Ninja

When the wealthy and the powerful need an enemy eliminated quietly and without fail, they call upon the ninja. When a general needs to sabotage the siege engines of his foes before they can reach the castle walls, he calls upon the ninja. And when fools dare to move against a ninja or her companions, they will find the ninja waiting for them while they sleep, ready to strike.

Trained in secret by clan or individual master, these shadowy killers are masters of infiltration, sabotage, and assassination, using a wide variety of weapons, practiced skills, and mystical powers to achieve their goals. Their reputation is no accident, ninjas, hidden among commoners, regularly spread rumors about themselves to intimidate and impress the population they infiltrate.

Class Features

A Ninja does not gain the Rogue Talents, Trap Sense, and Advantageous Attack class features.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A Ninja is proficient with Basic weapons and Monastic weapons. They are proficient with light armor but not with shields.

If not using weapon groups, a Ninja is proficient with the club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, siangham, and sling.

Class Skills

Ki Cultivation

Shadow Ki

Skill Specialty

Poison Use

Ninja Talents

No Trace

Improved Uncanny Dodge

Master Strike

List of Ninja Talents

As you gain experience, you learn a number of talents that confound your foes and grant you supernatural abilities. Starting at 2nd level, you gain one ninja talent. You gain an additional ninja talent for every 2 levels of ninja attained after 2nd level. Unless otherwise noted, you cannot select an individual talent more than once.

Talents marked with an asterisk (*) add effects to your 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.

Each ninja talent has a minimum ninja level as a prerequisite. You must meet this prerequisite before selecting that talent.

Many of these talents are identical to standard rogue talents of the same name; however, you cannot select normal rogue talents as a ninja. Ninja talents count as rogue talents for the purposes of meeting prerequisites and benefits of abilities and feats, such as the Expanded Rogue Talents feat.

Some ninja talents are ki abilities which require expending ki points to use. Many of these abilities have elemental descriptors, which can affect ki formations for multiclass ninjas. Unlike most cultivators, some ninja ki abilities use the shadow element rather than the five standard elements of fire, water, wood, earth, and metal.

Save DCs for all ninja talents is DC 10 + 1/2 your ninja cultivator level + your key ability modifier, unless stated otherwise.

2nd-Level Ninja

Agile Climber (Ex)

With this talent, you roll twice while making Athletics checks to climb and when making Reflex saves to avoid falling, taking the better result.

Befuddling Attack* (Ex)

When you deal sneak attack damage, the target takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, skill checks, and ability checks (including concentration checks) for a number of rounds equal to the number of sneak attack damage dice dealt. This penalty does not stack with itself.

Bleeding Attack* (Ex)

You can use this talent to cause living opponents to bleed when hitting them with a sneak attack. This attack causes the target to take 1 additional point of damage each round for each die of sneak attack damage (e.g., 3d6 equals 3 points of bleed).

At 8th level, you add an amount of bleed damage equal to half your Strength or Dexterity bonus (whichever is greater, minimum +1) and at 16th level you instead add an amount equal to your Strength or Dexterity bonus (whichever is greater, minimum +1).

Bleeding creatures take this 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 damage reduction the creature might possess.

Combat Feat

When you select this talent, you gain a bonus combat feat. You must meet the prerequisites for the chosen feat. You can take this talent up to two times.

Darkvision (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

This talent allows you to use your ki to enhance your sight, granting darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Using this talent is a standard action that costs 1 ki point. The enhanced senses last for 1 hour.

Dexterous Extrication (Ex)

As an immediate action, you can attempt an Acrobatics check in place of a Reflex saving throw against any effect that would cause you to become immobilized or entangled.

Additionally, when you are the target of a grapple attempt, you can use an immediate action to make an Acrobatics (squeezing/escaping) check and use the result of the skill check in place of your CMD against that combat maneuver attempt. You can only use this second ability once per opponent per day, but at 10th level
this limitation no longer applies.

Distracting Attack* (Ex)

When you hit creature with a melee sneak attack, you can forgo the additional damage to cause the creature to become flat-footed against one target of your choosing until the beginning of your next turn. You cannot designate yourself as the creature gaining the benefit of this talent. Creatures with uncanny dodge are immune to distracting attack.

Expert Leaper (Ex)

When making Athletics checks to jump, you are always considered to have a running start and add your rogue level to the check result.

In addition, you can always make an Athletics check to soften a fall, even if the fall is not deliberate. When softening a fall, a DC 15 Athletics check allows you to ignore the first 20 feet fallen, instead of the first 10 feet. For every 5 by which you exceed the DC of this check, you can ignore an additional 10 feet of distance fallen.

Even if you take damage from a fall, you still land on your feet if the result of the check to soften the fall equals or exceeds a DC of 15 + the falling damage dealt.

Extra Skill Specialty

This talent grants you an additional skill specialty.

Fast Stealth (Ex)

This talent allows you to move at full speed while using the Stealth skill without penalty. At 10th level, you can use the Stealth skill while charging or running with a –10 penalty.

Feather Fall (Su) [Ki, Wood]

As an immediate action, you can spend 1 ki to slow your descent as if using feather fall. This ability uses your cultivator level as the caster level.

Fleet Footed (Ex)

This talent grants you a +10 competence bonus to your land speed. This benefit applies only when you are wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor, and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying your speed because of any load carried or armor worn. This does not stack with the fast movement class feature from another class.

Flowing Feint (Ex)

When you make a feint attempt, you may move your normal speed as part of the action. You may move either before or after the feint attempt. You may not use this movement when you feint as a swift action.

Hampering Attack* (Ex)

An opponent damaged by your sneak attack has its movement speeds halved (to a minimum of 5 feet), and it cannot take a 5-foot step. A creature with a flight speed has its maneuverability reduced by one step, and if it’s airborne at the time, it falls unless it succeeds at a DC 10 Aerial Acrobatics check. These effects do not stack with themselves and last until the beginning of your next turn.

Hidden Weapons (Ex)

You can easily conceal weapons on your body. You add your level on opposed Deception checks made to conceal a weapon. In addition, you can draw hidden weapons as a move action, instead of as a standard action.

Ki Venom (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

You can condense your shadow ki into a potent venom. Creating ki venom is a full-round action that costs 2 ki. You apply the ki venom to a weapon as part of the process of creating it. You are immune to the effects of your own ki venom.

The poison lasts for 10 minutes before becoming inert. The poison deals either Strength or Dexterity damage, chosen when the venom is created. You can spend additional ki as part of the process of creating the ki venom to improve the venom in one or more of the following ways: spend 2 ki points to increase the damage die to a d6, spend 2 ki points to change the ability damage dealt to Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage, or spend 2 ki points to increase the number of saves required to cure the poison by 1.

Nimble Fingers (Ex)

You roll twice while making a Deception check to Pick Pocket and take the better result. You must possess one of the following to select this talent: the Deceitful feat, the Legerdemain skill specialty.

Quicker than the Eye (Ex)

With this talent, you can retrieve non-bulky easy-to-reach items, such as potions, scrolls, or alchemical items, as easily as you can draw a light or one-handed weapon. This allows you to combine drawing such an item with a charge or regular move.

If you also have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, then when drawing weapons, you can instead draw two such items or draw one such item and a light or one-handed weapon.

If you also have the Quick Draw feat, you can draw a hidden item or hidden weapon as a swift action and can draw alchemical items, potions, scrolls, and wands as a free action, allowing you to throw alchemical items
at your full rate of attacks.

In all these cases, drawing these items or weapons doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity.

Rapid Scrutiny (Ex)

You can search a creature, object, or area more quickly than normal. If your Perception check would normally require a full-round action or less, you may make it one step shorter along the following progression: full-round action, standard action, move action, swift action, immediate action. This decrease has no effect on Perception checks that are attempted as free actions or Perception checks that don’t require an action. You can always take 10 on Perception checks, even if even if this is not normally allowed.

Seamless Facade (Ex)

When disguising yourself as a different race or size category, you can use this talent to reduce each of the penalties by 2. For example, if a female rogue disguises herself as a male two age categories older than herself, she would take a –2 to the check instead of a –6.

You also reduce the amount of time it takes to create a disguise. The time needed to alter your appearance in this manner is based on the complexity of the disguise, as noted on the following table. The times are cumulative, so if the example female rogue wants to disguise herself as a male of a different race, this takes 2 minutes.

Shadow Speech (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

As a swift action, you can throw your voice through the shadows as if using the spell ventriloquism. You can use this talent for up to 1 minute per activation. Each use of this talent costs 1 ki.

Slow Metabolism (Ex)

You have a slower-than-normal metabolism. You can hold your breath for twice as long as normal before needing to make Constitution checks (four times your Constitution score). In addition, whenever you are 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 “1/2 rounds for 12 rounds.”

Slow Reactions* (Ex)

Opponents damaged by your sneak attack can’t make attacks of opportunity for 1 round.

Smoke Bomb (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

You spend 1 ki as a swift action to condense shadow into a ball of darkness. This creates an item which functions exactly like a smokestick, which you can ignite simply by willing it as a free action. You can throw the smoke bomb as throwing a splash weapon.

Stealthy Sniper (Ex)

When you act in the surprise round, you may treat your initiative roll as a natural 20 for the surprise round, regardless of your actual initiative roll, but you can only make an attack with a ranged weapon. Your normal initiative roll is used in subsequent rounds.

When you use the Stealth skill to snipe, you reduce the penalty on the Stealth check by 5. At 10th level, you reduce this penalty by 10.

Strong Swimmer (Ex)

You roll twice while making Athletics checks to swim and take the better result. You can also hold your breath for twice as long before you risk drowning.

Sudden Disguise (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

As a swift action, you can spend 1 ki to change your appearance for 1 minute per cultivator level. This ability functions as disguise self.

Wall Climber (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

You can spend 1 ki as a free action to wrap sticky shadows around your limbs to gain a climb speed of 20 feet for 1 round. If you are still climbing, you can spend 1 ki at the start of your turn to maintain this talent without risk of falling.

4th-Level Ninja

Brutal Beating* (Ex)

Whenever you use this talent to deal sneak attack damage, you also make the target sickened for one round. This talent does not stack with itself.

Coiled Serpent, Striking Dragon (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

As an immediate action, you may spend 2 ki at the start of combat to gain a +4 bonus to your inititive check and begin combat without being flat-footed before your turn. You may act in the surprise round (if any), even if you normally could not. This is an exception to the rule that you can’t use immediate actions while flat-footed.

Cunning Trapsmith (Ex)

You gain the Trapmaking (least) ability of the artificer class using your ninja level as your artificer level. You must have 4 ranks in Engineering to select this talent.

You can gain this ability once for every 4 ranks you possess in the Engineering skill. Each time you do, you advance the strength of trap you can use. You can take this ability a second time at 8 ranks to gain access to Lesser traps, a third time at 12 ranks for Moderate traps, Improved traps at 16 ranks by taking this talent a fourth time, and Greater traps at 20 ranks after taking this talent five times.

Deadly Range (Ex)

This talent increases your precision range by 10 feet for every 3 ninja levels you possess. When making ranged sneak attacks, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus on each sneak attack damage die.

Distracting Shadows (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

Wrapping yourself in shadow grants you concealment as blur. This is a standard action that costs 4 ki and lasts for a number of rounds equal to your cultivator level.

Hard to Fool (Ex)

With this talent, you roll twice while making Insight checks and take the better result. You must possess one of the following to select this talent: the Insightful feat, the Jaded Discernment skill specialty.

Ki Bomb (Su) [Ki, Fire]

You can invest a portion of your ki into a single thrown weapon, such as a shuriken, and throw it as a standard action. The thrown weapon explodes on impact in a 5-foot burst, dealing 1d6 points of fire damage plus 1d6 points of fire damage for every four cultivator levels you possess above 2nd, to a maximum 4d6 at 18th level. Creatures caught in the blast receive a Reflex save for half damage. If the thrown weapon hits a creature, that creature takes a –2 penalty on the saving throw. If the thrown weapon misses, treat it as a thrown splash weapon. Using this ability expends 2 ki points from your ki pool.

Ki Disruption* (Su)

With this trick, you can strike points on a target’s meridians to disrupt ki flow and prevent a creature from using its ki. Whenever you deal sneak attack damage, the target must make a Will save or immediately lose a number ki points equal to the number of sneak attack dice damage you deal. So, if you deal 4d6 sneak attack damage, the target loses 4 ki points.

Ki Talent

You gain a single ki talent. You must meet the prerequisites for the ki talent you select. You may gain this ninja talent multiple times.

Ledge Runner (Ex)

This ability allows you to climb and move about the rooftops more easily. When determining the DC for an Athletics check to climb, you ignore the Wet or slippery condition and are no longer flat-footed while climbing.

In addition, you reduce the climb DC by 5 when moving at half speed and by 10 when moving at quarter speed.

Finally, when you attempt to catch yourself while falling, you reduce the penalty to the skill check by 10.

Masterful Strike (Ex)

You can apply up to two talents to your sneak attack that add effects which are normally limited to one talent per individual sneak attack. These talents are marked with an asterisk (*). At 10th level, you can apply up to three such talents to each sneak attack.

Poison Bomb (Ex)

Whenever you throw a smoke bomb, you can decide to include 1 dose of any inhaled poison you possess. This poison affects all creatures in the smoke and lasts as long as the smoke lasts. You must pay for the poison normally. You must possess the smoke bomb ninja talent to select this talent.

Quick Disable (Ex)

With this ability, you take only half the normal amount of time to disable mechanical devices, including traps, using the Engineering skill. You can attempt to open a lock, that would normally require a full-round action, as a move action and can take 10 on Engineering checks, even if even if this is not normally allowed.

Shadow Clone (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

You can create shadowy duplicates of yourself that conceal your true location. This ability functions as throw ectoform, using your cultivator level as your caster level. Activating this talent costs 3 ki points and creates a single shadow clone. Each time you create a new shadow clone while this talent remains active costs 1 additional ki to create but requires no action.

Swift Poison (Ex)

You can apply poison to a weapon as a move action or a swift action. You must have the poison use ability or be immune to poison before selecting this talent.

Vanishing Trick (Su) [Ki, Shadow]

You weave shadows around yourself, disappearing from sight. As a swift action, you can spend 2 ki to disappear for 1 round. When you activate this talent, you can spend additional ki to extend the duration by 1 round for each additional ki you spend, to a maximum number of rounds equal to your cultivator level. This ability functions as invisibility, and this talent ends if you attack or perform any action that would end the invisibility spell.

6th-Level Ninja

Agonizing Attack* (Ex)

When you use this talent to deal sneak attack damage, all damage from the attack is considered continuous damage for the purposes of any concentration checks made by the damaged creature prior to the beginning of your next turn. This talent does not stack with itself, a creature damaged by multiple agonizing strikes in a round only needs to make a single concentration check against the continuous damage from the sneak attack that dealt the most damage.

Flurry of Stars (Ex) [Ki, Metal]

With this ability, you can expend 1 ki point from your ki pool as a swift action before you make a full-attack with shuriken. During that attack, you can throw two additional shuriken at your highest attack bonus, but all of your shuriken attacks are made at a –2 penalty, including the two extra attacks.

You may use this talent with a standard action attack rather than a full-attack. If you do, you throw only one additional shuriken. The attack penalty still applies.

Honeyed Words (Ex)

With this talent, you can roll twice while making a Deception check to bluff and take the better result. You must choose to use this talent before making the skill check. You can use this ability once per creature per day plus one additional time per creature per day for every five rogue levels you possess.

You can use this ability when making a Deception check against a group of creatures. However, if you have already expended all your uses per day of this ability for specific creatures in the group, you roll the two checks sequentially, using the first result for those specific creatures and using the better result for the rest of the group.

You must possess one of the following to select this talent: the Deceitful feat, the Legerdemain skill specialty, the Smatterings skill specialty.

Lasting Poison (Ex)

You can apply poison to a weapon in such a way that it remains poisoned for a number of strikes equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 2). You must have the poison use ability or be immune to poison before selecting this talent.

Menacing Demeanor (Ex)

With this talent, you can roll twice while making an Intimidate check and take the better result. You must choose to use this talent before making the skill check. You can use this ability once per creature per day plus one additional time per creature per day for every five rogue levels you possess.

You can use this ability when making an Intimidate check against a group of creatures. However, if you have already expended all your uses per day of this ability for specific creatures in the group, you roll the two checks sequentially, using the first result for those specific creatures and using the better result for the rest of the group.

You must possess one of the following to select this talent: the Intimidating feat, the Believable Threat skill specialty.

Positioning Strike (Ex)

When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can make a reposition combat maneuver against that creature. If the attack is also a sneak attack, then you gain a bonus on the combat maneuver check equal to the number of sneak attack damage dice dealt. This combat maneuver does not provoke an attack of opportunity. You can use this ability once per creature per day.

Silencing Attack* (Ex)

When you deal sneak attack damage, the target is rendered mute for 1 round. A successful Fortitude save negates this effect. A mute creature cannot speak, use language-dependent effects, use verbal spell components, or use command words.

Slippery Mind (Ex)

With this talent, you can wriggle free from that which would otherwise control or compel you. If you are affected by a mind-affecting spell or effect and fail your saving throw, you can attempt it again at the start of your next turn at the same DC. This ability only gives you one extra chance from to succeed on your saving throw against each mind-affecting effect.

8th-Level Ninja

Artful Dodger (Ex)

With this talent, you add your Charisma modifier (if positive) as a bonus to your AC against attacks of opportunity.

Ambush Assailant (Ex)

If you attacks after successfully using Stealth against a creature, that creature is considered flat-footed against all attacks you make until the beginning of the target’s next turn. Creatures with uncanny dodge are immune to this ability. You must possess one of the following to select this talent: the Stealthy feat, the Imperceptible skill specialty, the Without a Trace skill specialty.

Deadly Cocktail (Ex)

With this talent, you can apply two doses of poison to a weapon at once. These can be separate poisons, in which case they both affect the target individually, or two doses of the same toxin, in which case the poisons’ frequency is extended by 50% and the save DC increases by +2. This talent is an exception to the rule that injury poisons can only be delivered one dose at a time. You must have the poison use ability or be immune to poison before selecting this talent.

Feat Training

When you select this talent, you gain a bonus feat of your choice. You must meet the prerequisites for the chosen feat. You can select this talent multiple times.

Redirect Attack (Ex)

When you are hit with a melee attack, you can redirect the attack to strike at an adjacent creature. The creature targeted must be within melee reach of the attack that hit you. The creature that made the attack against you must make a new attack roll against the new target. You cannot use this talent against the same opponent’s attack or against the attack of any creature who observed the redirection for the next 24 hours.

Skill Mastery

You become so confident in the use of certain skills that you can use them reliably even under adverse conditions. Upon gaining this ability, select a number of skills equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 3). When making a skill check with one of these skills, you may take 10 even if this is not normally allowed. You may gain this special ability multiple times, selecting additional skills for skill mastery to apply to each time.

Sniper’s Eye (Ex)

When you make a ranged against an opponent that is threatened by at least two allies, you gain flanking bonuses for the ranged attack as if you were flanking the enemy in melee and deal sneak attack damage with the attack if your target is within your precision range. Creatures with improved uncanny dodge are immune to this, unless you have enough rogue levels to be able to flank the target in melee.

When making ranged sneak attacks, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus on each sneak attack damage die. This circumstance bonus stacks with the circumstance bonus from the deadly range talent.

Superlative Stealth (Ex)

Upon gaining this talent, select two of the following senses: blindsense, blindsight, scent, or tremorsense. (You must select blindsense before selecting blindsight.) A creature using the chosen senses can’t automatically detect you and must succeed at Perception checks as normal to do so.

You must possess one of the following to select this talent: the Stealthy feat, the Imperceptible skill specialty, the Without a Trace skill specialty. You can take this talent up to two times, each time choosing two different senses.

10th-Level Rogue

Adaptive Assailant (Ex)

Once per round, you can declare your space and one adjacent square as the origin of your attacks until your next turn (allowing you to use one or both of these squares to determine whether you or allies are flanking an opponent). At 15th level, you count an additional adjacent square for this purpose.

Another Day (Ex)

Once per day, when you would be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by a melee attack, you can take a 5-foot step as an immediate action. If the movement takes you out of the reach of the attack, you takes no damage from the attack.

At 15th level and 20th level, you can use this talent one additional time per day (to a maximum of 3 uses per day).

Assassinate* (Ex)

With this talent, you can instantly slay foes that are unable to defend themselves. To attempt to assassinate a target, you must first study your target for 1 round as a standard action. On the following round, if you make a sneak attack against the target and the target is flat-footed, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly killing the target. This attempt automatically fails if the target recognizes you as an enemy.

If the sneak attack is successful and the target of this attack fails a Fortitude save, it dies. If the save is successful, the target still takes the sneak attack damage as normal, but it becomes immune to your assassinate ability for 1 day.

Blindsense (Ex)

This talent grants you blindsense to a range of 30 feet. You must have the Blind-Fight feat before selecting this talent.

Consummate Avoidance (Ex)

When you are targeted by a melee or ranged attack, you can spend an immediate action to make an Acrobatics check. You can use the result as your AC or touch AC against that attack, but you must be aware of the attack and not flat-footed. You must possess one of the following to select this talent: the Acrobatic feat, the Graceful Acrobat skill specialty.

Crippling Strike* (Ex)

You can use this talent to sneak attack opponents with such precision that your blows weaken and hamper them. An opponent damaged by your sneak attack also takes 2 points of Strength or Dexterity damage, decided by you.

Defensive Roll (Ex)

You can roll with a potentially lethal blow to take less damage from it than you otherwise would. When you would be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by damage in combat (from a weapon or other blow, not a spell or special ability), you can attempt to roll with the damage.

To use this ability, you must attempt a Reflex saving throw (DC = damage dealt). If the save succeeds, you takes only half damage from the blow; if it fails, you take full damage.

You must be aware of the attack and able to react to it in order to execute your defensive roll—if you are flat-footed against the attack, you can’t use this ability. Since this effect would not normally allow a character to make a Reflex save for half damage, your evasion or improved evasion do not apply to the defensive roll.

At 15th level, you now take only one quarter damage on a successful save and half damage on a failed save.

Opportunist (Ex)

You can make an attack of opportunity against an opponent who has just been struck for damage in melee by another character. This attack counts as an attack of opportunity for that round and can’t be used more than once per round.

12th-Level Rogue

Blindsight (Ex)

This talent grants you blindsight to a range of 60 feet. You must have blindsense to a range of at
least 30 feet before selecting this talent.

Eviscerating Attack* (Ex)

When you damage an opponent with a sneak attack while using this talent, the opponent takes 1 point of Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution bleed damage, decided by you.

At 16th level, this ability bleed damage increases to 2 points.

You must have the Bleeding Attack talent before selecting this talent.

Hide in Plain Sight (Ex)

You become a master of disappearance. You can use the Stealth skill to hide even while being observed. You must possess one of the following to select this talent: the Stealthy feat, the Imperceptible skill specialty, the Without a Trace skill specialty.