Ninja, Character creation challenge! Options

[Grinder]

For an upcoming SR4 campaign I opted to play a ninja-ish character, but all my builds are boring and the same I always come up with. So if anyone wants to come up with a new, interesting character build, feel free to post it.

400 BP
50 Karma
Elf preferred, otherwise human.

[Makki]

Magic Ninja Thread -.-

[I Hate All Life]

For an upcoming SR4 campaign I opted to play a ninja-ish character, but all my builds are boring and the same I always come up with.

My advice? (Which is probably unwelcome and will be ignored, but here goes.) Play a different type of character. Having people create characters for you won't make the character less boring if you just keep playing the same archetypes over and over.

I've actually been considering an oni ninja for myself, but I think he would work better as a samurai (in the classic sense, though Street Sam would probably be his role in the party).

[Tomothy]

Go with a pixie ninja adept, pump Agility and Reaction to 7 and Intuition to 6, magic of 5 will help with adept powers and bonus concealment power.

Adept Powers: Combat Sense, Increased Reflexes and Increased Infiltration (or exotic melee).

Equipment: Second Skin Line w/ Ruthenium Polymer Coating, Weapon Focus - Monofilament Whip

[Medicineman]

For an upcoming SR4 campaign I opted to play a ninja-ish character, but all my builds are boring and the same I always come up with. So if anyone wants to come up with a new, interesting character build, feel free to post it.

400 BP
50 Karma
Elf preferred, otherwise human.

Fomori Troll with detachable Raptor Legs. Traceur and Melee Fighter
either Ki-Adept or Late Awakening

Or (my) Nartaki Elf ("One-Man-Army")
a Surged Elf with Shiva Arms and Striking Skin Pigmentation
(I added Astral Gazing,Mood Hair and Mood Eyes for Mine IIRC)

with two totally different Dances
Medicineman

[Karoline]

Alright, speed ninja creation run: Go!

[Karoline]

36 Minutes:

[ Spoiler ]

Mr. Ninja
Race: Elf 30
Bod:3 20 Str:3 20 Log:2 10 Edge:4 30
Agi:6(10) 40 Cha:3 10 Wil:2 10 Ess:5
Rea:5 40 Int:5 40 Ini:6 Magic:5(4) 40

Qualities:
Adept 5
Restricted Gear 5
Martial Arts Arnis De Mano (+1 DV blades, damage on disarm, +1 to disarm) 15
SINner -5
Records on File (Military) -10
Poor Self Control (Vindictive) -10
Poor Self Control (Thrill Seeker) -5
Prejudiced (Women, Biased) -5

Maneuvers:
Two Weapon Style 2
Off-Hand Training (Blades) 2
Disarm 2
Riposte 2

Skills:
Stealth Group 4 40
Infiltration 4 (Urban) (2)
Disguise 4
Palming 4
Shadowing 4
Athletics Group 4 40
Climbing 4 (Building) (2)
Gymnastics 4 (Gymnastic Dodge) (2)
Running 4 (Wall Running) (2)
Swimming 4
Blade 6 24 (Sword) (2)
Con 4 16 (Fast-talking) (2)
Perception 4 16 (Visual) (2)

Powers: 6 PP
Linguistics .25
Freefall 3 .75
Gliding 1
Flexibility 1 .25
Nimble Fingers .25
Traceless Walk 1
Wall Running 1
Improved Reflexes 1 1.5

Other Magic:
Join a group (5)
Initiate (11) - PP instead of metamagic
Initiate (13) - PP instead of metamagic

Equipment:
2 Vibro Blades with custom grips 4200

Muscle Toner 4 .8 32000
Sleep Regulator .15 10000
Balance Augmenter .1 5000

Didn't spend all the karma, and might have a few BP left over, but oh well. Do I get to see Samus take off her suit now? Oh, wait, wrong game (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Teulisch]

could be interesting to see an Oni (ork metavarient) ninja for a change. the extra challenge of their bright skin color would be a minor thing, once you start getting ware and gear.

[Makki]

i'd go for Restricted Gear (Samurai Armor with polymer coating) and adept with power throw and Throwing Weapons (Shuriken)

[Rasumichin]

36 Minutes:

[ Spoiler ]

Mr. Ninja
Race: Elf 30
Bod:3 20 Str:3 20 Log:2 10 Edge:4 30
Agi:6(10) 40 Cha:3 10 Wil:2 10 Ess:5
Rea:5 40 Int:5 40 Ini:6 Magic:5(4) 40

Qualities:
Adept 5
Restricted Gear 5
Martial Arts Arnis De Mano (+1 DV blades, damage on disarm, +1 to disarm) 15
SINner -5
Records on File (Military) -10
Poor Self Control (Vindictive) -10
Poor Self Control (Thrill Seeker) -5
Prejudiced (Women, Biased) -5

Maneuvers:
Two Weapon Style 2
Off-Hand Training (Blades) 2
Disarm 2
Riposte 2

Skills:
Stealth Group 4 40
Infiltration 4 (Urban) (2)
Disguise 4
Palming 4
Shadowing 4
Athletics Group 4 40
Climbing 4 (Building) (2)
Gymnastics 4 (Gymnastic Dodge) (2)
Running 4 (Wall Running) (2)
Swimming 4
Blade 6 24 (Sword) (2)
Con 4 16 (Fast-talking) (2)
Perception 4 16 (Visual) (2)

Powers: 6 PP
Linguistics .25
Freefall 3 .75
Gliding 1
Flexibility 1 .25
Nimble Fingers .25
Traceless Walk 1
Wall Running 1
Improved Reflexes 1 1.5

Other Magic:
Join a group (5)
Initiate (11) - PP instead of metamagic
Initiate (13) - PP instead of metamagic

Equipment:
2 Vibro Blades with custom grips 4200

Muscle Toner 4 .8 32000
Sleep Regulator .15 10000
Balance Augmenter .1 5000

Didn't spend all the karma, and might have a few BP left over, but oh well. Do I get to see Samus take off her suit now? Oh, wait, wrong game (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

I'd have gone with Ninjitsu instead of Arnis de Mano.

But then, i'd also have chosen ware over adept powers.
I'll see what i can come up with.

[Grinder]

My advice? (Which is probably unwelcome and will be ignored, but here goes.) Play a different type of character. Having people create characters for you won't make the character less boring if you just keep playing the same archetypes over and over.

I've actually been considering an oni ninja for myself, but I think he would work better as a samurai (in the classic sense, though Street Sam would probably be his role in the party).

Oh, I've played a ninja character for a short time and that is probably ten years ago. But while trying to build a new one for the upcoming game I noticed that my builds are always centered around the same adept powers and ideas. Personality and background are already written - since that's what brings a character to life I'm not afraid that a ninja build by one of the posters here will be boring to play.

[Grinder]

Karoline, thanks for the build. Will have a closer look to it tomorrow. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
And for rest, can't wait to see your ideas and builds!

[I Hate All Life]

Oh, I've played a ninja character for a short time and that is probably ten years ago. But while trying to build a new one for the upcoming game I noticed that my builds are always centered around the same adept powers and ideas. Personality and background are already written - since that's what brings a character to life I'm not afraid that a ninja build by one of the posters here will be boring to play.

Gotcha. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Rasumichin]

Here's a basic writeup of a cybered human ninja.
Note that karma has not been spent yet (the char generator was mucking around) and knowledge skills are missing.
BP and (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) have all been spent, however.

I also decided to ditch the usual shuriken. Sniper rifles tend to work better for assassination attempts until SR introduces shuricanons.

[ Spoiler ]

Body: 4 Charisma: 2 EDGE: 3
Agility: 5 [7] Intuition: 4 Phys Init 8[10]
Reaction: 4 [6] Logic: 2 Passes 1[3]
Strength: 3 Willpower: 4 Essence: 1,225

Athletics (Group) 2 (+4 to all, additional +2 to all balance-related tests and +1 to gymnastic dodge)
Stealth (Group) 4 (+1 to Palming, +2 to Infiltration)
Blades 4
Unarmed Combat 5
Longarms 5
Perception 2 (+3 Att. Coprocessor, +3 each for sight and hearing)
Con 1
Etiquette 1

Manuevers:
Finishing Move
Set-Up
Iaijutsu
Herding

Qualities :
Deep Cover (controlled) 10
Erased (7 days) 5
Sensei 5
Martial Arts (2) 10 (Ninjitsu, +1 to Infiltration, +1 to Gymnastic Dodge)
Prejudiced (Common, Outspoken) -15
Vendetta -5
Enemy (3) -15

Cyber/Bioware:
Attention Coprocessor 3
Wired Reflexes II
Enhanced Articulation
Synthacardium 3
Sleep Regulator
Muscle Toner 2
Trauma Dampener
Cybereye Rating 3
Flare Compensation
Low-Light Vision
Thermographic Vision
Smartlink
Vision Enhancement 3
Cyberears Rating 3
Balance Augmentor
Audio Enhancer 3
Damper
Spatial Recongnizer
Select Sound Filter 2

Armor :
Chameleon Suit 6/4 (Thermal Dampening 6, Chemical Protection 3)
Forearm Guards 0/1
Form-Fitting Body Armor Half-Body Suit 4/1 (Biomonitor, Auto-Injector, Insulation 4)
SecureTech Shin Guards 0/1

Commlink :
Novatech Airware w/ Iris Orb OS
Programs:
Agent 3
Armor 3
Attack 3
Analyze 3
Scan 3

Weapons & Gear :
Katana, ceramic knife, vibro sword (each w/ custom grip), Ares Desert Strike w/ silencer, chameleon coating, easy breakdown (powered),
autopicker (6), grapple gun, maglock passkey (4), fake SIN (4)

Connections : Fixer (L2/C3)

Lifestyle :
6000 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) per month, 1 month prepaid
Comforts2
Entertainment1
Necessities 3
Neighborhood3
Security5
<< Positive Qualities >>
Escape Tunnel
Privacy Screen 2
<< Negative Qualities >>
Network Bottleneck
Rough Neighborhood
Pest Magnet 1

[Udoshi]

I'd almost say go Technomancer. They're great - with the right echoes and lenient karmagen - stealth sammys. I mean, who expects the unaugmented human to bust out four passes and turn people into gibbering, brainwashed wrecks with a touch.

[psychophipps]

My buddy had a great Troll adept ninja named "Snowfall". He had insane stealth, walking without tracks, the whole nine yards....and a No-dachi. The standing joke was that his entire stealth ability was based upon disbelief (Man, I know that I didn't just see a 9ft troll walking across the street in the shadows between those two Geo Metrocars! *rubs eyes* Yeah, just a figment of my imagination...) and what we dubbed, "Coat Rack Skillz" (*Sounds of urinating* Ahh...I was holding that one for-EVER. Huh, that sure is a funny place to put a coat rack... *STAB! HACK! PUREE'!*)

[Ol' Scratch]

I like taking different approaches myself. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably go with either a full magician or mystic adept, then focus on some of that old school ninja mysticism.

Grab some spells like Improved Invisibility, Stealth, and Levitate. Throw in one or two flashy attack spells for fun, too, or maybe just the old standby of Stunbolt as a Sleep spell instead. Maybe take the Aspected Magician (Sorcerer) quality to shave some points off the package deal (which owuld then let you focus on just Counterspell and Spellcasting since you're going to be a heavy Skill character), too. You could even get away with a Condition Geas like (only while in costume) and a Gesturing Geas as well.

If you go with a Mystic Adept, there's a ton of powers that fit. Considering that Adepts were originally designed for Ninja-type characters, that makes a lot of sense. Improved Ability (Blades or Exotic Weapon, and Infiltration), Traceless Walk, Missile Mastery, etc. Maybe if you could get away with Elemental Strike and then asking your GM for permission to combine it with Distance Strike, it could make for a fun alternative to the aforementioned flashy spells. That would mean focusing on Unarmed Combat more than a melee weapon, but that's perfectly fine, too. It would certainly help you sneak past security easier.

Your outfit could be built from Form-Fitting Body Armor (Full Body) with Ruthenium Polymers and Thermal Dampening, allowing you to wear it under your normal clothing then, bam!. Just strip, throw on your hood and gloves, and go to town. I'd continue sticking with the more mystical theme and go with a Ninja-To (Katana or Monosword), and/or maybe some other weapons of choice for fun like a Custom Look-modified Monofilament Whip designed to resemble a Kasurigama. Getting one as a Weapon Focus makes a lot of sense, too. That's definitely the way to go if you decide on a magician in lieu of a mystic adept. But if you do go mystic adept and snag Missile Mastery, you can turn just about anything into a deadly thrown weapon for those occasions where you don't have or run out of traditional Shuriken, too. Decisions, decisions.

You could use some of the bonus Karma to initiate, picking up Shielding and Reflecting for some really cool fun, too. Especially when dealing with hostile magicians who like to hurl Fireballs or Lightning Bolts. Just grab that spell right out of the air and hurl it back at them. Masking, Centering/Adept Centering, and [Weapon] Attunement are all awesome choices, too.

If it's a long-term campaign I'd definitely go with the Mystic Adept if for no other reason than because they have so much more potential and fit in to both aspects of the character.

I mean, if you're going to call yourself a Ninja, don't be just another boring assassin. Embrace the concept and have fun with it. Sniper rifles and Arnis de Mano instead of Ninjitsu, indeed! <puts his nose firmly in the air>

[Udoshi]

I like taking different approaches myself. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably go with either a full magician or mystic adept, then focus on some of that old school ninja mysticism.

I mean, if you're going to call yourself a Ninja, don't be just another boring assassin. Embrace the concept and have fun with it. Sniper rifles and Arnis de Mano instead of Ninjitsu, indeed! <puts his nose firmly in the air>

Non-standard ninja, hell yeah. Hi-5, bro. Besides, I would imagine that by the 2070s, the ninja clans have adjusted pretty well to the circumstances of security and the difficulties of getting to their target. Minor hacking - or at least spoofing doors open and the like- wouldn't be out of place in a ninja build.

At one point I was considering rolling a plain-jane human ninja, possibly with just Astral Sight, for help in sneaking past astral security.(It lets you -project- too, which is quite useful, and lets you take hits on spirits in their metaplanes.) Focused on, oddly, awakened drugs and chemicals for that old-school ninja vibe. There are some really good ones, too. Little Smoke to, well, be a ninja. Immortal Flower to always come back/fake your own death if necessary.(and your fees pay for Cellular Repair, in augmentation, all the time, so its less of a one-trick-pony). Rock lizard blood, for when you need to make your escape, not by popping down a smoke grenade - but flooding an area with pepper punch, neurostun and breathtaker, perhaps even all at once - and walking out unharmed. Or using it to get to your target in a cloud of chemical mayhem, leaving people to wonder how the hell you got out alive.

And, well, when the going gets tough, Chemistry lets you make plastic explosive. Up to rating 15 at no threshold change, if youre willing to pay for the raw materials. Boom. Go arsenal.

[Grinder]

Here's a basic writeup of a cybered human ninja.

Really like that build, as I've never thought of using sniper rifles as a ninja-ish weapon. Interested in trying to build this one with bioware too? Would make him even harder to detect.

[Grinder]

I like taking different approaches myself. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably go with either a full magician or mystic adept, then focus on some of that old school ninja mysticism.

Grab some spells like Improved Invisibility, Stealth, and Levitate. Throw in one or two flashy attack spells for fun, too, or maybe just the old standby of Stunbolt as a Sleep spell instead. Maybe take the Aspected Magician (Sorcerer) quality to shave some points off the package deal (which owuld then let you focus on just Counterspell and Spellcasting since you're going to be a heavy Skill character), too. You could even get away with a Condition Geas like (only while in costume) and a Gesturing Geas as well.

If you go with a Mystic Adept, there's a ton of powers that fit. Considering that Adepts were originally designed for Ninja-type characters, that makes a lot of sense. Improved Ability (Blades or Exotic Weapon, and Infiltration), Traceless Walk, Missile Mastery, etc. Maybe if you could get away with Elemental Strike and then asking your GM for permission to combine it with Distance Strike, it could make for a fun alternative to the aforementioned flashy spells. That would mean focusing on Unarmed Combat more than a melee weapon, but that's perfectly fine, too. It would certainly help you sneak past security easier.

I'm not sure how cool it is for a mystic adept to use spells that need to be sustained. Sustaining focus is not that expensive on the other hand, hm. Will think about that.

[merashin]

the digital grimoire has an adept power that allows you to ignore any dice penalty adding up to a - equal to your magic. I was under the impression it worked for sustaining.

[Ol' Scratch]

I'm not sure how cool it is for a mystic adept to use spells that need to be sustained. Sustaining focus is not that expensive on the other hand, hm. Will think about that.

The spells I mentioned are used for getting to your target, and only for targets that your impressive Infiltration and (greatly improved) Chameleon Suit don't work quite as well against. You're certainly not going to be fighting while sustaining them, and if you do need to, there's always Psyche, Living Focus, and/or Sustaining Foci.

[Ol' Scratch]

the digital grimoire has an adept power that allows you to ignore any dice penalty adding up to a - equal to your magic. I was under the impression it worked for sustaining.

That's not what it does. It allows you to spend a Complex Action to negate a single situational modifier up to your Magic rating, and only for one task at a time. Each additional task requires another Complex Action.

[Grinder]

the digital grimoire has an adept power that allows you to ignore any dice penalty adding up to a - equal to your magic. I was under the impression it worked for sustaining.

Heightened Concentration. Seems to work with sustaining, yes. Thanks for the idea!

[Grinder]

That's not what it does. It allows you to spend a Complex Action to negate a single situational modifier up to your Magic rating, and only for one task at a time. Each additional task requires another Complex Action.

Damn right. See, that's why I wanted this thread. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)