Zaydos
2016-09-11, 04:34 PM
KI DRINKER NINJA
"Remember your death is not senseless. I need your life to feed my power"
Ki drinker Ninjas are the elite assassins of dark powers and forces. Students of the use of ki they are masters of the flow of life energy both their own and that of others. They learn dark secrets of the nature of ki including the ability to drain it from other living creatures.
BECOMING A KI DRINKER NINJA
To become a ki drinker ninja one must offer a portion of their very being to darkness. One must also be trained in the basics of combat and stealth, plus knowledgeable about the flow of life and ki. Lawful ki drinker ninjas are often taught from ancient scrolls written by those who came before them and bestowed upon the ascending ninja by the same fiend they swear allegiance to. Neutral and chaotic ones may stumble upon elder teachings, be mentored, or just given some basic guidance from the entities they serve. ki drinker ninjas are one and all trained killers and assassins, capable of manipulating the flow of ki to better end the lives of their foes as well as augment their own defensive capabilities.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Alignment: Any evil.
BAB: +3
Feats: One of: Disciple of Darkness, Lichloved, Servant of the Old Ones (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?447399-To-Serve-the-Ancient-Ones-%28Vile-Feats-3-5%29), Servant of the Striped Lords (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21174008&postcount=92), Surge of Malevolence, Thrall of Demon, or Willing Deformity.
Skills: Heal 4 ranks, Hide 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Move Silently 8 ranks.
Special: Must have killed a creature and drunk its dying blood.
Special: Must be proficient in all simple weapons.
Class Skills
The ki drinker Ninja's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skills Points at Each Level: 6 + int
Hit Dice: d8
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecial
1st
+1
+2
+2
+0Ki Pool, ki is Life, Midnight Ki
2nd
+2
+3
+3
+0Spider Climb, Steal Breath
3rd
+3
+3
+3
+1Energy Drain, ki Terror
4th
+4
+4
+4
+1Steel Self, Unnatural Alacrity
5th
+5
+4
+4
+1Breath Sight, Cloak of Shadows
6th
+6
+5
+5
+2Ki Domination
7th
+7
+5
+5
+2Improved Energy Drain
8th
+8
+6
+6
+2Ki Armor
9th
+9
+6
+6
+3Lifesense, Steal Soul
10th
+10
+7
+7
+3Extinguish Life, Rapid Draining.
Weapon Proficiencies: A ki drinker ninja gains proficiency in butterfly sword, chijikiri, greater blowgun, jitte, kama, kau sin ke, kukri, nekode, ninja-to, nunchaku, sai, short sword, siangham, shikomi-zue, tonfa, and war fan. They're proficient in the ninja appropriate weapons from OA which should never have been Exotic Weapons in the first place because they are mechanically equal or inferior to Martial Weapons and they are native to the region and setting and thus not exotic.
Ki Pool (Su): A ki drinker ninja can channel their ki to manifest special powers. They gain a number of ki points equal to their class level plus their Wisdom bonus (if any). If they have levels in ninja, or another class that grants ki powers in a similar manner they may add their class level derived ki points (treat daily uses of ninja abilities as an equal number of ki points) together, but they do not gain Wisdom bonus twice.
Ki is Life (Su): ki is, simply put, the energy of life. A ki drinker ninja knows this as well as any and has learned to make use of their ki to directly supplement their life-force healing wounds or bolstering their body. As a swift action a ki drinker ninja may spend 1 ki point to heal damage equal to their class level + 4 or gain twice that many temporary hit points (8 + twice their class level) for 1 minute. In addition you may spend a ki point as an immediate action to gain immunity to energy drain, negative levels from negative energy effects, and damage from negative energy, and a +4 bonus to saving throws against Death effects until the start of your next turn
Midnight ki (Su): A ki drinker ninja is a creature of the night and darkness. As long as their ki pool is not empty they gain Alertness as a bonus feat and 60 ft darkvision (or their existing darkvision increases by 30 ft). When they are not exposed to sunlight or the effects of a daylight spell a ki drinker ninja also gains 2 additional points of ki; these points are spent last not first.
Spider Climb (Su): A ki drinker ninja is capable of using their ki to anchor themselves against gravity. Beginning at 2nd level by spending 1 ki point as a swift action a ki drinker ninja can emulate the effects of a spider climb spell for 1 minute/class level. A ki drinker ninja must be wearing light or no armor and carrying no more than a light load to use this ability.
Steal Breath (Su): Ki is life. Ki is breath. Beginning at 2nd level a ki drinker ninja may steal a creature's life through its breath. As a standard action a ki drinker ninja can suck the ki out of a living creature that is willing, helpless, or pinned. The creature must be capable of breathing even if it does not have to do so. The target suffers 1d4 Constitution damage and if this is the first time a ki drinker ninja has stolen the target's breath today and the target has HD equal to at least 1/3rd the ki drinker ninja's character level the ki drinker ninja regains 1 expended ki point. If the target's Int is 2 or less their HD are halved for the purposes of determining whether they trigger this benefit. If you kill a creature with Steal Breath (either by reducing their Con to 0 or the Con damage causing their hp to drop below -10) they cannot be revived by Raise Dead, and even a Resurrection spell cannot revive them until 1 month has passed or you die, as you hold a piece of their soul within your body until the ki is fully released back into the world. When you kill a creature with steal breath it fulfills your need to eat and drink for the day.
Energy Drain (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to draw life from their foes, to drain it from them directly even as they fight them. Beginning at 3rd level, as part of a melee attack a ki drinker ninja may spend 1 ki point. If they hit the target suffers 1 negative level due to energy drain and the ki drinker ninja gains 5 temporary hit points which last 1 hour (temp hp from multiple hits do not stack). If this kills a creature the ki drinker ninja regains 1 ki point and the target cannot be revived by Raise Dead, and even a Resurrection spell cannot revive them until 1 month has passed or you die, as you hold a piece of their soul within your body until the ki is fully released back into the world. Once a ki drinker ninja successfully uses this ability (hits a target not immune to energy drain) they cannot use it again until the start of their next turn. A ki drinker ninja may use their Wisdom in place of Charisma for the purposes of qualifying for the Improved Energy Drain and Life Drain feats (Librismortis) and the benefits of their effects. The save to remove negative levels inflicted by this ability is 10 + class level + Wisdom. A creature killed by a ki drinker ninja's energy drain rises as an uncontrolled vampire spawn after 1d4 days.
At 7th level a ki drinker ninja's energy drain improves so that it now inflicts 2 negative levels and grants 10 temporary hit points.
At 10th level a ki drinker ninja gains the ability to use their energy drain more rapidly. Even once they have successfully used it in a turn they may continue to apply it, but these additional energy drains inflict only 1 negative level each.
Ki Terror (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to manipulate the flow of ki to make themselves preternaturally imposing. Beginning at 3rd level they may spend 1 ki point as a swift action to gain an aura of fear for 1 minute. This aura extends 10 ft from the ki drinker ninja and any creature entering it must make a Will save (DC 10 + ki drinker ninja level + Wis modifier) or be shaken. Success on their saving throw means a creature gains immunity to that ki drinker ninja's aura of fear for 24 hours, failure means they do not make another save against that use of the ability. If the creature has hit dice equal to or greater than the ki drinker ninja's character level they are only shaken while within the aura, if they have less than that many hit dice they are shaken until the use of ki terror ends. The shaken status of this aura does not stack with the demoralize action, but does stack with other fear effects. This aura is a mind-affecting fear effect. In addition for the duration of this ability a ki drinker ninja adds their class level as a competence bonus to all Intimidate checks.
Steel Self (Su): A ki drinker ninja can control their own ki to mitigate the effects of other forces upon their minds and bodies. Beginning at 4th level when a ki drinker ninja makes a Fort or Will save for half or partial effect they may spend 1 ki point as a free action (usable outside of their turn) to take no effect as if it had been a save negates.
Unnatural Alacrity (Su): A ki drinker ninja can use ki to grant themselves reflexes that ought to be impossible for men. Beginning at 4th level a ki drinker ninja may spend 1 ki point as an immediate action to gain a competence bonus equal to their class level + 2 to Reflex saves, Dexterity checks, and Dexterity based skill checks until the end of their next turn. In addition a ki drinker ninja gains evasion during this period, or if they have evasion they gain improved evasion instead. A ki drinker ninja may use this ability in response to needing to roll initiative despite normally not being able to use Immediate actions when flat-footed, if they do so, however, they do not gain its other bonuses until they are no longer flat-footed. A ki drinker ninja cannot use this ability when wearing armor heavier than light or when carrying a load heavier than light.
Breath Sight (Su): Ki is power to a ki drinker ninja and they must learn it intimately. Their senses grow attuned to it and they learn to sense its flow in breath. Beginning at 5th level a ki drinker ninja can detect breathing creatures within 30 ft as if with the blindsense ability. If a creature holds their breath they become undetected by this ability until they once again breathe.
Cloak of Shadows (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to extend their dark ki out around them obscuring their form. Beginning at 5th level a ki drinker ninja may spend a ki point as a swift action to gain concealment for 1 minute as shadows seem to grow to weave around their form and obscure it from sight; this concealment does not apply to creatures able to see in magical darkness. While this ability is active a ki drinker ninja may hide without cover or concealment. This ability is suppressed within sunlight or the area of bright light shed by a daylight spell.
Ki Domination (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns how to implant their ki in another creature to take control of its life and mind with little more than prolonged eye contact. Beginning at 6th level a ki drinker ninja may as a standard action attempt to supplant a creature's mind through an invasion of their ki. To do so costs them 2 ki points and requires them to be within 30 ft of the target and making eye contact with it. The target, unless an unintelligent undead, is allowed a Will save (DC 10 + class level + Wis modifier) to resist this effect, and once a creature saves against this effect they gain a +4 bonus on future saves against it for 1 hour. Against humanoids this functions as dominate person, though you may choose to duplicate charm person instead, against undead this functions as command undead, and against other creatures it functions as charm monster, regardless of how it functions its duration is 10 minutes/class level but you may pay an additional 2 ki points at any time to increase its duration by 10 minutes/class level (the target does not need to be within range and is not allowed another Will save), though you can never increase its duration to longer than 24 hours this way. When used on a non-undead creature this is a mind-affecting effect and if used to duplicate charm person or charm monster it is a charm effect, if used to duplicate dominate person it is instead a compulsion.
Ki Armor (Su): A ki drinker ninja is protected by the tainted ki flowing through their body. Beginning at 8th level a ki drinker ninja gains DR equal to their class level or number of ki points remaining (whichever is lower) overcome only by magic and silver weapons. If the ki drinker ninja already has DR overcome by silver and magic they add this DR to it, if they already have DR overcome by silver or magic in addition to gaining DR X/silver and magic, they increase their DR overcome by silver by that amount and their DR overcome by magic by that amount (so if an 8th level ki drinker ninja had DR 5/magic they'd gain DR ki Pool + 5 to a max of 13/magic and DR ki Pool to a max of 8/magic and silver).
Lifesense (Su): A ki drinker ninja's continues to hone their ability to sense ki. Beginning at 9th level as long as their ki pool is not empty a ki drinker ninja may sense living creatures within 30 ft as if with the blindsight ability. They also sense the strength of their life force automatically, as if they had cast deathwatch.
Steal Soul (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to drain more of a creature's essence when they use their steal breath ability, and to even steal ki from creatures that do not breathe. Beginning at 9th level a ki drinker ninja can use their steal breath on any living creature (assuming it's willing, helpless, or pinned) and when they do so they may choose to inflict 2d4 Constitution damage instead of 1d4. If a creature dies from their Steal Breath ability it can no longer be resurrected even with True Resurrection until the ki drinker ninja dies as the ninja sucks their soul into their being never to be released again; a ki drinker ninja may release a soul voluntarily with aid from an atonement or limited wish spell. Finally if a ki drinker ninja kills a creature with their steal breath and the target had more ranks in a skill than the ki drinker ninja the ki drinker ninja gains a +1 or +1 +1/2 additional ranks more than the ki drinker ninja in the case of Knowledge skills, profane bonus to skill checks with that skill and can make checks with that skill untrained for 1 hour.
Extinguish Life (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to extinguish the life force of their foes, letting their ki spread into an enemy and strangle the foe's own. Beginning at 10th level a ki drinker ninja may imbue their next melee attack before the end of their next turn with this lethal power as a swift action which costs 3 ki points. If they hit with that attack the target must make a Fortitude save (DC 20 + Wis modifier) or die, on a success they take 2d10+10 damage, if this attack kills a living creature the ki drinker ninja regains 1 ki point (if it was also augmented with energy drain they do not regain 2 however); this is a death effect. This ability may be used against undead creatures in which case it allows a Will save to resist being destroyed instead of a Fortitude save and is not a death effect, destroying undead with this ability does not restore ki.
PLAYING A KI DRINKER NINJA
A ki drinker ninja is a trained assassin, whose soul has been placed in debt to dark powers in exchange for a twisting of their ki into something horrible and profane. They are beings who value the lives of others first and foremost for the benefits that they can reap from it. AKidrinker ninja may be a religious zealot in the service of archfiends or ancient ones, a servant of apocalyptic forces who seeks to reap a full harvest of life in the name of their dark masters. As aKidrinker ninja what motivates you may vary widely, but the means you prefer to use are those of murder, death, and taking what you want or need regardless of the cost or damage to others.
Combat: At low levels aKidrinker ninja uses their ki primarily for out of combat utility, darkvision and spider climb, or to increase their ability to survive blows through ki is life. They couple these abilities with baseline warrior capabilities and ranger level skills. Beginning at 3rd level their abilities begin to deepen with energy drain offering them the ability to debuff foes even as Ki Terror opens up a second such outlet. They gain few directly offensive abilities beyond this level save improvements to their energy drain, but they gain potent defenses in the form of Ki powered mettle, evasion, and difficult to overcome DR. In addition their abilities allow them to more accurately find stealthy foes and to better hide their own presence.
Resources:Kidrinker ninjas usually have the resources associated with their dark masters at their disposal. After all they are a valued elite assassin, and as such often can call upon favors from their lieges or the cults which support them. Those that becomeKidrinker ninjas through a 'reverence' of the undead may lack these resources, but also the corresponding duties to their dark masters.
KI DRINKER NINJAS IN THE WORLD
"Your father was slain by Lord Tsuchinno, till the profane one is slain in turn he shall have no rest. You must avenge him, and in so doing free all those Tsuchinno has slain." - Konaka the Sage.
Ki drinker ninjas are tales, legends, and bogey men. Sure evil ninjas exist, but those which like hopping vampires can drink your ki and drain you of life? Nothing but myths. Ki drinker ninjas while more real than most suspect are still rarities. As assassins in the service of dark beings it is that role which defines them more than being ki drinker ninjas. When ki drinkers are defined by their class it is often because of their ability to create vampire spawn, an ability which can allow them to wreak havoc upon a city through simply a few seemingly aimless murders, and their ability to prevent resurrection through consuming souls. Given their skill set some ki drinker ninjas play up the role of vampire, pretending to be vulnerable to those same weaknesses until they need to reveal themselves to kill would-be hunters. Of course witnesses can’t be allowed to survive this revelation.
Daily Life: Ki drinkers are always seeking what way they can gain from a situation, whether personal strength through training or the consumption of life, or through manipulation of the situation to reap social benefits. Their training and search for self-perfection are never ending, after all relaxing from these strictures of power would be to leave an opening for others. Still they seek pleasure, few ki drinkers are ascetics and those that are take to their seeming asceticism through belief that normal food is like naught but ash in the mouth after one has tasted a creature’s dying breath.
Notables: Lord Duraku Burad is the most famous ki drinker. Said to be the very first ki drinker, depending upon the tale Lord Duraku Burad was a vampire who learned to drink life itself along with blood, or a ki drinker who apotheosed into a true vampire when his mastery of ki grew so great he drained himself of life and replaced it with undeath. Both versions agree that Duraku was the first ki drinker and that he was the one that developed the now ancient techniques. Legends say that Duraku still lives as an immortal vampire and that from time to time he still teaches others his art.
Organizations: Ki drinkers tend not to deal well with each other. While they can sometimes sustain a master-apprentice relationship, they still tend to grate upon each others’ nerves especially without that strict hierarchical exchange (service for training). Many ki drinkers do serve in organizations still, their common service to fiendish entities mean that many ki drinkers can be found in fiendish cults, serving devils, demons, ancient ones, and oni.
"Remember your death is not senseless. I need your life to feed my power"
Ki drinker Ninjas are the elite assassins of dark powers and forces. Students of the use of ki they are masters of the flow of life energy both their own and that of others. They learn dark secrets of the nature of ki including the ability to drain it from other living creatures.
BECOMING A KI DRINKER NINJA
To become a ki drinker ninja one must offer a portion of their very being to darkness. One must also be trained in the basics of combat and stealth, plus knowledgeable about the flow of life and ki. Lawful ki drinker ninjas are often taught from ancient scrolls written by those who came before them and bestowed upon the ascending ninja by the same fiend they swear allegiance to. Neutral and chaotic ones may stumble upon elder teachings, be mentored, or just given some basic guidance from the entities they serve. ki drinker ninjas are one and all trained killers and assassins, capable of manipulating the flow of ki to better end the lives of their foes as well as augment their own defensive capabilities.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Alignment: Any evil.
BAB: +3
Feats: One of: Disciple of Darkness, Lichloved, Servant of the Old Ones (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?447399-To-Serve-the-Ancient-Ones-%28Vile-Feats-3-5%29), Servant of the Striped Lords (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21174008&postcount=92), Surge of Malevolence, Thrall of Demon, or Willing Deformity.
Skills: Heal 4 ranks, Hide 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Move Silently 8 ranks.
Special: Must have killed a creature and drunk its dying blood.
Special: Must be proficient in all simple weapons.
Class Skills
The ki drinker Ninja's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skills Points at Each Level: 6 + int
Hit Dice: d8
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecial
1st
+1
+2
+2
+0Ki Pool, ki is Life, Midnight Ki
2nd
+2
+3
+3
+0Spider Climb, Steal Breath
3rd
+3
+3
+3
+1Energy Drain, ki Terror
4th
+4
+4
+4
+1Steel Self, Unnatural Alacrity
5th
+5
+4
+4
+1Breath Sight, Cloak of Shadows
6th
+6
+5
+5
+2Ki Domination
7th
+7
+5
+5
+2Improved Energy Drain
8th
+8
+6
+6
+2Ki Armor
9th
+9
+6
+6
+3Lifesense, Steal Soul
10th
+10
+7
+7
+3Extinguish Life, Rapid Draining.
Weapon Proficiencies: A ki drinker ninja gains proficiency in butterfly sword, chijikiri, greater blowgun, jitte, kama, kau sin ke, kukri, nekode, ninja-to, nunchaku, sai, short sword, siangham, shikomi-zue, tonfa, and war fan. They're proficient in the ninja appropriate weapons from OA which should never have been Exotic Weapons in the first place because they are mechanically equal or inferior to Martial Weapons and they are native to the region and setting and thus not exotic.
Ki Pool (Su): A ki drinker ninja can channel their ki to manifest special powers. They gain a number of ki points equal to their class level plus their Wisdom bonus (if any). If they have levels in ninja, or another class that grants ki powers in a similar manner they may add their class level derived ki points (treat daily uses of ninja abilities as an equal number of ki points) together, but they do not gain Wisdom bonus twice.
Ki is Life (Su): ki is, simply put, the energy of life. A ki drinker ninja knows this as well as any and has learned to make use of their ki to directly supplement their life-force healing wounds or bolstering their body. As a swift action a ki drinker ninja may spend 1 ki point to heal damage equal to their class level + 4 or gain twice that many temporary hit points (8 + twice their class level) for 1 minute. In addition you may spend a ki point as an immediate action to gain immunity to energy drain, negative levels from negative energy effects, and damage from negative energy, and a +4 bonus to saving throws against Death effects until the start of your next turn
Midnight ki (Su): A ki drinker ninja is a creature of the night and darkness. As long as their ki pool is not empty they gain Alertness as a bonus feat and 60 ft darkvision (or their existing darkvision increases by 30 ft). When they are not exposed to sunlight or the effects of a daylight spell a ki drinker ninja also gains 2 additional points of ki; these points are spent last not first.
Spider Climb (Su): A ki drinker ninja is capable of using their ki to anchor themselves against gravity. Beginning at 2nd level by spending 1 ki point as a swift action a ki drinker ninja can emulate the effects of a spider climb spell for 1 minute/class level. A ki drinker ninja must be wearing light or no armor and carrying no more than a light load to use this ability.
Steal Breath (Su): Ki is life. Ki is breath. Beginning at 2nd level a ki drinker ninja may steal a creature's life through its breath. As a standard action a ki drinker ninja can suck the ki out of a living creature that is willing, helpless, or pinned. The creature must be capable of breathing even if it does not have to do so. The target suffers 1d4 Constitution damage and if this is the first time a ki drinker ninja has stolen the target's breath today and the target has HD equal to at least 1/3rd the ki drinker ninja's character level the ki drinker ninja regains 1 expended ki point. If the target's Int is 2 or less their HD are halved for the purposes of determining whether they trigger this benefit. If you kill a creature with Steal Breath (either by reducing their Con to 0 or the Con damage causing their hp to drop below -10) they cannot be revived by Raise Dead, and even a Resurrection spell cannot revive them until 1 month has passed or you die, as you hold a piece of their soul within your body until the ki is fully released back into the world. When you kill a creature with steal breath it fulfills your need to eat and drink for the day.
Energy Drain (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to draw life from their foes, to drain it from them directly even as they fight them. Beginning at 3rd level, as part of a melee attack a ki drinker ninja may spend 1 ki point. If they hit the target suffers 1 negative level due to energy drain and the ki drinker ninja gains 5 temporary hit points which last 1 hour (temp hp from multiple hits do not stack). If this kills a creature the ki drinker ninja regains 1 ki point and the target cannot be revived by Raise Dead, and even a Resurrection spell cannot revive them until 1 month has passed or you die, as you hold a piece of their soul within your body until the ki is fully released back into the world. Once a ki drinker ninja successfully uses this ability (hits a target not immune to energy drain) they cannot use it again until the start of their next turn. A ki drinker ninja may use their Wisdom in place of Charisma for the purposes of qualifying for the Improved Energy Drain and Life Drain feats (Librismortis) and the benefits of their effects. The save to remove negative levels inflicted by this ability is 10 + class level + Wisdom. A creature killed by a ki drinker ninja's energy drain rises as an uncontrolled vampire spawn after 1d4 days.
At 7th level a ki drinker ninja's energy drain improves so that it now inflicts 2 negative levels and grants 10 temporary hit points.
At 10th level a ki drinker ninja gains the ability to use their energy drain more rapidly. Even once they have successfully used it in a turn they may continue to apply it, but these additional energy drains inflict only 1 negative level each.
Ki Terror (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to manipulate the flow of ki to make themselves preternaturally imposing. Beginning at 3rd level they may spend 1 ki point as a swift action to gain an aura of fear for 1 minute. This aura extends 10 ft from the ki drinker ninja and any creature entering it must make a Will save (DC 10 + ki drinker ninja level + Wis modifier) or be shaken. Success on their saving throw means a creature gains immunity to that ki drinker ninja's aura of fear for 24 hours, failure means they do not make another save against that use of the ability. If the creature has hit dice equal to or greater than the ki drinker ninja's character level they are only shaken while within the aura, if they have less than that many hit dice they are shaken until the use of ki terror ends. The shaken status of this aura does not stack with the demoralize action, but does stack with other fear effects. This aura is a mind-affecting fear effect. In addition for the duration of this ability a ki drinker ninja adds their class level as a competence bonus to all Intimidate checks.
Steel Self (Su): A ki drinker ninja can control their own ki to mitigate the effects of other forces upon their minds and bodies. Beginning at 4th level when a ki drinker ninja makes a Fort or Will save for half or partial effect they may spend 1 ki point as a free action (usable outside of their turn) to take no effect as if it had been a save negates.
Unnatural Alacrity (Su): A ki drinker ninja can use ki to grant themselves reflexes that ought to be impossible for men. Beginning at 4th level a ki drinker ninja may spend 1 ki point as an immediate action to gain a competence bonus equal to their class level + 2 to Reflex saves, Dexterity checks, and Dexterity based skill checks until the end of their next turn. In addition a ki drinker ninja gains evasion during this period, or if they have evasion they gain improved evasion instead. A ki drinker ninja may use this ability in response to needing to roll initiative despite normally not being able to use Immediate actions when flat-footed, if they do so, however, they do not gain its other bonuses until they are no longer flat-footed. A ki drinker ninja cannot use this ability when wearing armor heavier than light or when carrying a load heavier than light.
Breath Sight (Su): Ki is power to a ki drinker ninja and they must learn it intimately. Their senses grow attuned to it and they learn to sense its flow in breath. Beginning at 5th level a ki drinker ninja can detect breathing creatures within 30 ft as if with the blindsense ability. If a creature holds their breath they become undetected by this ability until they once again breathe.
Cloak of Shadows (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to extend their dark ki out around them obscuring their form. Beginning at 5th level a ki drinker ninja may spend a ki point as a swift action to gain concealment for 1 minute as shadows seem to grow to weave around their form and obscure it from sight; this concealment does not apply to creatures able to see in magical darkness. While this ability is active a ki drinker ninja may hide without cover or concealment. This ability is suppressed within sunlight or the area of bright light shed by a daylight spell.
Ki Domination (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns how to implant their ki in another creature to take control of its life and mind with little more than prolonged eye contact. Beginning at 6th level a ki drinker ninja may as a standard action attempt to supplant a creature's mind through an invasion of their ki. To do so costs them 2 ki points and requires them to be within 30 ft of the target and making eye contact with it. The target, unless an unintelligent undead, is allowed a Will save (DC 10 + class level + Wis modifier) to resist this effect, and once a creature saves against this effect they gain a +4 bonus on future saves against it for 1 hour. Against humanoids this functions as dominate person, though you may choose to duplicate charm person instead, against undead this functions as command undead, and against other creatures it functions as charm monster, regardless of how it functions its duration is 10 minutes/class level but you may pay an additional 2 ki points at any time to increase its duration by 10 minutes/class level (the target does not need to be within range and is not allowed another Will save), though you can never increase its duration to longer than 24 hours this way. When used on a non-undead creature this is a mind-affecting effect and if used to duplicate charm person or charm monster it is a charm effect, if used to duplicate dominate person it is instead a compulsion.
Ki Armor (Su): A ki drinker ninja is protected by the tainted ki flowing through their body. Beginning at 8th level a ki drinker ninja gains DR equal to their class level or number of ki points remaining (whichever is lower) overcome only by magic and silver weapons. If the ki drinker ninja already has DR overcome by silver and magic they add this DR to it, if they already have DR overcome by silver or magic in addition to gaining DR X/silver and magic, they increase their DR overcome by silver by that amount and their DR overcome by magic by that amount (so if an 8th level ki drinker ninja had DR 5/magic they'd gain DR ki Pool + 5 to a max of 13/magic and DR ki Pool to a max of 8/magic and silver).
Lifesense (Su): A ki drinker ninja's continues to hone their ability to sense ki. Beginning at 9th level as long as their ki pool is not empty a ki drinker ninja may sense living creatures within 30 ft as if with the blindsight ability. They also sense the strength of their life force automatically, as if they had cast deathwatch.
Steal Soul (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to drain more of a creature's essence when they use their steal breath ability, and to even steal ki from creatures that do not breathe. Beginning at 9th level a ki drinker ninja can use their steal breath on any living creature (assuming it's willing, helpless, or pinned) and when they do so they may choose to inflict 2d4 Constitution damage instead of 1d4. If a creature dies from their Steal Breath ability it can no longer be resurrected even with True Resurrection until the ki drinker ninja dies as the ninja sucks their soul into their being never to be released again; a ki drinker ninja may release a soul voluntarily with aid from an atonement or limited wish spell. Finally if a ki drinker ninja kills a creature with their steal breath and the target had more ranks in a skill than the ki drinker ninja the ki drinker ninja gains a +1 or +1 +1/2 additional ranks more than the ki drinker ninja in the case of Knowledge skills, profane bonus to skill checks with that skill and can make checks with that skill untrained for 1 hour.
Extinguish Life (Su): A ki drinker ninja learns to extinguish the life force of their foes, letting their ki spread into an enemy and strangle the foe's own. Beginning at 10th level a ki drinker ninja may imbue their next melee attack before the end of their next turn with this lethal power as a swift action which costs 3 ki points. If they hit with that attack the target must make a Fortitude save (DC 20 + Wis modifier) or die, on a success they take 2d10+10 damage, if this attack kills a living creature the ki drinker ninja regains 1 ki point (if it was also augmented with energy drain they do not regain 2 however); this is a death effect. This ability may be used against undead creatures in which case it allows a Will save to resist being destroyed instead of a Fortitude save and is not a death effect, destroying undead with this ability does not restore ki.
PLAYING A KI DRINKER NINJA
A ki drinker ninja is a trained assassin, whose soul has been placed in debt to dark powers in exchange for a twisting of their ki into something horrible and profane. They are beings who value the lives of others first and foremost for the benefits that they can reap from it. AKidrinker ninja may be a religious zealot in the service of archfiends or ancient ones, a servant of apocalyptic forces who seeks to reap a full harvest of life in the name of their dark masters. As aKidrinker ninja what motivates you may vary widely, but the means you prefer to use are those of murder, death, and taking what you want or need regardless of the cost or damage to others.
Combat: At low levels aKidrinker ninja uses their ki primarily for out of combat utility, darkvision and spider climb, or to increase their ability to survive blows through ki is life. They couple these abilities with baseline warrior capabilities and ranger level skills. Beginning at 3rd level their abilities begin to deepen with energy drain offering them the ability to debuff foes even as Ki Terror opens up a second such outlet. They gain few directly offensive abilities beyond this level save improvements to their energy drain, but they gain potent defenses in the form of Ki powered mettle, evasion, and difficult to overcome DR. In addition their abilities allow them to more accurately find stealthy foes and to better hide their own presence.
Resources:Kidrinker ninjas usually have the resources associated with their dark masters at their disposal. After all they are a valued elite assassin, and as such often can call upon favors from their lieges or the cults which support them. Those that becomeKidrinker ninjas through a 'reverence' of the undead may lack these resources, but also the corresponding duties to their dark masters.
KI DRINKER NINJAS IN THE WORLD
"Your father was slain by Lord Tsuchinno, till the profane one is slain in turn he shall have no rest. You must avenge him, and in so doing free all those Tsuchinno has slain." - Konaka the Sage.
Ki drinker ninjas are tales, legends, and bogey men. Sure evil ninjas exist, but those which like hopping vampires can drink your ki and drain you of life? Nothing but myths. Ki drinker ninjas while more real than most suspect are still rarities. As assassins in the service of dark beings it is that role which defines them more than being ki drinker ninjas. When ki drinkers are defined by their class it is often because of their ability to create vampire spawn, an ability which can allow them to wreak havoc upon a city through simply a few seemingly aimless murders, and their ability to prevent resurrection through consuming souls. Given their skill set some ki drinker ninjas play up the role of vampire, pretending to be vulnerable to those same weaknesses until they need to reveal themselves to kill would-be hunters. Of course witnesses can’t be allowed to survive this revelation.
Daily Life: Ki drinkers are always seeking what way they can gain from a situation, whether personal strength through training or the consumption of life, or through manipulation of the situation to reap social benefits. Their training and search for self-perfection are never ending, after all relaxing from these strictures of power would be to leave an opening for others. Still they seek pleasure, few ki drinkers are ascetics and those that are take to their seeming asceticism through belief that normal food is like naught but ash in the mouth after one has tasted a creature’s dying breath.
Notables: Lord Duraku Burad is the most famous ki drinker. Said to be the very first ki drinker, depending upon the tale Lord Duraku Burad was a vampire who learned to drink life itself along with blood, or a ki drinker who apotheosed into a true vampire when his mastery of ki grew so great he drained himself of life and replaced it with undeath. Both versions agree that Duraku was the first ki drinker and that he was the one that developed the now ancient techniques. Legends say that Duraku still lives as an immortal vampire and that from time to time he still teaches others his art.
Organizations: Ki drinkers tend not to deal well with each other. While they can sometimes sustain a master-apprentice relationship, they still tend to grate upon each others’ nerves especially without that strict hierarchical exchange (service for training). Many ki drinkers do serve in organizations still, their common service to fiendish entities mean that many ki drinkers can be found in fiendish cults, serving devils, demons, ancient ones, and oni.