Cyber Ninja Villan

[Mystic G.M.]

I have been throwing ninja at my players lately and have come up against two problems

1. they are severly under tech( the ninja)

2. and as a consequence of 1 i send several (ok 20 against 5 heros) at them at once unfortunatly overwelming them(partly player role play at falt. example: we split up some stay here and the others walk into the waiting ambush)

i dont want to over tech the ninja because my players are still fleglings in my world but i would like to get out of the T.M.N.T. sentament of throwing 50 foot ninja at them. any help wold be apreciated

Mystic G.M.

[Vanguard]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

So what's stopping you from beefing up your ninja's a bit?

[Mystic G.M.]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

So what's stopping you from beefing up your ninja's a bit?

 

 

 

The problem for me is how much should i beef them up I want them to be somewhat traditional ninjas

[Vanguard]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

Well, if you sent 20 of them afterr 5 of your heros, that's 4:1. I'm assuming that the fight should've been relatively even if they hadn't split up.

 

If that's the case, then I think you might be right on the money with them and only might need to increase their CV's, attacks and defenses a wee bit so that they could stand a chance against all of the team if they were together.

 

Also, "traditional" ninja are credit with phenomenal abilities in certain areas and so you probably wouldn't be going to over board increasing their abilities to the point where you could have a 2:1 ratio and still make it a challenge for your players.

 

Aslo, I wouldn't be too hard on youself for the team splitting up. Cardnal rule of gaming: Never Adventure Alone. Break this rule at your own risk.

[Mystic G.M.]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

let me get a little bit deaper into the senario. my players (this was injenious if i do say so myself) used a flair gun as a flash attack as a first reaction to the ninjas blinding half of them right off the bat

 

 

so what i did to beef them up was to give them some flash defence some armor and beefed up there stun, pd and ed 14pd 14 ed 5 resistant

 

dose that sound about right

[Vanguard]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

Just eye balling, it yeah looks like it could be ok.

 

I don't think I would've let a flare gun blind that many of them, maybe one or to of them but it's not that big of an AoE . .

 

In any case, what I would do is use the values you have there and run with it, if you see that they're too tough, start shaving some Stun of their totals or something like that to keep the fight even and seat-of-the-pants but not where you're going to mulch your players. If it's the other way, maybe have a fresh team come in near the end of the fight with slightly higher defenses as reinforcements.

 

Question, are there any killing attacks being thrown around and are you using the Stun Lotto?

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

There was a very bad Japanese movie called Cyber Ninja which illustrated how a high-tech mostly-android ninja might operate. (of course, part of the reason it seemed bad was a clueless dub).

 

Remember -- the main point of a Ninja isn't to fight or kill; a true Ninja is feared because he tends to show up in places he couldn't possibly be and get out of predicaments no human being can escape. If he is deadly, so much the better, but the role of the feudal Ninja was as a scout or spy, usually not as an assassin -- and any assassination he undertook was almost always a suicide mission.

 

So these guys who gang up on your PCs 4:1 are probably "rookie", trainee ninjas. The true Ninja masters are much more dangerous, more so because they take subtlety to previously-unimagined levels. The goon-level ninjas are a distraction while the leader of the mission does the job assigned to him.

 

Ninjas blend into the background -- physically but more importantly socially. In feudal times a daimyo would not allow any known ninjas to live in their lands who did not work for them, and being a known ninja carried an automatic death sentence. so, to survive, ninjas took other trades and carried them out as well as a tradesman who had been at it their entire lives. They would reveal their secret profession only to their most trusted friends and relatives. This made them superb "sleeper agents", able to be in the "target" city for decades at a time until their true skills were required. This means for modern campaigns that anyone could be a ninja master -- from the Comic Book Geek to the local pastor's wife to the city's most prominent industrialist. And being big and seemingly out-of-shape is no barrier; what looks like fat is actually muscle.

[Mystic G.M.]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

Just eye balling, it yeah looks like it could be ok.

 

I don't think I would've let a flare gun blind that many of them, maybe one or to of them but it's not that big of an AoE . .

 

Question, are there any killing attacks being thrown around and are you using the Stun Lotto?

 

i havent seen a proper writup for a flare gun so what is an apropreate AoE

 

and yes players are shooting guns and no ninjas are not useing killing attacks

 

 

So these guys who gang up on your PCs 4:1 are probably "rookie", trainee ninjas. The true Ninja masters are much more dangerous, more so because they take subtlety to previously-unimagined levels. The goon-level ninjas are a distraction while the leader of the mission does the job assigned to him.

 

yes these guys were just to test the ninja waters as it where and to mesure the players ability.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

i haven't seen a proper writeup for a flare gun so what is an appropriate AoE

 

and yes players are shooting guns and no ninjas are not useing killing attacks

 

 

yes these guys were just to test the ninja waters as it where and to measure the players ability.

 

I hope your players become familiar with the concept of "appropriate levels of force". After all, it is generally considered bad form to tilt a fistfight's odds in your favor by whipping out your Uzis.

[Vanguard]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

i havent seen a proper writup for a flare gun so what is an apropreate AoE

 

and yes players are shooting guns and no ninjas are not useing killing attacks

 

 

yes these guys were just to test the ninja waters as it where and to mesure the players ability.

 

Well, if you guys are using guns, and I'm assuming the ones in the DC book then 5 RPD should be decent enough to shrug off the lesser caliber rounds, especially if you're using hit locations.

 

As Michael Hopcroft pointed out, these guys could be the "trainee goober ninjas" and you can slowly adjust the power levels of the other ninjas that your PC's face as get a better idea of how things are working out.

 

If your PC's are using killing attacks, I wouldn't hesitate to have some of your guys in the black pajama's bust out with the Katana's and Ninjatos as well. Fight fire with fire and I'm sure after a few lucky hits they'll get the points that escalating a combat isn't that good of an idea.

[Shaft]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

The cool things about swarming ninjas for a GM is that among the multitude of Chuck Dumbos that you throw at the PCs, you can slip in a Chuck Dumbo with extra cheese. And the best part is since ninjas all look the same, the players can't tell who the ninjas with an extra 50 pts are.

 

If you plan on using ninjas a lot, get the Ultimate Martial Artist. Buy them powers and find the appropriate special effects for them.

 

Have them coordinate attacks. A Dex 14 ninja with 2 levels in HtH and a maneuver that gives him +1 to hit has an OCV of 8, but a few of them acting together can get better bonuses by causing the players DCVs to drop.

 

Use the environment. If your ninjas have nightvision (mystic or tech) or combat sense, then having the lights go out is a good tactic for them. Smoke bombs, flash powder (or a fistful of sand), and nerve strikes against the eyes all make effective flash attacks.

 

According to the Tick, Ninjas can breathe underwater (and install telephones!). That may not be the case in your game, but if you spend 1 pt on life support: extended breathing (expend 1 end per turn instead of 1 end per phase), that means they can use NND gas attacks and not be affected by them.

 

Environmental movement is also a cool power for ninjas to have. If they ninjas rig the area to get flooded to the waist with water because they can move through it (while hokding their breath effortlessly), that changes the rules for them (it also nullifies the players' guns).

 

If guns are a problem, the ranged disarm is a great way to force HtH. A thrown ninja star does minimal damage (though it is killing), but it can be a very effective tool for knocking a pistol out of a PCs hands, or lodging it in a firing mechanism, forcing the player to either discard the weapon or spend a few actions unjamming it. (The Autofire advantage on thrown shuriken is a good way to get the players to respent a ninja star a litle more too).

 

Thrown bolas or nets are a good way to entangle PCs, lowering their DCV and forcing them to spend actions to escape.

 

Rapid attack skills are also a good way to let your ninjas get more actions in without raising their SPD to unreasonable levels.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

According to the Tick, Ninjas can breathe underwater (and install telephones!). That may not be the case in your game, but if you spend 1 pt on life support: extended breathing (expend 1 end per turn instead of 1 end per phase), that means they can use NND gas attacks and not be affected by them.

 

Batmanuel thought they bounced until it was proven they didn't.

[Pattern Ghost]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

You could send Tsunade after them:

 

 

But she may be a bit too much of a brick.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

Or Shinobu-chan. She wouldn't kick their tails, but she might make them feel ad about ninja-exterminating.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

How about a few "techno-ninja" weapons?

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

Falcon Bow: Although it resembles a powerful modern repeating crossbow, the Falcon Bow is an even more sophisticated weapon. The bow and quarrels are made of composite materials which dampen the sounds of its use, and contain an active targeting and guidance system which, once locked onto a target, adjusts the quarrel's flight path to it. Together they make the Falcon Bow an exceptional sniping weapon.

 

The quarrels are fitted with either an armor-piercing head, or a fragmentation warhead. Users will often carry one clip of each type of ammunition which they can interchange as needed (with GM's permission).

 

RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing or Explosion (+1/2), No Range Modifier (+1/2), Invisible Power Effects (Hearing Sense Group; +1/4) (67 Active Points); OAF (-1), 2 Clips of 8 Charges Each (-1/4). Total Cost: 30 points.

 

 

Lightning Lash: This vicious weapon consists of a short (1 meter) length of supple metal cable attached to a heavy stock containing the power source, with a protective basket hilt. When swung at an opponent the cable releases an electrical charge on contact, at a frequency optimized to disrupt the target's nervous system. The result is violent and painful muscle spasms which tear the victim's tissues, and result in death after prolonged or repeated exposure.

 

A single charge will continue to affect a victim for several seconds, looking like tendrils of electricity writhing over his body. The charge can be dissipated by grounding the target with any conductor, such as a cable or metal pole.

 

Energy RKA 1d6, AVLD Does BODY Damage (defense is Power Defense or ED Force Field; +2 1/2), Continuous (+1), 16 Continuing Charges Lasting 1 Turn Each (+1/2) (75 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-1/2). Total Cost: 30 points.

 

(Non-Lethal Variant: Remove the "Does BODY Damage" part of the AVLD Advantage, and substitute "+4 STUN Multiplier.")

 

 

Singing Stars: These shuriken-like throwing weapons contain small but powerful motors which give the stars tremendous rotational velocity, greatly enhancing their effective range and allowing them to penetrate most forms of protective armor. The motors produce a high-pitched whine which inspired the weapon's name.

 

Singing Stars come in two varieties. Small stars (about 3" in diameter) can be hurled up to three at once, at one or multiple targets. Large stars (4" across) have variable gyroscopic stabilizers allowing for "trick throws," such as over or around barriers or even arcing back to strike targets from behind.

 

Small Stars: RKA 2d6, Penetrating (+1/2), Autofire (3 shots; +1/4), 24 Charges (+1/4) (60 Active Points); OAF (-1). Total cost: 30 points.

 

Large Stars: RKA 2d6, Penetrating (+1/2), Indirect (always originates with character, but can attack from any angle; +1/2), 16 Charges (+0) (60 Active Points); OAF (-1). Total cost: 30 points.

 

(Non-Lethal Variant: Change the RKA to 6d6 Normal Damage, and Penetrating to Armor Piercing. These could be blunt-edged throwing discs - "Dirge Discs?" )

 

 

Thunder Sticks: Resembling bulky nunchakus, these weapons are wielded in a similar manner. However, the damage the Thunder Sticks do is the product of a series of shaped charges which detonate on impact with a solid object, in a powerful, deafening but tightly-focussed blast.

 

HKA 2d6, +4 Stun Multiplier (+1), 16 Charges (+0) (60 Active Points); OAF (-1), No STR Bonus (-1/2) (total cost: 24 points) plus Hearing Group Flash 5d6, 16 Charges (+0) (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range (-1/2) (total cost: 6 points). Total cost: 30 points.

 

Note: GMs who want a weapon with heavy stopping power can eliminate the Flash component and give the weapon a straight +6 STUN Multiplier for the same Active and Real Points.

 

(Non-Lethal Variant: Change the HKA and STUN Multiplier to a 6d6 Normal Damage Attack, NND [Hearing Sense Group Flash Defense], No Range, making the Thunder Sticks a wholly sonic-based attack.)

 

 

Whispering Sword: A brilliant marriage of modern technology with traditional swordcraft makes this wakizashi-like blade one of the deadliest hand-to-hand weapons known. Forged of advanced alloy, with an edge lazer-honed to near monomolecular thinness, the blade can cut through almost any material. The Whispering Sword's aerodynamic properties are so exceptional that it barely disturbs the air it passes through, making its stroke virtually noiseless.

 

Lightweight and superbly balanced, it's the keenness of the sword's edge, and the skill of its wielder, that determines the blade's damage; mere strength adds little.

 

HKA 2d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Invisible Power Effects (Hearing Sense Group; +1/4), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (75 Active Points); OAF (-1), No STR Bonus (-1/2). Total Cost: 30 points.

[Shaft]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

Batmanuel thought they bounced until it was proven they didn't.

 

I would insist on a re-test!

 

I also submit that pirates bounce.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

I would insist on a re-test!

 

I also submit that pirates bounce.

 

If Phil Foglio draws them, then yes. Almost everything he draws bounces (unless, like most of the female cast of Girl Genius, they spend most of their time in rather, er, tight constraints).

[Mystic G.M.]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

How about a few "techno-ninja" weapons?

 

 

thank you that will definatly even things up and lower the ninja count

 

 

i also think that both pirates and ninja bounce:thumbup:

[Susano]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

I saw going to recommend the 8 Devils of Kimon, but I think they are a bit much for a Dark Champions game.

[Psylint]

Re: Cyber Ninja Villan

 

May I suggest tactics?

 

Really ninja were stealth operators of the highest calibre, they should frequently be acting first as well as getting in some of those + OCV or even 2x Stun Surprise Attacks. You also might want to bump up their stealth to Invisibility (perhaps with bright fringe). Represent their training as a group by giving them Analyze, Tactics, and bonuses to coordinate attacks.

 

And for pity's sake, if you're going to use ninjas give them killing attacks, many of which may be used with their martial arts to bump up the damage. I would also look into using a wider variety of things other than just shuriken and ninja-to's, like caltrops, gun powder flash bulbs, chain weapons (stretching with killing attack is nasty effective).

 

Some classic tactics:

 

Assault the PC's with a small group of ninja who fight a moment or two and then retreat into an ambush prepared by the other 15.

 

Snipe from hiding. It's really hard to hit what you can't see.

 

Kamikazee Wave, have a group of 10 ninja do a running move through, then keep going.

 

Set fire to their hotel, base camp, apartment etc.

 

Steal their gear.

 

Cheers