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View Full Version : [PF] Wilder or Psychic Warrior for an anime-style ninja?



mistformsquirrl
2013-11-23, 05:29 PM
So, I had a fairly silly idea floating around in my head - I kind of want to play an anime-esque ninja: you know the type - can jump 100ft straight up, teleport to dodge attacks, spits fire or throws explosive shuriken, has dangerous forbidden techniques to unleash on people when times are desperate, etc...

Needless to say, the standard Ninja class wasn't really cutting the mustard for this kind of character; and that's fine, I wasn't really expecting it to since it's rather outlandish stuff that I'm after. I considered Tome of Battle - but while a Swordsage can do a lot of what I'm after, there are other aspects I'm not sure they're up to. That and I've played a LOT of ToB characters over the years - it's great stuff, but I could use something a bit different frankly.

That brought me to the idea of using Psionics to sub-in for ninja techniques; and the more I think about it, the more I like the idea.

The one difficulty I'm having is deciding between a Wilder or a Psychic Warrior. Both have the same BAB, so that's a wash - the Psychic Warrior has more powers, but they're lower level and has fewer power points... the Wilder conversely has a heap of power points, and a rather nice array of Surge abilities to use to fill that "dangerous forbidden technique" niche... but only gets a few powers over their career, meaning my feats would I suspect mostly be spent expanding my power choices; whereas the Psychic Warrior could pick up some fun melee oriented stuff as well.]

Neither gets Stealth as a class skill, but that's honestly not a huge deal for this kind of thing, particularly since there's always the Slippery trait to make it a class skill regardless.

Now all that said, I have zero experience with either class quite frankly - or psionics for that matter - that's part of why I'm interested, so my initial observations may be... flawed; which is why I'm asking here - which of these two classes do you suppose would suit what I'm after better in the end? It doesn't have to be mindblowingly powerful mind you - just entertaining and at least somewhat useful outside of combat.

SuperJudge
2013-11-23, 05:42 PM
Have you looked at the Cryptic (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/cryptic) ? They are a stealthy psionic class that could easily be turned into a ninja. Specifically the Brutal Disruptor (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/cryptic/archetypes/dreamscarred-press/brutal-disruptor) archetype to treat your Disrupt Pattern ability more like sneak attack(except better). You have to wait to level 6, but until then your Disrupt Pattern could be like a Ki blast.

Xaotiq1
2013-11-23, 05:48 PM
This will assist you, methinks... http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=6002.0

Psyren
2013-11-23, 06:01 PM
Actually, depending on your choice of path, Psywars do get stealth. Assassin's Path would fit this like a glove for instance, and I'd probably combine it with Dervish Path. Then PrC into Elocater for all the anime-esque rapid movement (10ft. step), flanking from walls or the ceiling etc.

mistformsquirrl
2013-11-23, 09:10 PM
Hrm, I hadn't heard of Cryptic before, that's worth looking into too...

@Xaotiq1 - That is indeed interesting. Not exactly what I was after, but helpful in it's own respect since it gives me some ideas. I'm not strictly going for a Naruto style ninja; but that's definitely an influence on the idea in my head for sure. Neat guide there.

@Psyren - Huh, I didn't really notice the Paths for some reason; I guess I was just expecting it to be a rehash of the 3.5e Psychic Warrior - that definitely bears some investigation; though in some ways I do admit to being heavily attracted to the Wilder due to their higher level powers. Still, this is promising indeed.

Psyren
2013-11-23, 09:17 PM
PF Wilder is a lot closer to Dragonball Z than Ninja Scroll. You can pull this off with them but they aren't really known for the subtle approach.

A Tad Insane
2013-11-23, 11:13 PM
PF Wilder is a lot closer to Dragonball Z than Ninja Scroll. You can pull this off with them but they aren't really known for the subtle approach.

To be fair, Naruto is probably about as stealthy as Goku. Which is to say negative amounts of stealthy. Surprised how few animes about 'ninjas' and mostly ninjas actually have the ninjas being stealthy

Psyren
2013-11-24, 01:32 AM
To be fair, Naruto is probably about as stealthy as Goku. Which is to say negative amounts of stealthy. Surprised how few animes about 'ninjas' and mostly ninjas actually have the ninjas being stealthy

That's why I cited Ninja Scroll - i.e. an actual ninja anime - rather than that orange-jumpsuited mess.

mistformsquirrl
2013-11-26, 10:39 AM
After some additional thought, Psychic Warrior definitely looks like what I want to go with. Did a bit of research and realized just how incredibly useful the Expanded Knowledge feat could be for this character.

My only real concern at this point is power points... I've only got 128 +Wis Bonus to work with at level 20; I know there's Hidden Talent or something similar that grants some extra pp every time you take it; is that worth going for do you think?

I'm planning to use the Meditant archetype so I can fight unarmed effectively as well.

Fouredged Sword
2013-11-26, 12:50 PM
Psionic races can get 1pp per level as a favored class bonus. That helps a great deal. Imagine if a favored class bonus granted a first level spell slot ever level or a 2nd level spell slot every 2nd level, ect.

Psyren
2013-11-26, 12:58 PM
What Fouredged said. Go with a psionic race that grants a Wis bonus - Ophiduan is perfect for this (Dex bonus too), and even gives you a bite you can throw in after your unarmed routine (all of which will benefit from your Amulet of Mighty Fists) and take the bonus PP favored class option.

The Psionic Talent feats aren't really worth it as far as extra PP; Even scaling as they do they just don't give enough to be worth a feat. The good news is you do get one for free, which means you'll have 23 PP from your race alone before any stat adjustments.

Fouredged Sword
2013-11-26, 01:46 PM
And remember, you get full bonus PP, so add at least 50-60 points for your actual totals. You are not a blaster, so you don't need to count of casting a spell each round. Focus on good buffs that will last for the whole of combat rather than trying for a decisive win through a SOL. Leave that to the psions.

Prime32
2013-11-26, 02:27 PM
That's why I cited Ninja Scroll - i.e. an actual ninja anime - rather than that orange-jumpsuited mess.Most ninjas in Naruto are stealthy, and even Naruto himself is fairly good at tricking his enemies. It's just that we don't see many assassinations and such because Naruto is given missions that better suit his skills, like hunting enemy ninjas (who would be able to spot him hiding anyway) or bodyguard duty (where being seen is the whole point).

Fouredged Sword
2013-11-26, 02:33 PM
Naruto is stealthy, it's just second or third order stealthy.

1st order - You can't see the target, and know you can't see the target.

2nd order - You can see the target, but cannot tell where he is due to false info.

3rd order - You cannot see the target, and do not know if you can see him or not due to false info.

4th order - You can see the target, but think you can't due to false info.

Vanitas
2013-11-26, 02:53 PM
Naruto does stealth by sending a shadow clone as decoy, then hiding.
He pulled it incredibly well against the spider guy from Sound Four, for example.