Pirates vs. Ninjas

[Dairun Cates]

Two things that might be interesting to incorporate...

Samurai: they're the sworn enemies of ninjas, and they are probably on not-too-great terms with pirates either. It would be fun to see abilities that key against both of them.

Monks: or some sort of martial-arts master, maybe exiled ninjas or reformed pirates could come into this group.

Monks: Kinda covered with Drunken Masters

Samurai: Planning it for later. Possible expansion. Pirates gets Vikings to compensate.

[Ichneumon]

I like this a lot. The idea is fun and well thought through. I love the way you have include the "1 ninja is stronger than 10 ninjas"-thing.

[Forevernade]

Monks: Kinda covered with Drunken Masters

Samurai: Planning it for later. Possible expansion. Pirates gets Vikings to compensate.

Oh no.... Vikings are a different team to Pirates, they don't go hand in hand.
And Samurai aren't friends with ninjas either, they are a separate team.
COMPLETELY different... *mutter mutter*

[Dairun Cates]

Oh no.... Vikings are a different team to Pirates, they don't go hand in hand.
And Samurai aren't friends with ninjas either, they are a separate team.
COMPLETELY different... *mutter mutter*

That's the point. Vague and minor alliances in the face of a greater enemy. Otherwise, I'd just make Samurai actual ninjas and vikings actual pirates.

But yeah. There's some key thematic differences.

[Cracklord]

You should do some variation of templates. For instance:
Cannibal viking/ninja/pirate/samurai
cowoy viking/ninja/pirate/samurai

Also, there should be titles that give you abilities, earned through quests or whatever, that you can spend points on at specific circumstances. Sheriff, king, being knighted, even doctor or professor, and probably some variant of priest as well.

Yes, not really consistent, but think about how awesome a cannibal viking who also happens to be a sheriff would be. Or a Harvard professor cowboy ninja. Or a preacher samurai. Or a... well, you get the idea.

Incidentally, how would one create Sir Francis Drake, biggest pirate of them all?

[Corporate M]

Oh no.... Vikings are a different team to Pirates, they don't go hand in hand.
And Samurai aren't friends with ninjas either, they are a separate team.
COMPLETELY different... *mutter mutter*

Samurai: Lawful stupid
Pirates: Chaotic stupid
Ninja: Neutral stupid

All we're missing is a good and evil stupid to complete the five color wheel. Possibly wizards (evil stupid) and priests (good stupid).

Monk would probably just be a subclass of priest. You know, if you don't want to heal all day.. Knight would also be a subpriest with more combat oriented abilities and could use slashing weapons. (AD&D joke..)

Samurai would have the weaboo.. err.. "oriental adventures" classes like shugenja and wujen as subclasses. Lawlz. It could get very complicated and resemble D&D too much over a freeform rpg. I think it's fine the way it is. Not that I would mind seeing an adventuring party of several different aligned characters. I'd be the samurai arguing I'm lawful because I stick to MY code. Not the code of the bushido, or the nation, or the church.. And give my kitty cat face when I lie, cheat, steal, and break my so called code cause I'll be like "my code says anything goes for me, but not for you cause you suck : 3"

IE: Evil becomes lawful when you just stick "code" and "honor" infront of everything. Thus probably being more of a ronin.. XP

[Dairun Cates]

Incidentally, how would one create Sir Francis Drake, biggest pirate of them all?

Wait till I actually finish the Charrismatic Lords. While I haven't actually worked out ship combat yet, the Charrismatic Lords cover wise-cracking, politically-saavy, charismatic leaders quite nicely. The rest is really just making someone who's smarter than they are physical.

Various Miscellany.

Yeah. I'm REALLY avoid getting too bogged down here. I'm really trying for a fairly simple system that still has deep mechanics. Deviating too much really ruins the spirit of it.

The idea is to make ridiculous pirates and ninjas fight each other and have a nice middle ground in the wanderers. The focus really is on the Pirates and Ninjas with the Wanderers just being an option for someone who wants to remain neutral. Even the Wanderers fit well into the theme of ridiculous feats of mental, physical, and charismatic prowess.

Anything I've statted out here, I can really point out as a reference to something in Pirate or Ninja "literature" (films, books, anime, comics, etc.) with a few exceptions in the wanderers that were thrown in for flavor (The Luckies are such an example).

That's actually the major component of why I don't want to do Vikings and Samurai just yet. They've got their own films and genre, but they're actually quite different in a number of cases from Ninja and Pirate films (A little less in the case of samurai since the "ninja films" in question are usually Kurosawa). Adding them is a RATIONAL idea, but it also VASTLY changes the atmosphere by adding them. So, I kinda want to get this main universe down before I expand it.

Also, I'll probably be cutting a number of factions that don't fit in eventually for that exact reason (I'm already looking at cutting Mad Scientists and saving Cowboys for the Vikings vs. Samurai thing since they're practically a sub-genre of their own).

As for alignment, the reference to alignment was a mild tongue-in-cheek explanation mixed with a bit of understanding for D&D 3.5 people. Ninjas fit widely into the realm of Lawful, Pirates fit widely into the realm of chaotic, and Wanderers fit widely into the realm of Neutral. That doesn't mean you should use them as exact measures of behavior, and I definitely don't care about Good vs. Evil. This is a world of profiteers, politicians, great war heroes, and explorers. The line between good and evil is very vague in some cases. Evil shows up in every faction as often as good does, but 90% of people are mostly neutral.

Also, no Wizards. Ever.

[Dairun Cates]

We're back, and with a semi-favorite of my own RP group, the Charrismatic Lords. This one's a rather fun one with a lot of abilities, but I think I'll need to revisit it tomorrow. Some of the abilities are crazy powerful and need some balancing, and there feels like there's something missing from this faction.

The Charrismatic Lords:
Summary: The Charrismatic Lords are almost blasphemers to the very laws of the universe. Despite the Kurosawa corollary, they use their allies to great effect. Whether it's bolstering their allies, coordinating their troops, or using the style's infamous Rapier Wit style to damage their foes with an insult, the Charrismatic Lords are great leaders that know there's danger in numbers.

High Level Charrismatic Lords can buff allies, debuff enemies, damage with their will scores, and even negate the Kurosawa corollary on some of their allies.

History: As previously mentioned, the Charrismatic Lords are one of the two factions formed in order to imitate the style of Two-Eyed Pete. While the Arrcrobats focus on agility and quick footwork, the Charrismatic Lords work on cunning and quick wit.

The Charrismatic Lords are a well-organized group of Pirate leaders with One-Word Jack as the head of all the Charrismatic Lords. One-Word Jack earned his named for his near supernatural ability to defeat powerful with a mere word. While still not as big of a show-off as Flynn, One-Word Jack still likes to go out of his way to impress the women he finds attractive. Instead of physical feats though, he uses his silver tongue to woo their hearts with words. Rollin' Flynn of the Arrcrobats is his best friend, and even though they argue constantly, their rivalry is merely a friendly one and would never escalate to violence.

Attribute Scores: A great leader should be well-balanced and not ignore any attribute, but most of all, he should be Charrismatic. Charrismatic Lords use their Will score to great use, whether it's to deliver rousing speeches or keep their men inspired. The Lords frequently have high precision scores to help them accurately perceive the situations and come up with a battle plan.

Level 1:

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Tactical Genius
Pirate 1
Cost: Passive
Charrismatic Lords must know the ins and outs of Military tactics in order to compensate for their large numbers. The Charrismatic Lord with this skill gains a +2 to all checks to come up with and see through battlefield strategies.

On My Signal!
Pirate 1
Cost: 4
The Charrismatic Lords are excellent tacticians that can increase the competence of their crew. If a Charrismatic Lord sacrifices his move and attack actions for a turn, he can use this ability to give one ally that can hear him a +2 to all checks for the turn.

The Bull's Red Cape
Pirate 1
Cost: 2
Charrismatic Lords are excellent at antagonizing opponents. By using their attack action to use this ability, the Charrismatic Lord can force an opponent to make an opposed Will check. If the Charrismatic Lord wins, the opponent will be forced to attack the Charrismatic Lord until someone else hits the opponent. If the opponent was trying to run, they attack instead.

A Moment of Weakness
Pirate 1
Cost: 2
Charrismatic Lords can trick an opponent into attacking them all out and use that moment to their advantage. When a Charrismatic Lord with this ability is attacked, he can invoke it to give the opponent a +2 to precision for that attack. Essentially, this is the Charrismatic Lord leaving an opening. However, the opponent takes a -1 to their agility until their next action.

Ye Olde Mum Joke
Pirate 1
Cost: 1
Charrismatic Lords' insults are so potent to actually deal lethal damage. Charrismatic Lords that use this attack deal a scathing insult that deals half of their Will in damage (round up). This attack is resolved as an opposed Will check from the opponent. This damage cannot be reduced by damage reduction. The opponent MUST speak the same language to be effected by this ability.

Level 2:

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Silver Tongue
Pirate 2
Cost: Passive
Charrismatic Lords, above all else, must be charming. Their legendary way with words can incite wars or declare peace in seconds. Charrismatic Lords gain a +2 to skill checks to charm, intimidate, or reason with an opponent.

Everyone Stand Together!
Pirate 2
Cost: 4/turn
Charrismatic Lords work well in groups. By grouping together, the crew members can easily protect each other. Every ally that is standing adjacent to the Charrismatic Lord when he uses this ability gains a +1 to all dodges. The Charrismatic Lord does not get this benefit.

Coordinated Assault
Pirate 2
Cost: 5
Charrismatic Lords use precise timing to increase the potency of attacks. By taking their turn at the same time as an ally and using this ability, the Charrismatic Lord uses his attack action to amplify the damage of his ally's attack. Add 10 damage to the base damage of the attack. If the attack does multiple hits, only apply it to 1 hit.

Ye Mum Still Be Large!
Pirate 2
Cost: 3
This attack is the same as Ye Olde Mum Joke but deals the Pirate's full Will score in damage instead of half.

All Hands on Deck!
Pirate 2
Cost: 4/turn
Charrismatic Lords must be able to keep their crew organized. When the Charrismatic Lord uses this ability while on his ship, all allies that can hear the Captain either gain a +1 to sailing skill checks or a +1 to precision with the ship's weapons (Captain's choice each round).

The Never-Ending Burn
Pirate 2
Cost: 2
A rather unusual technique, the Charrismatic Lord chooses to focus on one opponent like an impudent child teasing an unpopular kid. The Charrismatic Lord lays down an insult on his opponent with an opposed Will roll. If successful, the object of the insult takes 2 damage that cannot be reduced by damage reduction every turn until the Charrismatic Lord is unconscious or can no longer be seen AND heard. The opponent must be able to understand the insult to take the damage.

Level 3:

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Intimidatin' Posture
Pirate 3
Cost: 6
Charrismatic Lords are not just respected by their men, they're feared by everyone else. A Charrismatic Lord can use his attack action to use this ability. He selects one target and makes an opposed Will save. If the target fails, he or she takes a -2 to dodge until his or her next action.

"Inspirational Speech"
Pirate 3
Cost: 4
Charrismatic Lords sometimes have to use tough love in order to get results. This ability does 5 damage (no damage reduction) to a willing ally, but gives them a +2 on any one skill roll to avoid an effect (dodge, see through an illusion, resist an insult from another Charrismatic Lord, etc).

So Be Ye Face!
Pirate 3
Cost: 6
By truly focusing on the insult, Charrismatic Lords can deliver a truly devastating blow to the ego. Same as Ye Olde Mum Joke, but Will is rolled for the Charrismatic Lord at a -2 and the damage is double the Charrismatic Lord's Will score. As always, this attack does no damage if the target cannot understand it.

Break Their Groove!
Pirate 3
Cost: 9
Charrismatic Lords not only know how to rally units, but to distract enemy units. By spending his attack action, the Charrismatic Lord gives all enemies within hearing range a -1 to all rolls for the remainder of the round.

The Wit's Rapier
Pirate 3
Cost: 6
Even Charrismatic Lords have to occasionally use brute force. The Charrismatic Lord pretends to tell a joke. The only difference is that the punchline is a violent stab through the chest with his weapon. This attack gives a +1 to Precision and does 15 damage. This attack does NOT need the opponent to understand the joke to work.

Level 4:

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The L Bomb
Pirate 4
Cost: 20
There's an insult that only the Charrismatic Lords know that they dare not speak. It strikes fear in the heart of any true pirate and even insults the Wanderers and Ninjas. When this word is uttered, all entities that can hear the word (including allies) and understand it must make an opposed Will save against the Charrismatic Lord's Will. Anyone that fails the save takes 10 damage that cannot be reduced by any damage reduction. Even if they make the save, they take a -1 to all rolls for the remainder of the turn.

There's No I in Team!
Pirate 4
Cost: 2/turn
Charrismatic Lords inspire admiration in their crew. Any of these men would lay down their lives for their Captain. While this ability is active, ANY adjacent ally can interpose for the Charrismatic Lord by switching places with him at any time. If the attack misses the new target, it misses both of them.

There is an I in Captain!
Pirate 4
Cost: 4
A good Captain can draw strength from the wills of his men. The Charrismatic Lords can do it quite literally. When this ability is activated, any NAMED ally that can perceive the Charrismatic Lord can voluntarily take 5 damage and give that amount in life points to the user of this ability. This cannot take the Charrismatic Lord over his maximum Life Point Total.

Thine Drill Penetrates the Wave!
Pirate 4
Cost: 12
The Charrismatic Lord delivers a stirring speech and rallies his troops to greatness. Ignited by their fiery passion, all allies that are not the Charismatic Lord deal 5 extra damage when they attack for the remainder of the turn. For multi-hit attacks, this only adds to the first attack.

Not to Be Trifled With
Pirate 4
Cost: 20
The Charrismatic Lord gives off a massive and fearsome presence that strikes fear in the hearts of all his foes. When the Charrismatic Lord takes this stance, ALL attacks coming from his foes aimed at ANY of his allies do 5 less damage until his next turn. This is not considered damage reduction. It reduces the damage of the actual attack. This can reduce even will based attacks, and makes crits do 10 less damage. This still cannot reduce damage below 1.

Level 5:

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One Word Insult
Pirate 5
Cost: 20
One-Word Jack's infamous technique. The Charrismatic Lord that masters this technique can shatter the very psyche of his opponent with a single word. What's even more disturbing is that the very intonation and gesture of this technique is sufficient to do damage (meaning it can do damage to even people or creatures that don't understand the word but can hear it). Even then, this is difficult and quite inaccurate, but the results are astounding. This attack resolves as an Opposed Will roll with a -4 to the Charrismatic Lord's Will. However, This attack does an outstanding 5 times the Charrismatic Lord's Will in damage that cannot be reduced by any damage reduction.

The Perfect Strategy
Pirate 5
Cost: 50
Invented by a very dull-witted Lord named Perfect Strategy Peter, Peter assumed that there had to be a way to overcome quick Ninja foes that could not be hit. His solution? Swing again. Somehow, he made it work. When a Charrismatic Lord activates this ability as his attack action, ALL of his allies that can hear him can attack immediately without spending an attack action. They can also attack with an ability NOT written as their attack ability for this round. No matter how many extra attacks the Charrismatic Lord gets in a turn, this ability can only be used once a turn.

Fast Numbers' Negation
Pirate 5
Cost: Variable
A Charrismatic Lord by the name of Fast Numbers Scarlet discovered a shocking revelation. With the right methods, the Kurosawa corollary could be negated for a brief stint of time. In the hands of a master strategist, this was enough. By spending an attack action calculating the angles, a Charrismatic Lord can recreate this effect. This ability can effect a number of target allies equal to the average of the Pirate's Will and Perception rounded down. The Charrismatic Lord cannot be one of these targets. This ability starts out at a cost of 10 life. A second target can be effected in the same turn for an additional 5 cost. All targets after that have a cost of 5 life. So, effecting 4 targets costs 25 life. These targeted allies remove the external penalty the Kurosawa Corollary gives to all rolls until the end of the turn.

Nightmare of Legends
Pirate 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 20 Life
The Charrismatic Lord is a legendary man that strikes fear in the hearts of others just by the mention of his name. When the Charrismatic Lord activates this ability, his monstrous reputation frightens his foe. The Charrismatic Lord may pick one target. The Charrismatic Lord now takes 10 less damage against that Target until the end of battle even if the attacks go through damage reduction (minimum 1 damage on each attack).

[Jan Mattys]

You, Sir, just win at the Internets.

Hat off. This is awesometastic

[dsmiles]

Do you mean:

Pirates

Spoiler

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Yarrrrr!

versus

Ninjas

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Hyaaa!

[Dairun Cates]

Well, not ALL of them practice such poor dental hygiene, but yeah. That's about right.

[Dairun Cates]

Here they are. The maddeningly powerful Luckies. Their abilities absolutely dwarf any of the other factions in sheer magnitude and power. A Lucky at full tilt is truly impossible to kill... Of course, since most of these abilities have stupid high costs, the average lucky will just seem like an incompetent rube 90% of the time. Oh well.. There's always that 1 in 10 battle.

Will probably need some rebalancing.

Luckies:
Summary: The Luckies are a rather mysterious group, even to the Wanderers. The Luckies act as a true testament to the rule that "anyone can do at least one thing amazingly well". Most Luckies are incompetent, unfit, and uneducated. For all intensive purposes, they are below the curve, but Fate has somehow conspired that they are worthy of higher destinies, and what a Lucky lacks in talent, he more than makes up for in sheer Luck.

High Level Luckies (if such a term can be deemed appropriate) are capable of just about anything they put their minds to. Their seemingly infinite luck puts them as Jacks of All Trades that can turn the tides of battle without warning or effort. In short, they live up to their name.

History: No one knows where the Luckies come from. One does not train to be a Lucky, and they certainly don't have any kind of organization. To even call the Luckies a faction is somewhat of a misnomer. They have no organization, and indeed no masters. Luckies just seem to show up when they are needed.

As a matter of fact, no one can even be sure when they've met a Lucky. There's no obvious mystical signs, and the Luckies themselves rarely, if ever, know that they are Luckies. The only indication is when a Lucky is put into severe peril, their true natures seem to shine through. Even then, the effects are often subtle, and it becomes debatable whether that branch really was just there at the right time to catch their fall or whether fate itself conspired to put the branch there. After all, even a non-Lucky has lucky moments.

This, of course, means that for players, there's almost no one to train these techniques. They must come naturally to the user. So, players wishing to start taking abilities from this tree after character creation should either have a powerful destiny that needs to be fulfilled or have a good backstory reason of why their latent abilities had not shown up until this point.

This is not to say that there aren't powerful Luckies out there. They exist, and they constantly change the events of history. It's just that almost no one knows who they are. That's just their Luck.

Attribute Scores: No one attribute score is important to a Lucky. Luckies come in all varieties. Of course, a lot of Luckies tend to have high Wills. A strong fate often comes to those with a strong force of personality.

Level 1:

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Beginner's Luck
Wanderer 1
Cost: Passive
Sometimes inspiration comes to a Lucky at just the right time and allows them to pull off tasks they otherwise wouldn't be able to. Just don't ask the Lucky how they did it. You may not like the answer. Luckies with this ability gain a +2 AND proficiency on one skill roll per day that they have no proficiency in.

What Goes Around...
Wanderer 1
Cost: 1
Hitting a Lucky can often be difficult. Even if you manage it, sometimes you'll wish you hadn't. When a Lucky is hit by an opponent, the Lucky can spend 1 Life point on his next attack against that target to gain a +1 to hit.

...Comes Around
Wanderer 1
Cost: 1
Luckies will land their attacks eventually as long as they keep trying. No matter how bad of an idea it may be. Whenever a Lucky misses with an attack or effect, this effect kicks in. By repeating the same attack against the same target, the Lucky gains a +1 cumulative bonus PER TIME he missed. This has no cap. To activate this bonus costs 1 Life point each time he invokes it. A Lucky MUST attack the same opponent with the same attack EVERY turn to keep this bonus. Delaying for even 1 turn drops the bonus. When the Lucky hits, the bonus is lost.

WATCH OUT!
Wanderer 1
Cost: 3
When a Lucky suffers bad luck, it has the effect of bringing down people with him. When a Lucky uses this ability, he trips up in some way and suffers a -2 to all rolls until his next action. However, one opponent of his choice suffers a -1 to all rolls as a result of these actions until the Lucky's next action as well. The Lucky does not need to use this ability during his or her turn, and does not need to be able to perceive the opponent he is targeting. Only the player needs to know of the target's existence.

Level 2:

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One in a Million
Wanderer 2
Cost: 4
Some shots have a One in a Million chance of hitting. However, Luckies themselves are One in a Million. To them, it's more like One in Ten. This ranged attack resolves at -8 to hit and has a range of 10 squares. However, if this attack hits, it does 30 damage to the target.

Last Minute Save
Wanderer 2
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Sometimes, the strangest things come in to save the Lucky at the last second. Whenever an attack hits a Lucky, the Lucky activates this ability and something blocks a large blunt of the attack. This gives the Lucky 20 damage reduction for just this one attack.

Second Chance
Wanderer 2
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Luckies can pull through in even the most peculiar and unlikely situations. When a Lucky is defending from an attack the Lucky can spend an Awesome point before rolling to defend to roll 2 rolls for the defense and take the better of the two.

Right Time, Right Place
Wanderer 2
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Luckies have the innate ability to show up where they're needed. Whenever an ally is in danger, if the Lucky is not previous occupied with another fight or something else that has grabbed their full attention (like being captured or holding the lever that keeps a dam from exploding), the Lucky can spend an awesome point to stumble into the scene. The player should give a rationale of how their character stumbled in, but nothing short of absolutely impossible logic is out of bounds.

The Truth of 13
Wanderer 2
Cost: Passive
Many people fear many different numbers for fear of bad luck. 13 is one of the worst. However, a true lucky brings in both the bad luck and the good into their being. Whenver a Lucky with this ability rolls a natural roll of a 12, the roll is treated as a 13 instead. Furthermore, if a Lucky with this ability rolls a natural roll of two 1's, they can spend 3 awesome points to turn it into a roll of 13 (this does not count as a critical hit though).

Level 3:

Spoiler

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Trip and a Miss
Wanderer 3
Cost: Passive
Bad luck is almost always followed by Good luck. What looks like a failure to some can be a saving grace. Once a day, when a Lucky fails to hit with an attack, instead of merely missing, the Luck tripped up in some way and never used it. This means that any life drained by the attack does not happen.

Lucky Guess
Wanderer 3
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Luckies seem to always know the right way to go or the right hand to pick. When a Lucky is presented with a choice (a fork in the road, high/low dice roll, a set of doors), he or she can spend 1 Awesome Point to pick the MOST correct decision. The most correct solution does not always equate victory.

Second Wind
Wanderer 3
Cost: Passive
Luckies always seem to get up after anything. Once per day, the Lucky with this ability can gain 20 Life instantly as a free action.

There's No F In Way
Wanderer 3
Cost: Passive
Even the worst luck can turn into a blessing for the Lucky, and the worst luck of those that try to destroy the lucky gets worse. Fate bends around the lucky any time someone rolls a natural roll of two 1's some twist of fate happens to cause great fortune or misfortune at the will of the Lucky. This will either heal 5 Life or cause 5 automatic damage that damage reduction does not reduce. This damage cannot crit or be augmented.

Level 4:

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Path of Least Resistance
Wanderer 4
Cost: 6
Some Luckies prefer a pacifistic approach to violence. Still, when they do decide to take action, it catches their foes off guard. If a Lucky spends an entire turn doing nothing, he can activate this ability. This ability gives a +4 to the Lucky's next roll to hit with an attack.

Chance for a Big Reversal
Wanderer 4
Cost: 20
Whenever a Lucky is actually hit with an attack, he can often turn his setback into his opponent's defeat. The Lucky uses his Luck to twist the attack's effects back on his foe. The more force you use against the Lucky, the more fate's going to hurt you back. This attack does 20 damage base, and does half of the original attack's damage as extra damage. If the altered attack is less than the damage of the original attack, it does the original attack's damage instead. This attack can be used up to 1 turn after the Lucky was hit. If the Lucky calls this attack on the turn he is hit, it happens at the same time as the opponent's and goes off even if he or she is knocked below 0 because of the attack. It's range is the range of the attack that hit the Lucky.

Do The Impossible!
Wanderer 4
Cost: 15
Some attacks are just doomed from the beginning. The Lucky must call on all of their luck to deliver the finishing blow in an impossible way. This attack hits at a -10 to hit. However, should it somehow hit, this attack does 15 damage for every effective point in agility the opponent has (before Kurosawa corollary).

Level 5:

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The Love of a Lucky
Wanderer 5
Cost: Passive
Part of a famous saying about Luckies. The full phrase "Friendship is the love of a Lucky". When a Lucky deeply cares for his friends, he can push them to levels that even the Charrismatic Lords couldn't dream about. Luckies with this ability may freely spend their own Awesome points on behalf of their allies. This includes ANY of their non-attack abilities that require an awesome point to activate.

Awesomer than Awesome!
Wanderer 5
Cost: Passive
Luckies have stronger fates than other men, and when fate itself intervenes to help, it does more so than with any other person. Whenever a Lucky with this ability does an action that would give at least 2 Awesome points, the Lucky gains 1 extra Awesome Point.

Turn of Luck
Wanderer 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Nothing will stop a Lucky. Not a lack of talent, not a lack of skill, and not the entire world trying to stop him. When a Lucky starts his turn, calculate all the minuses (save the Kurosawa Corollary) that have been accumulated on him. Upon activating this ability, treat his or her minuses as bonuses until the end of his or her next attack action. So, if he was currently suffering a -4 to precision from other abilities, it becomes a +4. The minuses from the Lucky's own abilities do not count for this (ie. One in a Million is still a -8 to precision).

Luck of the Ancients
Wanderer 5
Cost: 3 Awesome Points and 40 Life
A true Lucky's luck is absolutely infinite and unfathomable. This attack sets forth a series of infinitely impossible events that destroy the Lucky's foes and give impossible blessings to his allies. All enemies that are within 200 squares of any of the Lucky's allies (even if they're not in the same room or within sight of the Lucky). Resolve this attack at a +4 to hit. Any enemy that's hit with the attack takes 40 damage. On top of that, ALL of the Lucky's allies (save the Lucky himself) heal back 20 Life points.

The Limits of Mortals
Wanderer 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
The Lucky is truly a frightening beast with the power of the gods that can break the limits of any other mortal. Whenver a Lucky with this ability confirms a critical hit (a natural roll of 12 and 1 awesome point spent), the Lucky can spend one extra awesome point to triple the damage instead of doubling it.

Lucky's Last Stand
Wanderer 5
Cost: Passive
When all else fails, the universe will align itself for the lucky. Any time the Lucky with this ability is downed by an enemy attack and not the cost of their attacks, the Lucky can take one last attack action at the enemy that attacked them. This takes place after the Lucky is unconscious and out of pure luck. This attack action cannot revive the Lucky back to consciousness.

[Dairun Cates]

The next 6 factions are pretty unbalanced and definitely not finished (they only have 2 attacks per level), but I finished up a huge chunk for the final project the last few days for tonight's due date. I figured I might as well post them. Although, I'm thinking most attacks are going to get a HUGE decrease in Life cost. There's also a few minor changes to the system.

The Shoninja

Summary: To describe the Shoninja as “unorthodox” would be quite the understatement. To describe the Shoninja as the black sheep of the ninja clans would be closer to the truth but still a bit of an understatement. To call the Shoninja loud and boorish ninja that couldn't stealth their way out of a paper bag but can knock out any ninja in 1-hit that calls them on it would be dead on the money. The Shoninja use the inner energy that powers every living thing to an extraordinary effect. Rather than focus it into stealth, technique, or precision, the Shoninja channel it into pure force of will and raw damage output. Their techniques are unusual, but you can't argue with results (as much as some ninjas try).

High level Shoninja are all about raw damage and flashy effects. Their attacks are very pirate like in nature with their own ninja twist. One of the most powerful techniques of the school actually allows a Shoninja to clone him or herself.

History: The Shoninja are the absolute youngest school of Ninja and have only been around for a mere 10 years. In that time, they've managed to build quite the reputation; not all of it good. Based around the very uncommon belief that true ninja power comes from the soul and not techniques, the Shoninja developed techniques trying to tap their very own life essence for the invention of new and powerful techniques. They succeeded, but almost every Shoninja technqiue is loud or lets off bright amounts of energy that completely ruin their ability to sneak.

The founder is a rather dim-witted 20 year old ninja by the name of Burning Soul. Amazingly enough, this means that Burning Soul founded the Shoninja when he was 10. Some ninja are baffled by this fact, especially considering Burning Soul's tendency to forgo paperwork and ninja council meetings. However, people deep in the organization know the true secret to its success, Burning Soul's best friend, Mien Mai Shadow.

As dumb as Burning Soul is, Mien Mai is a tactical and organizational genius. At 21 years of age, she's possibly one of the most accomplished ninja ever at such a young age, rivaling even Ellipsis himself in some areas, but oddly enough, almost no one outside of the Shoninja knows of her existence. Perhaps it's a desire to stay hidden like a true ninja or perhaps she wants her good friend to get all the fame.

The Shoninja are generally mocked as a rather poor excuse of a ninja school, and most ninja would prefer to not deal with them. Even some of the most lenient faction leaders are wary of them, and for good reason. Burning Soul does whatever he feels like and there are rumors of him even working closely with pirates. Still, they've managed to keep their niche in the ninja arts by managing to turn around some very lost battles. So, as much as the other ninjas hate it, they've had to rely on the Shoninja before, and it will inevitably happen again.

Attribute Scores: Shoninja are known for their excessively high will scores. They specialize in resisting certain effects and use their wills to pull themselves out of sticky situations. Shoninja also like high body scores to power their expensive abilities and high precision scores to make sure their inefficient, but damaging moves hit.

Abilities:
Level 1:

Spoiler

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Fire of My Soul
Ninja 1
Cost: Passive
The Shoninja are forceful spirits by nature and can break through the mental blocks that keep them from greatness. Shoninja gain a +2 to resist intimidation or persuasion checks that would make the Shoninja forsake his own allies or personal values.

The Fist of Justice
Ninja 1
Cost: 3
Other ninja just call this a basic punch, but the Shoninja have put their heart and soul into mastering it to impressive results. Their fists glow with radiant energy as they lay the righteous smackdown on their foes. This attack does 10 damage and cannot be concealed by a stealth check.

Inefficiency Kick!
Ninja 1
Cost: 25
The Shoninja channels his energy into a powerful blow of the foot that wastes more energy than it does in damage. While it's one of the most powerful low level techniques around, it is easily the most inefficient. This attack does 20 damage.

Level 2:

Spoiler

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Call Your Shots
Ninja 2
Cost: Passive
The Shoninja believe that the secret to victory is passionate speech and a soul of fire. This might explain why they believe that calling out the names of their attacks to their opponents is a good idea. Anytime a Shoninja calls out loud and clearly the name of his attack before the round starts, he gains a +1 to hit on that attack. Of course, this also gives anyone that knows what that attack does plenty of time to prepare for it.

Strike the Forbidden Zone
Ninja 2
Cost: 12
Even the ninja have limits to what they'll do for efficiency. A groin kick is definitely one of those boundaries. No such luck for the Shoninja. This attack does 25 damage to male opponents that do not have sufficient protection and a mere 5 to female opponents. Whether this works on monsters is a case by case basis and should be at the GM's discretion.

Hot-Blooded Hoodlum
Ninja 2
Cost: 10
The Shoninja can create a veil of his or her life energy that damages anyone that tries to touch him. Anytime someone makes physical contact with the Shoninja for the remainder of the battle or until the Shoninja is knocked out, the person that made contact takes damage equal to the Shoninja's Will score. For the purposes of this attack, physical contact is defined as the targets body touching the user's body. So, weapon attacks don't count, but unarmed attacks from either the user or the target do. Also, while the Shoninja's attacks are not augmented, his unarmed attacks do his Will damage minimum. This requires an attack action to activate.

Level 3:

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You Cannot Hide Your True Self
Ninja 3
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Shoninja are, oddly enough, good judges of character. They believe in righteousness and the fire of a person's soul. By spending an awesome point, they can reveal a person's true nature without a perception check. With one look, they can tell if their target is truly wicked, whether they are a pirate, ninja, or wanderer, and a general idea of what that person wants the most in the world.

Justice Barrage
Ninja 3
Cost: 15
The Shoninja love channeling their energies into really powerful attacks, but what's better than 1 powerful attack? How about 3? The Shoninja unleashes a barrage of 3 attacks with one roll at a -4 to hit with all of them. Each hit does 15 damage.

If I Go Down, I'm Taking You With Me!
Ninja 3
Cost: 2 awesome points
When it comes down to it, a Shoninja will lay down his or her life for what he or she believes in. The Shoninja embraces his foe and explodes himself and the target in a violent explosion of his life energy. This attack knocks the user immediately down to 0 Life, but does damage equal to double the life the Shoninja had left. Roll precision to hit.

Steely Gaze of the Heart
Ninja 3
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Sometimes, fear is a Shoninjas greatest weapon. By staring down an opponent with a righteous fury, the Shoninja makes an opposed will check against a target of their choice that they can see. If they succeed, the Shoninja gains a +4 to hit on their next attack against that target.

Level 4:

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For My Fallen Comrades
Ninja 4
Cost: Passive
Shoninja care deeply for their companions and can't stand to see them hurt. Every time a named ally falls in battle, the Shoninja gains a +1 on his attacks and dodge rolls against the target that took out their ally. Double the number of allies for each +1 bonus after the first. So, a +2 requires only 2 allies to fall in battle. A +3 requires 4 allies. A +4 requires 8 allies. Etc. This bonus is permanent for the battle and doesn't go away if the ally gets back up. However, one ally can only count for this bonus once.

Loud as Hades Lightning Assassination
Ninja 4
Cost: 30
Constantly derided as one of the worst techniques ever developed, the Loud as Hades Lightning Assassination (or LAH-LA for short) summons the Shoninja's very life force into his hand for a massive and powerful attack. Too bad it also takes a turn to charge up. This attack does a massive 50 damage but has some huge drawbacks. First, the attack takes a turn to charge wherein the character can do NOTHING but charge the attack. They cannot even move. Secondly, the attack is so loud that it can be heard from half a mile away and lights up the Shoninja's hand like a Christmas light. EVERYONE within seeing distance will see the attack coming. Third, this attack burns the user's hand badly. While this won't keep anyone from wielding a weapon, it does keep the Shoninja from using the attack a second time on that hand. So, this attack can only be used twice a battle (once if you only have one arm. Three times if you have a secret mutated arm), and cannot be used in other battles in the day unless the wound is tended to. Despite all this, it's a very potent technique for when you just need to hurt someone.

The Power of Friends
Ninja 4
Cost: 15
The Shoninja relies on his friends for strength and can feel their wills for him to succeed. This attack starts by doing 20 damage, but any of the character's named allies can sacrifice 5 life to make the attack do 5 more damage for each ally that sacrifices life. The allies must be conscious and aware of the attack.

Level 5:

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Me and My Shadow
Ninja 5
Cost: 10
A risky, but very brutal technique developed by the shadow queen of the Shoninja herself. Early on, she realized that she'd need to be able to be multiple places at the same time to keep up with all of their paperwork. Out of necessity, she developed this technique that allows the user to make dozens of clones of him or herself. It was immediately refined for battle by a bunch of enthusiastic young Shoninja. Once this technique is activated, the player can split their character into any number of exact clones of him or herself. Each clone has the abilities and memories of the original. The only caveat is that the remaining Life points the character has must be split amongst these clones. So, a person is capped at a number of clones equal to their maximum life – 10 with each clone at a pathetic 1 life each. The character does not die unless all clones die and all clones automatically rejoin the main body when defeated. An important thing to remember is that making multiple copies of yourself DOES invoke the Kurosawa Corollary and that two clones at half your remaining HP might not be as effective as 1 person when you start taking a -1 for outnumbering your foe 2 to 1. If a clone uses an attack that drops the clone to 0, the remaining cost is immediately taken out of the other clones before the attack goes off and the clone rejoins the body after the attack. The total HP of the clones combined can never exceed the character's max HP. Passive healing abilities like Light Speed Metabolism only effect 1 clone at a time (the healing is still split among them).

Burning Soul
Ninja 5
Cost: Passive
The technique that founded the very school of the Shoninja and made Burning Soul the powerful ninja he is today. The power of the Burning Soul is to tap the very limits of the ninja's Life Force. Everytime the Shoninja takes damage, he gains a secondary Life pool equal to half the damage he took. This life pool only last through the Shoninja's next turn, but can be used to power his abilities instead of his own actual life force. This means that a Shoninja that takes 50 damage gets 25 life points to spend on his abilities for the entire next turn. That particular Shoninja may be almost unconscious, but he'll sure go out in a blaze of glory. If this second life pool is not used within a turn of getting the extra life point, these points are gone. They do not add to his actual life score.

Passion Rising
Ninja 5
Cost: Passive
The Shoninja have monstrous endurance fueled by their never-ending passion. Some Shoninja have seem to have a force of power that goes even beyond their bodies and wills. Some call it fate. Some call it friendship. Either way, it means more Life. Shoninja with this ability have 20 more maximum life than what their attributes give them.

Raging Digit
Ninja 5
Cost: 40
The Shoninja challenges his foes and channels his will into his fist for one awesome attack that obliterates even the most resilient foes in a torrent of powerful Life energy. This attack does 25 damage + 5 times the Shoninja's Will stat. The Shoninja also picks an element when they take this attack. This attack is considered to be that Element for the purposes of damage.

Dearest Friends
Ninja 5
Cost: Variable Awesome Points
The Shoninja has learned to trust in those around him or her and has even formed pacts with the wild beasts of the world. This gives the Shoninja a potent ally in times of great strife. When the Shoninja spends a full turn doing the Summoning ritual, he or she can spend up to 5 awesome points to summon a great beast (or maybe not so great). The beast can take any animal form from a slug to a weasel to a turtle. For calculating stats, assume X = the number of awesome points spent. The creature gets the following stats and abilities. Anything not covered should be determined by the player and approved by the GM.

Favored Attribute (this is the attribute that the player determines is the creature's specialty): 2X-1 (For 1 awesome point. Just assume a 2).
Other Attributes: X+1
Natural Damage Reduction: 2X
Life and Reaction: Determine Normally.
Height: about X^2 feet.
Attack 1 (Basic Melee Attack): Cost- (2X) Range- (2X-2, Minimum 1) Damage (5X)
Attack 2 (AOE Melee Attack): Cost- (3X) AOE- All enemies within (2X-3, Minimum 1) squares of the summoned creature. Damage (5X).
Attack 3 (Projectile Attack): Cost- (3X-2) Range- (5X) Damage- (4X)

This may also be used to summon close friends and allies of the characters that have agreed to make the pact with the character. The summoned character must be willing, and the awesome points required depend on the character's total Character Points. This is subject to GM's decision, but for the most part, the total awesome points required should be equal to the character's total character points divided by 30 (round down, minimum 1). Remember. Summoned character count towards the Kurosawa corollary.

[Dairun Cates]

The Rokinja

Summary: Rokinja are skillful assassins that have learned to use the art of music to destroy their foes. While silly sounding to some, the art is well-respected and deadly. Imagine just enjoying a meal and some atmospheric music one second and being dead the next. Whether famous musical artists or just lowly street performers, behind each musical instrument could be a Rokinja playing it.

High level Rokinja can use their musical instruments to create often near invisible attacks to destroy a foe. While not as powerful as other attacks. They can be difficult to avoid.

History: While the Rokinja school itself is fairly new, the art of using musical instruments is ancient in nature. Certain levels of it have been met with more success than others. Using the strings of a guitar to fire daggers at a foe without them noticing? Effective. Stabbing the same guy with the guitar? Not so much.

The current faction of the Rokinja were founded by Kill Harmonic, an elderly gentlemen who keeps at least a dozen instruments on him at all times from a guitar down to a grasswhistle. Kill Harmonic doesn't spend much time in the school's walls though. As the founder of a school that is quite effective at killing Pirates in bars, Kill Harmonic finds himself being hired to do a lot of jobs across the Ninja nations. As such, he's always on the road.

The students of the Rokinja school practice their art until they master it to ridiculous perfection. No one plays a musical instrument better than them, deadly or otherwise.

While often a bit slower in movement than other schools, the Rokinja are excellent at espionage and infiltration. A good number of Rokinja have managed to pass themselves off as musicians for numerous pirate ships for years and are waiting to fulfill their assignments. This could have to do with the fact that a good number of pirates don't know the Rokinja exist and the Rokinja would like to keep it that way.

Attribute Scores: Rokinja requires a high Will score to play their instruments effectively. They also prefer a good precision score to an agility score to make sure their attacks are going to hit. Although, a good agility could make for a faster guitar solo.

Abilities:
Level 1:

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Born to Rock
Ninja 1
Cost: Passive
Rokinja are master musicians. True virtuosos, they can play any instrument, no matter how weird. They gain a +2 to any check to play any musical instrument.

Background Music
Ninja 1
Cost: Passive
Rokinja can use their musical arts to hide their identity and location. Rokinja can use their will instead of agility for stealth checks when it would be appropriate for the Rokinja to use his music playing as a way to blend into the background or go unnoticed (busy street corners, bars, festivals, etc).

El Kabong!
Ninja 1
Cost: 1
The Rokinja reels back and gives his foe a good whack with his or her instrument and breaks it over the target's head. This attack does 10 damage, but breaks the instrument if it is not Indestructible Quality.

Music to My Ears
Ninja 1
Cost: Passive
Rokinja have an ear for music, but that's not all. Rokinja have great ears for spying as well. Rokinja with this ability gain a +2 to Precision to listen to conversations from a distance.

Powerful Lungs
Ninja 1
Cost: Passive
Rokinja that master wind instruments have eerily perfect control over their lungs and breathing. An ability that is more useful than some ninja would like to admit. Rokinja with this ability gain a +2 to Body to hold their breath, fake death, or yell loudly.

Level 2:

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Perfect Tuning
Ninja 2
Cost: Passive
Rokinja have mastered their instruments so well that they can use them for other attacks as well. Rokinja with this ability may channel any attack into a musical instrument and treat the musical instrument like the required weapon. Note that too many melee attacks with your guitar is bound to break it.

Deadly Discord
Ninja 2
Cost: 3
The most basic attack of the Rokinja, they slip a tiny knife into their palm and use the strings of an instrument to propell it into the victim up to 8 squares away. This attack does 10 damage and hits at a -1, but requires the target to make an opposed precision roll against the user's agility to notice where the attack came from.

Musical Mastermind
Ninja 2
Cost: Passive
Rokinja have mastered their instruments and have learned to play a tune by ear. The Rokinja with this ability can recreate any song they've heard all the way through at least once and play it by ear.

Loco-Motion Wave
Ninja 2
Cost: 3
By aiming their weapon at the ground and playing as loud as possible, the Rokinja have learned to propel themselves in rather random directions. If the Rokinja starts his move action on the ground, the Rokinja can use this ability to launch him or herself a number of squares equal to the Rokinja's Will in a straight line in any direction.

Even Great Bounties Die Frequently
Ninja 2
Cost: Passive
Rokinja assassins have learned to communicate with each other through just music. This allows them to pass messages without visual or verbal communication. Any Rokinja with this ability can communicate with another Rokinja with this ability through song alone.

One Man Band
Ninja 2
Cost: Passive
Rokinja have trained to use their instruments as tools as well as instruments. Rokinja with this ability can use their instruments to mimic basic non-weapon tools for their mission. For instance, a harmonica and a string could make a grappling hook, guitar picks could be caltrops, or drum can be used to mimic a barrel.

Level 3:

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The High G
Ninja 3
Cost: 7
Even better Rokinja can hurt their foes with only their instruments. The very sounds of a shrill note can shatter the psyche of those that hear it. Rokinja that use this ability make an opposed will check against all opponents that can hear it at a -2. If it succeeds. It does 10 damage that damage reduction cannot reduce.

Fear the Reaper
Ninja 3
Cost: 4
Rokinja have learned to use their instruments as deadly melee weapons. A guitar string can just as easily be a choking wire. A harmonica can be used as a sap. A people can always just fall on someone. This attack does 15 damage.

The Sound of Silence
Ninja 3
Cost: 10/turn
The Rokinja have mastered all that is sound and can use their sizeable skill to cancel. The Rokinja with this ability can use this ability to play a wicked tune that cancels ALL sound until his or her next action. This does not count as an attack action. Attacks that use the Rokinja's music cannot be used during this time.

Heavy Metal
Ninja 3
Cost: 5/turn
The Rokinja have mastered a melody of such dark depths and weight that it slows down their foes. When the Rokinja use this ability with their attack action, all enemies for that turn have half their move speed.

String Em' Up
Ninja 3
Cost: 7
The Rokinja have mastered their assassin art. By taking the strings of one of their instruments and wrapping them tautly around their foe and playing one single note that resonates with the target, they can crush their opponents. Roll an opposed Will check against the target's body. If the attack succeeds, the opponent takes 15 damage that damage cannot reduce. The attack is considered a melee attack for range.

Soul of Rock
Ninja 3
Cost: 10
The music inside the Rokinja give them power to resist the advances of their foes. When a Rokinja chooses to spend his or her full round on this ability, he or she can activate this attack and gain 15 Damage Reduction for that round.

Level 4:

Spoiler

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Power Chord
Ninja 4
Cost: 10
The Rokinja know a chord on their instruments that is very potent. This chord weakens its target's will with how amazing it is. The Rokinja makes an opposed will check at a -3. If they succeed, the target loses 2 will for the rest of the battle.

Power Slide
Ninja 4
Cost: 12
The Rokinja have learned a rather unusual technique, by building up charging speed, they can take down multiple foes in a row with one musical blast. The Rokinja that uses this ability starts by running in a line, any opponents that pass within 2 squares of the Rokinja in the middle of this move are effected. The Rokinja makes an opposed will check at a -2 and does 15 damage to each target that cannot be reduced by damage reduction.

Take it to Eleven!
Ninja 4
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 25 Cost
The Rokinja takes his playing to the next level and inspires his allies to great heights. All allies and the Rokinja gain 1 Will until the end of battle (including the Life that comes with it). This takes an attack action.

Bright Tiger
Ninja 4
Cost: 3/Turn
The Rokinja's soul is filled with more music than a human soul can take. To delve deeper into this potent power is also to shorten one's life but reach closer to the true spirit of rock. When a Rokinja activates this buff, they do 5 extra damage on every musical attack. However, once activated, the spirit of the Bright Tiger cannot be silenced. Once used, this buff MUST be used every turn until the end of the battle. If the user should fall unconscious, the buff will continue to do damage.

Lightning Fingers
Ninja 4
Cost: 10
Not every musician uses their Will to power their attacks. Some Rokinja rely on precise finger training and technique to play their song. While the song lacks the soul of the Willful Rokinja, these Rokinja have pulled some frightening feats. Masters of this technique roll precision at a -2 against any target that can hear's Will. If successful, this attack does 20 damage that damage reduction cannot reduce.

Level 5:

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Kill Harmonic
Ninja 5
Cost: 20
The ultimate Rokinja assassination technique. The instrument of the Rokinja belts out a musical note that destroys every last foe before him or her. The Rokinja makes an opposed will check at a -4. Every enemy that fails the check that can hear the chord takes 20 damage that damage reduction cannot reduce.

The Final Countdown
Ninja 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 20 Life
The most powerful melody comes from a great crescendo. This is the ultimate musical technique, but by the time most people realize it, it is too late for them. This attack starts out by doing a measly 2 damage on an opposed will roll to anyone that can hear it. However, the true power of this attack is that the user can continue to use it each turn without life or awesome point cost as long as he or she is not interrupted by taking damage. The damage of the attack doubles each round it is up. This means that a Rokinja that keeps from getting hit can potentially create a sound so powerful it could destroy the Kraken in 1 hit. Of course, this isn't likely as the Kraken is a poor music critic and is not fond of ANY damage it takes. If the user takes damage while playing, they start back at 2 damage for the first hit. If the Rokinja gains an extra attack action from something like Share the Spotlight, Lightning Stroke, or Perfect Strategy, the extra attack does NOT cause the damage of the attack to go up.

The Face-Melter
Ninja 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 20 Life
The Rokinja plays a rapid fire solo of pure skill that melts his opponent's face off. The Rokinja makes a Will check at -3 versus his Opponent's Body. If the opponent fails the check, he loses 3 body score immediately. This cannot knock the opponent below 1 Body.

Call the Ensemble
Ninja 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point + 5 Life/Attacker
The Rokinja understands better than anyone else the need to work together to defeat a powerful foe. The Wills of the many shall outpower the Will of the few. A solo may be potent, but only when the whole band works together will justice be served. When the Rokinja calls out this attack, everyone that has not attacked that turn can immediately drop their attack action and join the ensemble on the Rokinja's initiative. Regardless of whether they are trained in a musical instrument or not, everyone that joins starts playing an instrument in unison with the attack. The Rokinja pays 5 Life for each attacker joining in, and makes an opposed Will roll against the target. If the victim fails, they take twice the total Will scores of the entire ensemble in damage that damage reduction cannot reduce.

God of Rock
Ninja 5
Cost: 3 Awesome Points
Rokinja can feel the soul of all music within their bodies, screaming loudly along with the beating of their heart. Some Rokinja have learned to tap into this power. When a Rokinja activates this potent buff, he or she gains an inhuman playing speed that dazzles and frightens foes. Until the battles ends or the Rokinja goes unconscious, the Rokinja gains a +1 to hit on all musical attacks, gains a 5 DR against musical attacks (even the ones that don't allow DR), does 5 more damage on each musical attack, +2 to move speed, and gains the ability to make a second musical attack each round (as per the Lightning Stroke ability) at a cost of 15 life + the second attack's cost.

[Dairun Cates]

The Gunnars

Summary: Gunnars prefer to let their pistols do the talking, and they speak loudly. Gunnars are magnificent attacker that uses their precise shots and rapid fire to eviscerate their foes. Most of them are also accomplished mechanics since they need to be able to fix and repair their own guns.

High Level Gunnars can fire accurately and with many attacks a round. They can draw their weapons with lightning speed, and some of them can even fix and create machines.

History: Pirates and guns go together in sweet harmony and always have, but the Gunnars have taken it to a new level. With a combination of scientific knowledge and experimentation, they have pushed their usage of the gun to its out-limits. In the process, they invented some pretty nifty things too.

The Gunnars have been around forever, but they've drastically changed in the last 40 years. Originally just a group that fired guns with reckless abandon, the Gunnars are now some of the most methodical pirates. This is almost entirely thanks to the guild G&W (Goggles and Wrench) which is responsible for the invention of the steam hydraulics along with various mechanical advancements. Since then, Gunnars have been known just as much as mechanics as they have been crackshots.

Their official leader is a man known as Crackshot Buck Williams, a well-versed Gunnar who could shoot the hair off the back of a fly at 200 yards. However, some view the current head of G&W, Tinkerin' Tim Daughtery, as the true leader of the Gunnars. While the debate is heated, neither of the actual men seem to care. Crackshot is too busy improving his art to care if anyone thinks he's not the real leader and Tinkerin' Tim is too enraptured by his inventions to notice anyone's mentioned his name.

Ultimately, both men are viewed with great respect. Crackshot has been the hero of quite a few battles himself, and Tinkerin' Tim has pushed Pirate science to a point where it's making Ninja society nervous. Having good boats and ruling the seas was fine for the Ninjas, but the second the Pirates were able to take to the skies thanks to Tinkerin' Tim's genius, the ninjas started to take note. No matter who you consider the leader of the group, no good pirate ship is complete without a Gunnar.

Attribute Scores: Gunnars need both precision and agility. Precision to fire their guns properly and repair them, and agility to make multiple attacks and pull off ridiculous stunts.

Abilities:
Level 1:

Spoiler

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Mistarr Good Wrench
Pirate 1
Cost: Passive
Gunnars are master mechanics and know their way around anything mechanical. Gunnars gain a +2 to any check to fix mechanical objects.

Double Tap
Pirate 1
Cost: 2
The Gunnars always make sure to fire twice at a target they intend to kill. The Gunnar rolls precision once to fire a volley of 2 shots up to 20 squares away and does 5 damage twice if he hits.

Spin to Win
Pirate 1
Cost: 1
Gunnars know how to twirl this guns in an impressive display. By delaying their attack until the very last action in the turn, the Gunnar can spin their guns impressively and throw their foes off guard. This stunt gives the opponent a -1 to the opponent's dodge on the Gunnars attack. The Gunnar can't already be going last in the turn to use this.

Level 2:

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Keep Your Grip
Pirate 2
Cost: 6
Gunnars are expert shots that can even shoot the weapon out of an opponents hand. Gunnars fire against an opponent's agility with a -6 to precision (-4 for large weapons). If they hit, the opponent drops his weapon. Picking it back up takes no real time, but if an ally can get to it before the opponent does, he may have nothing to fight back with.

Mechanical Genius
Pirate 2
Cost: Passive
The Gunnars are brilliant mechanics and can reverse engineer devices that would baffle others. Whenever a Gunnar comes against a piece of technology that he or she does not know what it does, they can spend a day examining it. If the technology is not completely new to them (an artifact or something that uses a new type of science), the Gunnar can reproduce it with the right materials and time.

Black Powder Leap
Pirate 2
Cost: 2
The Gunnar has learned to use his or her guns to change the trajectory of his jump by firing a barrage of shots. This ability has 3 uses. It can be used to increase a jump by 5 squares, it can be used to stall a character in mid-air for 1 turn, or it can be used to allow the character to move horizontally while falling as if they were on the ground.

Level 3:

Spoiler

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Cross Arm Draw
Pirate 3
Cost: Passive
Gunnars have learned through testing that drawing your weapon with the opposite hand allows you to draw your weapon significantly faster. Gunnars with this ability always go first in the first round of combat unless it was a surprise attack or someone spends an awesome point to go first.

Bullet Dance
Pirate 3
Cost: 8
The Gunnar loves to show off with a fancy set of shots over the shoulder and behind the back. The Gunnar rolls only one attack roll at a -2 to precision but makes a number of attacks equal to his Agility score. Each of these attacks does 5 damage. This attack has a range of 10. These attacks can be used on different targets.

Whip it!
Pirate 3
Cost: 4
The Gunnar knows all ways to use a Gun in combat, even as a bludgeoning weapon. The Gunnar flips around and beats his opponent in the head with the gun's handle. This attack does 15 damage.

La' Croiux Missile Spam
Pirate 3
Cost: 12
Sometimes the best solution is just to throw as many explosive devices at the problem as possible. When the Gunnar uses this attack, he unleashes every explosive he has on his person (even if it doesn't ever seem to hit). This attack hits at a -2 to precision. This hits up to 15 squares away and hits everything in a 8 square radius. This attack does 15 damage.

Cannon Training
Pirate 3
Cost: 5
The cannon is the quintessential Gunnar weapon. Something about its raw power just makes people appreciate it all the more. What people DON'T know is that using a cannon well actually requires quite a bit of training and experience. Gunnar's with this ability can use any cannon. The cost for this ability represents the life cost to load and fire the cannon. Mundane cannons do 25 damage. It also takes 2 full turns worth of moves to reload a cannon (3 people in tandem can fire a cannon every round if they're spending 5 life each, but it only costs 5 life total for one person loading it). If a person is not trained in this ability, it instead takes twice the turns and life to use a cannon. Cannons have an average range of around 50 squares. More powerful cannons can do more damage and cost the same life to fire, but often are too big to move from their position.

Canonical Team-up
Pirate 3
Cost: 12
Another Cannon technique. Some Cannoneers have learned to load cannons in a slightly different way. This method allows the Gunnar to fire willing allies (or unwilling corpses) out of the cannon. This technique has 2 benefits. First, this allows the Gunnars to move his or her ally up to 20 squares from the cannon. Secondly, if the ally lands in the same square as an opponent, the ally gets to add 20 damage to their next attack if they use it on that opponent at the moment of impact. If the person fired out of the cannon does not or cannot attack, use the Gunnar's precision and do a flat 20 damage on the attack.

Level 4:

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Triple Tap
Pirate 4
Cost: 7
If two shots won't take them down, 3 will. The Gunnar rolls precision once to fire a volley of 3 shots up to 10 squares away at a -2 to hit. If he hits, he does 10 damage 3 times.

Point Blank Shotgun
Pirate 4
Cost: 8
Guns hurt. They hurt even more when jammed in your gut and fired. This melee range attack with a gun does 20 damage.

Submachine Fun
Pirate 4
Cost: 10
Gunnars have recently discovered how to make guns that fire very VERY fast. Only they know how to wield these effectively. This attack hits at a range of 10 squares in a 4 square radius. Anyone hit by this attack takes 15 damage.

Eagle Eye
Pirate 4
Cost: 7
Some Gunnar's keep a special lens to help their aim. By spending an entire turn to set it up, the Gunnar gains a +2 to Precision for the rest of combat, but suffers a -1 to agility as they cannot see as many attacks coming. This ability cannot lower agility below 1.

Level 5:

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Crackshot Trickshot
Pirate 5
Cost: 20
Crackshot's favorite trick, this attack actually works best with another attacker or another trick up the Gunnar's sleeve. This attack is fired with a precision roll. However, the Gunnar fires in a way that the attack's actual damage delays until the Gunnar's next attack. While two precision rolls are required, the two attacks are treated as the same attack for the purpose of piercing Damage Reduction. This attack does 30 damage.

Tinkerin' Fool
Pirate 5
Cost: Passive
Tinkerin' Tim is a fan of inventions that help out an ally in need. These have lead to some brilliant inventions and some horrible flops. When the Gunnar takes this ability, he gain 10 character points for the purpose of creating an item that mimics an ability known by one of his allies (Effectively, 1 level 5 pirate ability). Point costs for Ninja skills still count (they're harder to understand). This allows that ally access to the ability for free. However, the double life cost for using abilities off of items still counts, and the characters cannot use passives off the item without spending points. When done with the invention, the Gunnar can tear it apart and gain the character points back to invent something else. This can be used on multiple inventions and can be taken more than once to get more character points for the purposes of invention.

Bullet #9
Pirate 5
Cost: 20
Some Gunnars have discovered a new bullet formula that, when fired, a beam of explosive energy blows down everything in its path. This attack takes one move action to prep and does 30 damage to everything in a straight line for 100 squares. Any mundane objects in the way of this shot are instantly incinerated.

Overdrive
Pirate 5
Cost: Variable
Well-trained Gunnars know how to unleash an unstoppable barrage of bullets. Upon activating Overdrive, a Gunnar can unleash any number of attack with 10 range each. The damage for these attacks is the average of the Gunnar's agility and precision (round up). Each attack costs the number of attacks that have been activated that turn. So, 1 attack costs 1, 2 attacks cost 3 (1+2), and 3 attacks cost 6 (1+2+3). Roll for every attack.

[Dairun Cates]

The Charreographers

Summary: The Charreographers are an unusual group of Pirates that use dance and perfect timing to annihilate their foes. It all sounds very funny until you are danced to death by a pair of Charreographers.

High Level Charreographers can team up with other allies for awesome synchronized attacks or to end the whole thing in a dance number.

History: The Charreographers were borne out of one single thought. Why can't Pirates kill with dance? Admitedly, it's a weird thought, but no one's laughing now.

The Charreographers are rather unusual in the Pirate world. They don't fill any specific role on any ship, but anyone could be a Charreographer. What's stranger is that once one Pirate on a ship has become a Charreographer, the others on the ship will inevitably follow.

Their leader is the agile ex-Arrcrobat, Twinkle Toes Benjamin. No one can dance as well as Twinkle Toes and few are dumb enough to try. Twinkle Toes treats the Charreographers more like a religion than a faction though. He wants his disciples to go out and spread the word as best as they can. He wants them to dance their hearts out.

Attribute Scores: Charreographers usually need a high Will to get across the interpretation of their dance. Although, a high agility helps to pull off those really confusing stunts.

Abilities:
Level 1:

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Dancin' Fool
Pirate 1
Cost: Passive
Charreographers are excellent dancers and train constantly to get better. Charreographers get a +2 on all skill checks that can be solved with dancing.

1-2-3
Pirate 1
Cost: Passive
Charreographers have the unusual ability to time their attacks so some of them become more potent at the cost of other one's becoming less so. If the Charregrapher voluntarily takes a -1 to hit on one turn, he or she gain a +1 to hit on the next turn. This sacrifice must be made before the attack is rolled and the character must attack on both turns. He or she cannot do an action that doesn't require a to-hit roll to negate the minus.

Softshoe Sidestep
Pirate 1
Cost: 1
The Charreographer is an excellent Trickster. With this attack, he quickly grabs an enemy hits them quickly in the middle of a swing and proceeds to switch places with them. This attack does 5 damage.

Level 2:

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All Together Now!
Pirate 2
Cost: 2
The Charreographer moves in time with his allies and times his attacks perfectly in sync with theirs. He gains an extra 5 damage on his next attack as long as the attack is done on the same reaction time as another ally.

Morse Diplomacy
Pirate 2
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
The Charreographer are excellent diplomats when they want to be. Whenever a Charreographer tries to make a diplomacy, intimidation, or any other kind of social skill check, he or she can use this ability to do it with a dance number instead of words.

En Passant!
Pirate 2
Cost: 4
The Charreographer can pirouette his way right into the thick of battle. This attack allows the Charreographer to sweep his leg around him in a full 360 degree arc. All adjacent enemies take 10 damage.

Level 3:

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Step-Ball-Kick!
Pirate 3
Cost: 5
A very basic attack that uses the Charreographer's dance moves to hurt the opponent. This attack does 15 damage.

Double Up!
Pirate 3
Cost: 5
This is a rather unusual attack that requires the specific condition that another character with this ability must use it on the same turn for it to activate. This attack does 15 damage for every Charreographer that joins in. All activations are treated as 1 attack. Use the highest attack total to hit.

Charreographed Violence
Pirate 3
Cost: Passive
Charreographers are masters at feeling the rhythm of attacks. They use their amazing dodging skill to fake out their opponents. Charreographers with this ability ALWAYS look like they take damage from Physical attacks even when they do not. While not powerful on its own, this can confuse opponents on how much damage they have done and make the Charreographer look more powerful than he or she actually is.

Footloose and Fancy Free!
Pirate 3
Cost: 8
This attack is an unusual favorite of the Charreographers. It requires the Charreographer have an adjacent and willing ally to jump off of. Using their back as a platform to bounce off of, the Charreographer soars through the air and does 20 damage to an enemy within jumping range at a -1 to hit.

Level 4:

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Tap Storm
Pirate 4
Cost: 12
This attack activates a sensation in all crew members within melee range of the target the Charreographer is attacking. Everyone, moved by the music moves to attack at the same time. The initial hit from the Charreographer does 10 damage, and all allies adjacent to the enemy attack for free for a 10 damage attack.

The Thriller
Pirate 4
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 10 Life
The Charreographer can enrapture others in his dance. The Charreographer makes an opposed Will check at a -4. If the opponent fails. They lose their next two turns as they dance along with the Charreographer. They are also at a -2 to dodges.

Language of the Heart
Pirate 4
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 20 Life
The Charreographer knows that dance is the language of the heart. The Charreographer changes the mind of his opponent with his dance. This attack allows a player to turn one encounter level monster or one unnamed human to his or her side for that combat. Resolve as an opposed Will check at a -4 to Will.

Pose and Explode
Pirate 4
Cost: Variable
Charreographers sometimes become slaves to the beating of their own hearts. They sync with their inner awesomeness and it bleeds through their very being. Because of this, their mortal forms cannot contain it. Anytime a Charreographer with this skill gains a number of awesome points from a stunt or attack action, the Charreographer can choose to let it out in a 3 square radius explosion on top of the point of the attack or the Charreographer himself instead of gaining any of the awesome points. All enemies in this area must make a 15 agility check or take 15 damage for every awesome point the Charreographer burned. The Charreographer must spend ALL of the awesome points they gained or none of them.

Level 5:

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Twinkle Two-Step
Pirate 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 30 Life
The Twinkle Two-Step is a step so simple anyone can learn it, and does. The Twinkle Two-step does 1 hit for every ally regardless of range the Charreographer has as they all chip in to the deadly dance. The Charreographer DOES count as an ally for his own attack. Use agility to hit instead of precision. Roll each person's hit separately. Each hit does 15 damage.

Caribbean Airship
Pirate 5
Cost: 2 Awesome Points and 30 Life
The Ultimate Showstopper. Treat exactly as the Thriller, but it hits all opponents that can see the dance. The penalty to Dodge is also raised to a -4

Dance Dimension X
Pirate 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 25 Life
The Charreographer uses an attack action and pulls all the other Charreographers together and opens the Forbidden Dance Dimension. All characters with a Charreography skill gain +2 Will and 5 damage on all Charreography attacks until the end of combat. The benefits do not include the HP everyone would normally get from increased Will. However, the Max HP is increased should they find a way to heal it.

Summon the Groupies
Pirate 5
Cost: 2 Awesome Points and 15 Life
The Charreographer summons bystanders from the surrounding area to join his or her cause. The Charreographer is joined by a number of bystanders up to HALF of his or her will (round up). This move takes a full turn. On the next turn the Bystanders come in on the beat of the player's reaction time. Each Bystander should have a 3 in every stat (save will, which is a 7). They also know every Charreography move the head Charreographer knows. Any abilities that require awesome points can be spent by the Charreographer. Finally, all of the groupies only count as 1 person to the Kurosawa Corollary since they are so in sync. However, each one only has 30 Life and does not count towards the Double Up or Tap Storm or Twinkle Two-Step abilities.

[Dairun Cates]

Alchemists

Summary: Alchemists are scientists that believe in a more chemical power than their Gunnar/Mechanic associates. While a Gunnar tries to solve practical problems with a practical approach (ie. Build a gun and shoot the guard), the Alchemists are after more lofty goals in the name of Science. Specifically, a good number of Alchemists are looking for the secret to immortality. This, of course, does not keep them from being excellent combatants as well. Alchemists use their knowledge of chemicals and the compounds that make up every living thing to do that flashy bit of damage.

High level Alchemist can unleash torrential barrages of explosive chemical concoctions. This creates the possibility for a rather unusual variety of attacks.

History: The Alchemists are as old as the Wanderers themselves and belong to the “balance the paths” philosophy of Wanderer. More specifically, they believed that they could obtain immortality by finding the fine line between the two and becoming the Mythical Ninja-Pirate.

Current day Alchemists are a little more practical (barely) and just as eccentric. Alchemists love elixirs and potions. They love mixing them, they love selling them, and they definitely love using them. If there's a problem an alchemist can't solve with a liquid, then it's time for the Alchemist to move onto topic creams.

The Academy for the Progression of Human Excellence is the main branch of the Alchemists and is filled primarily with researchers and grad students trying to find the next great thing. While they don't necessarily have a head researcher, everyone will tip a respectable nod towards The Immortal Man for any traveler asking to see the best researcher they can find.

The Immortal Man is named as such because he's estimated to be around 80 years old, but looks like he's 25 and hasn't aged in years. Despite claims from himself that he's truly not immortal, a lot of the alchemist community believes he truly has found the compound for immortality and either isn't sharing it, or forgot to write it down. As such, he's a fairly useful source for information on the world before the Takara.

Attribute Scores: Alchemists don't necessarily need any one skill over the other, but a high precisions helps when working with sensitive compounds or fragile lab equipment.

Abilities:
Level 1:

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Dihydrogen Monoxide Expert
Wanderer 1
Cost: Passive
The very base ability of any good Alchemist is to know how to mix various potions and concoctions. While this ability does not grant the ability to create any supernatural potions, this ability gives a +2 to checks to research them or concoct minor potions and elixirs like beers, water purifiers, metal-eating acids, etc.

Me Make You Boom!
Wanderer 1
Cost: Passive
Alchemists are also inherently good demolitions experts. A potion placed in the right (or wrong) place can make all the difference. Alchemists with this ability gain a +2 to all checks to create and place potions for the purposes of demolitions. This does not include precision for attack rolls.

That's the Stuff
Wanderer 1
Cost: 2
Alchemists understand how to make a brew that'll make someone smarter, stronger, faster, or just all around better. By spending an attack action, the Alchemist can craft a potion that will boost 1 attribute of the Alchemist's choosing by 1 for 1 turn. The Alchemist or his allies do not need to drink this on the turn it is brewed (which can be done as part of the Alchemist's move action), but it becomes unstable if unused in the combat. Drinking a potion can be done once a turn per character and takes no action. This does not give the HP from increased Body or Will.

Chemical Balance
Wanderer 1
Cost: Passive
Alchemists have to know how to carry various potions and vials at the same time without dropping them in combat. An Alchemist with this ability can carry a number of brewed potions in his hands equal to his agility score without having to drop one or pass it off. Normally the Alchemist can only carry 2 (1 for each hand). With or without this ability, the Alchemist is considered to have the required ingredients to mix the potions on his person via a series of belts and pouches on his clothing.

Elemental Salve
Wanderer 1
Cost: 2
Alchemists are masters of the elements and can imbue attacks with elemental power. Pick 1 element when the Alchemist takes this ability. The Alchemist can spend 2 Life at any time to make any attack that element. Furthermore, the Alchemist can spend a turn to brew up a potion of any other element or their own element that can be spread on a weapon to make its next attack any element of the Alchemist's choosing.

Level 2:

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Burn Baby Burn
Wanderer 2
Cost: 4
The Alchemist can concoct potions of various chemical backgrounds. When he or she uses this, he creates a potion of a pure element and flings it at his foe. This can be anything from the common fire to the less common love to the extremely uncommon metaphysical philosophy elements. This attack hits up to 8 squares from the alchemist and does 10 damage of any type of the Alchemist's choosing.

Rocket Sauce
Wanderer 2
Cost: 1
The Alchemist loves to create potions that give a person that extra kick. This potion allows its drinker to double his or her move jump speed for a turn (stacking with any other movement abilities) but has the distinct problem of making any move action a jump while the potion is active (no walking).

Got Your Weakness
Wanderer 2
Cost: Passive
Alchemists are men of science and have documented the weaknesses of every monster they've encountered. Whenever an Alchemist fights a monster that he or she does not know of any weaknesses of, they can spend 2 turns looking it up in their reference book. This reveals all elemental weaknesses and any other likely plans of attack.

Brew Tosser
Wanderer 2
Cost: Passive
Alchemist allies depend on the Alchemist being able to pass his potions on to them on a moments notice. They can't be bothered to always be adjacent to him. Alchemists can normally pass potions and items to allies as a free action, but the Alchemist that masters this skill has mastered his throwing to the point that he can toss potions to any ally within 5 squares without using an action. The ally must be conscious to receive this benefit.

Level 3:

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KABOOM!
Wanderer 3
Cost: 8
The Alchemists are excellent demolition experts as well. Using their chemical knowledge, they can craft quick and effective bombs that explode in a huge fiery explosions. This attack can be thrown 8 squares, hits a 5 square radius, and does 10 fire damage to everything in the explosion.

Here! Drink This!
Wanderer 3
Cost: 10
The Alchemist has learned to make unusual brews that can make an individual more of a Pirate or more of a Ninja. Or so they claim. In reality, all this potion does is either give the user a +2 to body and will at the cost of -2 agility and precision or vice-versa until the end of battle to whomever drinks it. This cannot lower an attribute below 1 and cannot raise it above 10.

Nectar of the Gods
Wanderer 3
Cost: 5
The Alchemist spends a turn and concocts a brew that cures any minor physical ailments that do not have a direct effect on combat (like a hangover, dehydration, hunger) and gives back 10 Life when drank. This brew goes bad if it is not drunk in the scene its made in.

Chamomile and Honey
Wanderer 3
Cost: 10
The Alchemist knows a great cure for Insomnia. When this potion is brewed, anyone that doesn't make a Body check of 15 falls immediately into a deep sleep. The participant must drink all of it though. So, forcing down their throat is unlikely to work. However, slipping it in their Tea might.

Chemical Breakdown
Wanderer 3
Cost: 5
The Wanderer can brew up a potion to break down an opponent's resistance to one element. When an opponent is hit with this potion, the target takes 5 more damage from all attacks of an element of the Alchemist's choosing.

Build Up Your Resistances
Wanderer 3
Cost: 10
The Wanderer can also brew up a potion for drinking that can raise resistances to the elements. Whenever anyone drinks this potion, they take 5 less damage from an element of the Alchemist's choosing until the end of battle.

Level 4:

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Chain Reaction
Wanderer 4
Cost: 10
The Alchemist has learned some pretty ridiculous chemical brews and knows how to combine them for explosive effect. The Alchemist using this attack takes out two potions and throws them at the same target. The chemicals then reaction and explode on top of that opponent. This attack hits at a +2, has a range of 8 squares, and does 15 damage of any element. Furthermore, if they target does not move out of the square on their next turn, they continue to take 10 more damage a turn until they do.

Equivalent Exchange
Wanderer 4
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 10 Life
Alchemists are masters of Chemical balance and reorganizing the very make-up of items. Using his potions and chemical expertise, the Alchemist can change one item into another. When this ability is used, the Alchemist can take a mundane object or several mundane objects and transform them into something of equal mass and make-up. So, a tree can be made into a small boat, but it can't be made into a full-blown Caravel or a metal sword. Artifacts and Indestructible quality are uneffected. The mass of the object that can be changed is limited to the size of a large statue. Larger objects should require more awesome points.

Equal and Opposite Reaction
Wanderer 4
Cost: 5
The Alchemist knows a few tricks of desperation and is willing to get right in the thick of it if he has to. This attack does 30 damage to the opponent if it hits. However, regardless of whether it hits, both opponents are knocked back 4 squares and the user of the ability takes 15 damage.

Jack of All Planes
Wanderer 4
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
The Alchemist knows how to shape the very field that his or her battles take place on. By using his attack action, the Alchemist can physically change a major aspect of the battlefield's environment to his or her choosing. This effect can vary from covering the ground in ice to increase speed while already moving to covering the ground in difficult to navigate stone spikes to covering the area in fire that does 5 damage to every living thing each turn.

Level 5:

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Explodomania
Wanderer 5
Cost: 30
The Alchemist knows how to make one hell of a bomb, and he's not afraid to use it. The Alchemist crafts a potion that explodes in a 6 square radius when broken. This potion can be thrown 8 squares and does 25 damage. It also continues to do 5 damage to any opponents hit every turn after the initial explosion as the chemicals in the potion eat away their skin and clothes. This needs significant water to wash off and will otherwise continue to eat away at an opponent's life until they are unconscious.

The Immortality Equation
Wanderer 5
Cost: 30
Many have tried to recreate The Immortal Man's legendary and miraculous potion. None have succeeded, but some people have stumbled upon a temporary solution. When an alchemist brews this tonic, whomever drinks it becomes completely invulnerable to damage until their next action (damage taken from life drain to use abilities does not count).

Brew Fest
Wanderer 5
Cost: Passive
Alchemists are masterful and speedy brewers that can whip up an elixir or cure in the blink of an eye. The most skilled ones are even faster than that. An Alchemist with this ability can whip up 2 Potions in a turn. However, the user must wait 2 turns after using this ability before using it again, and the Alchemist can still only drink 1 potion and throw 1 potion a turn.

The Absolute Zero Equation
Wanderer 5
Cost: 30
Alchemists aren't just good at setting things on fire. Some Alchemists are experts of the cold as well. When an Alchemist rolls precision and hits with this potion with an 8 range, the target is frozen solid in a block of ice. The victim immediately makes a 15 body check, if they succeed, they break out on their next turn. If not, they must waste their turns until they make the body check or someone breaks them out. While encased in ice, the character takes no damage. Anyone wishing to break them out must do 50 damage to the ice barrier. Fire type damage counts as doubled for the purpose of breaking someone out. This is an unstable equation and melts after a couple of minutes and quite instantaneously when it does. Furthermore, this ice block will typically break after too much violent movement. This means that this is ultimately a good stall technique but a poor ability for kidnapping foes.

Liquid Thunder
Wanderer 5
Cost: 20
The Alchemists have found a frightening concoction that lets out a thunderous burst of sound and horrible secondary effects when violently shaken or upon impacting on an object. Upon throwing this attack anywhere within a range of 10 squares, do the following. Anyone next to the blast is at a -2 to avoid any other effects of the blast. Anyone within 2 squares of the blast make a Body check of 9. If the target fails, they are deafened for the battle (-2 to precision to hear hidden targets and -2 to dodge, immune to sound attacks). Then, anyone within 4 squares makes an agility or body check of 12 or is knocked down and drops any weapons or items they are holding at the time(requiring a move action to get up and grab the weapon next turn). Anyone within 8 squares rolls agility against the Alchemist's precision. If they fail, they take 20 damage from the concussive shockwave and shattering glass. Finally, anyone within 12 squares of the attack is automatically knocked 2 squares away from the origin of the blast automatically. This attack will cause objects lighter than a man to explode outwards from the explosion. Needless to say, most Alchemists think long and hard before using this one.

[Dairun Cates]

Wandering Minstrels

Summary: The Wandering Minstrels are musicians that use their voice as a deadly weapon. Unlike the Rokinja, they need no weapon to belt out their beautiful and powerful attacks.

High level Wandering Minstrels can sing their foes to death, mind control opponents, or even heal their allies.

History: The Wanderering Minstrels have been around since before the Wanderers officially existed, and inspired the very arts of the Rokinja (although the Rokinja won't openly admit it). They're a rather mysterious group that's spread all across the world, and many fear them.

Their leader is a man known as Nightingale, a man in his mid-40's with a beautiful harmonic voice. Considering the bird theme, many have speculated that Nightingale is either related to the Raven some way or even might be him in disguise.

The Wandering Minstrels are mostly a good group. There are very few corrupt Minstrels that use their power for evil. Instead, they use their beautiful voices to inspire and bolster people to a level of greatness.

Attribute Scores: The Wandering Minstrels will take whatever God gave them but require a high will to pull off some of their better moves.

Abilities:
Level 1:

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Voice Like Butter
Wanderer 1
Cost: Passive
The Wandering Minstrels are master vocalists and have practiced their art. This can be used either for singing or fooling others. Wandering Minstrels get a +2 to all checks to sing or disguise their voice as someone else's.

Beautiful Inspiration
Wanderer 1
Cost: 3
The Minstrel can use his voice to inspire others to a greater level. The Minstrel sings an inspirational tune and inspires the target with a +1 bonus on one skill check or attribute check. This does stack with other skill bonuses and the Minstrel cannot target himself.

Unchained Avian
Wanderer 1
Cost: 2
The Minstrel sings of beauty, love, and freedom. Every turn the Minstrel sings, this song gives a +2 to Will to all party members (minus the Life) until the Minstrel's next action. This does not target the Minstrel.

Rainbow Connection
Wanderer 1
Cost: Passive
The Minstrel shares a special bond with their friends that cannot be broken. However, some people are closer to the Minstrel's heart than others. When a Minstrel learns this ability, they pick one person they have a strong connection to. The Minstrel, unable to stand this person in pain grows righteous fury to strike back. Anytime the Minstrel is conscious and sees that character take damage from an enemy attack, they gain a +1 to hit that target on their next attack. Should said character die or make the Minstrel no longer trust them, the Minstrel must wait a year before picking someone else to apply it to.

Level 2:

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Shrill Pitch
Wanderer 2
Cost: 2
The Wandering Minstrel sings a shrill note that damages the ears of everyone that can hear it for 2 damage. This attack is resolved as an opposed will check and cannot be reduced by any damage reduction.

Beautiful Vibratto
Wanderer 2
Cost: 10/turn
The Minstrel sings a beautiful beautiful Vibrant tune and heals all allies for 5 damage every turn he uses this.

Croon at the Moon
Wanderer 2
Cost: 5
The Minstrel is a master of emotional control. With his powerful and talent vocals, the Minstrel can make an opponent make an opposed Will check at a -2 to Will to make one opponent feel a general emotion of his choosing. This effect only lasts for that scene or until the target cannot see the Minstrel anymore. This does not control the character's actions. So, you can make a character afraid, but they will still attack if they're not a coward. You can make a character have feelings of love for you, but they won't necessarily do what you say. This is more effective in helping control the flow of diplomacy and effecting subtle tricks.

Song of the Forest Lord
Wanderer 2
Cost: Passive
The Minstrel knows that music slays the savage beast and has a voice that calms even the most wild animal. The Minstrel with this ability gains a +1 to use their song abilities against non-sentient, non-boss tier animals.

Voice of an Angel
Wanderer 2
Cost: Passive
The Minstrels have beautiful heart-warming voices that bring peace and inspiration to all. When a Minstrel with this ability makes a first impression with a character, unless the character has an excellent reason otherwise, the character will have a generally friendly attitude towards the character. Of course, the player can still ruin this relationship later, but it's a good way to get in the door.

Voice of a Devil
Wanderer 2
Cost: Passive
Not all Minstrels are good guys. Some Minstrels use their abilities for more devlish purposes. Whenever a Minstrel with this ability knocks out an opponent with a song ability, the victim suffers horrible nightmares until they wake up.

Level 3:

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Mr. Exploder
Wanderer 3
Cost: 10
The Minstrel belts a note that blows his opponent's mind, literally. Make an opposed will check at a -3. If the opponent fails, he or she is at a -1 to Will and Precision until the end of battle. This cannot lower Precision and Will below 1.

Shatter the Glass
Wanderer 3
Cost: 8
This is a rather unusual ability, but useful nonetheless. The Minstrel hits a high note that shatters just about anything. This ability can be used to target any one object not currently held by an opponent and shatter it instantly. Anything short of a steel wall, a boat, or a house, is fair game. Unlike the Craftmen's Hammer Meet Nail, this attack does not have precision (the object just shaters) and cannot destroy something of indestructible quality.

Split the Heavens
Wanderer 3
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
This is one of the Minstrel's more unusual abilities. The Minstrel has a beautiful and clear voice that causes even the sky itself to cry or smile on a moments notice. With a simple melody or refrain, the Minstrel can control the weather and change the conditions around him (provided something unnatural isn't causing the weather). This only effects a half mile radius around the Minstrel.

Ye Olde Song That Continues into the Abyss
Wanderer 3
Cost: 5/turn
The Wanderer knows a frustrating never-ending song that gets on the nerves of their opponent. The Minstrel makes an opposed Will check against all foes at a -2. While in effect, this ability makes all of the opponent's attribute scores effectively 1 lower (without the Life loss from the loss of Body or Will unless their life is above their max Life after the adjustment). However, if this move continues to be used each turn, the Wanderer gains a cumulative +1 to the opposed Will roll for each turn this move has been used. If the Wanderer stops for any turns, this bonus stops.

Eternal Diva
Wanderer 3
Cost: 8/turn
The Minstrel is the center of the team and a beacon to all. This can sometimes give the Minstrel an ego. Instead of taking the full blunt of damage, the Minstrel chooses to take it out on their friends. Whenever a Minstrel activate this ability, the Minstrel can let a willing conscious ally take half of the damage of the attack that the Minstrel would've taken. The damage inflicted by the Minstrel from this attack cannot be negated with damage reduction.

Dirge of Absolute Sorrow
Wanderer 3
Cost: 20
The Minstrel sings of joy, but the Minstrel also sings of pure sorrow. By singing out the absolute torment of the Minstrel's soul, the Minstrel makes an opposed Will save against all that can hear it (including allies). If a target fails, they take 15 damage that damage reduction cannot reduce. Furthermore, if this attack succeeds in dealing damage even once, the victim's move speed is halved on any turn in the same combat that this ability is used as their motivation is sucked away.

Level 4:

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Ready Freddy? Go!
Wanderer 4
Cost: 10
Much like the Rokinja, the Minstrels realize that the best song builds from a crescendo. The Minstrel starts by singing. He continues to do this for 2 full turns. On the beginning of the third turn, he releases the effect and give his allies a +4 to all checks for the round. The Minstrel must remain conscious for the effect to work. This effect does not help the Minstrel.

Who Wants to Live Forever?
Wanderer 4
Cost: 5
The Wandering Minstrel can sing a song of sorrow and joy that hurts both him and his opponent as he strains his vocal chords to their limit. This attack does 25 damage to a target on an opposed will check that no damage reduction can reduce. However, the Minstrel himself takes 10 damage from the attack that damage reduction cannot reduce.

Sweet Lullaby
Wanderer 4
Cost: 15
The Wandering Minstrel has a sweet voice that soothes everyone into a gentle slumber. Everyone except the Minstrel that can hear must roll Will. The Minstrel rolls Will at a -2. Anyone that fails the check immediately falls asleep. This sleep is not special in any way and will be broken by any kind of loud or violent action near the sleep (like attacking them, trying to take something out of their hands, speaking too loud, etc.)

MONTAGE!
Wanderer 4
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
The Wandering Minstrel is the master of fast segways as they sing a song to hasten the passage of time. Whenever a task calls for a long arduous process, the Wandering Minstrel can make it seem like it passes in the blink of an eye. What this actually does is allow the players to (at GM's discretion) skip an obstacle that the party could logically defeat without combat. Play resumes after a quick musical montage and the job is done. Entire quests cannot be skipped this way, but this can be used to skip minor things like walking back to a town and the random encounters that may occur or build a house or sneak into Ninja Council HQ undetected even with your horrible stealth checks (Getting out is another issue). This can also be used to lessen the time needed to train. 1 weeks training can be done in a day. Finally, if used to prepare for some major challenge, instigating a montage before it to prepare for a major challenge, one player can gain a +1 to any attribute for the purposes of that challenge.

Cue Theme Song!
Wanderer 4
Cost: 10/turn
A favorite of showboats everywhere, the Wandering Minstrel has the power to summon his own theme song and inspire himself to great heights. While this ability is up, the Minstrel gains a +5 to damage on all attacks, a +5 to damage reduction, a +1 Will (without the Life gain), a +1 to all skill checks, and he or she cannot stealth or hide his/her attacks from anything short of a completely deaf person.

Nature Calls
Wanderer 4
Cost: 15
The Wandering Minstrel has a sweet sultry voice that calls the animals of the wild to his or her aid. By singing this song, the Minstrel can bring these animal allies to attack. Make a Will check against the target's agility. If this succeeds, the attack does 25 damage. However, this attack can only be used in an area that conceivably has a large population of animals.

Level 5:

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Nightingale Requiem
Wanderer 5
Cost: Variable
The Nightingale's final song is one of beauty that inspire his allies to righteous fervor. The singer of this song loses all of their remaining Life and goes to 0 Life. However, all conscious allies that can hear the song gain life equal to 1/2 the life lost (round up). All enemies take damage equal to 1/5th of the life sacrificed (round up) automatically as well. This damage cannot be reduced by damage reduction.

Musical Mind Control
Wanderer 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point and 20 Life
The Minstrel has such a beautiful voice that he or she can control the very minds of those that listen to him or her. Make an opposed Will check at a -3. If the opponent fails, that opponent falls under the singer's control and must perform the tasks he or she desires as long as he or she keeps singing. The singer makes another opposed roll every time he or she commands the subject to do something after the first action at the same -3. If he or she ever fails, the mind control is dropped. The target must be able to understand the singer.

Mass Media Music Mind Control Medley
Wanderer 5
Cost: 2 Awesome points and 30 Life
Much like the Musical Mind Control, the Wanderer knows how to control and coordinate the masses. This ability resolves at the same -3 to Will but controls all targets that can hear and understand it. There are three caveats with this version though. The first is that the controlled tasks cannot be used to make the victims do a task that would put them in severe mortal danger that they would not already willingly do (ie. No "attack the Kraken" or "Jump in a bottomless pit" but "dance in place" or "block that guy's path" is okay). The second is that the command must be the same for everyone (although, it can be made vague. Stop the fire or steal for me are legitimate commands). The third is that victims under the sway of the melodies hypnotic sway gain a +2 to all checks to perform the task commanded. Victims can voluntarily fall under the control of the effect to gain the bonuses.

Share the Spotlight
Wanderer 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Wandering Minstrels understand better than anyone that at any point, the cosmic spotlight could rest on their shoulders. Being the ultimate team players, the Wandering Minstrel with this technique chooses to share his or her time in the spotlight. When a Wandering Minstrel uses this attack ability, he or she spends 1 Awesome Point and the cost of any attack that any ally has to instantly make that ally attack with that attack for free, whether they have acted this turn or not. The Wandering Minstrel can also use this ability to give an ally an extra move action instead.

Pollyanna
Wanderer 5
Cost: 2 Awesome Points
True happiness and peace cannot be destroyed or resisted. The Wandering Minstrel with this ability sings of joy and happiness. When such a song is song, all must pay attention. When a Wandering Minstrel uses this attack by declaring it out loud before reaction is rolled, they spend their full turn. However, during this turn, no one may make ANY attack actions that do any non personal damage. Any continuing attacks that do damage are canceled. Any other attack actions are legitimate.

[Dairun Cates]

Items

Abilities on Items:

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Items contain abilities just like characters. Characters that pick up artifacts with abilities can use some of the abilities immediately upon picking the weapon up. Before training, if the ability has a cost, a character can use it, but the cost will be doubled. Passive abilities cannot be used.

A character can train and learn to use the abilities off an item effectively. By spending a number of character points equal to half the amount that would be required to train those abilities normally (rounded up), the character can use the abilities on the artifact. The character can train in one ability on the artifact at a time if he or she chooses. So, if there's one particular ability the player wants, he or she can train in that one first.

Character points spent towards training an ability off an item are subtracted from the cost of the actual ability should the player decide to learn it without the weapon. Item specific abilities are bought at the base cost for a character (2 times ability level and then halved for being on the item).

Items can also be consumable and give permanent abilities as well. The cost of gaining abilities off of an item like this comes at the full cost of the abilities since the item cannot be lost. The advantage to this is that a character can learn an ability without a teacher and can potentially learn abilities that he or she would not have been able to otherwise (a level 5 ability from an opposing group or an item specific ability). This can be used to give characters supernatural abilities they wouldn't be able to get from regular faction abilities like stretching their limbs to ridiculous lengths or setting their fists on fire.

Of course, learning abilities like this is potentially powerful and is therefore done purely at the discretion of the GM and all character creation item purchases should be accepted by the GM.

Items that do not grant abilities through training (mundane ships, houses, etc.) are considered mundane and should be acquired through roleplaying.

Item Specific Abilities:
The following are some sample abilities that can be granted by items specifically.

Level 1:

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Elemental Fury
Item 1
Cost: 1 per attack
This item is imbued with a particular element to such a powerful level that it can channel it into or even as a weapon. The item becomes sheathed in that element and the attack that this ability is used on gains that element as its descriptor. For the most part, this is harmless and for flavor, but some monsters take more damage from specific sources of damage and some abilities make enemies vulnerable to specific types of attacks. Also, a fire sword could be used to burn a rope or a lightning dagger could power a generator in a pinch. Common elements are Fire, Water, Wood, Earth, Lightning, etc. Less common elements are Love, Hate, Good, Evil, Math, etc.

Item Finder
Item 1
Cost: Passive
This item has the supernatural ability to point towards other items of a certain nature. For instance, a good artifact dousing rod can point towards water. There's also items that can lead towards the nearest deposit of gold or gems. This ability cannot be used to track people. So, an item that finds alcohol is fine, but an item that find loose members of the opposite sex is not.

Level 2:

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Hidden Lore Manual
Item 2
Cost: Passive
This item contains copious amounts of hidden lore about a very specific skill such as history of an area. Training with this item means taking the time to reading it and knowing what to reference when you need to glean information from it. This item gives a +1 to a very specific skill (in other words, local history, operating large ships, dirty jokes, but not something like moving your body). The character that has read this is considered capable in that skill as well as long as he or she still has the item for reference.

Crazy Speedy
Item 2
Cost: Passive
This item is fast, very fast. While the trained user uses this item, they gain 2 squares to their base movement.

Level 3:

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Extended Reach
Item 3
Cost: 1 per 2 squares
This item is capable of extending itself out to infinity as long as the user is willing to pay for it. This item can extend in battle and increase a character's melee attack range. This item will extend as many squares as the user wishes at a cost of 1 life per 2 squares extended. This is still a solid object. So, if other objects are in the way, a character may not be able to hit someone far away, even if they have the energy for the reach unless they can cut through the objects. For instance, in a dense forest, the trees might get in the way.

Specific Protection
Item 3
Cost: Passive
This item is imbued against the elements and gives the user a protection against it. This item protects against a very specific type of damage and reduces all attacks of that kind of damage by 5. Examples of specific elements include raw elements like Fire or Electricity or certain materials like wood or a rare weapon material.

Level 4:

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Ninja/Pirate/Wanderer Killer
Item 4
Cost: Passive
This item was forged in the fires of war and has grown to hate a specific target. Pick one of the three sides (Pirate, Ninja, or Wanderer). This item does 5 extra damage on all attacks to that side.

Projectile Shots
Item 4
Cost: 5 per attack
This item is sheathed in energy, much like the Elemental Fury ability, but this item can be used to make ranged attacks with a melee weapon made of pure energy. This can be used to either make a melee attack at a range or be used to make ranged attacks with a melee weapon. Either way, this does not have the defect that Extended Reach does. This weapon attacks in straight bolts and cuts instantly through most mundane materials like wood. The maximum range of the bolts is the character's precision or will stat in squares (whichever is higher).

Level 5:

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Life Drinker
Item 5
Cost: Passive
This item gives some of the damage the user does in his attacks back to his life total. For every 10 actual damage the character does in an attack (round up), the item gives back 1 Life. However, in AOE attacks. Each hit only gives half the life (round up).

Flying Item
Item 5
Cost: 3/turn
This item is capable of giving the user flight like a bird. While this ability is on, the can move with perfect acrobatic grace in the air.

General Protection
Item 5
Cost: Passive
This item gives protection like the Specific Protection ability but applies it to something much more common and general like bludgeoning trauma, sword damage, energy damage, damage from a specific side, etc. This reduces damage by 5.

[Dairun Cates]

Monsters:

Tired of Pirates and Ninjas? Try T-Rexes and Krakens!

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The Ninjas vs. Pirates universe doesn't just contain Ninjas, Pirates, and Wanderers. They'd all have to be vegetarians or cannibals if it did. No, there are monsters in the world at large as well, and they are as legendary, powerful, and amazing as the people of the world. Dinosaurs, Demons, Sea Monsters, Flying Beasts, and powerful creatures roam the lands, but even a squirrel can be a formidable foe in the right region.

This small book couldn't hope to contain every possibility that your mind could come up with. Just know that if it would be totally awesome if a Ninja or Pirate fought it, it's fair game. Since creating balanced monsters can be difficult, this section is here to give rules for creating your own monsters and how to test their general power levels along with a few example monsters.

The Tiers of Mosnters:

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Not all monsters can be the Kraken. If they were, the Kraken wouldn't be so special. That doesn't mean that some monsters shouldn't be awesome. Every time your players fight a monster or group of monsters, they should be smiling and having fun. Neither a Zombie horde nor a swarm of wasps are particularly hard for a well-trained Pirate or Ninja to take out, but the Zombies are a lot more fun. So, every monster should be fun and interesting in its own way.

That said, monsters should generally be separated into 3 groups of combatants:

Mooks: These are the monsters your players will take out in one hit. They'll usually fight swarms of them. These cover zombies, giant bats, imps, Kappas, etc.

Encounters: These are the monsters that would give any one individual of the group a challenge if they had to fight it alone. Monsters that are a match for the average player character. These cover Banshees, Sirens, Small Dragons, Bears, Onis, Sirens, Nuckelavees, etc.

Bosses: These are the big ones. These are encounters that should challenge the entire party with one of them out. These are usually, but don't have to be, massive in scale. These cover creatures from a wide scale and include T-rexes, the Jörmungandr, Japanese Style Gods, Basans, a Yuki-Onna (with excellent snow control), etc.

Joke: This is a bit of a misnomer. The Joke tier monsters can be of varying power and could normally belong to any of the other tiers. However, monsters in this tier have the distinction of being patently ridiculous and having no excuse being in any campaign that tries to have ANY serious tone. Best used for 1-shots, trying to confuse the players, or for an over-the-top group. Use as the final boss to a campaign at your own risk.

Keep these tiers of monsters in mind, and it'll help to know how to go about creating them. Mooks should have lower ability scores and near absent Life totals while bosses should be powerful and have massive life totals.

Creating Monsters:

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Creating monsters is just like creating characters. They have the same four derived stats as everything else in the game (Body, Agility, Precision, and Will). They even have their own abilities that they can learn. Since there's no experience points rewarded for monster kills in this game, there's no measure for how good they should be, but the levels of their skills and how many of them they have compared to your players combined with their attribute scores should tell you how much of a challenge they will be.

The two biggest differences between monsters and player characters are reach and Life totals. Monsters can be bigger than one square. Normally characters can only attack the squares next to them in melee. Larger creatures can reach farther though. While not perfect, a general rule of thumb is to give creatures a reach on melee attacks equal to half their longest dimension on the board(rounded up). So, the average T-rex will take up around 5 squares by 5 squares on the board (It's a small T-rex and their feet are most of the space they're taking up. The real thing is huge. So, the T-rex can attack anywhere within 3 squares of it without moving.

The second factor is Life. Based on the tier of monster creation, monsters should either have less or more HP than the players.

Mooks should have half to even as low as a tenth the life their scores would give them depending on how fast you want them to go down. For instance, a zombie with 1 will and a 6 body (a meaty zombie) would have maybe 35 life, but could have as little as 7 if you wanted the players to take on a hundred of them back to back.

Encounters should have either equal life to what their abilities would give them or up to double. So, a bear with 2 will and an 8 body might have 100 life while a Large Oni with a 2 will and a 10 body might have as much as 240 Life. Once again, this depends on whether you want the party to fight one of them or a 2-5 of them.

Bosses are massive and should have anywhere from double their normal life to tens times it in some rare scenarios. A T-rex with a 4 will and a 10 body would have 280 Life while the Kraken, with it's massive size, 4 will, and 10 body would have upwards of 700-1400 life depending on how many people you want to be required to take it down (Consequently, the Kraken also has a pathetic 1 Agility and a 2 Precision. So even WITH the Kurosawa Corollary, he's not hard to dodge and hit).

Creating Abilities:

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Abilities in Pirates vs. Ninjas aren't that hard to figure out. The average melee attack should do 5 damage a level and cost the one and a half times the level in Life. If the ability does more damage, it should gain around -1 to hit per extra 5 damage. If it does less damage, give it a +1 bonus to accuracy for every -5 damage.

After that, if the attack is ranged in nature add up to 100% of the original cost to the total (depending on the range. Short range should be a couple extra life. Hitting from a ridiculous length should double the cost). If the attack hits two targets, double the cost. If it hits more than 2 targets, triple it. So, a ranged attack that hits up to 10 targets for 15 damage from 100 squares away should generally cost around 12 Life a shot (damage equivalent to a level 3 skill [3 points] + 200% the initial cost for multiple targets + 100% for long range). Extra abilities beyond this should either bump the attack up in level or increase the cost significantly.

Non-attack abilities are a bit harder to determine. Figure out how much of an impact the ability has on combat. Minor impacts or very circumstantial abilities should be level 1 or 2 and cost a few life a turn. Moderate impacts or abilities that will come in handy often should be around level 3 and are often passive or cost a significant chunk of life for a major benefit. Abilities that will almost always come up should be level 4 or 5 and are either passive or cost a large portion of hp once or 3-10 hp a round to keep up. So, being able to see in the dark is maybe a level 2 ability, being able to regenerate in water is a level 3 ability, and being able to fly is a level 4 or 5 ability.

Mooks will tend to do a little less damage while Bosses and higher level Encounters will tend to do more damage than these examples.

Also, feel free to modify existing abilities to suit your needs. Why make a new ability for water walking when one already exists?

[Dairun Cates]

Zombie
Tier: Mook
Descrption: Humanoids that have died and been infected to be mindless brain-eaters.
Life: 13
Reaction: 2

Body 4
Agility 1
Precision 2
Will 1

Notes: Zombies are exceedingly slow and only move 2 squares a round instead of 8.

Abilities:

Level 1

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Zombie Trip (Cost 1): The zombie trips and falls on one target in melee for 10 damage. However, if the zombie misses, it must spend a turn getting back up.

Hungry for Brains (Passive): Zombies can smell the living and are better at tracking them than you would expect. Zombies get a +2 precision to notice living things via their sense of smell.

Level 3

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Zombie Bite (Cost 4): This attack resolves at a -1 to hit and does 15 damage. However, if it knocks an opponent below 0 Life, they must make a body check of 15 or become a Zombie as well.

Level 5

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Too Stupid to Notice (Passive): Zombies are bafflingly dumb and immune to all insults, diplomacy, or illusions.

[Dairun Cates]

Fire Imp
Tier: Mook
Description: Small red annoying creatures with fire for their blood and tiny pitchforks.
Life: 30
Reaction: 5

Body 2
Agility 6
Precision 4
Will 4

Notes: Fire imps are made of fire and channel it readily. They take 10 less damage from all fire and heat based attacks but take 10 more damage from all water/ice and cold based attacks.

Abilities:
Level 1:

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Imp Poke (Cost 2): This attack resolves at a +4 to hit but does a mere 2 damage.

Level 2:

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Scitter Scitter (Cost 5): Imps are smaller and flexible. They can squirm themselves out of anything. Imps gain a +4 to checks to escape imprisonment of some kind when they use this.

Level 3:

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Temporary Flight (2/turn): Imps have small wings that give them the ability of limited flight. They cannot get more than a couple of feet off the ground, but they avoid all terrain.

Fireball (Cost 5): The imp fires a fireball with its power that does 15 fire damage at a range of 10 squares.

[Dairun Cates]

Bear
Tier: Encounter
Description: Giant Mammals view big mouth, terrifying speed, and huge paws.
Life: 100
Reaction: 4

Body 8
Agility 4
Precision 4
Will 2

Abilities:
Level 1:

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Good Climber (Passive): The Bear gains a +2 to all climb checks.

Level 3:

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Bear Claw (Cost 3): This attack does 15 damage.

Level 4:

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Bear Rush (Cost 8): The bear uses the force of a charge to trample it's foes and claw them mercilessly. This attack can only be done if the bear charged the target in a straight line, but does 25 damage.

Crazy Rage (Variable): The bear goes into a crazy rage in order to do more damage. For every 5 life sacrificed, the next attack that successfully hits will do 5 extra damage.

Level 5:

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Thick Fat (Passive): Bears have a thick coat that reduces all damage from all physical or energy based attacks by 5.

[Dairun Cates]

Thunder Oni
Tier: Encounter
Description: Giant Ogre like monsters that carry a club and have powerful lightning fields around them.
Life: 180
Reaction: 2

Body 10
Agility 2
Precision 2
Will 2

Notes: Thunder Onis channel raw electrical energy and take 25 less damage from electrical based attacks. Onis, unlike most monsters can talk and are extremely vulnerable to psychological attacks and insults.

Abilities:
Level 1:

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Oni Swing (Cost 2): This attack does 15 damage but rolls to hit at a -2

Level 2:

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Batter Up (Cost 5): The Oni uses it's massive strength to hit the opponent for 20 damage at a -2 to hit. The opponent flies back a number of squares equal to half the damage they took.

Level 3:

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Quick Swing (Cost 6): The Oni tries for accuracy and hits for 10 damage at a +2 to hit.

Lightning Field (Cost 10): This attack does 15 lightning damage to everyone adjacent to the Oni.

Lightning Bolt (Cost 6): The Oni throws a bolt of lightning within 10 squares and does 15 lightning damage.

Level 4:

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Lightning Swing (Cost 12): This attack swing super quick for a +2 to hit and does 20 lightning damage.

Level 5:

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Big and Burly (Passive): Onis are tough and take 3 less damage from all physical attacks (For a total of 7 damage reduction when at full body).

[Dairun Cates]

T-Rex
Tier: Boss
Description: A large scaly lizard with a long tail, a mean bite, and short arms.
Life: 280
Reaction: 5

Body 10
Agility 2
Precision 4
Will 4

Abilities:
Level 1:

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Tail Swipe (Cost 8): The T-rex swings its tail at a -1 to hit and hits everyone in range for 10 damage.

Level 2:

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Chomp Chomp (Cost 8): The T-rex bite an opponent for 15 damage.

Level 3:

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Step on It! (Passive): Everything that's in the T-rexes way when it makes a move action must make an agility check of 10 or be stomped on when it moves for 5 damage.

Level 4:

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Mighty Leap (Cost 20): The T-rex leaps into the air and lands with a terrible force. Everything within 10 squares of the T-rex takes 30 damage.

Level 5:

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Bite and Hold (Cost 25): The T-rex bites a victim at a -2 for 40 damage. The victim is caught in the T-rex's mouth and unable to move until they can beat the T-rex in an opposed check against its body with either their body or agility score. The T-rex cannot bite while something is in it's mouth.

Small Brain No Good For Think-Making (Passive): T-rexes are immune to all mental effects save irritation.

Scaly Hide (Passive): T-Rexes take 5 less damage from all attacks.

[Dairun Cates]

The Kraken:
Tier: Boss
Description: A Colossal and Legendary sea monster that has dozens of tentacles, a beak, and can swallow ships whole.
Life: 700
Reaction: 2

Body: 10
Agility: 1
Precision: 2
Will: 4

Note: The Kraken is waterborne will always fight in the middle of a large body of salt water. It cannot appear out of the water.

Abilities:
Level 2:

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Tentacle Slap (Cost 5): The Kraken does a basic attack and slaps a foe with its tentacle for 15 damage.

Level 3:

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Fear the Beak! (Cost 15): Few Pirates get to see the Kraken's frightening maw, and fewer have lived to tell the tale. Resolve the attack at a -4 to hit. This attack does 50 damage.

Fling Them! (Cost 15): This attack does 20 damage and hits at a -2, but if it hits, the Kraken flings the target 20 squares in a random direction into the middle of the ocean.

Level 4:

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Break the Ship (Cost 20): The Kraken can destroy a major section of a ship with a single attack. Any ship smaller than a fully-crewed pirate ship will be instantly shattered. Pirate ships can take 3 such attacks before sinking. Ships of “Indestructible Quality” (see Craftsmen) can survive 8 such attacks.

Sweep the Deck (Cost 30): The Kraken can sweep one of its massive tentacles across the deck and hit every single target within it's massive reach. All targets within 100 squares take 20 damage.

Level 5:

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Scales of a God (Passive): The Kraken takes 10 less damage from all attacks.

Tentacle Barrage (Cost 50): The Kraken can use all of its tentacles above the water to unleash 8 melee attacks that do 20 damage each when they hit.

Finish the Extras (Cost 100): The Kraken is vicious and isn't afraid to use it's full might against a target. Any character that doesn't specifically have a name before this attack is declared (ie. Not important enough for the GM or players to name) but is actively fighting the Kraken is taken immediately down to an unconscious state. If this is used a second time. Every one of those extras is killed.

[Darksword]

I realy love these new additions. What i like most is just the feel. It is a nice game that has a lot of different style. The rules are very simple but characters have a lot customization.
One question though
You have to pick a fraction (like rockninja) and you can't change it, correct?

[Dairun Cates]

I realy love these new additions. What i like most is just the feel. It is a nice game that has a lot of different style. The rules are very simple but characters have a lot customization.
One question though
You have to pick a fraction (like rockninja) and you can't change it, correct?

Not at all. You're free to take skills from any faction (even Ninjas taking skills from Pirates). The faction you're in more effects the people you know, have contacts with, and can learn techniques from the most easily. You can definitely change factions over time though. Your character may just disagree with the traditionalism of the Evadinja too much and choose to start working for the Rokinja on the side.

Pirates are even more obvious. The factions are constantly integrated on ships and constantly working together. So, a Gunnar may become more of a Charreographer or Arrcrobat over time.

It's just there to give an anchor point on your character and a starting point to write up a backstory. Your starting faction will often effect your personality.

The only thing that won't change is whether you're a Pirate, Ninja, or Wanderer. That's the person you are deep down, and that's why you can't learn level 5 skills outside of that side. You just don't have the mental capacity for it.

Also...

A question for everyone reading this:
I have some sample characters stated up. Would you be interested in me posting them so you can get an idea of what a character looks like and plays like in actual play?

[dentrag2]

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

[Dairun Cates]

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

Is that for the proposed question or just the thread in general?