Ninja Schools - Kaze no Shiro

Ninja SchoolsNinja. Shinobi. Shadow Warriors. Thesenames all bring forth images of black clothedmen who stalk the night, killing, stealing andspying.The reality is much more than one wouldrealize. As noted in both the core rules and theWay of the Scorpion Clanbook, ninja who wearthe black robes are merely those that areprogressing through their first year of training.The various agents are gathered into "families",each usually dedicated towards a single style.Within each of these families there are threetypes of agents. The Ninja, the Shinobi and theBonge.Ninja are those that work directly for the clan.Their lives are dedicated to the missions of theclan and they practice nothing else.The Shinobi are those of the clan who lead adouble life. Though their skills in the arts of theshadow are lesser than their ninja counterparts,they are none the less, capable agents of the clan.The Bonge are those who support the variousagents of the clan. They have no training in theshadow arts.As noted in the core rules and the Scorpionbook, there are four principal ninja clans. TheBayushi, the Goju, the Ninube and the Shosuro.In these pages three other clans are revealed.The Wari, the Ega and Khoga.Shinobi SchoolsA Shinobi is an agent who lives a dual life. Hemasquerades as a member of one of the greateror minor clans or even a ronin, while at the sametime being an member of the ninja family.There are four distinct types of shinobi withineach family. The bushi, the scout, the shugenjaand the spy.These schools are taken instead of the clanschool, but the shinobi is still considered amember of his clan, be it greater or minor. AllShinboi school members automatically receivethe Disadvantage Dark Secret: Ninja. If it is everfound out that they are part of the ninja clan aswell, they will find themselves very quicklydead.Shinobi-Warrior SchoolShinobi-warriors are the protectors of the smallvillages where safe houses are located. Theyusually pose as ashigaru or doshin for the town,thus covering their martial skills. Samurai whobelong to a ninja clan are also taught these skills,thus enabling them to fit into the samurai societyas well as that of the ninja clan.Benefit: +1 AgilityBeginning Honor: 1 less than the clan schoolthey come fromSkillsArchery, Defence, Kenjutsu, +2 Shinobi Skills,+1 Bugei Skill, +1 Other Skill.TechniquesThe Shinobi-Bushi learns the first threetechniques of his Clan's bushi school. The finaltwo ranks are always adds to the skill rolls. Thebushi adds his rank to his bugei skill rolls. Forexample, a Rank 4 Shinobi-Bushi of the Kakitaschool, would posses the techniques Way of theCrane, The Sudden Strike, and Strike from theVoid, as well a +4 bonus to all bugei skill rolls.OutfitAs clan school.Shinobi-Scout SchoolThe scouts are the eyes of ears of their clan,watching and reporting back about the target inmilitary situations. Most scouts masquerade aslow level soldiers, bodyguards and scouts.These men and women will take the scout/messenger school of the clan they are part of if itexists.Benefit: +1 PerceptionBeginning Honor: 1 less than the clan schoolthey come fromSkillsKenjutsu, Hand to Hand, Investigation,Athletics, +2 Shinobi Skills, +1 Other Skill.TechniquesThe Shinobi-scout learns the first threetechniques of his Clan's school. The final tworanks are always adds to the skill rolls relevant tohis choice of occupation. The scout thereforeadds his rank to the skill rolls for those skills thatare school dependent, such as scouting skills.For example, a Rank 4 Shinobi-Scout of theHiruma Scout school, would posses thetechniques Dance the Razor's Edge, Run like the

Also, a member of this school can attempt touse any everyday object in lew of a weapon, aslong as it can be wielded in a similar fashion. Aneedle could be used like a knife. A string like agarrote. A broom like a staff, etc. The damageon these items is left to the GM's discretion.Outfit(All to be considered to be of average quality)Ninja-to, 10 shuriken, 4 other weapons of choice,robes, 5 flash grenades, 5 smoke grenades,poison kit, travelling pack, 1 koku.Noted School MembersTakahashi -- A quiet and unassuming man, he isknown as the man too whom anything is aweapon. A master of his art, Takahashi isnearing the pinnacle of his training.NemuranaiThe Khoga possess many specialized itemsbecause of their training.Khoga's RobesThis is the outfit worn by Khoga himself. It hasbeen worn by the head of the school eachgeneration and has absorbed a part of the essenceof each.These robes when worn give the owner theability to become invisible to all who try to seethem. Also, the user is able to walk within theshadows, traversing distances easily.The Ega RyuSituated in the heart of the Empire, the EgaSchool is the premier rival of the Khoga Ryu.Started by an ex student of Khoga Imas, thirdsensei if the Khoga Ryu, the Ega school wasfounded to teach the finer aspects ofassassination.Its founder, Ega Kimura, was a vain man, andunfortunately this attitude has bled down into hisstudents and in time to the schools teachings.Ega ninja are confident in their abilities to theextent of being overconfident. They are sure oftheir superiority over other ninja schools and ifthe meet a rival, especially a member of theKhoga school, they will immediately challengethe rival to a duel to the death.The Ega school trains is students in a style thatis almost the opposite of the Khoga School.Assassination without weapons. Students aretaught how to kill with their bare hands ascompetently as someone might with a sword.Techniques dealing with the manipulation of Kithrough pressure points are emphasized.The Ega Ninja SchoolRequirements: NoneBenefits: +1 StaminaHonour: 1 and no boxesGlory: 0 and no boxesSkillsShinobi, Acrobatics, Athletics, Nawanuke-jutsu,Disguise, Atemi-waza, Defence, plus any 3NinjutsuTechniquesRank 1: Nerve StrikeThe ninja knows how to strike at his opponentand cause intense pain. The victim must make aWillpower roll at TN 15 to overcome the pain.A failed roll results in the target being at able toonly defend himself in combat and has -10 to allhis rolls for the users Rank in actions.Rank 2: Venomous TouchThe ninja has learned how actually poison atarget through touch alone; or rather he haslearned where to strike a victim to cause thenecessary ki imbalance to create such an effect.The ninja chooses the effect that he wishes andthen rolls to hit the target using his hand to handskill. If successful he then makes a contestedVoid vs. Stamina roll. The venomous toucheffect cannot kill the target. A failed roll resultsin the target being stunned for all intensivepurposes for users Rank X 5 actions, unable todo anything.Rank 3: Strike at the HeartThe infamous ninja death touch. The ninja haslearned how to strike to cause the targets heart tostop. The ninja must have hit his target with asuccessful hand to hand attack and then rolls acontested Void vs. Stamina roll. If successfulthe opponent will keel over dead, if not the targetcollapses to the ground with seizures, as hesuffers from a minor heart attack, an effect thatwill automatically put the character down.Outfit(All to be considered to be of average quality)Ninja-to, 10 shuriken, 2 other weapons of choice,robes, 5 smoke grenades, travelling pack, 1koku.

Noted School MembersTomiko -- She is perhaps the most fearedassassin in the empire. She is whispered of indark rooms and used as threats by the mostpowerful. She is said to be capable of killingwith but a touch and has the ability to be anyone.NemuranaiThis school has no items of note, not believing inthe necessity of magical items to perform thatwhich the human body can do.Shinobi SpellsThe Shugenja of the ninja clans have developedsome rather unique spells for their agents in themany hundreds of years of their existence.These spells are usable only by the Shinobi-Shugenja and are jealously guarded. If anyonewere to learn them, he would be killed, as wouldthe Shinobi-Shugenja that taught him.The following spells are Shinobi only and aredetailed in the New Spells pages.Face BlurFalse TracksFind DirectionLesser DistractionGreater DistractionDeepen ShadowsFeatherfootImproved FeatherfootAge to DestructionDetect LivingImproved Mirror ImageShadowform