Ninja (FiD)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page

As a ninja you are a stealthy shadow, rarely revealing your powers except to your inner circle. Your identity is secret to the world, not to your team.

A ninja creates a magical emptiness that ambient magic rushes to fill. It is very discreet, but difficult to project over distance.

Ninja and Chi are opposite sides of the same coin — Yin and Yang. They share a focus on the self but differ in outlook and honor. Where Chi is direct and strives toward ideals, ninja obscure themselves and seek inner balance.

Many ninja serve clans or secret orders; others follow a personal creed. As a ninja working outside a clan, you might be fulfilling an old obligation, acting on a long-term secret mission, hailing from a destroyed clan, or pursuing a personal goal.

Touchstones: This playbook draws from the many fictional ninja with mystic powers. As a ninja you might be known as an assassin, lin kuei, shadow warrior, or shinobi. Only ninja use these titles, though most groups have something similar.

Jubei Kibagami (Ninja Scroll 1993), Elektra Natchios (Daredevil 2003), Oboro (Shinobi: Heart Under Blade 2005), Yukio (The Wolverine 2013).

Trauma Condition — Void

To utilize ninja arts, your presence must melt away, creating a void that magic can fill. You constantly minimize your own presence — this soon becomes second nature — making any magic you cast on yourself quick and silent. Hand signs and meditation are sufficient to invoke magic on yourself without a sound.

Creating a magical void outside yourself takes more time and requires a single word of activation. This word, typically the name of the Form you are using, must be loud enough for the target to hear.

Affecting something by touch takes only a few seconds and a whispered word, which is stealthy but risky in combat. Affecting a distant target takes a full minute, making it nearly useless unless your opponent remains entirely unaware. You can release your power at range just as you speak the final word, so you can open an ambush using a Power.

Trauma Condition — Void

To use ninja arts, your presence must melt away, creating a void that magic can fill.

Self: Powers used on yourself are instant, silent, and immune to detection.

Touch / melee: Powers within weapon reach take a moment and require a single spoken trigger (usually the name of the Form). They function normally, can be heard and be detected.

Range: Activating powers at distance takes long enough that they are useless in open combat, though still effective when used from ambush.

Special Abilities

When a special ability refers to Area, Duration, or Range, these are based on your tier, see page 221.

Power Veil

You and your powers are difficult to detect. This improves your position by two steps against supernatural detection and one step against mundane observation. Position better than Controlled is safe as long as you have at least Limited effect.

Reaching Veil

You use powers and special abilities as if you were touching any target within a number of meters equal to your tier +1. Reduces the penalties of Trauma Condition — Void

Shadow Veil

Create an illusory duplicate within Range, taking level 1 harm "Shadow Drain." This harm only affects ranged powers but can knock you out with repeated use. The clone acts as a Cohort Expert (trickster) (p 96), it cannot attack or interact physically and lasts for Duration or until dispelled or struck by sunlight. Common uses:

1. Assist (p 134) on stealth, misdirection, and sneak attacks, suffering no Consequences.
2. Protect (p 135), sacrificing its existence.

Shroud Veil

Roll Finesse and touch an item affected by a Power, Ritual or that is Potent, an Alchemical, Gadgets, Magic Item or affected by a Ritual . Success suppressed its operation for a minute. This is mainly useful to bypass locks and alarms created by powers, but can also weaken powers and potent weapons used against you. Improves your position when confronting the powers of things you can reach out to touch.

Sound Veil

Anyone you attack in melee is momentarily silenced, the sounds they make swallowed by the void. This improves Position in surprise and changes the type of Consequences you suffer with such an attack, reducing the chance of an alarm.

Vision Veil

At the start of an encounter, you can begin in hiding if concealment is within Range. When resisting an enemy attack, you can move within the Area, leaving behind a token like a hat or coat. If you reach concealment, you become hidden.

Additional Playbook

Select another playbook. You gain immediate access to its Inventory and XP conditions. From now on, you can choose its Special Abilities. You can take this special ability multiple times, each time selecting a new playbook. Prerequisite: To select a playbook, you need an action rating of one in each of its starting actions.

Powers

You can learn these powers, expending a Special Ability for each. You cannot select powers marked in red.

Abyss, Air, Animal, Barrier, Darkness, Death, Earth, Electricity, Fire, Ice, Flux, Illusion, Kinesis, Life, Light, Metal, Mind, Order, Plant, Space, Time, and Water.

Influential Shadows

˄ ˅ Daiyu, an informant.

˄ ˅ Jian, a wandering monk.

˄ ˅ Kazuo, a rival shadow warrior.

˄ ˅ Lin of many faces, a spy.

˄ ˅ Yun Wei, a schemer.

Inventory

◯, ◯, ◯ Darklight Goggles.

☐ Darklight Lantern.

☐ Fine Burglary Gear.

☐ Light Camping Gear.

• Darklight Goggles ◯: Goggles that let you see in the invisible light of a Darklight Lamp. Vision is sepia-tinted. Gadget.
• Darklight Lantern ☐: A lantern that emits invisible light. Gadget.
• Fine Burglary Gear ☐: A set of lockpicks. A small pry-bar. Vials of oil to silence squeaky hinges. A coil of wire and fishing hooks. A small pouch of fine sand. Refined for your use to give increased effect.
• Light Camping Gear ☐: Bedroll, cooking pot, tarpaulin, fishing line, snares, all personalized and chosen to be lightweight. This gear allows a single downtime action when camping. Lacking camping gear does not allow any effective rest.

XP

• Every time you roll a desperate action, mark xp in that action's attribute.

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 xp (in your playbook or an attribute) or 2 xp if that item occurred multiple times.

• You addressed a challenge with stealth or stillness.
• You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.
• You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas during the session.

Starting Actions

Finesse 2

Prowl 1

4 points by choice, no higher than 2 in any one.