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I am thinking about going the OTHER WAY, and completely redoing Ninja as a d10, full BAB hybrid of Slayer and Unchained Monk, keeping Ninja Tricks mostly as they are, but also opening up Qinggong Powers. And while we're at it, introduce Unchained Ninja with some archetypes, including a Shadowdancer archetype.
I want to see this.
looks like you better get to work, UAE.
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Unchained Ninja
When the wealthy and the powerful need an enemy eliminated quietly and without fail, they call upon the ninja. When a general needs to sabotage the siege engines of his foes before they can reach the castle walls, he calls upon the ninja. And when fools dare to move against a ninja or her companions, they will find the ninja waiting for them while they sleep, ready to strike. These shadowy killers are masters of infiltration, sabotage, and assassination, using a wide variety of weapons, practiced skills, and mystical powers to achieve their goals.
Role: The ninja spends almost all of her time honing her skills, practicing her art, or working on her next assignment. Even when not specifically working, the ninja is ever vigilant and ready for the situation to turn deadly. Her line of work earns her many enemies, but it is a list that she frequently reduces through assassination and misdirection.
Alignment: Any
HD: d10
BAB: Full
Saves: Reflex
Skill Ranks: 6 + INT
Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Ninja are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the kama, katana, kusarigama, nunchaku, sai, shortbow, short sword, shuriken, siangham, and wakizashi. They are proficient with light armor but not with shields.
1 - 1st Studied Target, Poison Use
2 - *Ki Pool, Ninja Trick
3 - **No Trace, Sneak Attack +1d6
4 - Still Mind, Ninja Trick
5 - 2nd Studied Target
6 - Ninja Trick
7 - Light Steps, Sneak Attack +2d6
8 - Ninja Trick
9 - Evasion
10 - Master Tricks, Ninja Trick, 3rd Studied Target
11 - Hide in Plain Sight, Sneak Attack +3d6
12 - Ninja Trick
13 - Tongue of the Sun and Moon
14 - Ninja Trick
15 - 4th Studied Target, Sneak Attack +4d6
16 - Improved Evasion, Ninja Trick
17 - Timeless Body
18 - Ninja Trick
19 - Flawless Mind, Sneak Attack +5d6
20 - Hidden Master, Ninja Talent, 5th Studied Target
*Ninja Tricks: May select Uncanny Dodge, Improved, or Ki Power
**No Trace: The benefits are doubled against a Studied Target
looks like you better get to work, UAE.
Too late. I just got Ninja'd by rainzax.
Unchained Ninja
** spoiler omitted **...
I like it, but Still Mind, Tongue of the Sun and Moon, and Timeless Body feel totally out of place. Also, does the ki pool work like the ninja's ki pool or the monk's ki pool? They have different default abilities.
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Well, as both the Ranger and Unchained Monk are included as part of the inspiration, there were a few dead levels after importing over Studied Target, Sneak Attack, and Talents. I chose Evasion and Improved Evasion from the Ranger and Still Mind and Flawless Mind from the Unchained Monk.
The class needed better saving throws with only Reflex being strong.
Anyhow that left level level 13 and 17 open. Do you have a suggestion as what could replace Tongue and Timeless here? Slayer's Advance didn't seem to fit because the Ninja's Ki Pool already covers additional movement.
Sorry I couldn't help myself!
Maybe you could do the Shadowdancer Archetype?
Don't have very much time right now, but given what you've got above, here's a rough outline:
Stuff that Shadowdancer prestige class gets that an Unchained Ninja as you have it above doesn't get by default (Talent means that it could be selected as a Talent -- note that the prestige class levels need to be offset by 5 to get approximate base class levels):
1. -
2. Darkvision, Uncanny Dodge (Talent)
3. Shadow Illusion (starts scaling sequence), Summon Shadow
4. Shadow Call, Shadow Jump (starts scaling sequence)
5. Defensive Roll, Improved Uncanny Dodge (Talent)
6. -
7. Slippery Mind (Talent)
8. Shadow Power (starts scaling sequence)
9. -
10. Improved Evasion, Shadow Master
Stuff that you have that could be replaced:
Every 4n + 0 or 4n + 2. Half of Ninja Tricks, or make some Shadowdancer abilities into Talents
Every 4n + 1 except 1. Studied Target (keep 1st and maybe 5th level instances, but replace the rest)
4. Still Mind
13. Tongue of the Sun and Moon
17. Timeless Body
19. Flawless Mind
So here is a summary of proposed substitutions:
5. Darkvision replaces 2nd Studied Target
7. Hide in Plain Sight replaces Light Steps (they are interchanged)
9. Summon Shadow replaces rest of Studied Targets
11. Light Steps replaces Hide in Plain Sight (they are interchanged)
13. Defensive Roll replaces Tongue of the Sun and Moon
17. Shadow Master replaces Timeless Body
Shadow Illusion becomes a Talent that has Summon Shadow as a prerequisite.
Shadow Call becomes a Talent that has Shadow Illusion as a prerequisite.
Shadow Power becomes an Advanced Talent that has Shadow Illusion as a prerequisite.
Unchained Ninja
** spoiler omitted **...
Kudos for the work.... but in my mind the D10 BAB just doesnt fit. The ninja is a very slight, slim individual with a focus on agility and precision than muscle and stamina.
Light armoured/no-armoured and definitely no shield
Unchained Ninja
** spoiler omitted **...Kudos for the work.... but in my mind the D10 BAB just doesnt fit. The ninja is a very slight, slim individual with a focus on agility and precision than muscle and stamina.
Light armoured/no-armoured and definitely no shield
What does Hit Die and base attack bonus have to do with muscle and not being slim? Does having a D10 Hit Die somehow make you hulking? Plus, base attack bonus represents your combat skill and ninjas are highly trained combatants. Real ninja were probably rather strong.
I agree with you on armor, but the ninja is already only have light armor.
also,
Hit points are an abstraction. When a fighter gains a level, his body does not suddenly become more resistant to damage. A sword's strike does not suddenly do proportionately less damage. Rather, hit points suggest that the fighter has undergone more training, and while he may have improved his ability to deal with wounds to a small degree, the hit points gained at higher levels reflect less his capacity for physical punishment and more his skill at avoiding hits, his ability to dodge and twist and turn. Each loss of hit points, in this case, suggests that he is becoming progressively less nimble over the course of combat—in other words, that the decreasing hit points are a marker for his overall endurance and condition. It's not quite as satisfying, however, to roll a critical hit and then tell a player that his opponent ducked out of the way, but that the sword's slash made the enemy a little less lucky.