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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Bergen

    Default Ninjutsu (Ninja subsystem)- Suggestions needed

    One of my players is quite fond of ninjas, and his enthusiasm inspired the creation of Ninjutsu as a way to give ninjas more tricks in their belt. I feel like I've got a decent start, but I could use some ideas for further techniques if anyone is feeling particularly inspired. Especially secret maneuvers I can use for quest rewards. Anyway, without further ado.

    Spoiler: Flavour and basic rules
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    Ninjutsu is the art of channeling Ki through ritualistic hand gestures in order to actively manipulate the self and the world around you. Though learning the hand gesture is simple enough, a true practitioner of Ninjutsu can draw upon the meaning of the gesture or even chain of gestures to create powerful effects. There are a total of ten hand seals. One can learn to channel the energy of an individual seal by either a feat, or as a Ninja Trick.

    A character must know at least one seal in order to identify ninjutsu as being ninjutsu, and identifying which ninjutsu was activated is a Knowledge: Religion check, DC 15 + 3 per hand seal used.

    Furthermore, if a character knows at least one seal, he can use hand gestures to communicate silently with someone else who can see the practitioners hands. The fact that a message is being transmitted can be hidden from others by a Bluff check opposing a Sense Motive check. Non-practitioners get a -10 to the Sense Motive check.

    Activating a gesture requires ninjutsu knowledge of every gesture that makes up the whole "sentence". Unless otherwise noted, activating a ninjutsu requires a standard action and spending 1 ki. The DC to resist ninjitsu is 10+1/2 the practitioner's character level + their wisdom modifier.

    The gestures and their meanings are:
    Chi: Earth (Soil, mud, metal, acid, endurance, resistance, the concept of solid ground)
    Sui: Water (Ice, cold, fog, restoration, distortion, delusion, intellect, wisdom, perception, the sea)
    Ka: Fire (Heat, passion, destruction, transformation, the sun, strength, society and the relationships with others)
    Fu: Wind (Motion, speed, lightness, agility, evasion, clouds and all other forms of vapour)
    Ku: Void (Gravity, the difference between the self and the not-self, the ethereal plane, emptiness, separation)
    Jin: Mind (Intelligence and Dexterity, understanding, knowledge and truth)
    Sha: Body (Strength and Constitution, life, growth)
    Zen: Spirit (Wisdom and Charisma, manipulation of the soul, ghosts)
    Zai: Heaven (The sky, lightning, ascension)
    Retsu: Space and Time (Travel, the planes, unification, wholeness, continuity)



    Spoiler: One syllable ninjutsu
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    Chi: (Sp) Create a slippery surface, like that of the Grease spell, with a duration of 1 minute per character level.
    Sui: (Su) Momentarily distort your visible form. For up to 1 round per character level, you may appear to be in any square neighbouring the one you are actually in. This distortion fools True Seeing, but not modes of perception that do not rely on sight.
    Ka: (Su) Your weapons gain the flaming property for one round per level. Ka may be activated as a Swift action, in which case it lasts until the start of your next turn.
    Fu: (Ex) Increase your movement speed by 5 feet, + another 5 feet at level 8 and every four levels afterwards. This effect lasts for 1 minute per character level.
    Ku: (Ex) For 1 round per character level, all your thrown and ranged weapons increase their damage dice by one step.
    Jin: (Ex) The practitioner enters a mental trance which permits them to maintain a watch through the night without feeling fatigue. The trance lasts a total of eight hours, during which the practitioner can only do very light work such as keeping watch or moving at a leisurely pace. Strenuous action such as crafting magic items, combat or studying will break the trance. If the trance lasts the full eight hours, the practitioner recovers as if they had enjoyed a full night's rest.
    Sha: (Ex) Gain +1 Competence bonus to Attack and Damage rolls for one round per level. Sha may be activated as a Swift action, in which case it lasts until the start of your next turn. Zen: (Su) Your weapons gain the ghost touch property for one round per level. Zen may be activated as a Swift action, in which case it lasts until the start of your next turn.
    Zai: (Su) Your weapons gain the shocking property for one round per level. Zai may be activated as a Swift action, in which case it lasts until the start of your next turn.
    Retsu: (Su) Retsu is activated as part of movement such as a move action or a charge. Until the end of the movement the practitioner becomes ethereal. He provokes AoOs as normal, but may only be hurt by force effects and ghost touch weapons, and may move through solid objects so long as the movement ends in an open space, and so long he does not pass through stone, wood, metal or other solid construction materials of more than one inch thickness.


    Spoiler: Two syllable ninjutsu
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    Ka-Chi: (Sp) Create a slippery surface, like that of the Grease spell, with a duration of 1 minute per character level. As a free action, you may ignite the grease. During the flare up it deals 1d6 fire damage for every two character levels of the practitioner. Then, for one round per level or the remaining initial duration, whichever is shorter, everyone within the burning field takes 1d6 points of fire damage at the start of their turn.
    Sui-Fu: (Sp) Continually create a mist around the practitioner as per Obscuring Mist. The effect begins tethered to the practitioner, and as long as it remains tethered the mist is renewed every round for the duration of the effect. As a free action, the ninja can release the mist, in which case it lingers at the spot where it is released until the end of the spell effect.
    Chi-Sui: (Sp) Throw a mudball, as the spell, except you also deal 1d4 points of damage per character level.
    Fu-Sha: (Ex) The practitioner gains +1 dodge AC, which increases by 1 every fifth level (+2 at level 5, +3 at level 10 and so on). The effect lasts for 1 minute per level.
    Chi-Ka/Zai: (Su) The practitioner conjures up to 1 shuriken per 2 character levels, up to a maximum of their character level. The shurikens remain hovering around the practitioner for up to 1 round per level. As a free action, a practitioner can throw one shuriken at a target within 30 feet, or all of them as a standard action. Attacking with a shuriken is a ranged touch attack that provokes no attack of opportunity, and each shuriken deals 1 piercing and 1d8 fire/lightning damage.
    Ku-Jin: (Ex) For 1 round per character level, gain immunity to fear and charm effects. If during the duration of this effect you fail a save against a compulsion effect, you may expend the effect to reroll your save with a +4 bonus.
    Ku-Sha: (Su) This ninjutsu is activated as a swift action. Until the start of the practitioner's next turn, every attack has a 50% chance to miss, unless the attack is a force effect or has the ghost touch property.
    Ku-Zen: (Su) For 1 minute per character level, the practitioner can not be detected by detection spells such as detect thoughts or detect alignment. They can still be discerned by divination and scrying spells or the like.
    Jin-Zai: (Ex) For 1 minute per character level, the practitioner's dexterity and intelligence is increased by 2. This is an enhancement bonus. The bonus increases to +4 at level 10, +6 at level 15 and +8 at level 20.
    Jin-Sha: (Ex) For 1 minute per character level, the practitioner's strength and constitution is increased by 2. This is an enhancement bonus. The bonus increases to +4 at level 10, +6 at level 15 and +8 at level 20.
    Jin-Zai: (Ex) For 1 minute per character level, the practitioner's charisma and wisdom is increased by 2. This is an enhancement bonus. The bonus increases to +4 at level 10, +6 at level 15 and +8 at level 20.

    Zai-Retsu: (Sp) The practitioner conjures a thin beam of heavenly energy, which deals 4d6 points of Electricity damage. At level 7, they can conjure a second beam, and at level 11 they can conjure a third beam as part of the same action. The beams may be aimed at separate targets, but no target can be more than 60 feet from the practitioner.
    Retsu-Chi/Sui/Ka/Fu: (Sp) The practitioner conjures a thin beam from an elemental plane, which deals 4d6 points of Acid/Bludgeoning/Fire/Slashing. At level 7, they can conjure a second beam, and at level 11 they can conjure a third beam as part of the same action. The beams may be aimed at separate targets, but no target can be more than 60 feet from the practitioner.
    Retsu-Zai: (Sp) The practitioner conjures a thin beam of energy from the positive energy plane. If it hits a living target, they recover 4d6 points of damage. If it hits an undead, then the target instead takes 4d6 points of damage. At level 7, they can conjure a second beam, and at level 11 they can conjure a third beam as part of the same action. The beams may be aimed at separate targets, but no target can be more than 60 feet from the practitioner.
    Retsu-Ku: (Sp) The practitioner conjures a thin beam of energy from the negative energy plane. If it hits a living target, they take 4d6 points of damage. If it hits an undead, then the target instead heals 4d6 points of damage. At level 7, they can conjure a second beam, and at level 11 they can conjure a third beam as part of the same action. The beams may be aimed at separate targets, but no target can be more than 60 feet from the practitioner.


    Spoiler: Three syllable ninjutsu:
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    Fu-Sha-Retsu: (Ex) The practitioner gains the benefit of the haste spell, with a duration of 1 round per character level.
    Ku-Zen-Zai: (Su) The practitioner dispels magic as the Dispel Magic spell, except the effect is an area centered on himself, and the caster level is equal to the practitioner's character level. Alternatively, Ku-Zen-Zai may be performed as part of standard attack, with the dispel effect being targeted at the same target as the attack.
    Sha-Zai-Chi/Sui/Ka/Fu: (Sp) The practitioner gains energy protection as the spell Protection from Energy, targeting acid/cold/electricity/fire except that it can only affect himself, and protects for 12 points of damage for every character level.
    Ku-Zen-Zai: (Sp) The practitioner emulates the nondetection spell, except they may only target themselves or an item in their possession.



    Spoiler: Secret ninjutsu:
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    Ku-Jin-Sha-Zen: (Su) The practitioner creates a single shadowy clone of himself. This clone mimics all actions done by the ninja, but can not perform any actions costing ki, nor may it activate magical items. It's stats are exactly like that of the ninja at the time of casting, but all damage it does is reduced by half (rounded up). The clone lasts for 5 rounds.
    Chi-Ka-Jin-Zai: (Su) At the cost of 2 ki, the practitioner gains DR/Adamantite equal to half his character level (rounded up). This effect lasts for one minute.
    Jin-Sha-Zen-Retsu-Zai: (Su) At the cost of 2 ki, the practitioner may shift planes like the plane shift spell.
    Jin-Sha-Zen-Retsu-Zai-Ku: (Su) At the cost of 2 ki, the practitioner may shift planes like the plane shift spell. In addition the practitioner may bring with him others. The cost increases by 1 ki for each person he brings along.
    Jin-Sha-Zen-Sui-Ka-Zai: (Sp) At the cost of 3 ki, the practitioner may heal as per the Breath of Life spell. Alternatively, if the target is a corpse that can be raised by raise dead, the practitioner can spend all his Ki to revive the deceased. This revival ritual takes one minute to perform and inflicts 1 point of wisdom penalty for each level/HD of the revived creature. The penalty can not reduce the practitioner's wisdom below 1 and fades at a rate of 1 per day.


  2. - Top - End - #2
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    WhiteWizardGirl

    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: Ninjutsu (Ninja subsystem)- Suggestions needed

    So, to summarize: these are selectable as Feats/menu options, and each one gives a single ability. If you have multiple, you get increasing numbers of combinations, and there are some longer combinations that can only be learned as quest rewards. It kinda reminds me of Illumian sigils, though expanded a fair bit.

    I like this idea in theory, and I think that you have made an interesting variety of options, but I will need to take a closer look at the execution, and see what specific suggestions I can give. I'll write up a detailed response in a few hours, after I get home form work.

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