detail or two about some of the clan's famous members of the past: "Shigeru, who developed the use of the springboard to an art form, and killed the daimyo by bouncing over the imperial palace's wall and releasing one perfectly placed dart; Miyoko of the Three Faces, who could change identities faster than you and I can change our minds."
==Goal==
A clan or organization might pursue some lofty aim, be interested mostly in self-protection, or be motivated by purely selfish goals. Sample goals include:
: Destroy a Rival Clan
: Support a specific ruler/daimyo
: Keep an Evil Monster From Waking Up
: Keep Foreigners From Becoming Powerful in the Homeland
: Promote the Worship of a Specific God
: Spy for the Nation to Protect It
The DM must be very careful in the choice of a goal for the ninja clan. It should not be too whimsical ("Promote the Spread of a Revolutionary Style of Artwork"). If the DM intends to assign a PC to this clan, (rather than letting the player choose his ninja character's clan), the clan's goals should not be directly opposed to the character's nature unless the DM wants to put the character in conflict with the clan. Such conflict can result in an unhappy, frustrated player.
==Alignment==
A ninja clan should have an alignment just as a character does. This alignment reflects the clan's tactics and practices, as well as the way the clan is regarded by those who know of its existence.
Lawful-Chaotic Axis. For ninja clans and similar organizations, a choice of "lawful" does not generally mean "law-abiding." Ninja clans practice outside the law of the land. Non-ninja criminal organizations certainly do.
The choice of "lawful" vs. "chaotic" relies more on whether the clan or organization follows a set of honorable and known rules of behavior.
Imagine a ninja clan that lives near a well-traveled road, upon which its members often perform acts of banditry. If the bandit-ninja give their victims a chance to surrender before attacking, and treat prisoners honorably (ransoming them honestly and not harming them), the clan is probably lawful. If they sometimes attack from ambush and behave in a more civilized manner at other times, without any predictable pattern, they are chaotic. If clan members do the honorable thing only when it is in their best interest, they are neutral.
A lawful clan is more likely to have interesting traditions relating to prisoners, such as the right to challenge the clan champion to ritual combat and go free if victorious.
A neutral clan is likely to have more self-serving traditions. A prisoner sentenced to death
might be able to challenge a clan champion to combat. If he kills the champion, he will be allowed to join the clan but must remain with it forever rather than be killed.
A chaotic clan can have traditions that are entertaining but pointless. Prisoners might be run through an obstacle course, climbing ropes and running through booby-trapped buildings, just to see how fast they get through. Prisoners who are successful would get no reward greater than a good meal, the event having no bearing on their imprisonment.
Good-Evil Axis. Interestingly, whether an organization counts as good or evil has little to do with its goal. For example, promoting the worship of a specific god sounds like a good aim. But if the god is one who demands the ritual murder of anyone who stands in his way, the clan should be considered evil. Likewise, destroying a nation's ruling family might be considered an evil aim. But if the family at one time in the past was bad, and the nation lives under a curse until the family is destroyed, then the goal falls somewhere between neutral and good.
Remember that morally ambiguous questions like these make life more interesting for the PC who is a member of the clan. (What if a ninja falls in love with someone and then discovers that this person is secretly a member of the family destined for destruction?)
The DM can ask several questions when deciding whether a clan is good, neutral, or evil: What does the clan do with hostages? What do ninja on a mission do to guards who get in the way? (If the standing order is "Kill anyone who sees you," the clan is probably evil. If the standing order is "Incapacitate if possible; kill if you have to," the clan is more likely to be good.) What do ninja on a mission do to sleeping people in the rooms they pass through? Does the clan take revenge for actions against it? Is this revenge taken only for major insults or also for minor slights? Is the revenge visited on innocents or only on the person responsible for the insult? What about the clan's attitudes toward its own members? Does it casually sacrifice its ninja (an evil clan), do so only when the return is greater than the loss (a neutral clan), or do so only when there is no other choice (a good clan)? The answers to these questions should be weighed when deciding whether a clan or organization is good, neutral, or evil.
Usual Alignment Choices. In general, the alignments of ninja clans will break down like this:
 Table 28: Ninja Clan Alignments
Alignment 	Percentage	d20 Roll
Lawful-Good 	5% 	1
Lawful-Neutral 	25% 	2-6
Lawful-Evil 	25% 	7-11
Neutral-Good 	5% 	12
True Neutral 	15% 	13-15
Neutral-Evil 	5% 	16
Chaotic-Good 	5% 	17
Chaotic-Neutral	10% 	18–19
Chaotic-Evil 	5% 	20
If you're doing a quick design on a ninja clan and don't care what its alignment is, roll 1d20 and check Table 28.
 Table 29: Clan Member Alignments
If the Clan Alignment Is:	 Allowed Alignments Include:'''
Lawful/Good 	All but NE, CE, LE
Lawful/Neutral 	All
Lawful/Evil 	All but LG, NG, CG
Neutral/Good 	LG, LN, NG, N, CG
True Neutral 	LN, NG, N, NE, CN
Neutral/Evil 	LE, N, NE, CE
Chaotic/Good 	LG, NG, N, CN, CG
Chaotic/Neutral 	All but LG and LE
Chaotic/Evil 	LE, N, NE, CN, CE
===Range of Alignments===
Not every member of a ninja clan must have the same alignment as the clan. Most clans permit a wide range of alignments in their members. The question is: How wide a range?
Lawful clans, surprisingly, are more likely to permit members of all alignments, because they are more likely to keep faith with family tradition (and, inevitably, there will have been family members of opposing alignments in the family history). Because Oriental philosophy involves themes of self-enlightenment, a lawful clan will generously allow members of other alignments the opportunity to learn how to correct their behavior. However, clan members of non-lawful alignments are more likely to be closely watched.
Neutral clans tend to act in their own self-interest, and so are likely to deal harshly with the family members who cause trouble for the family. Neutral clans might allow opposed alignments, but not members whose alignments are strongly opposed to the clan alignment or goals.
Chaotic clans are unlikely to have formulated an established policy on member alignments. They are more likely than neutral clans, but less likely than lawful clans, to have members with opposed alignments.
Good clans do not allow evil members, nor do evil clans allow good members. Neutral clans allow members of both good and evil persuasion.
See Table 29 for an overview of clan alignments and the allowable alignments for individual members.
The DM must decide how the clan deals with alignment dissenters. Does it banish them or kill them? Either way, having developed an alignment opposed to the clan alignment is one good origin for a character with the Lone Wolf kit.
==Races==
In a ninja clan, most members are humans, with an occasional halfling or dwarf. Such demihumans (which are often foundlings or changelings) are raised as part of the clan, and often receive special training to take full advantage of their small size. There are no all-dwarf or allhalfling clans.
In a more unusual sort of organization, such as a secretive clerical society or a spy network, members of other races, using shinobi kits, are allowed.
==Size==
Ninja clans can be quite large or very small.
A large clan will have one lord and one or two other leaders of high rank called jonin.
Beneath them will be 50 or 60 chunin, or middlemen, each of whom rules a family including 30 or so genin (bottom-ranking ninja) and 30 or 40 other family members (most of whom are nonadventuring types or low-level characters possessing one of the shinobi kits).
A small clan will be about the size of a chunin family from one of the larger clans: two or three jonin, including the clan lord; three to five chunin; around 20 genin; 30 or 40 other family members.
Some small clans have low numbers because they are in decline, their population depleted by warfare or failed missions. Some may have standards so demanding and rigorous that dangerous training and banishments keep the numbers low.
Even the largest of ninja clans simply cannot afford to launch a mission in which dozens of its members get killed. When such things happen, it's usually because:
* A powerful ruler hired ninja from lots of clans for a mission and has thrown them away on adifficult target. No one ninja clan will be destroyed because of the mission's failure.
* The clan is a huge one, possibly one that teaches its secrets to students from non-ninjafamilies, and consequently has more ninja of inferior training to throw away on such missions.
Or,
* This is the do-or-die adventure for the clan, the mission in which its ultimate goal will beaccomplished or the family will perish.
Other types of organizations—the types described in Chapter 3—also tend to fall within the size ranges described here. The intelligence division of a large western empire can be quite sizeable, while that of a smaller nation or principality, or the private intelligence team of a specific nobleman, will be much smaller.
==Resources==
It's not important to know the exact nature of a clan's resources—how many pieces of gold there are in the treasury, how many swords in the armory. What is important is knowing what sort of resources the clan has for various types of missions. For each type of mission, the DM should decide the level of financial support the clan will provide.
Major/Critical Operations: These missions are crucial to the clan's goal. Such missions include final confrontations with enemy clans, operations to retrieve priceless artifacts, attempts to prevent the assassination of the clan leader, etc.
Important/Profitable Operations: These missions help accomplish a clan's goals; failing in three or four of them is like failing in one major or critical operation.
Typical Operations: These are standard missions; each one successfully completed helps the clan achieve its goals, but no single mission is likely to determine the fate of the clan. Most missions performed by a clan fall into this category.
Minor Operations: These missions are of little consequence to the clan (loose threads to tie up, sloppiness from a previous mission to clean up, etc.).
Nonmission Requests: Requests for resources may be made by clan members who are not currently on clan missions (such as when a ninja PC asks for weapons or information about someone he is investigating in order to help his fellow PCs).
For each type of mission, the DM assigns the clan's usual expenditure of resources. Such expenditures can be Lavish, Good, Adequate, or Inadequate.
Lavish expenditures include equipment (loaned, not given, to the character) of any nonmagical sort, delivered very quickly after being requested; equipment (loaned) of lesser magical or more rare varieties delivered as soon as another ninja can acquire it; enough money for the PC to maintain the illusion that he is a very wealthy person; the employ of many common hirelings for assault missions or to make up the character's retinue.
Good expenditures include equipment of any nonmagical sort (with a limit of two or three special or rare items per mission) delivered fairly quickly after being requested (from a day to a week after the request); enough money for the PC to maintain the illusion that he is of the noble class; the employ of one to three hirelings to assist in assaults or to aid the character in his endeavors.
Adequate expenditures assume a mission budget of around 100 gp. If the ninja needs more than this, he must steal or otherwise acquire the extra resources himself.
Inadequate expenditures equal a mission budget of around 10 gp. If more is needed, the ninja is on his own.
See Table 30 for an overview of clan wealth categories, mission types, and resources expended.
A clan can be of one financial category but provide resources as though it were from a lower category if the clan leader is notoriously tight with his money.
A clan can also have variations in these recommended expenditures based on internal policies. For example, a clan or organization with a firm policy against the use of resources on nonclan activities will provide Inadequate resources for nonmission activities even if the clan is fantastically rich.
 Table 30: Ninja Clan Resources
Wealth of Clan 	Type of Mission 	Resources Expanded
Fantastically Rich	Major/Critical 	Lavish
 	Important/Profitable	Lavish
 	Typical 	Good
 	Minor 	Good
 	Nonmission         	Good
Wealthy 	Major/Critical 	Lavish
 	Important/Profitable	Good
 	Typical 	Adequate
 	Minor 	Adequate
 	Nonmission 	Adequate
Average 	Major/Critical 	Good
 	Important/Profitable	Adequate
 	Typical 	Adequate
 	Minor 	Adequate
 	Nonmission 	Inadequate
Poor 	Major/Critical 	Good
 	Important/Profitable	Adequate
 	Typical 	Inadequate
 	Minor 	Inadequate
 	Nonmission 	Inadequate
Dirt-Poor 	Major/Critical 	Adequate
 	Important/Profitable	Inadequate
 	Typical 	Inadequate
 	Minor 	Inadequate
Nonmission 	Inadequate 	
==Clan Status==
Most ninja clans belong to the farmer class. Some are artisan or craftsman clans. A few have retained samurai status, which is of considerable benefit to a clan member. He is accorded the rights pertaining to a samurai and his cover identity cannot be penetrated. A family belonging to the "nonperson" class may be publicly known as a ninja clan and would probably live in a remote, easily defended, place.
==Allies==
Ninja clans are often allied with other families—sometimes officially, sometimes secretly. The DM should decide which families the clan counts among its friends, and whether the ninja clan is superior, equal, or subordinate in the relationship.
Sometimes the ninja clan will be the sponsor and ruler of a smaller family; sometimes the relationship will be one of genuine friendship and alliance between clans that count themselves as equals; sometimes the ninja clan will be beholden to a more powerful clan.
==Enemies==
Likewise, ninja clans often have longstanding enmities with other families and organizations. The DM should establish at least one enemy family for each ninja clan; many clans have lots of enemies.
For each enemy, the DM should also decide whether the goal of the clan dispute is competition or extermination.
When it is competition, the two clans are in a protracted rivalry. They may be competing for the same clients for their services, or they may simply want to show one another up. When members of the two clans encounter one another, they endeavor to embarrass each other at every opportunity. This rivalry should not escalate into duels or degenerate into practical jokes. The two clans might maneuver one another into tricky situations, such as by pretending to want an "important" mission and allowing the other family to win the contract, only to reveal that the mission is dangerous and unprofitable—or silly and pointless.When the goal is extermination, there is blood hatred between the clans. When members of one clan encounter those of another, they try to kill each other. These attempts may be honorable attacks and duels, or wicked attempts at assassination, depending on the alignment of the feuding clans and the individual ninja involved.
==Demands==
Each ninja clan imposes certain demands on its members, including ninja PCs.
Demands almost all clans make of their members include:
Silence. The ninja must never admit that he is a ninja. If the character's clan is known to be a ninja clan, he may not even acknowledge that he belongs to that clan. There are exceptions: The ninja can ask the clan leader if he might be allowed to acknowledge his true class and nature to an ally, especially when that ally's help is crucial and will best be served if he knows the truth. But such permission is rare. If a character admits to someone outside the clan that he is a ninja, he places that person above his clan in importance (to the clan's way of thinking, anyway). The clan, if it finds out, may decide to eliminate the person who is now in the know, as well as eliminate the ninja with the big mouth.
Missions. The clan can order the ninja character to embark on missions. Refusal to carry out a mission is considered betrayal of the clan. And, yes, a clan leader who doesn't like one of his clan members might try to get rid of that member by sending him on mission after deadly mission.
Demands some clans make of their members include:
Choice of Spouse. The clan leader, not the ninja, chooses whom the ninja will marry. Usually, the spouse is another clan member or someone from an allied clan, chosen for political suitability and for the potential of strengthening the clan. Love matches are rare, and the worst thing a ninja could do would be to tell the clan leader that he or she is in love with someone specific. The clan leader will automatically choose someone else to be the ninja's mate, because romantic love is considered a dangerous thing that has led to the downfall of many a good warrior.
This whole situation is a great opportunity for role-playing in a campaign. However, players in a campaign making this demand should play ninja only if they can role-play a cultural attitude very different their own, or if they don't care whom their characters marry.
Delivery of Treasures. The ninja is required to submit all accumulated treasure to a superior member of his clan for evaluation. He must arrange a meeting with his superior every three months, and immediately after any rich haul (if possible).
The clan will select those items and coinage it needs and take them away from the character without compensation. Typically, the clan takes about half the magical and other special items the character acquires. Any items that remain after this "tax" belong to the character and are not subject to confiscation later. The more money the ninja clan has, the less likely it is to take any of the character's. But a ninja from a poor family may be required to hand over 50%–75% of all his treasure profits so that the clan will have operating capital for other ninja and other missions.
If the ninja character withholds any treasure and the clan later find out about this betrayal, the ninja will be suitably punished.
Cost-Accounting. The ninja character must keep an accurate accounting of all his mission expenditures, right down to the last copper piece (or campaign equivalent).
Of course, the DM can make up any other demands he sees fit for a clan to impose. Examples of several types of ninja clans appear in Chapter 9.
==The PC and the Clan==
Ultimately, the DM determines which clan a PC ninja belongs to. Typically, he does this by:
1.  Creating several ninja clans to serve as background details for the campaign setting.
2.  Deciding which ninja clans PCs can come from.
3A. Letting the player do a rough design of his ninja character and then deciding which clan that PC best suits; or
3B. Giving the player details of the available clans and allowing him to choose a clan for his character, then making sure he designs a PC ninja suited to it.
Details of what the PC does for his clan appear in Chapter 8.