Ok, so I've been wanting to make a Ninja like this for a long time. While I will obviously be capable of stealth and such I didn't want it to be my main focus for a number of reasons. The main two are that PFS play rarely gives good opportunities for stealth to be rewarded, either because the scenario doesn't have a lot of opportunities or because no one I play with is ever a stealth character by any means so no one can join in on my exploits. I also have conceptual ideas as to why I want to do this. As opposed to the super stealth assassin concept of ninjas I was hoping to make my ninja be a mix of Joe Mushashi (Shinobi series mainly looking at Shinobi 3), Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden) and while it is a subpar anime Naruto. The first two ninjas are powerful combatants who have a small amount of magic at their disposal and at least in the games I've played were not all that stealthy. The main thing I'm wanting to pull from Naruto other than combat prowess is the Ki element of these ninjas and the use of scrolls to perform certain powerful magics.
Plz make all suggestions PFS legal.
That said my goals for this character are:
-Effective melee combatant
-large focus on ki pool and ki abilities
-able to easily use Scrolls, I know they are harder to use than wands but using scrolls allows me to choose what spells I want to bring to a scenario as opposed to having a few wands that are expensive and thus having a more limited selection. I will have wands of spells I will use routinely such as dark vision as I don't like any of the races with dark vision for this concept.
- other than scrolls have as many useful "magical" options as possible
-Achieve all this without Multiclassing
I'm pretty clueless on what traits to take, feat and trick suggestions as well as suggestions for spells and scrolls would be most helpful. I like the idea of the major magic trick and was thinking shocking grasp would be nice, but I don't know what catnip would be useful for minor magic or if that is just gonna be a waste. If there are any ways to get more uses of these spell like abilities that would be awesome!
Thx in advance
I know exactly what kind of concept you mean and it's something that I've been building around for years. My first tip would be to not associate the name "Ninja" with your concept. Ninjas can be Monks, Wizards, Clerics- it all depends on how you look at it/play out the concept. That said, here are my suggestions:
Sacred Fist. No, really, hear me out:
-Effective melee combatant (which is also very survivable with Fervor)
-Gets a Ki Pool with Monk goodies
-3/4ths Spellcasting
Qinggong Monk would also be good because of how much you can utilize your ki pool for SLAs. The Monk is notorious for not being as effective as other classes in many respects, but the most useful builds you can get out of the monk all probably utilize the Qinggong archetype.
Even though it doesn't have Ki, the Magus would also be an excellent option because it's good in melee and can also cast nifty spells.
And as far as using scrolls, you'll probably want a lot of UMD, and unless the class you ultimately pick has Use Magic Device as a class skill I'd suggest picking up the "Dangerously Curious" trait.
Hope this helps!
I understand that you don't have to let your class name define your character but the class offers flavorful abilities that suit the concept I was hoping for which is, well,ninja. The ability to run on water is pretty sweet, and while I don't want it to be my focus sneak attack is nice. Invisibility and shadow clone (as well as the ability to shout SHADOW CLONE JUTSU! and BELIEVE IT!) are quite welcome.
You'd be surprised to find out what spellcasting can do for you in terms of flavor. Darkness, Firebelly, Early Judgement (For Genjutsu(not that i would know anything about Naruto *shifty eyes*)), Summoning (I hear that's a big thing in Naruto(though I've never seen it who told you I did))- all of which can be very magical-ninja-y.
If you're not looking for Multiclassing, then Eldritch Heritage might work for you. Keys off of Charisma and gets you some really neat stuff depending on what bloodline you go for. It's pretty feat intensive, but it's rough trying to mix magic into a non-casting class without multiclassing.
Outside of that, going Drow and taking the Drow Nobility feats would give you access to some seriously nice stuff.
You make a good point I suppose, I'm just worried that it would be to much of a dip to get magic that would stay relevant, that or I would end up not being very effective in combat. I suppose one of the magus archetypes could decently do this concept as I believe there are some that are ever so slightly more melee oriented. I suppose I would just have to find a way to make it feel more ninja like.
Hey! Shocking grasp copying chidori is exactly what I wanted!
Also I am quite ok with skipping on the unarmed prowess of Naruto Ninjas as Joe Musashi used a katana and shurikens, same goes for Ryu. I just love shinobi 3 way more than ninja gaiden.
Also I did consider eldritch heritage but had no idea as to what ability would be worth the heavy feat tax, less heavy if I were a half elf or human but heavy none the less as I won't get many.
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Wacky suggestion: Arcane bloodrager with the Skilled Rager feat to allow Stealth even while raging.
- Invisibility from bloodline, mirror image on your spell list
- Great combatant
- UMD as a class skill and Charisma as your casting stat means plenty of magic
Obviously no ki pool, but this fulfills a lot of your conditions and requires no multiclass. Take a trait for Stealth as a class skill, and go wild.
Hm, if I could refluff rage a bit that could work, the only downside I'm seeing is that I would have little reason for dexterity as I would likely be walking around in medium armor and rage doesn't favor a dex build very much.
So what if I start out as a Kensai? Spells, very easy access to dex to damage with a dueling sword, that has all that wrapped up but now there is nothing to make me feel like a ninja, I've become a magic swordsman.
Nah I'm sure I can find the guide, although how would a rapier work with slashing grace?
Oh, while I don't much care for the visual I do see the mechanical benefits.
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Hm, if I could refluff rage a bit that could work, the only downside I'm seeing is that I would have little reason for dexterity as I would likely be walking around in medium armor and rage doesn't favor a dex build very much.
Arcane bloodragers definitely want a decent Dex score for Combat Reflexes against casters. Light armour would mean a 40 ft. movement speed, and 14 Dex would be easy with a 20 point buy.
As for rage, consider just a very quiet focus on ending your enemies?
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Tengu Shigenjo archetype Oracle. Gets a Ki Pool (eventually), spell casting of course, and you can use whichever of the Tengu's racial traits you prefer - sword trained, natural attacks with faux unarmed strike, or oriental weapons. All give interesting options.
And if you did decide to multiclass, Shigenjo and Ninja have CHA and ki pool synergy.
For UMD, try to satisfy the story requirement for Artifact Hunter. Don't know if PFS legal.
You seek an artifact—either a specific one or merely any item of legendary prowess—with dogged tenacity.
Prerequisite(s): You must have come within sight of a legendary artifact at some point in your past.
Benefit(s): You gain a +2 bonus on Use Magic Device checks when emulating a class feature, ability score, race, or alignment. If you have 10 or more ranks in Use Magic Device, this bonus increases to +4. In addition, once per day, instead of attempting a Use Magic Device check normally, you can choose to determine the result as if you had rolled a 15. If you have 10 or more ranks in Use Magic Device, you can use this ability twice per day.
Goal: Claim ownership of an artifact.
Completion Benefit(s): You learn how to coax the most out of your magic items. Three times per day when you activate a use-activated or command word magic item, you can increase the item's effective caster level by +2 as a free action. You can use this ability once per round.
Suggested Traits: Dangerously Curious, Fortunate, Secret-Keeper.
The daily Take-15 with the +2 makes occasional scroll use much easier.
/cevah