This is an experimental class which I have not thoroughly playtested. Please submit all suggestions and complaints to Shaft at ynakai@midway.uchicago.edu.
In Night City, a faint black shadow glides unnoticed under the familiar skyline of blinking neon holo-haze and gleaming metal spires of megacorps. A sweating, heavily armed Solo glances nervously behind him, his sixth sense twitching madly. Nothing the re. He hurries through several alleys he knows are safe before dismissing the thought. No time to be nervous now. A well-dressed Japanese Corporate steps alone out of the Korova Nightblaze with a small titanium briefcase. Instantly, the big Solo immobiliz es and silences him with an armlock and a sleepderm. Another Solo, the Corporate's now-rich former bodyguard, appears and politely drags the Corp into the EBM office across the deserted street. All three enter the dimly lit steel elevator. All is quiet sa ve the rhythmic hum of the motors... The elevator doors hiss open at the top-floor boardroom. The big Solo releases the silent Corporate from his metallic grasp and shoves him forward with his shotgun. Standard extraction. Easy money.
The suited body topples forward. The briefcase and the hand that held it have been neatly sliced away. A bloody sign is carved into his face...
The Ninja in 2020 is, like his ancestors, a dedicated spy and killer. He spends the greater portion of the day training his mind and body to achieve the highest Zen state. In a future where warriors are cheap chrome and biosculpt, the Ninja is a holdout on the ancient art of warfare. Partly because of his clan's highly sec ret traditions and partly because of the inherent incompatibility between Zen and artificial body parts, the Ninja scorns cybernetics. Some clans and individual Ninjas have begun adopting some minor cyberware, like Wolvers, Spike Heels, face/voice disgui ses, even the rare CyberOptic, but always at the risk of losing the Zen power of spiritual and bodily harmony.
The power of the Ninja's Zen state, developed through years of secret training and study, manifest themselves in his phenomenal focus of his mental and physical powers. The Ninja can detect presences and movements of nearly anyone (except other Ninjas ) in total darkness while completely ignoring a massive limb wound. He is difficult to detect or hit, but is most vulnerable once detected. Ninjas wear little or no armor (necessary for silent movement and flexibility) and tend to carry only specialized assasination weapons and hand-held weapons. Their rigorous training gives them a strong resistance to physical damage and chemicals, however, and they wield their weapons with expertise.
All of the Ninja's incredible talents come at a price. The grueling work of maintaining physcial and mental conditioning takes so much time that Ninjas rarely have time to study other fields or socialize. The result is that most Ninjas choose to spec ialize in a particular area of their craft: surveillance, sabotage/burglary, or assasination. They tend to have a narrow range of knowledge, which is reflected in their poor social skills they rarely succeed as 'inside operatives' for long. Because of t his and the need for secrecy, Ninjas never maintain an identity for long, and their only reputation is through their 'trademark' left at each successful hit. Almost all work is done on a one-time-only basis, and only clients with heavy connections (and pu rses) can acquire a Ninja's services.
The Ninja clan is among the most secret of organizations in the world of 2020. Few people on the Street realize that Ninjas and clans exist. But every Ninja starts his training in a clan and usually stays with it for life, choosing to die before reve aling its identity. This will to secrecy is so deeply implanted in the Ninja's psyche that no amount of advanced drugs or electrothermal inducement can extract the information from his brain. This doesn't mean that clans are one big happy family, howeve r. Far from it. Clan politics is fiercer than the worst corporate shakedowns, and there are constant battles over power, territory, and loyalties. Of course, outsiders never find the bodies. Occasionally, a powerful Ninja will go freelance, or more like ly, begin his own clan. For the uninitiated as well as the insiders, there is no way to tell what a given Ninja's loyalties are, and it doesn't matter. No matter what, Ninjas are always for hire. And business ALWAYS comes before politics. Usually.
PAYSCALE: Double salary of Solo.
The Ninja's special ability, Zen, is his primary strength and is used to compensate for his lack of cyberware. It is used in two ways:
This second bonus is added to the normal die roll plus applicable stats, skills and modifiers. It is either half the Ninja's Zen, or 0.1 x Zen x Appropriate Skill, whichever is higher. (For instance, Mizuno is a Ninja with a Zen of 8 and an Archery of 6 . In addition to his roll, his skill and reflexes, he adds his Zen bonus to his To Hit: Half of 8 is 4, but 0.1 x 8 x 6 = 4.8 = 5. Five is higher, so Mizuno's Zen bonus is 5.)
This applies if the Ninja specializes in that area, such as martial arts, athletics, specialized weapons (shuriken, custom sniper rifle, assasin bows, swords), etc., but NOT if using an unfamiliar weapon or if it is something unrelated to Ninja trainin g (stock market or driving). For instance, one can assume that nunchakus (familiar or not) are common knowledge for a Ninja, but rifles vary greatly in precision depending on model, custom tweaking, etc. A day at the firing range with a new weapon is su fficient to establish familiarity. The DM is encouraged to use judgement and consistency in deciding where the Zen bonus applies.
Damage using Ninja arts or specialized weapons receives a Zen bonus.
A Ninja specializing in assassination probably won't get a bonus in a surveillance activity. However, the second Zen bonus does apply to all saves, including Stun and Death, since the Ninja has phenomenal mental control over things like heart rate, br eathing, hormones, etc.
Every Ninja has certain basic abilities conferred by his training:
While Ninjas are hard to detect, their Zen gives them powerful Awareness. Daylight awareness is augmented by Zen Bonus #2, and nighttime awareness within 20 feet is equivalent to dusk or semi-dark awareness. The Ninja uses air disturbances, sounds, te mperatures, and intangible clues to detect objects and people in total darkness. Outside of this range, Ninjas can sense at approximately half the resolution of Thermograph in near total darkness, but range drops quickly. (DM: for visual and auditory ch ecks, use Zen Bonus #2 plus a 2 point bonus for Ninja awareness.)
Naturally, every Ninja must be good at martial arts. Every Ninja gets a bonus +3 skill in two martial arts of their choice, one of which they *MUST* develop to at least +7. (Up to 12 points in a single art are allowed for Ninjas, although this should be used sparingly. DM's shouldn't allow over ten unless there's a special reason.) It is recommended that Ninjas choose arts suitable to their class: Aikido is a Ninja form, Boxing is not. Lightning-quick reflexes and agility are also a trademark of the Ninja: he gets a bonus +1.5 REF, +1.5 BOD and +1 LEAP for every 4 points of Zen.
Because the Ninja must master the basics of all aspects of his training (the benefit of Ninja training is greater than the sum of the parts), all Ninjas MUST spend at least two of his forty career points in EACH of his Career Package skills, leaving hi m with a maximum of twenty to spend freely. It is reccommended that pickup skills be few and well-developed to show the Ninja's specialty focus.
Cybernetics tend to adversely affect Ninjas because they erode the totality of his mind and body. For every 3 points of EMP lost due to cybernetics, the Ninja loses 1.5 points of Zen (round up). This includes cyberlimbs used to replace meat limbs! T herefore, it may well be to a Ninja's advantage to replace mangled limbs with vat-grown or used human limbs. Of course, learning the nuances of a new limb takes time, and the recuperating Ninja's Zen is reduced by three until he retrains at the rate of o ne point of Zen per week, starting from when his injuries heal to a Light state. Any cybernetics that a Ninja would use are limited to pop-up melee weapons (wolvers, teeth), disguises (cammo synthskins w/adaptive patterning, face modifiers), and the rare cybereye (usually unnecessary, but could be used for special applications like TeleOptics, MicroOptics, surveillance, poison dart). This cyberware, like the Ninja's other gear, is very expensive (x10 normal cost and up) and custom-made, although he can always find a supplier. WARNING: No additional 'boosts' like Sandevistan, Adrenal Boosters, or combat drugs may be used by a Ninja without destroying all Zen powers.
The Ninja travels light, so his gear is limited and lightweight. Armor must be extremely inconspicuous and allow for maximum movement, so the only armor possible is custom-tailored and made of highly advanced materials. Most Ninja armors are from 5 to 10 SP, have secret pockets for small blades, and cost 50eb per SP per piece.
Ninjas carry specialized tools including dense climbing wire, grappling spikes, poison kits, etc., depending on the current job. Specialties like surveilance, demolitions, and electronic intrusion require their own toolkits.
Weapons are also tailored to the job, and the Ninja carries highly customized stuff, complete with molded grips, noise reduction, collapsible parts, the works. It is a matter of considerable debate within the profession whether or not to use firearms, but the key is subtlety: nobody uses anything automatic or unsilenced. The primary weapon is a silent-kill weapon, usually ranged (especially on assasinations) although prudent Ninjas always carry multiple hidden melee and close-in weapons. Many use so me type of trademark method of kill. Like Ninja armor, specialty weapons fetch extremely high prices (x15 book price and up) since they require true craftsmanship and are only available on the black-black market.
The Ninja's role in a good game of Cyberpunk is extremely limited, just like in real life. It requires a very good roleplayer to be a good Ninja, and many DMs will only allow NPCs to be Ninjas. In a profession where identity can never be fully establ ished, style and symbolism are the only way to distinguish yourself. And even that's not safe. Another limitation on roleplaying Ninjas is that they work alone unless under extraordinary circumstances (i.e., with clanmates or as anonymous outsiders as p art of a large operation) and even then minmize contact with their co-workers. In other words, most Ninja runs will have few players, usually all in the same clan.
Even though the Ninja has some highly specialized abilities, s/he is never a cure-all. Ninjas function poorly in interpersonal dealings and must remain inconspicuous and anonymous in any public setting. This is one place in Cyberpunk where Attitude i s a bad thing to have. In addition, the Ninja's fighting abilities are keyed towards having the advantages of surprise. Open fighting against groups of Solos will usually get a Ninja killed, and even one Solo in the open is bad news. Ninjas carefully at tack the opponent's weaknesses and avoid open combat if at all possible.
In the absence of a distinctive personality, the only way to roleplay well is to develop background and motives for a character. Why does a Ninja pick the jobs he does? What personal and clan loyalties and enmities does he hold? Why did he choose to become a Ninja? What are his longterm goals? All of these things must be understood clearly by the player but kept secret.
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