Starting at 2nd level, a ninja gains one ninja trick. She gains one additional ninja trick for every 2 levels attained after 2nd. Unless otherwise noted, a ninja cannot select an individual ninja trick more than once. Talents marked with an asterisk add effects to a ninja’s sneak attack. Only one of these talents can be applied to an individual attack, and the decision must be made before the attack roll is made.
Table: Ninja Tricks
| Ninja Trick | Prerequisites | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Bleeding Attack* (Ex) | — | A ninja with this trick can cause living opponents to bleed by hitting them with a sneak attack. This attack causes the target to take 1 additional point of damage each round for each die of the ninja’s sneak attack. Bleeding creatures take that amount of damage every round at the start of each of their turns. The bleeding can be stopped by a DC 15 Heal check or the application of any effect that heals hit point damage. Bleed damage from this ability does not stack with itself. Bleed damage bypasses any DR the creature might possess. |
| Choking Bomb (Ex) | Poison Bomb ninja trick | Whenever a ninja throws a smoke bomb, all living creatures in the resulting cloud must make a Fortitude save or become staggered by the choking black smoke for 1d4 rounds. The DC of this saving throw is equal to 10 + half of the ninja’s level + her Wisdom modifier. The ninja can decide to create an ordinary smoke bomb or add poison to this smoke bomb as normal. |
| Combat Trick | — | A ninja may gain any Combat feat that she qualifies for in place of a ninja trick. This trick may be taken only once. |
| Deadeye Shot (Ex) | — | The critical threat range for any specific type of thrown weapon increases by one (for example, a shuriken has a critical threat range of 19-20 instead of 20) when this ability is used. The benefit of this ability does not stack with any other effect that increases critical threat ranges. |
| Deadly Range (Ex) | — | A ninja with this trick increases the range at which she can deal Precision Damage by 10 feet. This range increases by 10 feet for every 3 levels the ninja possesses. When making ranged sneak attacks, the ninja deals an extra +1 precision damage for each sneak attack die as a circumstance bonus. |
| Defensive Throw (Ex) | — | If a ninja with this ninja trick succeeds on an Acrobatics check (DC 10 + number of threatening foes) before attempting to attack with a thrown weapon while in a threatened square, his thrown weapon attacks don’t provoke attacks of opportunity for 1 round. If the check fails, his opponents get attacks of opportunity as normal when he makes his attacks. |
| Doubletoss (Ex) | — | A ninja with this ninja trick may, as a standard action, throw two weapons at one or two targets within 30 feet. The character may apply his full Strength bonus to each weapon (instead of one-half his Strength bonus for the off-hand weapon). The normal penalties for fighting two weapons apply. |
| Empowered Ninjutsu (Su) | — | The ninja can perform two ninjutsus per day as if they were modified by the Empower Spell feat. This does not increase the MP cost or the level of the ninjutsu. |
| Extended Ninjutsu (Su) | — | The ninja can perform two ninjutsus per day as if they were modified by the Extended Spell feat. This does not increase the MP cost or the level of the ninjutsu. |
| Fast Stealth (Ex) | — | A ninja with this trick can move at full speed using the Stealth skill without penalty. |
| Finesse Training (Ex) | — | A ninja with this trick gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. In addition, starting at 3rd level, she can select any one type of weapon that can be used with Weapon Finesse (such as rapiers or daggers). Once this choice is made, it cannot be changed. Whenever she makes a successful melee attack with the selected weapon, she adds her Dexterity modifier instead of her Strength modifier to the damage roll. If any effect would prevent the ninja from adding her Strength modifier to the damage roll, she does not add her Dexterity modifier. The ninja can select a second weapon at 11th level and a third at 19th level. |
| Graceful Toss (Ex) | Finesse Training class feature | Whenever a ninja with this trick makes a ranged attack with a thrown ranged weapon, she adds her Dexterity modifier instead of her Strength modifier to the damage roll. If any effect would prevent the ninja from adding her Strength modifier to the damage roll, she does not add her Dexterity modifier. |
| Hidden Weapons (Ex) | — | A ninja with this ninja trick can easily conceal weapons on her body. The ninja adds her level on opposed Sleight of Hand checks made to conceal a weapon. In addition, she can draw hidden weapons as a move action, instead of as a standard action. |
| Palm Throw (Ex) | — | When using little thrown weapons (darts, shuriken, and daggers; the DM may allow other weapons), a ninja with this ability may throw two of each weapon with a single attack roll. Damage for each weapon is resolved separately, but the ninja does not apply his Strength bonus to either damage roll. This ability only applies one instance of Precision Damage per attack roll. |
| Poison Bomb (Ex) | Smoke Bomb ninja trick | Whenever the ninja throws a smoke bomb, she can decide to include 1 dose of any inhaled poison she possesses. This poison affects all creatures in the smoke and lasts as long as the smoke lasts. She must pay for the poison normally. |
| Poison Use (Ex) | — | A ninja is trained in the use of poison and cannot accidentally poison herself when applying poison to a weapon, attacking with a poisoned weapon, or crafting a poison. |
| Precise Ninjutsu (Ex) | — | A ninja with this trick gains the Precise Shot feat for ninjutsus. |
| Pressure Points* (Su) | — | A ninja with this trick can strike at an opponent’s vital pressure points, causing weakness and intense pain. Whenever the ninja deals sneak attack damage, she also deals 1 point of Strength or Dexterity damage, decided by the ninja. Unlike normal ability damage, this damage can be healed by a DC 15 Heal check. Each successful check heals 1 point of damage caused by this trick. A ninja with this trick receives a +10 insight bonus on this Heal check. |
| Redirect Force (Ex) | — | If the ninja has a feat that allows her to attempt a combat maneuver without provoking attacks of opportunity, she can choose to provoke them anyway when she performs that maneuver. If she does so and takes damage from the attack of opportunity, the ninja adds the damage as a bonus on her attack roll instead of as a penalty. |
| Shadow Duplicate (Sp) | — | Once per day, as an immediate action, when the ninja is hit, the ninja can create a single shadow duplicate of herself, as per mirror image. The GM randomly determines whether the attack hit the ninja or the shadow duplicate. The shadow duplicate lasts for a number of rounds equal to the ninja’s level, or until the shadow duplicate is dispelled or destroyed. This ability does not stack with the mirror image spell. The caster level for this ability is equal to the ninja’s level. A ninja can use this ability one additional time per day for every 5 ninja levels she has. |
| Slow Metabolism (Ex) | — | The ninja has a slower-than-normal metabolism. She can hold her breath for twice as long as normal before needing to make Constitution checks (four times her Constitution score). In addition, whenever the ninja is poisoned, the time between saving throws (the poison’s frequency) is doubled. Thus, a poison that has a frequency of “1/round for 6 rounds” would instead be “half rounds for 12 rounds.” |
| Slow Reactions* (Ex) | — | Opponents that are damaged by the ninja’s sneak attack can’t make attacks of opportunity for 1 round. |
| Smoke Bomb (Ex) | — | This ability allows a ninja to throw a smoke bomb that creates a cloud of smoke with a 15-foot radius. This acts like the smoke from a smokestick. The ninja can center this smoke on herself, or throw the bomb as a ranged touch attack with a range of 20 feet. Using this ability is a standard action. |
| Sneaky Shot (Ex) | — | Just before making a ranged attack, a ninja with this ability can use a move action to make a Sleight of Hand check opposed by his target’s Perception check. If he wins the opposed check, his opponent is denied his Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against the attack. |
| Still Ninjutsu (Su) | — | The ninja can perform two ninjutsus per day as if they were modified by the Still Spell feat. This does not increase the MP cost or the level of the ninjutsu. |
| Thief Talent | — | The ninja can select a thief talent in place of a ninja trick. The ninja cannot select a thief talent that has the same name as a ninja trick. The ninja can select this talent multiple times. |
| Trapfinding (Ex) | — | A ninja adds half her level to Perception skill checks made to locate traps and to Disable Device skill checks (minimum +1). A ninja can use Disable Device to disarm magic traps. A magic trap generally has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. A ninja who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with her party) without disarming it. |
| Trip Shot (Ex) | — | A ninja with this ninja trick may use a thrown weapon to make a trip attempt against an opponent farther than 5 feet away. The character makes a normal attack against the opponent with a thrown weapon. If the attack succeeds, in addition to doing damage as normal, the ninja makes a trip combat maneuver with a +4 bonus against the opponent’s CMD. If the ninja beats the opponent’s CMD, the opponent is tripped. The benefit of this ability does not stack with the benefit of the Improved Trip feat. |
| Tumbling Toss (Ex) | — | A ninja with this ninja trick can hurl a single thrown weapon at any point during a tumbling attempt as a standard action. If the result of his Acrobatics check is 25 or higher, the ninja does not provoke an attack of opportunity for making this attack regardless of how many opponents threaten him. |
| Two with One Blow (Ex) | Ninja 4 | If a ninja with this ninja trick uses a thrown weapon to attack two opponents adjacent to each other at once by taking a -4 penalty on the attack roll. The attack may hit either, both, or neither opponent depending on the roll and the Armor Class of each opponent. Damage for each opponent is resolved separately. If the attack roll results in the threat of a critical hit, roll to confirm each critical hit separately. This trick can be used on any thrown weapon attack, including a full attack action. |
| Undetected Sabotage (Ex) | — | Whenever a ninja with this trick uses Disable Device to sabotage or disable a device, she can make a Stealth check with a bonus equal to her level. Anyone who inspects the device does not notice the sabotage and assumes the object works unless he beats the ninja’s check with an opposed Perception skill check. |
| Wall Climber (Su) | — | A ninja with this ninja trick gains a climb speed of 20 feet, but only on vertical surfaces. This trick cannot be used to scale perfectly smooth surfaces or to climb on the underside of horizontal surfaces. |
| Weak Spot (Ex) | — | Whenever a ninja with this ninja trick uses a thrown weapon against a target of his size or larger, the character can make a ranged touch attack instead of a normal attack. If the attack hits, the ninja does not apply his Strength bonus to the damage. |
Master Tricks
At 12th level, and every two levels thereafter, a ninja can select one of the following master tricks in place of a ninja trick.
Table: Master Tricks
| Master Trick | Prerequisites | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Talents | — | The ninja can select a thief talent from the list of Advanced Talents in place of a ninja trick. The ninja cannot select a thief talent that has the same name as a ninja trick. |
| Accomplished Sneak Attacker (Ex): | — | A ninja with this trick increases the amount of sneak attack damage dealt by 1d6. This cannot increase the amount of sneak attack damage dice beyond half of her ninja level (maximum 10d6). This ninja trick can be selected up to three times. |
| All the Stars in the Sky (Ex) | — | Certain master ninjas possess a seemingly limitless supply of their trusted weapons. Whenever a ninja with this trick buys a set of 50 identical magic shuriken, she thereafter replenishes them at no cost and never runs out. This stock of magical shuriken can be upgraded as though it were a normal magic weapon, and shuriken upgraded this way likewise never run out. |
| Assassinate (Ex) | — | A ninja with this master trick can kill foes that are unable to defend themselves. To attempt to assassinate a target, the ninja must first study her target for 1 round as a standard action. On the following round, if the ninja makes a sneak attack against the target and the target is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly killing the target. This attempt automatically fails if the target recognizes the ninja as an enemy. If the sneak attack is successful and the target of this attack fails a Fortitude save, it dies. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + half of the ninja’s level + her Wisdom modifier. If the save is successful, the target still takes the sneak attack damage as normal, but it is immune to that ninja’s assassinate ability for 1 day. |
| Blinding Bomb (Ex) | Choking Bomb ninja trick | Whenever the ninja throws a smoke bomb, all living creatures in the cloud must make a Fortitude save or be blinded by the black smoke for 1d4 rounds. The DC of this saving throw is equal to 10 + half of the ninja’s level + her Wisdom modifier. This trick cannot be combined with a choking bomb, but the ninja can combine a blinding bomb with a poison bomb. |
| Bomb Master (Su) | Choking Bomb, Poison Bomb, and Smoke Bomb ninja tricks | The ninja has learned enough of the alchemical secrets of bombmaking to gain additional effects when using smoke bombs. The ninja may select any one of the following chemist discoveries (from the chemist class) and apply it to her smoke bombs: delayed bomb, dispelling bomb, plague bomb, stink bomb, tanglefoot bomb. The ninja cannot combine a dispelling bomb, plague bomb, stink bomb, tanglefoot bomb with a choking bomb, but can combine them with a blinding bomb. |
| Deadly Shuriken (Ex) | — | As a full-round action, a ninja with this master trick can take careful aim and pool all of her attack potential into a single, deadly shuriken throw. When she does this, she throws a single shuriken at a single target, but makes as many attack rolls as she can, based on her base attack bonus. She makes the attack rolls in order from highest bonus to lowest, as if she were making a full attack. If any of the attack rolls hit the target, the attack hits. For each additional successful attack roll beyond the first, the ninja increases the damage by 1d6. Precision Damage and extra damage from weapon special abilities (such as flaming) are added with damage modifiers and are not increased by this trick. If one or more rolls are critical threats, she confirms the critical once using her highest base attack bonus –5. For each critical threat beyond the first, she reduces this penalty by 1 (to a maximum of 0). |
| Improved Evasion (Ex) | Evasion class feature | This works like evasion, except that while the ninja still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, she henceforth takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless ninja does not gain the benefit of improved evasion. |
| Kami Warden (Su) | — | Ninjas can act as bodyguards as well as assassins or spies; some mystically emulate the relationship between kami and their wards when protecting their charges. A ninja with this trick gains Bodyguard and In Harm’s Way as bonus feats, ignoring their prerequisites. When using In Harm’s Way to intercept an attack, the ninja can spend 1 ki point to gains DR 10/cold iron and resistance 10 to earth, fire, and lightning for that attack. |
| Maximized Ninjutsu (Su) | — | The ninja can perform one ninjutsu per day as if it were modified by the Maximize Spell feat. This does not increase the MP cost or the level of the ninjutsu. |
| Quickened Ninjutsu (Su) | — | The ninja can perform one ninjutsu per day as if it were modified by the Quicken Spell feat. This does not increase the MP cost or the level of the ninjutsu. |
| Swift Assassination (Ex) | Assassinate ninja trick | Once per day, a ninja can use her assassinate ability against a foe without studying the foe beforehand. She must still sneak attack her foe using a melee weapon that deals damage. |
| Unarmed Combat Mastery | Improved Unarmed Strike feat | A ninja who selects this trick deals damage with her unarmed strikes as if she were a monk of her ninja level –4. If the ninja has levels in monk, this ability stacks with monk levels to determine how much damage she can do with her unarmed strikes. |