The Complete Ninjas Handbook
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DungeonsecDragons Player's Handbook Rules Supplement The Complete Ninjas Handbook By AaroSamplen fileAllston 2155XXX1501 Introduction 4 Restrictions 27 Chapter 1: The Ninja Class 5 Killer Kits 28 Ninja and Rogue 5 Chapter 4: Ninja Experience Levels 5 Proficiencies and Martial Arts 30 Ninja Class Requirements 6 Weapon Proficiencies 30 Alignment 6 Weapon Specialization Weapons and Armor 6 and Weapon Groups 30 Thieving Skills 6 Nonweapon Proficiencies 30 Ninja's Followers 8 Nonweapon Proficiencies Nonweapon Proficiencies 10 from the Player's Handbook 31 Starting Money 10 New Nonweapon Proficiencies 31 Multiclass Ninja 10 New Nonweapon Dual-class Ninja 11 Proficiency Descriptions 31 Other Character Creation Notes 11 Martial Arts 39 Chapter 2: Ninja Kits 12 Martial Arts Results 39 Kit Descriptions 12 Specializing in Martial Arts 40 Ninja Kits 12 Mixed Campaigns 40 Stealer-In 12 Advanced Martial Arts (Optional) ... .42 Shadow Warrior 12 Prerequisites to Learning Martial Arts .42 Intruder 13 Finding a Master 42 Consort 13 Training Under the Master 43 Pathfinder 14 Learning the Style 43 Lone Wolf 14 Pre-Campaign Learning 43 Spirit Warrior 14 Multiple Styles 44 Ninja Spells 16 Style Characteristics 44 First-Level Spells 16 Creating a New Style: Basics 47 Second-Level Spells Sample18 file Creating a New Style: Weapons 48 Third-Level Spells 19 Creating a New Style: Fourth-Level Spells 20 Special Maneuvers 49 Fifth-Level Spells 21 Armed and Armored Opponents 59 Sixth-Level Spells 22 Stunning and Incapacitating 61 Chapter 3: Shinobi, Spies, and Killers . .23 Hit Locations 61 Shinobi 23 Chapter 5: Tools of the Trade 62 Shinobi Fighter 23 Weapons 62 Shinobi Ranger 23 Entangling Attacks 62 Shinobi Mage 24 Prone and Entangled Opponents 62 Shinobi Illusionist 24 Weapon List 63 Shinobi Priest 25 Missile Weapon Ranges 75 Shinobi Thief 25 Armor 76 Shinobi Bard 26 Miscellaneous Equipment 76 Spies 26 Weapon Modifications 80 The Foreign Service 27 Magical and Special Treasures 81 Ninja Kits and the Spy 27 Miscellaneous Magic 81 What the Spy Does 27 Magical Weapons 84 Demihuman Spies 27 Killers 27 2 • Table of Contents Chapter 6: Country and Clan 88 25: Missile Weapon Ranges 75 Land of the Ninja 88 26: Miscellaneous Equipment 77 The Ninja Clan 90 27: Weapon Modifications 80 Chapter 7: Playing the Ninja 99 28: Ninja Clan Alignments 94 Ninja in the Outer World 99 29: Clan Member Alignments 94 Ninja in a Non-Ninja Party 102 30: Ninja Clan Resources 96 An All-Ninja Party 104 Playing The Lone Wolf 104 Credits Chapter 8: Campaigning the Ninja 105 Secrecy Within the Campaign 105 Design: Aaron Allston The Character Mix 107 Editing: Barbara G. Young Ninja Adventures 110 Black and White Art: Jim Holloway Ninja Kits in the Campaign 115 Color Art: Clyde Caldwell, Fred Fields, Ninja Clan Resources 117 Les Dorscheid Spy Campaigns 118 Typography: Tracey Isler Chapter 9: Examples 119 Production: Paul Hanchette Examples of Ninja Characters 119 Examples of Ninja Clans 123 Other Ninja-Type Organizations 125 Acknowledgements: Many elements of The Complete Ninja's Handbook were derived from Tables parts of Oriental Adventures designed by 1: Rogue Experience Levels 5 David "Zeb" Cook. In particular, portions of 2: Ninja Thieving Skill Base Scores 7 the optional Advanced Martial Arts rules are 3: Thieving Skill Dexterity Adjustments 7 drawn from Oriental Adventures. 4: Backstab Damage Multipliers 7 5: Thieving Skill Armor Adjustments .. .8 TSR, Inc. TSRLtd. 6: Clan Status 1Sample1 201 Sherida filen Springs Rd. 120 Church End, 7: Spirit Warrior Spell Progression 15 Lake Geneva Cherry Hinton 8: Spirit Warrior Experience Levels 15 WI53147 Cambridge CB13LB 9: Shinobi Thief Base Scores 26 USA United Kingdom 10: Shinobi Bard Base Scores 26 11: Proficiency Costs 30 ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, DRAGON, and DUNGEON MASTER are registered trademarks owned 12: Nonweapon Proficiency Groups .. .31 by TSR, Inc. The TSR logo is a trademark owned by TSR, Inc. 13: Broad and Tight Weapon Groups . .32 This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized 14: Enamor Proficiency Results 34 use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited 15: Escape Proficiency Penalties 35 without the express written permission of TSR, Inc. 16: Martial Arts Results 40 Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade for English language 17: Common Martial Arts Styles 45 products of TSR, Inc. Distributed to the book and hobby trade 18: Martial Style Combinations 48 in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and 19: Special Maneuvers 51 hobby trade by regional distributors. 20: Ch'i Attacks 59 ©1995 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. 21: Penalties and Bonuses Vs. Armored Opponents 60 22: Penalties Vs. Armed Opponents .. .60 23: Martial Arts Hit Locations 61 24: Weapon List 63 Table of Contents • 3 What is a ninja? Everywhere you turn, you find a different definition, especially in the Arrangement of the Sourcebook movies. Is the ninja a cruel supernatural Chapter 1: The Ninja Class provides char- assassin with godlike powers of invisibility, acter class information for the ninja. illusion, and teleportau'on? A modem, feeling Chapter 2: Ninja Kits details kits that Oriental man with family, job responsibilities, allow you to further customize ninja charac- and an interesting double life? A stone-faced ters. westerner who miraculously inherits the Chapter 3: Shinobi, Spies, and Killers duties of an ancient ninja clan tradition when introduces kits to create shinobi (adjunct his adopted brother is slain? A martial arts members of ninja clans), spies (characters built practitioner celebrating hundreds of years of with the ninja rules but employed by non- unbroken tradition? Oriental organizations, and killers (NPCs built In the AD&D® game, the ninja is a highly with the rules of the ninja class). trained spy who is expert in matters of intru- Chapter 4: Proficiencies and Martial Arts sion, sabotage, and elimination. He is part of details the roles of certain proficiencies used a tight-knit clan whose profession and goals by ninja, adds new proficiencies, and expands he shares. Some ninja are generalists, equally on martial arts and weapon proficiency rules. at home in matters of stealth and combat. Chapter 5: Tools of the Trade describes Some are specialists, becoming adept at social weapons and armor available to the ninja skills, magic, or interaction with nature. character. They're all exotic, secretive, and danger- Chapter 6: Country and Clan discusses the ous—just the thing for the player who's feed role of the ninja character within his culture. of stand-up fighters, clean-cut clerics, and Chapter 7: Playing the Ninja provides nearsighted scholar-mages. information and tactics for the player who Ninja have been here before, in the pages of intends to play a ninja character. DRAGON® Magazine and the Oriental Adven- Chapter 8: Campaigning the Ninja talks tures supplement. Now they returnSample, slinking fileabout secrecy, missions, duties to clan, and into the game's shadows in their night-suits, other details, and gives hints for placing the learning the balance of weapons and tools ninja in existing campaigns. made a little unfamiliar by adaptation to Chapter 9: Examples is full of easily cus- AD&D® 2nd Edition rules. We've missed them, tomized ninja characters. and if s high time to welcome them back. Players should familiarize themselves with The Complete Ninja's Handbook is a supple- chapters 1 and 2, and at least glance through ment to the Player's Handbook. It consists of chapters 3-7. Players should not read Chapter 9 optional rules that are intended to round out unless their DM invites them to do so. and add color to a campaign. The Dungeon Master should become famil- The key word here is "optional." No DM is iar with chapters 1,4,5, and 8. These should required to introduce any of these rules into give the DM a good idea of what to expect of his campaign simply because they're in print. a ninja PC in the campaign. Likewise, any DM should feel perfectly at ease plundering these guidelines for rules and options he likes, whether or not he introduces ninja characters into the campaign. Ultimately, the DM, not this rulebook, is the final author- ity on what appears in the campaign. 4 • Introduction CHAPTER The Ninja Class In seventh century Japan, Prince Shotoku lier), while others believe that the modern Taishi won a war against an enemy named combat and espionage techniques now being Moriya. The prince's success rested on informa- taught under the name ninjutsu are genuine, tion brought to him by a spy named Otomo- linear descendants of the real ninja skills. no-Saijin, whom Shotoku Taishi honored with the name Shinobi, meaning "stealer in." It is probably from this incident that the use of the Ninja and Rogue term shinobi has come to refer to highly trained, The ninja character class, like the thief and clan-based Japanese spies. the bard classes, belongs to the rogue group. (In Japanese and Chinese, there may be two However, the ninja's similarity to other rogues or more ways to pronounce the same written lies not in temperament (ninja do not believe characters. An alternate pronunciation for shi- that the world owes them a living, and are not nobi is ninja.) known as carefree, happy-go-lucky people) Japanese techniques of military intelli- but in skills. (Ninja are proficient in matters of gence, heavily influenced by espionage advi- stealth, intrusion, and investigation.) sors from China and Sun Tzu's classic manual Like other rogues, ninja combine traits The Art of War, developed over a period of from several character classes.