Ninja Master Paragon Path! (PEACH)

[Shadow_Elf]

Here's another homebrew Paragon Path. I thought that shurikens and the Ninja in general were not very prominent or even viable options in 4e, so I made one. Enjoy! :smallbiggrin:

Ninja Master
“I am as silent as a whisper and as deadly as a dragon!”

Prerequisite: Rogue Class, trained in Stealth, weapon proficiency Rapier or Sickle or Spiked Chain

You are a master of both secrecy and destruction, using unconventional weapons to thwart the most common of battle tactics and defeat foes quickly and with ease.

Ninja Master Path Features
Unconventional Weaponry (11th level):
Choose one of the following that you are proficient with: spiked chains, scimitars or katanas. You get a +1 bonus to attack rolls with your weapon of choice, as well as with shurikens. You may use your weapon of choice in place of a light blade for the purpose of meeting the requirements of Rogue powers.
Ninjutsu Action (11th level):
When you spend an action point to take an extra move action, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity until the end of your next turn.
Unconventional Weapon Mastery (16th level):
Increase the size of the damage dice when using your unconventional weapon of choice or a shuriken. Your rogue weapon talent bonus stacks with this class feature.

Shot From The Shadows Ninja Master Attack 12
“You strike a foe with a surprise attack out of nowhere, catching them off guard”“
Encounter * Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee or Ranged Weapon
Requirement: You must have combat advantage against the target and be wielding a shuriken or your weapon of choice.
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage. Increase the dice size of your sneak attack damage by one until the end of your next turn (including this attack) when attacking this target.
Effect: You gain combat advantage against the target until the end of your next turn, regardless of whether or not you hit.

Disappearing Act Ninja Master Utility 12
“You vanish in a puff of smoke, either to make an escape or to attack by surprise later”
Daily * Martial, Illusion
Standard Action Personal
Effect: You become invisible until the end of your next turn and may shift up to 3 squares. If you make an attack, you gain combat advantage against the target of the attack for that attack and you are no longer invisible.
Sustain Standard: You remain invisible

Double Feint Flurry Ninja Master Attack 20
“You attack with your weapon twice, using the first as a diversion so they will take the second in full. Failing that, you strike with all your might.”
Daily * Martial, Weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding your weapon of choice or a shuriken
Standard Action Melee Weapon
Attack: Dexterity vs. AC
Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier Damage. Shift to a square adjacent to the enemy and make a secondary attack.
Miss: 3[W] + Dexterity modifier damage
Secondary Attack: Dexterity +2 vs. AC
Secondary Hit: 4[W] + Dexterity modifier damage and you slide the target 1 square.

[Tuataralad]

Effect: You become invisible until the end of your next turn and may shift up to 3 squares. If you make an attack, you gain combat advantage against the target of the attack for that attack and you are no longer invisible.

I really like this in general, mainly because i really like shurikens but cannot use them because they are useless for backstabber or most powers, and I will probably end up using this if my DM allows, but the only thing is that it says in Dissapearing Act that you gain combat advantage against the target of the attack for that attack, but you should already have combat advantage because they cannot see you. I'm not sure if tat was intentional or not though. I also love Shot from the Shadows. 2d10 sneak attack FTW!

EDIT: A vaguely related question - if you are using a single shuriken (it is magic so it returns to your hand at the start of your next turn) can you still do powers such as blinding barrage which hit multiple enemies at once?

[Shadow_Elf]

I really like this in general, mainly because i really like shurikens but cannot use them because they are useless for backstabber or most powers, and I will probably end up using this if my DM allows, but the only thing is that it says in Dissapearing Act that you gain combat advantage against the target of the attack for that attack, but 1. you should already have combat advantage because they cannot see you. I'm not sure if tat was intentional or not though. I also love Shot from the Shadows. 2. 2d10 sneak attack FTW!

EDIT: 3. A vaguely related question - if you are using a single shuriken (it is magic so it returns to your hand at the start of your next turn) can you still do powers such as blinding barrage which hit multiple enemies at once?

Numbers Mine (makes things easier)
1. Sorta occured to me when i put that. If they have Tremorsense, you're screwed, and if not, you get the CA. So, that should be removed.
2. Actuall, 3d10 Sneak Attack damage FTW! (remember that it goes up /w Tier)
3. I have no idea, but i would think you would need enough ammo to hit every enemy with a different projectile, since a Barrage of 1 item is very unimpressing. Also, returning throwing weapons can't comeback until the start of your next turn, so you can't throw the same one a gazzilion times with one attack. Having a few different Throwing Enchantments for your weapons would be nice 4 variety though.

My favourite shot from the shadows idea: Bugbear Rogue level 22.
When using a Large Shuriken (oversized): 6d10 + Dexterity modifier as a level 11 encounter. For two turns in a row (maintain bonus and CA feature)
With a Vicious Shuriken on a crit you do 6d10 + 4d12 + Dexterity damage. Also, great with Vorpal Unconventional Weaponry. Just think: Base damage on a crit (/w daily power) is 6d10 + 9d12 with a Shuriken. Every maxed roll adds an extra d10/d12, depending on the dice.
Having considered all this, I am no longer really concerned that only 1[W] was underpowered for a level 11 encounter :smallbiggrin:

EDIT: Unfortunately, the above is impossible, as shurikens cannot be vorpal. While it makes me sad that this paragon path does not allow the taker to use vorpal weapons, I still had fun imagning the sheer pain a simple vorpal shuriken could of caused. With that possibility sidelined to impossibility, perhaps shot from the shadows should do 2[W] ?

[Zocelot]

Daily powers don't get Brutal Scoundrel/Artful Dodger bonuses. Double Feint Flurry is good enough without them.

Unconventianal weapon mastery is too powerful.
It's essentially a +2 permanent bonus to attack rolls, which is huge for anyone, but especially for the rogue, because of his DPS role, and then later it's a bonus to damage as well.

What rogue wouldn't take the spiked chain? In the end it's a +5 attack bonus and it does 1d12 damage

[Shadow_Elf]

Daily powers don't get Brutal Scoundrel/Artful Dodger bonuses. Double Feint Flurry is good enough without them.

Unconventianal weapon mastery is too powerful.
It's essentially a +2 permanent bonus to attack rolls, which is huge for anyone, but especially for the rogue, because of his DPS role, and then later it's a bonus to damage as well.

What rogue wouldn't take the spiked chain? In the end it's a +5 attack bonus and it does 1d12 damage

Ok, I have a few modifications to make in response to this. Just checked out Kensei. They get a +1 bonus, but they can pick any weapon. A Ninja has to choose a specific one, but they get the advantage of being able to use their new weapon for their other powers. So, +1 is therefore a fair bonus.
Increase in damage dice is just a potential +2 bonus to damage really. Its not even as good as having +2 to damage.
Ok, new set of weapons for unconventional weaponry:
Pick one of: Spiked Chain, Scimitar, or Katana (Superior Heavy blade, 2d4 damage, +3 Prof bonus, High Crit, Versatile)
If you really don't like the extra damage dice, I can increase the critical threat range instead (like the Dagger Master).

[mangosta71]

Just saw this, and the idea is pretty cool. The only change I'm thinking of is the initial attack on the double feint flurry - as it's intended to be a feint, maybe use your bluff modifier against the target's will defense. I also don't really like the idea of a miss doing more damage than a hit + miss.

[Shadow_Elf]

Just saw this, and the idea is pretty cool. The only change I'm thinking of is the initial attack on the double feint flurry - as it's intended to be a feint, maybe use your bluff modifier against the target's will defense. I also don't really like the idea of a miss doing more damage than a hit + miss.

At lower levels a Bluff attack is overpowered (CHA 18, its a base +9 to hit when trained. This goes up /w racial mods etc.). But at this point, even with skill focus and some serious cha, its probably about the same as an attack bonus with Prof + Enhancement + Dexterity + Feats etc. However, I think maybe it should be vs. Reflex, as most creeps have a better AC than Reflex, so it has a bit of an edge over just a basic attack. Note that the second attack has a +2 to hit, which is really handy. Ok, know what? Here's an alternative:

Attack 1: Bluff +2 vs. Reflex or Will (not sure which)
Hit 1: Shift 1 square and make secondary attack vs. same target.
Miss 1: 3[W] + strength mod damage
Attack 2: Dex +2 vs. AC
Hit 2: 6[W] + dex mod damage
Miss 2: Shift dex mod squares

It may sound overpowered, but to take full advantage of all its facets, you must have amazing cha (initial bluff check), good str (failed bluff) and good dex (sucessful or failed 2nd attack) and it still fits the fluff, which I have decided on already (I really liked the concept for this attack) If you use all of the ninja's powers on one turn (including vanish for CA), with a Vorpal Katana and full crits etc etc., you can deal upwards of 400 damage. This requires an action point and some ridiculous luck, but if you were to pull it off, everyone would probably explode from the sheer level of ninjutsu awesomeness. Also, I was considering making the Action Point ability "Inverse Ninja Law"; when you spend an action point to take an extra action, you gain a bonus to attack rolls of +1 for every enemy within 5 squares -1 for every ally within 5 squares until the start of your next turn. Thoughts?

[mangosta71]

Is a +9 modifier to Bluff so overpowered? My level 2 rogue has a total +10 modifier to his attack (or +12 when he has CA) when using Sly Flourish.

If you're worried about it being too easy to land the first attack, you could make it an opposed roll vs the target's Insight. The original damage was fine - my point was that if you miss your first roll, you do more damage than if you hit your first and then miss the second, which is still the case.

The action point bonus you offer is a little odd. It's incredibly useful when facing a swarm of minions. Not so much against a solo boss NPC, which is where I generally prefer to use an AP to burn it down faster. In that situation, it has the potential to actually be a penalty to attack rolls. How about "Whenever you use an action point, you become invisible until the end of your next turn"?