Ninjas

[abomination]

I'm thinking of introducing a "ninja" type charactor.

Now the thing is, it is pretty well impossible to come up with historical examples of the "black clad assasins" of the movies. Historically "ninja" were samurai who performed what we would now call special forces rolls.

However I want the movie type.

Pseudo religious secret societies training assasins from an early age.

The player would be presented with a charactor with all the combat / spy type skills he could wish for. The catch is he can't return to his original temple for some reason & is trying to locate another. So he's signed on as a steward 3rd class (tea boy) & cannot let anyone know his true identity. If someone does find out he will have to kill either them or himself.

So what does he do when the brown & sticky hits the fan? Let his crew mates die or flip out and try to explain how he managed to take out half a dozen imperial marines armed only with a tea spoon?

How would the economics of such a society work? where would you hide the "temple" A deserted planetoid or on the fringes of a community?

 

[beowulf2044]

I'd put the 'Temple' on the poorest, lowest tech planet around. Nothing but a bunch of hardscrabble dirt farmers, scratching out a bare existence (nearby and underground would be a craved stone Temple such as found in Petra containing the treasures and 'ancient' scrolls that contain the wisdom of their sect. Woe be unto them who try to mess with a bunch of guys who can take out an Imperial Marine with a garden hoe.)

But that's just one possible way to look at it.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee

 

[Kilgs]

Let his crew mates die or flip out and try to explain how he managed to take out half a dozen imperial marines armed only with a tea spoon?

The fact that you properly identified a ninja entering "Kill All Ye Who Look Funny At Me Or My Plant" mode as "flipping out" indicates that you are truly qualified to play such a character. Bring on the pirates!

Seriously, the cult concept shouldn't be overlooked but the strictures of a religion are often hard to hide. Is the order known? Popular? Assassin link is common knowledge? These are all things that should be thought out previously.

I don't think you should have your character set on such a collision course. By saying he has to either kill the witness or himself is pretty dumb. I can guarantee you'll be faced with that decision sooner than you think (unless you want to remain a 3rd class tea boy for the entire game). Do not. Do not. Do not play a character that requires an all or nothing approach. Maybe the character "should" kill them but they're becoming friends... all alone out here, no cult buddies or happy smoke to inhale, things are becoming complicated. He has friends again or, maybe, for the first time ever.

I use this text in all of my PbP games:

"Also, there's always one or two characters in any roleplaying game with some dark shadowy secrets they keep hidden from the rest of the party, or have loner personalities that keep them distanced from the very people who should be their friends, or are secretly working against the goals of the party on some blah-blah mission.

Yawn.

It's been done to death people. Teamwork's the order of the day with this game. Consider the party a little family. Feel free to have little arguments and disagreements, but I don't want to be receiving PMs and secret messages all day and night about what your character's doing behind everyone else's backs... or to their backs..."

Because, really, your character isn't interesting to anyone but you. So make him interesting to others as well... Make your assassin a CHARACTER not a CARICATURE. Make him interesting. Make him conflicted or more than "flip out and kill everything."

Otherwise, I can guarantee another PC is going to shoot you in the head the first time you drop a throwing star out of your laundry. They'd do the same if you were some psycho with a bazooka... and you're asking for it.

(Next week: How Ninjas Can Dodge Lasers!)

 

[fiat_knox]

You could look into the Irklan cult, modifying it for YTU if you desire.

Other SF settings came up with their own versions of ninja, some more overt than others: the Fremen of Dune, the Legionnaires of Moros from Douglas Hill's Galactic Warlord series and Babylon 5's An'La - Shok Rangers.

If you have Mercenary, your ninja characters would follow the Guerilla career path. Alternately, many of the different career paths in Mongoose's sourcebooks seem to have some version or other of a "Special Ops" branch of their services, even the Scouts - consider the ninja concept to be a "Special Ops" career branch of Rogues, replacing irrelevant skill slots such as Gambler and Carouse with Stealth, J-o-T and Deception.

If you want to give your ninja clans mystical abilities, take a look at the Awareness Psionic Talent and consider giving them partial access to the Talent; give them "phantom" Psionic Strength points equal to their Endurance to simulate the Psionic Strength costs of using those Talents.

 

[Max]

While the Assassain/Thugee model would work, why not use the "inner circle" model. There is a harmless cult (or even a large business for more surprise) which has an inner circle cult of holy killing machines. The outer cult cover would provide money and cover for the ninjas when they move around. The inner circle model would probably chose members from a few family's ( a tribe?) with adoption. The people in charge might be manipulators controlling the cult for their own purposes or true believers, either works. Hmm, the family idea is nice too, it means the split between the temples (has to be one otherwise the hero wouldn't be able to join the other temple) could be a sibling squabble.

 

[BlackBat242]

So you want to re-create Steven Seagal's character from the Under Siege movies...only earlier in his career?

 

[fiat_knox]

Where a group of people organise ninja-style forces, usually these forces require training, which means secret training camps and (often enough) funding through theft and robbery, possibly through sustained criminal activity such as drug smuggling and ⌧o rings, extortion, protection rackets, loan sharking and so on.

Think of the training camp in "Enter The Dragon" for an example of a remote training camp being run by a mob boss with evil designs for the world.

 

[robject]

Toss in some psionic training, and you've got a combination Psionic Mercenary Institute. Could help explain their bafflingly effective skillz and secrecy.

 

[Vargas]

Historically "ninja" were samurai who performed what we would now call special forces rolls.

Um, no. You might want to do a little more research first.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/ninja.htm

 

[Kilgs]

Toss in some psionic training, and you've got a combination Psionic Mercenary Institute. Could help explain their bafflingly effective skillz and secrecy.

But not the mad guitar skills

 

[fiat_knox]

Basically, the qualities you're looking for are:-

- Clannish, almost cultish, conditioning and obedience;

- Secrecy and infiltration skills;

- Isolation from regular palms up military forces;

- A brutal training regime, usually involving some sort of secret paramilitary training camp set up in the wilderness;

- A reputation for supernatural / psionic abilities masking ruthless dedication and military training in infiltration, sabotage and Psychological Warfare.

Oh, and lots of black anonymous clothing.

Just put them in bloody uniforms and call them the SAS.

 

[PathfinderAP]

Historically "ninja" were samurai who performed what we would now call special forces rolls.

Not true, samurai would look down on ninja as dirty fighting honourless scum bags, ninja are designed to counter a samurai,

But for a Traveller game, make them an Agent, black Ops,
Maybe add some genetic engineering, and implants,
give them reactive camouflage armour, or high tech stealth suit,
and lots of skills,

Play in a Mission Impossible style of having everything pre planned

 

[saundby]

Try this:

http://ninjaobsessed.com/

 

[abomination]

Not true, samurai would look down on ninja as dirty fighting honourless scum bags, ninja are designed to counter a samurai,

Like chivalry, bushido was adhered to until it became inconveniant. There is an account of Ninja / samurai donning enemy uniforms & infiltrating a besiged castle to cause chaos before an assult.

Sadly the reality of medieval Japan is quite along way (and not as much fun) from its fictional representation.

That's why I still want manga style ninjas in my campaign.

 

[Whipsnade]

That's why I still want manga style ninjas in my campaign.

Abomination,

Then by all means put them in there. Fun should be your only goal, nothing else.

Let me suggest what others already have, that you add a some psionic abilities to the ninjas' bag of tricks. Ninjas with something akin to the Dryone/Chirper invisibility could really stir things up.


Regards,
Bill

 

[fiat_knox]

Like chivalry, bushido was adhered to until it became inconveniant. There is an account of Ninja / samurai donning enemy uniforms & infiltrating a besiged castle to cause chaos before an assult.

Sadly the reality of medieval Japan is quite along way (and not as much fun) from its fictional representation.

That's why I still want manga style ninjas in my campaign.

The Guerilla career path from Mercenary's your best bet, then. Select from the Assassin or Terrorist subcareers, replace Combat Engineer with your choice of Stealth, Deception or Athletics (any speciality that allows breakfalls, free climbing, tightrope walking, hanging upside down by a rope suspended from the ceiling).

Create a Clan for your character, and most of your Allies and Contacts will come from that Clan - i.e. all your best buddies are also ninjas. Read into that what you may. You have one Patron, who calls upon you regularly - your Oyabun, the one who sets your missions for you.

Is it the Yakuza who go for the dragon tattoos and the finger chopping as a mark of failure? Perhaps your ninja should include this honour mutilation thing in their traditions, too, along with a fair bit of Zen meditation and at least one speciality in Melee (Zen archery).

 

[Kilgs]

I've done a significant amount of research on the ninja clans while in university. Wrote some high-level things on them. I've found the most accurate (free) site for ninja information to be on the site below. It has some excellent history, eyewitness accounts and explains some of the abilities and possible sources.

http://www.realultimatepower.net/

 

[abomination]

I've done a significant amount of research on the ninja clans while in university. Wrote some high-level things on them. I've found the most accurate (free) site for ninja information to be on the site below. It has some excellent history, eyewitness accounts and explains some of the abilities and possible sources.

http://www.realultimatepower.net/

Awesome!!!!!

 

[PathfinderAP]

Like chivalry, bushido was adhered to until it became inconveniant. There is an account of Ninja / samurai donning enemy uniforms & infiltrating a besiged castle to cause chaos before an assult.

Sadly the reality of medieval Japan is quite along way (and not as much fun) from its fictional representation.

The samurai code of honour had little to do with morally right, in fact most people would be shock at what would be seen as samurai code of honour,

Its more about sticking to the rules, and doing what you are told to do, no matter what,

While Ninja worked for money, instead of their lord, and did not care in the slightest about the samurai code, or fighting in the accepted way, hence honourless scumbags,

But there is no honour lost in "samurai donning enemy uniforms & infiltrating a besiged castle to cause chaos before an assult" stealth does not belong to just the ninja,