Comments on: Ninjas Are Dumb

By: chimera0010

chimera0010 — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:42:08 +0000

I have to say ninja’s arent always dumb. I happen to be a dm and started my players off on the four basic rolls. My friend mara picked the theif/rogue and found sneaking is fun but in a fight she is more liking up close.

So she opted to work on her speed and accurecy n not sneak around enemies during a fight to use a sneak hit. with that she started getting critical hits. at some point she did increasure her movement speed so she can get around enemies quicker and took up job classes so she can work with plants and chemicals to make poisons, smoke bombs, and grenades.

as she put it “sneaking is all fine but when your with the group and in a fight there is no point to snooping around”. In the end she ended up becoming the “ninja” of the group and worked on her speed fore dodging and critical hits so thatif our fighter cant handle the group of enemies then she can come in and take them down 1 by 1 in sincle combat with her weapons, use a grenade for bigger enmemies, and using ki powered skills fo combat.

so all i have to say the ninja class is not dumb if you work it right. its the player who is dumb if they dont even know what they are doing.

By: Jay

Jay — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 19:47:33 +0000

I like Monks and Ninja’s in my games. I don’t see them as out of place. My game does not take place in western europe, or even Earth for that matter. So I see nothing wrong with having a Ninja in my game.

By: Mizerman

Mizerman — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:12:52 +0000

I agree that the classic fantasy role playing doesn’t involve ninjas. The rogue is pretty close but the thief really is the closest to a ninja assassin since they both have to be stealthy and use tricks to subdue opponents.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 12 May 2010 02:52:09 +0000

I find that the Ninja is a great D&D character archetype, but it is often approached incorrectly. I agree that D&D is a class system with four basic roles for the party, and if you take a little of each you get a character who is essentially good at nothing. That’s where I take a different approach.

Take a look at historical Ninja. They operated in small groups, and often each Ninja would develope their own specialties within the arts of Ninjutsu. Certainly one could be a knowledgable scribe as a cover identity and another a skilled bugei as his alternate identity. Naturally these two would be of different levels of skill and fit different roles within their Ninja team.

I prefer to look at classes that have the core Ninja abilities (Hide & Move Silently) and find ways to make them fit my character idea. Below are a few ideas I’ve used to represent Ninjas very well in my opinion.

Swashbuckler/Wizard/Spellsword > Mystical Ninja
Ranger(Distracting Shot)/Wizard/Bladesinger(or Spellsword if Human) Martial Ninja
Rogue/Wizard/Arcane Trickster > Skilled Infiltrator/Mystical Ninja
Scout/Beguiler > Impersonator

Try out your own ideas. You don’t have to just take the Ninja class. Also Shadow Scout from Oriental Adventures is an excellent prestige to add a Ninja feel to any class.

By: Fireforge

Fireforge — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:31:06 +0000

I have been working on an interesting combination, ninja and swordsage from the tome of battle. i think the swordsages martial abilities especially the shadow hand ones, adds the the often supernatural flair we commonly conceptualize ninja’s to have. not to mention the shadow hand fluff fits brilliantly with the ninja concept. i gure its a good way to maximise combat effectivness while keeping all the lovely roleplay and character depth potential of the ninja class.

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.