Ninja (Character Kit)

== Ninja ==
Description: The ninja, or "shadow warriors", are a well-known legend in the Oriental lands. They are well versed in the arts of concealment, stealth, and trickery. Clad in their infamous black uniforms and armed with a deadly arsenal of weapons and gadgets, ninja are the master assassins and spies for those who can or will hire them. Terror usually accompanies the mere mention of their name, even among the stoutest samurai, and many common people ascribe supernatural powers to the ninja, who do nothing to discourage these stories.
A ninja must have minimum scores of 12 in Strength, 15 in Dexterity, and 11 in Intelligence.
Role: The abilities of the ninja are clouded in mystery. Despite their infamy, they are very secretive and unseen. Living out their days as common townsfolk or farmers, their nights are spent performing their missions of spying and assassination. Every ninja has an everyday identity that must be maintained.
Every ninja belongs to a clan, or organization of assassins. The head of the clan assigns various missions to the lesser ninja. These missions must be completed, or the ninja is expected to die trying. Defiance of the clan head means an all-out attempt on the life of the offender, ending only with his death or the far less likely success of the offender in taking the clan heads place.
Secondary Skills: The player may freely choose the ninja characters secondary skills, keeping in mind the ninjas need to maintain a cover identity.
Weapon Proficiencies:
* Required: ninja-to (treat as a short sword).
* Recommended: blowpipe, chain, shuriken. Many of a ninja's weapons are used only to administer a fatal dose of poison to their victim.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
* Required: Tightrope walking.
* Recommended: Alertness (Complete Thief’s Handbook), Blind-fighting, Disguise, Herbalism (CTH), Jumping.
Skill Progression: Ninja tend to become most proficient in the skills of moving silently, hiding in shadows, detecting noise, and climbing walls. The open-locks skill often comes in handy for getting to their victims.
Equipment: Ninja are known for the variety of special equipment they use to complete their missions. Typical examples include metal climbing claws, and special grenades filled with smoke powder, pepper, or flash powder. Even their sword scabbards often have multiple uses. Some have secret compartments, while others are open at both ends for use as a blowpipe or breathing tube. The player is encouraged to be imaginative in the creation of special equipment, subject to the DMs approval (see "Tools of the Trade"in the CTH).
Special Benefits: In addition to standard thieving abilities, ninja possess several special talents that help them complete their deadly assignments.
# A ninja can hold his breath for a number of rounds equal to his level. He can do this once per day.
# A ninja can fall without taking any damage, for a distance of 5 per level of experience he has attained. To do so, he must not be wearing metal armor and must be able to make periodic contact with a vertical surface in order to slow his fall. If he falls further than the allowed distance, he suffers normal damage.
# Finally, a ninja is trained to slip out of ropes, chains, and other bindings by twisting and contorting his body. This ability is at a base 10% chance at 1st level and increases by 4% for every level of experience gained.
Special Hindrances: As mentioned previously, a ninja must maintain a secret identity known only to other clan members. Should this identity be discovered, all law-enforcement officers in the area will begin a massive manhunt for the ninja, stopping only when the ninja is captured, dead, or runs too far to follow. The ninja is then dismissed from his clan, and his fellow clan members will conduct their own manhunt to preserve their secrets.
Races: The vast majority of ninja are human, as other races might be too easy to identify in an all-human environment. The DM may make exceptions if his campaign will support them. Typically, these exceptions will be elves and half-elves.
Category:Character Kit
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