Introduction (CNH)

__NOTOC__
What is a ninja? Everywhere you turn, you find a different definition, especially in the movies. Is the ninja a cruel supernatural assassin with godlike powers of invisibility, illusion, and teleportau'on? A modem, feeling Oriental man with family, job responsibilities, and an interesting double life? A stone-faced westerner who miraculously inherits the duties of an ancient ninja clan tradition when his adopted brother is slain? A martial arts practitioner celebrating hundreds of years of unbroken tradition?
In the AD&D® game, the ninja is a highly trained spy who is expert in matters of intrusion, sabotage, and elimination. He is part of a tight-knit clan whose profession and goals he shares. Some ninja are generalists, equally at home in matters of stealth and combat. Some are specialists, becoming adept at social skills, magic, or interaction with nature.
They're all exotic, secretive, and dangerous— just the thing for the player who's feed of stand-up fighters, clean-cut clerics, and near-sighted scholar-mages.
Ninja have been here before, in the pages of DRAGON® Magazine and the Oriental Adventures supplement. Now they return, slinking into the game's shadows in their night-suits, learning the balance of weapons and tools made a little unfamiliar by adaptation to AD&D® 2nd Edition rules. We've missed them, and if s high time to welcome them back.
The Complete Ninja's Handbook is a supplement to the Player's Handbook. It consists of optional rules that are intended to round out and add color to a campaign.
The key word here is "optional." No DM is required to introduce any of these rules into his campaign simply because they're in print. Likewise, any DM should feel perfectly at ease plundering these guidelines for rules and options he likes, whether or not he introduces ninja characters into the campaign. Ultimately, the DM, not this rulebook, is the final authority on what appears in the campaign.
==Arrangement of the Sourcebook==
Chapter 1: The Ninja Class provides character
class information for the ninja.
Chapter 2: Ninja Kits details kits that allow you to further customize ninja characters.
Chapter 3: Shinobi, Spies, and Killers introduces kits to create shinobi (adjunct members of ninja clans), spies (characters built with the ninja rules but employed by non- Oriental organizations, and killers (NPCs built with the rules of the ninja class).
Chapter 4: Proficiencies and Martial Arts details the roles of certain proficiencies used by ninja, adds new proficiencies, and expands on martial arts and weapon proficiency rules.
Chapter 5: Tools of the Trade describes weapons and armor available to the ninja character.
Chapter 6: Country and Clan discusses the role of the ninja character within his culture.
Chapter 7: Playing the Ninja provides information and tactics for the player who intends to play a ninja character.
Chapter 8: Campaigning the Ninja talks about secrecy, missions, duties to clan, and other details, and gives hints for placing the ninja in existing campaigns.
Chapter 9: Examples is full of easily customized ninja characters.
Players should familiarize themselves with chapters 1 and 2, and at least glance through chapters 3-7. Players should not read Chapter 9 unless their DM invites them to do so.
The Dungeon Master should become familiar with chapters 1,4,5, and 8. These should give the DM a good idea of what to expect of a ninja PC in the campaign