Ninjas vs Pirates...

[Horoar]

After a series of serious questing and roleplaying campaighns our group has decided to take a break and do somthing a bit silly. Thus it has fallen upon me to create a Ninjas vs Pirates campaighn.
I've hit a bit of a snag in the combination of these sides as Ninjas are mostly and land and pirates are mostley on water. I am also having troulbe keeping ths 'vs' whilst enabling the party to consist of both sides as it invariably will.
Any ideas would be much apretiated,
Cheers

Horoar

[Malificus]

Here are some pirate/Ninja situations where they can interact:

Sky Pirates vs Mountain Ninjas.
Viking/Pirates vs Ninjas near the coast
Pirates vs Ninjas In a setting made of island towns and archipelago nations

[Horoar]

Sky Pirates sound good, i hadn't thought of the mountain Ninjas. Islands are a slightly more obviuos route to create more coastline.

I really lke the mountain ninjas.

EDIT: The pirates are Golden age carribbean style pirates and hte Ninjas a basicaly western perception of the east.

[Dogmantra]

Well clearly, if your party is going to have both Pirates and Ninjas in it, they must be on a mission from their respective gods to stop the wars between their two peoples, before the Pirate and Ninja species die out!

/dramatic music

[Gnaeus]

The Ninjas should be swordsages with full BaB and one bonus feat per level. (edit: some Ninjas could also be Beguilers, Sorcerers, or other full casters, with appropriately awesome PRCs).

The Pirates should be fighters with a bonus skill point usable only for profession: sailor and an aura of stink sickening people within 5 feet (DC 10-charisma modifier).

Only way it can be realistic.

[Excession]

No no, if Pirates and Ninjas are teaming up, it must be because there's something even more dangerous that threatens them both.

Choose one or more options from: zombies, robots, and velociraptors.

[Greenish]

The Ninjas should be ninjas.

The Pirates should be warblades with bonus skill points usable only for profession: sailor and an aura of awesome.

Only way it can be realistic.

Fix'd.

Spoiler

Show

[paddyfool]

You should check out this homebrew, if you want the full-fledged pirate vs ninja conflict.

[Iceforge]

No no, if Pirates and Ninjas are teaming up, it must be because there's something even more dangerous that threatens them both.

Choose one or more options from: zombies, robots, and velociraptors.

Why choose?

Look out for the Robotically-Enhanced Zombie-Velociraptors!

Edit:

Now, this is one of those things that can only end in pure awesomeness!

We all know Ninja's are awesome!

"Everything's... better.... with.... pirates!" - Gamers II: Dorkness Rising

Velociraptors, Zombies and Robots are also pure awesome.

Find a way to add in Vikings too, and it is the pure essense of awesome which blinding light will smite lesser beings who venture near it! Can be done by making it into Viking Pirates! YEAH!

So Viking Pirates are fighting the Ninjas over the scarse and precious resources they both need, which is located on a series of islands guarded by ancient robotically enhanced zombie-velociraptors

Make it even more awesone by adding a time constraint on the whole ordeal:

So Viking Pirates are fighting the Ninjas over the scarse and precious resources they both need, which is located on a series of islands guarded by ancient robotically enhanced zombie-velociraptors and have to do so before Chuck Norris comes to take what is rightfully his

[Horoar]

We're definatly on the right track. I'm certainly not going for realism. What with flying Pirate ships and all.

Co-operation seeems to require some kind of threat to both parties. Velocoraptors FTW. Does anyone have stats?

Also I was imagining that the two sides could play tailored versions of any of te Core 3.5 classes.

[Greenish]

Co-operation seeems to require some kind of threat to both parties. Velocoraptors FTW. Does anyone have stats?

Take a deinonychus and scale it down to small size.

Also I was imagining that the two sides could play tailored versions of any of te Core 3.5 classes.

Core classes, especially the physical ones, are really meh. Get ToB so your ninjas can be swordsages and your pirates warblades.

[Divide by Zero]

No, no, the PCs needs to be Warforged. A third party in the epic battle.

[Greenish]

No, no, the PCs needs to be Warforged. A third party in the epic battle.

What if you were told you get to play in a campaign with pirates and ninjas, and then that you can't be either of them?

[Ormagoden]

*twitch*
*twitch*
*eye twitch*
*twitch*

[DrGonzo]

What if you were told you get to play in a campaign with pirates and ninjas, and then that you can't be either of them?

I would cry.. At least a bit..

[electricbee]

If you're going with the theme you might consider other pairs to fill out the theme in your campaign world, allied with the pirate and ninja cultures. Since it'd deliberately silly, i would includ pop culture references:

Vampires vs. Werewolves
Chewbacca vs. Worf
Freddie vs. Jason
Alien Vs. Predator
Hippies Vs Yuppies
Barbra Streisand Vs Robert Smith of The Cure (disintigration is the best album ever!)

[Divide by Zero]

What if you were told you get to play in a campaign with pirates and ninjas, and then that you can't be either of them?

But they're robots. To make it up, let them be robot bards, with Adamantine Body, since adamantine is the hardest metal known the man in D&D.

[paddyfool]

Yarrr... let me tell ye a yarn. A yarn of a time when we be havin' to forge a truce with our ancient enemy... the ninjas.

So. You have earned your sword, young ninja. But you have earned more than that - you have earned a little knowledge. A knowledge of a time that we hope will never come again...

Around the archipelago of Telanvar, and from the skies to the mountains of Bethel, and across all the rest of the known world, pirates and ninjas have fought for as long as either can remember. Each honed their skills against the other, their skill with weapons, their ingenuity, and their guile. Discipline learnt through intense training pitted against wills tempered by battles with the worst the sea could provide.

But there was a time when they had to set aside that feud. The time when a dark portal opened, and strange new monsters arrived through it; when dark sorceries called the dead from their graves, and armies of the damned riding upon man-eating reptiles sought to lay waste entire to the world of men. The invaders were stopped only by a hitherto-unheard-of allegiance; of pirate standing with ninja united against the common foe, and taking a ship right through the portal to the other side, before assassinating the very dark lord that ordered the invasion and destroying the gateway he had used to open the portal. Only a single pirate, and a single ninja, made it back to tell the tale of the other side before the portal closed.

And now, hundreds of years later... the invaders return.

[Horoar]

^ I like it. Suitably epic with room for sillyness.

[Cogidubnus]

Because no one else has done it yet: http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/17p33

http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/2p13

Pirates. Fighting Ninjas.

[randomhero00]

And the dark lord should be a Brock Sampson cyborg.

/Brock voice "TeRrrrMINate!!!"

[Dairun Cates]

You should check out this homebrew, if you want the full-fledged pirate vs ninja conflict.

Second... but then again. I made it.

I'm still updating frequently though (I forget to place an update on the front page sometimes). Carpentarrs (pirates with replaceable limbs and once a battle attacks like Rocket Punches) are due by the end of the week. Not to mention I was about to add a few monsters to the bestiary.

There is a setting too. Although, it's mostly being developed as beta-testing is continuing. Most of the setting right now is faction backstories and the big story about how the world got screwed over by 3 super-powered heroes that all disappeared at the same time.

But you know what my system has that other systems don't? Shopkeeps that can suck you into an alternate dimension and beat you up, dance-fighting, and an entire series of insult abilities that actually do significant enough damage to taunt a target to DEATH.

EDIT:

Co-operation seeems to require some kind of threat to both parties. Velocoraptors FTW. Does anyone have stats?

Oh, and yes we have those. Along with 3 versions of T-rexes.

[Kurald Galain]

No, no, the PCs needs to be Warforged. A third party in the epic battle.

A revenant warforged.

[Icewraith]

You link to Dr. Mcninja and you don't realize what would require Ninjas and Pirates teaming up against?

Shame, Shame.

Shame shame shame shame shame!

[Tyrandar]

Yeah, I think the best chance for a matchup would be Ninjas (of the Coast) versus Land-Invading Pirates.

[Kiroth6]

Second... but then again. I made it.

Having gone through the homebrew as a player and having played a couple other systems, I'm going to have to throw my vote for Pirates v. Ninjas as well. It's definitely had its share of over the top silliness. Here's an idea of what we ran into in the game

Velociraptors? Check
Show down between pirates and mountain ninjas in a port town? Check
Ninjas fighting a T-Rex? Check
Pirates taking on a giant whale with bungee cords and cannons? Check
Airship battle with sky pirates complete with exploding zepplin? Check
Pirates and ninjas forced to team up to fight an army of undead zombie pirates and ninjas? Check
Said battle ending with zombie ninjas and pirates on fire? Check

Honestly I wouldn't recommend trying to do it in 3.5 even if it can be done. It's more difficult to get a proper pirate or ninjas and still get them to be a functional member of your party. It just gets kinda dull when you're all simply sword sages and fighters.

Seriously though, you should look over it because it seems to have exactly what you're looking for and you don't need to worry about house ruling a bunch of stuff. Both Pirate and ninja groups have a variety of things to offer and its been easy to pick up.

[Horoar]

IS it suitable for a group expecting a 3.5 campaighn?

[Greenish]

IS it suitable for a group expecting a 3.5 campaighn?

It'll be good for them to broaden their horizons.

[Dairun Cates]

It'll be good for them to broaden their horizons.

What he said. Trying out a new system every once in a while is a nice break of pace. Most of my campaigns have been d20 and tri-stat based systems, but it's been good for my group when we tried out new systems. Not all of them worked, but the ones that did, we've loved.

Also, despite the relative length of it, I built the system on a "simplicity builds to complexity" philosophy.

Which is to say that what you REALLY need to know to play is:
1. Roll 2d6 for all rolls
2. No stat goes above a 10. Breaking it on to hit, dodge, and skill check gives extra damage, DR, and skill check bonuses on rare occasions.
3. Abilities control everything you do. They can also cost Life (HP) to use.
4. Ganging up on enemies gives penalties. (-1 to all rolls for every 2 to 1 you outnumber them).
5. Each combat round happens by rolling reaction and writing down your attack action for the turn.
6. Reaction is essentially initiative, except having a higher one can help you avoid some attacks entirely or get certain effects from certain abilities, and it's rolled every turn.
7. One move action and one attack action per turn. You can use as many non-attack abilities as you can afford to in a turn.
8. Doing awesome things give awesome points that allow you to be awesome and use awesome abilities.
9. Buffs and Debuffs all stack, but each one can only effect a target once. Effective roll can't go below +1.

That's 90% of the base mechanics. If the players want to do stupid acrobatic stunts, make up some agility and body check target numbers for them to make (10-12's usually pretty good), and let them do it if they make it.

Everything else is pretty much explained in the flavor text of abilities or character creation (ie. advanced mechanics and derived stats like movement, life, and reaction). So, most of the complexity comes from what abilities you choose to have and how they interact. Think of it as a gameplay complexity buffet. You only pick to make your character as complex as you want.

So, once you get it down as a GM, it's not hard to teach to players, and I'm actively working on it and trying to refine it for eventual publishing. So, I'm always open to answer questions.

I'll openly admit that the background hasn't been fleshed out in terms of geography (there's no maps, and even the beta campaign has primarily been about a dozen different locations and the non-descript trade roads between them), but I have built in possible pre-existing character motives with the faction histories and how they interplay with each other. For instance, becoming primarily a craftsmen puts yourself as a member of a guild that controls a large portion of the commerce in the world, while being a Gunnar puts you in touch with some excellent mechanics, and being an Evadinja means you should be extra careful about showing your new pirate skills to your old dojo friends. There's currently a lot to play with there and with the story of the Legendary Three Heroes and how its effected the world. The rest is just giving your players interesting places to go.

I've already built in most of what you wanted in this topic before you even asked. It's flexible, has an in-game reason for Pirates and Ninjas to work together while still having a healthy rivalry, has ridiculous monsters, and is built around epic battles and over the top stunts.

... and honestly, I've already been looking into getting some extra beta testing. The current beta testers are people I've known for a while. So, I've had a few skewed opinions I've needed to compensate for. I'd not only be willing to answer any questions or give some "straight from the creator" information when you needed it, but the actual extra perspective would help me in my research and the balancing of the game for a wider audience.

Call it service to the community or charity. It'll guilt them into trying it.

Of course, just to offer another non-d20 alternative out of sake of fairness, Seventh Sea does swash-buckling pirates really well. It isn't that hard just to reflavor some NPCs as Ninjas. It's also pretty easy to get into. Roll d10s and hit a target number of successes. Taunt guys and do ridiculous stunts.

Honestly, I can't think of too many d20 systems that do over the top too well though. Mutants and Masterminds is too much superheroes and not enough pirates and ninjas, and base d20 really restricts things like jump height and acrobatics sometimes. Maybe BESM d20. It's a pretty hodge podge system, but if your group doesn't spend every waking moment breaking systems, it's really not too bad. Just be ware that the classes are incredibly unbalanced (hot rod is all but useless, while ninja is meh, and adventurer and monster trainer are too flexible for their own good).

Hope that helps.

[Hobs]

Second... but then again. I made it.

You made it for a class? What kind of class lets you make a campaign setting as an assignment? That's awesome!