Hi, my name is Anburaid, and I have a ninja build addiction ... I have been addicted to ninjas for 20 years.
ahem! ok, now that that is out of the way, I came up with some monk substitution levels for the ninja build enthusiast who wants to make a ninja but not with the CAv.
Most people making ninjas tend to make multiclassed monk/rogues and that is a fine way to go about things. However there are some parts of both classes that tend to not fit as well, or don't have the right emphasis (which only matters to a ninja build addict such as myself). The goal here is to swap out some class features for ones more apt for a classic ninja. As with all ninja builds this build cannot cover all the contingencies/nuances, but my hope is that we can make a better, more evocative ninja.
First off, the chassis for this build is the monk class. The monk gets features that are evocative of special/mystic training, and is more than a skill based character. Monks and ninjas share a peasant background, developed their weapons from farming implements, and more importantly they do were not thieves
So here we go!
1st level
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies:
A ninja is proficient with club, shortbow, dagger, nekode (climbing claws), dart, kama, quarterstaff, naginata, shortspear, short sword, shuriken, chain, blowgun, and spear.
Infiltration Skills:
In place of a high fort save, the ninja gains bluff, disguise, and sleight of hand as class skills. He replaces knowledge (history) and knowledge (religion) with knowledge (nature) and knowledge (local).
Deceptive Attacks:
The ninja does not gain the flurry of blows feature, and any level where he would receive improved unarmed damage, the ninja can opt to gain +1d6 sneak attack instead. If he chooses to gain a sneak attack at 1st level, his improved unarmed damage is 1d3.
Bonus Feats:
The ninja adds Quickdraw, Blind-fighting, and Nimble Moves to his bonus feat list in leu of Catch-all, Deflect Arrows, and Throw Anything.
At 6th level he adds Wind Stance in leu of Improved Bullrush.
At 10th level he adds Lightning Stance in leu of Snatch Arrows.
Ki Sight:
At 4th level, in place of using Ki points to add and extra flurry attack, the ninja can use a ki point to give him darkvision 60' for 1 minute.
Hidden Mind:
At 5th level in place of Purity of Body, the ninja is treated as being under the effects of a non-detection spell. The effective caster level of the spell is equal to the ninja's class level.
ok, well that is what I have so far. The later levels of monk are actually very ninja friendly. Diamond Soul could probably be swapped out, along with Tongue of the Sun and Moon, but i haven't thought of anything apropos yet. Ideas? Comments?
huh, well seems you can't edit starting posts. Bummer for me (and my over-excited posting tendencies).
huh, well seems you can't edit starting posts. Bummer for me (and my over-excited posting tendencies).
From my experience, it seems you get an hour or two to edit your post then they're locked for good. Kind of a weird quirk on this board, never encountered that before.
Warning! Sorta large post with some small updates and clarifications (as well as more coherent writing I hope).
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies:
A ninja is proficient with the club, quarterstaff, short bow, dagger, nekode, short sword, kama, kusari gama, short spear, shuriken, chain, blowgun, and spear.
Infiltration Skills:
In place of a high fort save, the ninja gains bluff, sleight of hand, and disguise as class skills. The ninja replaces knowledge (religion) and knowledge (history) for for knowledge (nature) and knowledge (local) on his list of class skills.
Deceptive tactics:
In place of a monk's Flurry of Blows and increased unarmed damage, the ninja gains +1d6 sneak attack at level 1, and increases the damage by +1d6 every other level. The ninja is still treated as having improved unarmed strike, but his unarmed attack damage is 1d3. A ninja's melee weapon can be substituted as his unarmed strike for the purposes of other monk class features, such as Stunning Fist or Ki strike.
Bonus feats:
The ninja adds Quickdraw, Blind-fight, and Nimble Moves to his bonus feat list in leu of Catch-all, Deflect Arrows, and Throw Anything.
At 6th level the ninja adds Wind Stance in leu of Improved Bull Rush.
At 10th level he adds Lightning Stance in leu of Snatch Arrows.
Ki Sight:
In place of using a Ki point to add an additional flurry attack, the ninja can use a Ki point to gain darkvision 60' for 1 minute.
Hidden Soul:
In place of Purity of Body, the ninja is treated as being under the persistent effect of a non-detection spell of a caster level equal to the ninja's class level.
Camouflage:
In place of Diamond Soul, the ninja can use stealth in a natural environment such as grasslands or forests, even if the terrain does not grant concealment.
Thousand Faces:
In place of Tongues of the Sun and Moon, the ninja can cast alter self at will as spell-like ability.
So I took out the naginata from the weapon profs and included the kusari gama. Originally I was going to include some samurai weapons because ninja often impersonate samurai. But what this class is meant to do is specifically represent the aspects of the ninja training. If a ninja impersonates samurai on a regular basis, the should probably take one level of samurai, or fighter to get the right proficiencies.
multiclassing in general is something a lot of ninja probably do, ironically brings them back to how they functioned in the 1st edition Oriental Adventures book. I ninja without a second class have probably appears most often as a peasant or itinernant monk.
I changed Deceptive Strikes so that the ninja's weapon can be used in place of an unarmed attack for all those juicy monk feats, like Stunning Fist, Gorgon's Fist etc. They tend to fall behind the monk in comparable damage if they have to use their less powerful unarmed strike for all their special condition attacks.
Camouflage is classic ninja ability but it comes in a fairly late level, so I might have to change that. Diamond soul is cool, but the ninja really could use camouflage more. It might make sense to swap camouflage in for Diamond body and swap Diamond Body into Diamond Soul's spot. Having an immunity to poison means the ninja can poison his weapons to his hearts delight, as well as use really unconventional attacks, like mouth darts without fear of being poisoned.
This ninja build does not use spells or supernatural effects to vanish in combat. Rather it uses the standard stealth rules, specifically the use of bluff to cause a distraction allowing one to use stealth while being observed. As long as the ninja can make it to some concealment, which could be as little as an area of dim light, they can become stealthed.
To facilitate the move to concealment many ninja use smoke bombs. Smoke bombs are basically smoke sticks. Other techniques involve tossing of shuriken to cause an opponent or opponents to duck just long enough to for the ninja to stealth into concealment.
Once concealed, a ninja has to stay concealed, and this can be pretty difficult as guards with lamps come running after you. Caltrops tend to be a good idea here, to slow their advance. Primarily however, a ninja will have to get good distance on their pursuers to avoid being revealed. Acrobatics, fast movement, and climbing are the big deal here. Another technique is for the ninja to create prearranged hiding places, like holes in the ground that can be quickly covered up. The camouflage substitution level represents a higher level of this technique where the ninja blends in with there environment almost naturally.
Nekode: These are the infamous climbing claws of the ninja. They a specialized version spiked gauntlets with the claws located on the inside of the palm. Nekode give the ninja a +1 circumstantial bonus to climb checks.
Chain: Also called a manriki gusari, this length of chain anywhere from 2 to 5 feet in length with with weights on both ends. as a medium sized weapon, it causes 1d6 damage, with a x2 critical, and weighs about 3 lbs. It provides a +2 circumstantial bonus to trip and disarming maneuvers. Despite their size as medium weapons, chains can be used with the weapon finesse feat. Some chains are double length, weighing 4 lbs and costing twice as much. A double sized chain can be used as a double weapon like the quarterstaff, or as a 10 foot reach weapon. A chain costs 15gp
Kusari gama: The Kusari gama or "sickle and chain" is a double weapon, with a Kama on one end and a weighted chain on the other. The kusari gama, like the chain, provides a +2 circumstantial bonus to trip and disarm maneuvers. The length of the chain allows it to used a 10 foot reach weapon. A kusari gama costs 32gp.
Blowgun: The blowgun is usually made from bamboo reed, fire needles that are often tipped with poison. Needles fired from a blow gun do 1 point of damage and have a x2 crit, and have a range increment of 10 feet plus the character's constitution bonus. A blow gun costs 1gp, while a set of 20 needles cost 2 gp.
Black Eggs: These are small black lacquered eggs that have been hollowed out and filled with dust, ash, crushed glass, and sometimes crushed peppers. They are either crushed in the hand and tossed directly in an opponent's face, or the egg is itself tossed at opponent from a distance. When used in melee range, the attacker makes a melee touch attack to spray the dust in the opponent's face. When lobbed from a distance the attacker makes a ranged touch attack at a -2 penalty to hit the opponent's face. Black eggs have a 10 foot range increment. The victim of this attack must make a reflex save vs DC 15 or be blinded for 1d4 rounds. A successful save keeps the victim from being blinded. Black eggs are not normally sold but can be crafted with a craft (alchemy) check DC 15. A black egg has materials cost of 10gp and a "market price" of 30gp.
Alchemical Night-Suit:
Ninja night-suits are often worn to improve their ability to hide in dark places. While they might seem unremarkable, the silk like cloth subtly absorbs light, and does not rustle with movement. These clothes are mostly black, but are often dyed slightly red to hide blood stains. The material is very thin and light and can be sewn into the lining of normal clothing so they can be quickly reversed and hidden. A full night suit includes a mask, tabi foot boots, forearm coverings, a wide sash worn across the waste, and contains many padded hidden pockets. It provides a +2 circumstantial bonus to stealth checks. Alchemical night-suits are generally sold but can be crafted with a DC 20 craft (alchemy) check. Its material cost is 20gp and its "market price" costs 60gp.
I have also been considering making a substitution level for stunning fist. Extreme sight and senses are classic ninja powers. There are stories of ninja who pay so much attention to their surroundings they can find hidden enemies, or detect their opponent's hidden intentions. Also, it was pointed out in the ninja conversion thread that ninjas should get some help seeing in the dark since they spend so much time there. Sadly they don't get a lot of love in this build. Also Uncanny Dodge should probably be included in not just for the fact that if you can sneak attack you probably know how not to be sneak attacked. So I am considering an enhanced senses power that goes like so.
1st - Blind-Fight
4th - Uncanny Dodge
8th - Improved Uncanny Dodge
12 - Darkvison
16 - Detect Thoughts SLA at will (requires concentration)
20 - Detect thoughts (no concentration)
This would require dropping stunning fist which would be sorta sad, but it could be added back in as a bonus feat, just no advanced forms of it. It also means that the level 4 Ki power would need tweaking. Perhaps returning it to an offensive power (like the bonus flurry is for monks). Perhaps it might add an additional +1d6 to sneak attacks or perhaps deny specific enemy their dex bonus by moving at blinding speed?
Is this too much awesome compared to a monk's stunning fist? Stunning fist is kind of the monk's contribution to group combat. is this fair?
Edit
After thinking about it, it does over-reach. the additions on stunning fist are about the level of a feat chain and this chain above is way beyond feats.
Perhaps trade stunning fist for Blind-fight at 1st (after all you are training versus teachers that an be pretty much invisible), Uncanny Dodge at 4th, and Improved Uncanny at 8th. 4th Level Ki power could then be where stunning fist comes back, but more as a stunning weapon attack (and only stunning, no fatigue/sickening/paralysis). It kinda fits in the way that some classes get similar abilities 4 level later.
Deceptive Attacks:
The ninja does not gain the flurry of blows feature, and any level where he would receive improved unarmed damage, the ninja can opt to gain +1d6 sneak attack instead. If he chooses to gain a sneak attack at 1st level, his improved unarmed damage is 1d3.
This is the version of Deceptive Tactics that is supposed to be posted. Posted an old version by accident.
I too am a ninja addict, so don't feel to bad.
Instead of level substitutions or any silly thing like that i made a simple template.
All pc's are ninja's: making the campaign a little focused.
All pc's have stealth as a class skill. this means far less under pathfinder but it's still cool.
All pc's have death attack: as per assassin, DC=1/2+10+int mod. it makes the pc's more powerful, but they are all more powerful so it's even.
+2 skill points: due to training.
and the pc's have to be loyal to a clan of ninja's, if they don't they are hunted down and killed by the clan.
this allows the ninja to be any class, and work towards a goal as a group. I find it works well. if you're not playing in a ninja camp, you shouldn't include ninja's, they wouldn't work. just play a rogue or a monk and dress funny.