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Ninja Class Details | Ninja Tricks | Archetypes

Ninja

Source Ultimate Combat pg. 13
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. The ninja is an alternate class for the rogue core class.

Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d8.
Parent Class(es): Rogue.
Starting Wealth: 4d6 x 10 gp (average 140 gp).

Class Skills

The Ninja's class skills are 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).

Skill Points at each Level: 8 + Int modifier.

Class Features

LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecial
1st+0+0+2+0Poison use, sneak attack +1d6
2nd+1+0+3+0Ki pool, ninja trick
3rd+2+1+3+1No trace +1, sneak attack +2d6
4th+3+1+4+1Ninja trick, uncanny dodge
5th+3+1+4+1Sneak attack +3d6
6th+4+2+5+2Light steps, ninja trick, no trace +2
7th+5+2+5+2Sneak attack +4d6
8th+6/+1+2+6+2Improved uncanny dodge, ninja trick
9th+6/+1+3+6+3No trace +3, sneak attack +5d6
10th+7/+2+3+7+3Master tricks, ninja trick
11th+8/+3+3+7+3Sneak attack +6d6
12th+9/+4+4+8+4Ninja trick, no trace +4
13th+9/+4+4+8+4Sneak attack +7d6
14th+10/+5+4+9+4Ninja trick
15th+11/+6/+1+5+9+5No trace +5, sneak attack +8d6
16th+12/+7/+2+5+10+5Ninja trick
17th+12/+7/+2+5+10+5Sneak attack +9d6
18th+13/+8/+3+6+11+6Ninja trick, no trace +6
19th+14/+9/+4+6+11+6Sneak attack +10d6
20th+15/+10/+5+6+12+6Hidden master, ninja trick

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.

Poison Use: At 1st level, a ninja is trained in the use of poison and cannot accidentally poison herself when applying poison to a weapon.

Sneak Attack: If a ninja can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage.

The ninja's attacks deal extra damage anytime her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the ninja flanks her target. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and increases by 1d6 every two ninja levels thereafter. Bonus damage from sneak attacks is precision damage. Should the ninja score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this precision damage is not multiplied. Ranged attacks count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet.

With a weapon that deals nonlethal damage (such as a sap, whip, or unarmed strike), a ninja can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. She cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, even with the usual –4 penalty.

The ninja must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot, and must be able to reach this spot. A ninja cannot sneak attack while striking a creature that has concealment.

Ki Pool (Su): At 2nd level, a ninja gains a pool of ki points, supernatural energy she can use to accomplish amazing feats. The number of points in the ninja's ki pool is equal to 1/2 her ninja level + her Charisma modifier. As long as she has at least 1 point in her ki pool, she treats any Acrobatics skill check made to jump as if she had a running start. At 10th level, she also reduces the DC of Acrobatics skill checks made to jump by 1/2 (although she still cannot move farther than her speed allows).

By spending 1 point from her ki pool, a ninja can make one additional attack at her highest attack bonus, but she can do so only when making a full attack. In addition, she can spend 1 point to increase her speed by 20 feet for 1 round. Finally, a ninja can spend 1 point from her ki pool to give herself a +4 insight bonus on Stealth checks for 1 round. Each of these powers is activated as a swift action. A ninja can gain additional powers that consume points from her ki pool by selecting certain ninja tricks.

The ki pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or meditation; these hours do not need to be consecutive. If the ninja possesses levels in another class that grants points to a ki pool, ninja levels stack with the levels of that class to determine the total number of ki points in the combined pool, but only one ability score modifier is added to the total. The choice of which score to use is made when the second class ability is gained, and once made, the choice is set. The ninja can now use ki points from this pool to power the abilities of every class she possesses that grants a ki pool.

Ninja Tricks: As a ninja continues her training, she learns a number of tricks that allow her to confuse her foes and grant her supernatural abilities. Starting at 2nd level, a ninja gains one ninja trick. She gains one additional ninja trick for every 2 levels attained after 2nd. Unless otherwise noted, a ninja cannot select an individual ninja trick more than once.

Note from Nethys: The full list of ninja tricks is available here.

No Trace (Ex): At 3rd level, a ninja learns to cover her tracks, remain hidden, and conceal her presence. The DC to track a ninja using the Survival skill increases by +1. In addition, her training gives her a +1 insight bonus on Disguise skill checks and on opposed Stealth checks whenever she is stationary and does not take any action for at least 1 round. Every three levels thereafter, the increase to Survival DCs and the bonuses on Disguise and opposed Stealth checks increase by 1.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a ninja can react to danger before her senses would normally allow her to do so. She cannot be caught flat-footed, nor does she lose her Dexterity bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible. She still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. A ninja with this ability can still lose her Dexterity bonus to AC if an opponent successfully uses the feint action against her.

If a ninja already possesses uncanny dodge from a different class, she automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead.

Light Steps (Ex): At 6th level, a ninja learns to move while barely touching the surface underneath her. As a full-round action, she can move up to twice her speed, ignoring difficult terrain. While moving in this way, any surface will support her, no matter how much she weighs. This allows her to move across water, lava, or even the thinnest tree branches. She must end her move on a surface that can support her normally. She cannot move across air in this way, nor can she walk up walls or other vertical surfaces. When moving in this way, she does not take damage from surfaces or hazards that react to being touched, such as lava or caltrops, nor does she need to make Acrobatics checks to avoid falling on slippery or rough surfaces. Finally, when using light steps, the ninja ignores any mechanical traps that use a location-based trigger.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 8th level, a ninja can no longer be flanked. This defense denies another ninja (or rogue) the ability to sneak attack the ninja by flanking her, unless the attacker has at least four more ninja (or rogue) levels than the target does.

If a character already has uncanny dodge from another class, the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack when determining the minimum ninja (or rogue) level required to flank the character.

Master Tricks: At 10th level, and every two levels thereafter, a ninja can select one of the following master tricks in place of a ninja trick.

Note from Nethys: The full list of ninja tricks is available here.

Hidden Master (Su): At 20th level, a ninja becomes a true master of her art. She can, as a standard action, cast greater invisibility on herself. While invisible in this way, she cannot be detected by any means, and not even invisibility purge, see invisibility, and true seeing can reveal her. She uses her ninja level as her caster level for this ability. Using this ability consumes 3 ki points from her ki pool. In addition, whenever the ninja deals sneak attack damage, she can sacrifice additional damage dice to apply a penalty to one ability score of the target equal to the number of dice sacrificed for 1 minute. This penalty does not stack with itself and cannot reduce an ability score below 1.

Alternate Capstones

Source Chronicle of Legends pg. 28
When a character reaches the 20th level of a class, she gains a powerful class feature or ability, sometimes referred to as a capstone. The following section provides new capstones for characters to select at 20th level. A character can select one of the following capstones in place of the capstone provided by her class. Some capstones are for specific classes, while others are for a range of classes that qualify for them. In some cases, a capstone specifies what ability it replaces. A character can’t select a new capstone if she has previously traded away her class capstone via an archetype. Clerics and wizards can receive a capstone at 20th level, despite not having one to begin with.

Ki Sage (Su)

Source Chronicle of Legends pg. 31
At 20th level, the character is fully attuned to his own body and the ki that flows within. The character gains two ki powers from those available to the unchained monk, treating his character level as his monk level for the purpose of any requirements. In addition, his ki pool increases by four. This capstone is available to any class with a ki pool.

Perfect Body, Flawless Mind (Ex)

Source Chronicle of Legends pg. 31
At 20th level, the character’s endless training and study has resulted in an unmatched mastery of the self. The character increases her ability scores by a collective total of 8. For example, she can increase one score by 8, or one score by 5 and another by 3, or four scores by 2, and so on. Characters of any class can select this ability.

Slicing Wind (Su)

Source Chronicle of Legends pg. 29
At 20th level, the ninja is a creature of wind and blades. When using light steps, the ninja can move up to four times her speed and make a single attack at her highest base attack bonus at any point during the movement.

The Boss (Ex)

Source Chronicle of Legends pg. 30
At 20th level, the character has become more than just a lone hero—she has become one of the senior figures of her field, with powers and responsibilities to match. The character becomes one of the leading figures in some manner of group or organization, as appropriate to the campaign and the setting. A wizard might become the dean of an arcane university or mages’ guild, a fighter could command a mercenary army or a city guard, a cleric might lead a major temple or her own sect, and so forth. The player and the GM should work together to determine the specifics. The character gains the Leadership feat if she does not already have it, and the number of followers that the feat grants is multiplied by 10 (although depending on the campaign and setting, the position may grant other powers as well). If multiple characters in a party select this capstone, the GM may consider pooling them to grant the players a particularly large and powerful organization, such as a small kingdom. Characters of any class can select this ability.

The Right Spot (Ex)

Source Chronicle of Legends pg. 31
At 20th level, the character can hit an opponent’s weak spot effortlessly. Once per round, the character can apply her sneak attack damage to an attack, even if the target is not flanked or denied its Dexterity bonus to AC. This does not allow the character to sneak attack targets that are immune to sneak attacks (such as oozes). This capstone is available for any class with the sneak attack class feature.

With This Sword (Ex)

Source Chronicle of Legends pg. 31
At 20th level, the character’s blade has become as well-known as the character herself. The character selects one item she has—preferably something iconic and significant, such as a weapon or arcane bond. The item becomes a minor artifact and gains 100,000 gp worth of new powers. The player and the GM should work together to select the new powers, with an eye towards making something memorable yet campaign-appropriate. Characters of any class can select this ability.

Won’t Stay Dead (Ex)

Source Chronicle of Legends pg. 31
At 20th level, the character becomes a paragon of resilience. Once per week, if the character is killed, petrified, or otherwise removed from play, the character manages to survive by some dint of skill or luck and returns at the end of the combat or the scene (GM’s discretion). The player and the GM should work together to ensure that the method of the character’s survival is at least vaguely plausible, if unlikely. Characters of any class can select this ability.

Favored Class Options

Kitsune (Blood of the Beast pg. 12): Gain 1/6 of a new Magical TailARG feat. Any kitsune character can choose this bonus upon gaining a level in her favored class.