Comments on: Ninjas Are Dumb

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:30:43 +0000

I find that if you want to play a “masterful warrior” Ninja, then the Ranger actually works best. While having less HP than a fighter, you can choose to be a powerful attacker from range or in melee, and the toughness trade-off gets you the skills you need to sneak well. Ninjas also were assassins, and had to be able to locate their mark, so the tracking is a big help and fits with the fluff of the idea. Personally I like the unarmed combat method of Fighting, and so recommend multi-classing 3 to 5 levels of Monk. If you prefer a more mystical style Ninja, then 3 to 5 levels of Wizard and the Spellsword Prestige are your best friend.

By: hanzo hittori

hanzo hittori — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:20:33 +0000

Hey yall,
i play a ninja in my cousins campaign, i like how it works. i didn’t make a hollywood assassin, but instead made a historically correct ninja who follows a person of royalty and spys on people for him

By: Don Diego Vega

Don Diego Vega — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:09:05 +0000

Good day,
I used the Ninja class to make a character much like Zorro. The skills fit enough.

Just my 2 coppers.

By: Pingwin

Pingwin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:08:19 +0000

If you want a toe-to-toe ninja who can stand in combat like a fighter try using a ranger as a class. You get some stuff to ignore but good attack rates and the two weapons style combined with light (or no) armor works decent.

Still has stealth and all, but no sneak attack.

By: Quicksilver

Quicksilver — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:03:26 +0000

I believe that if someone wants to add a class, and that if someone wants to play it, and it doesn’t ruin the fun, that it should be allowed.

As far as i can tell, the ninja class sucks and i wouldn’t want to play it. However i would enjoy playing it by trying to emulate it with a rogue (use magic device to use “techniques” or power moves). I also enjoy the writeup for the samurai, but the whole “2 masterwork weapons at first level is norm” pisses me off. I can’t afford that, and its not fair to the other players.

By: Zhen Tae

Zhen Tae — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:48:49 +0000

Ah, “walls”, not walks. Sorry for the typo.

By: Zhen Tae

Zhen Tae — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:45:50 +0000

One of the players in my group killed off his sorcererous king to switch to a ninja. It sounds like he did it because running on walks was such a mind-flip, he couldn’t resist. I’m the rogue in the group. Just for irony’s sake, I’ll probably sneak attack him in his sleep.

To Stealth-Elite: I think a rogue with the Run feat and spider climb could keep up with a ninja’s shinanigans. Also, a rogue still has more skill points to put into tumble, jump, climb, etc. And it is as easy for a rogue to take craft poisonmaking as it would be for a ninja. Yes, I see what draws many to the ninja class, but D&D allows a lot of creativity, versatility, and specialization. It is up to the player to know how to shape a character into what he or she wants.

On another note, this has been an ongoing question: how many blades can a ninja fit on his body without using D&D magically altered pockets? 32? more or less? would so many blades hinder movement, like armor would? In my practical experience, for every blade, I usually need a sheath, just so none of my bits and pieces gets sliced when I start running. Sheaths and steel aren’t very flexible, so yeah, it does hinder movement some, but then again, I don’t go jogging with thirty-some knives. D&D is clearly fantasy, so annoying things like real-life situations aren’t really a problem. For in-game, how would you play this? Should a ninja still have flexibility when fully armed?

By: ace master

ace master — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:33:06 +0000

i think ninjas are REALY COOL cause if it gets poison to a dagger goes erethreal and randomly backstabs a monster ya got yerself a good advantedge

By: Stealth-Elite

Stealth-Elite — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:09:54 +0000

Amen to that

I’m playing a ninja in a game, and HE is all about style and flare, hes not the great damage outputer when im out of ki but who needs to sudden strike when you can run up a tower wall and throw the sniper with the crossbow off it or put contact poison on a wizards book and watch him wipe it away because he thinks its dirt.

Im all about the acrobatics though and you get that in spades with the ninja class. I would like to see a rogue jump 30 feet without a running start or run up a 100 foot wall(i love speed climb with double move speed)

and so what if you get like 2 less skill points per level, A real ninjas dont use diplomacy and cant use use magic device so look there are where your extra poits were going anyway.

By: shogo238

shogo238 — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:53:16 +0000

A few key things I haven’t seen within these posts (though I may be blind and deserve a thorough flaming after this)pertains to one aspect mentioned earlier, that people don’t want to see a Japanese style character in their campaigns. Here is a couple of things to consider.
1) In the D&D worlds, whether or not its Ebberon or the Forgotten Realms, the maps are not 100% completely drawn. Leaving the DM to say that the ninja could indeed be from some far off uncharted land.
2) I read above, someone stated that you don’t see Roman Centurions and what not in the D&D setting, but then again, if you want to keep things 100% medeval, then shouldn’t the concept of monsters and such be taken out for the bonafide 1600s European setting?
3) Lastly, as it was so well put, its a fantasy adventure setting! No one gripped when they had ninjas fighting next to knights in the Final Fantasy series… Why should D&D be so different?