Needler - Kinetic Shinobi Archetype

# Needler

Ki is a powerful resource for most kinetic shinobi, but it’s more difficult for certain individuals to master. Needlers have found an alternate means to utilize their ki that, while it is more limiting, can keep the energy flow in their bodies fluctuating, making it easier to keep some in reserve for when they truly need it. These kinetic shinobi tend to be more adventurous, and hold a personal code of honor that leads them to prefer a fair fight versus sneaking in from the shadows.

## Weapon and Armor Proficiencies

A needler is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, plus the butterfly knife, emei piercer, estoc, fighting fan, grappling hook, pata, quadrens, rope dart, siangham, and tongi. They are also proficient with light armor and bucklers. The alters the kinetic shinobi’s weapon and armor proficiencies.

## Class Skills

A needler gains Ride and loses Stealth as class skills, and gains 4 + Int skill ranks per level. This alters the kinetic shinobi’s class skills and skill ranks per level.

## Piercing Focus (Su)

For their elemental focus, a needler must choose an element which provides a simple kinetic blast able to deal piercing damage (this normally limits them to aether, earth, or wood) and cannot learn energy kinetic blasts, nor can they use a kinetic blast which cannot deal piercing damage (it can deal multiple types of damage so long as one of those types is piercing). They do not gain the elemental jutsu form infusion. This ability alters elemental basics and jutsu basics

## Elemental Main Gauche (Su)

While at least 1 point remains in their ki pool, a needler can access the following hadou technique:

### Elemental Main Gauche (Su):

While holding a light or onehanded piercing melee weapon in their main hand, the needler can manifest their elemental blast as a light piercing melee weapon in their offhand. This hadou technique can only be applied to a kinetic blast used with physical jutsu and which is able to deal piercing damage. This can be used in place of dual jutsu for the double toxin art, hadou expert (twinblade fury), and shinobi talents.

This ability alters hadou techniques.

## Daring Ki Pool (Su)

A needler’s ki functions far differently than that of the typical ki user. Their ki pool has a number of points equal to their Charisma modifier (minimum 1) and is gained at 1st level. They can recover points in their ki pool, though typically it will never rise above their Charisma modifier (although some feats and magic items may alter this). Needlers do not gain the ability to spend points from their ki pool to grant themselves a bonus to their attack or damage rolls, to Acrobatics skill checks, or to skill checks associated with their primary element. They can recover their ki in the following ways:

Critical Hit with a Light or OneHanded Piercing Melee Weapon:

Each time the needler confirms a critical hit with a light or onehanded piercing melee weapon, they recover 1 point in their ki pool. Confirming a critical hit on a helpless or unaware creature or a creature that has fewer Hit Dice than half the needler’s character level doesn’t restore ki

Killing Blow with a Light or One-Handed Piercing Melee Weapon:

When the needler reduces a creature to 0 or fewer hit points with a light or one-handed piercing melee weapon attack while in combat, they recover 1 point in their ki pool. Destroying an unattended object, reducing a helpless or unaware creature to 0 or fewer hit points, or reducing a creature that has fewer Hit Dice than half the needler’s character level to 0 or fewer hit points doesn’t restore any ki.

In addition, if the user has a grit, luck, or panache pool, the points in those pools stack with the points in their ki pool (for example, a needler with grit would gain twice their Charisma in this combined grit/ki pool) and may use points from this pool interchangeably (spending grit, luck, or panache for shinobi talents, or spending ki for deeds). This ability alters ki pool.

## Deeds (Ex)

A needler gains the deeds class feature of a swashbucklerACG of the same level. If they have levels in the swashbuckler class, these levels do not stack to determine to which deeds they have access; they instead use the higher level between their needler and swashbuckler level. They can treat themselves as wielding their kinetic blast for the purpose of using deeds if it can be treated as piercing damage. This ability replaces sneak attack.

## Nimble (Ex)

At 3rd level, a needler gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC while wearing light or no armor. Anything that causes them to lose their bonus to AC from Dexterity also causes them to lose this dodge bonus. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 levels beyond 3rd (up to +5 at 19th). This replaced no trace

## Piercing Mastery (Ex)

At 20th level, when a needler threatens a critical hit with a light or one-handed piercing melee weapon, that critical is automatically confirmed. Furthermore, the critical modifiers of such weapons increase by 1 (x2 becomes x3, and so on). This ability replaces jutsu genius.

## Shinobi Talents

A needler has access to the following shinobi talents:

### Advanced Talents (Ex or Su):

A needler can choose one advanced rogue talent for which they qualify, using their needler level as their unchained rogue level for this purpose. This counts as having the advanced talents class feature. They cannot select master trick this way. This talent can be selected multiple times. A needler must be 11th level or higher to select this talent.

### Fine Point (Su):

The needler chooses a simple kinetic blast they possess which normally deals only bludgeoning damage. That blast can now deal piercing or slashing damage instead. A needler who selects this talent at 1st level can choose an element which possesses a simple blast which normally deals only bludgeoning damage.

### Kinetic Darts (Su):

The needler treats thrown piercing weapons and piercing kinetic blasts affected by their kinetic kunai hadou technique as light piercing melee weapons for all feats and abilities that require such a weapon.

### Kinetic Partisan (Su):

The needler treats two-handed melee piercing weapons and piercing kinetic blasts affected by their kinetic katana hadou technique as one-handed piercing melee weapons for all feats and abilities that require such a weapon.

### Kinetic Sidearm (Su):

The needler treats one-handed projectile piercing weapons as one-handed piercing melee weapons for all feats and abilities that require such a weapon. In addition, they can use elemental main gauche and kinetic kunai simultaneously with any light or one-handed piercing weapon in their main hand, treating their blast as a light ranged piercing weapon. A needler must possess the kinetic darts talent to select this talent.

### Rogue Talent (Ex or Su):

A needler can choose one rogue talent for which they qualify, using their needler level as their unchained rogue level for this purpose. They cannot select ninja trick this way. This talent can be selected multiple times.

### A needler cannot select any of the following shinobi talents:

bomb blast, calculated strike, deadeye jutsu, master trick, ninja trick, sneaking jutsu, starstorm art, and swarm technique.