[martinl]

Gninja Assassin

Mundane...ish Gnome

Short, black clad, and deadly, gninja assassins are are consummate martial artists [1], intrusion specialists, and murderers for hire. If someone sicks a gninja on you, they really want you to die. As most delvers steer clear of mundane politics, this probably means someone from a dungeon that they failed to clear, a client they stiffed for a particularly valuable prize, or (horrors) an escort mission involving someone who thinks of themselves as “important” and delvers as “expendable.” In any case, even if the gninja's hands are empty, the PCs hands will be full.

Gninjas come from a exotic, far away land in the mysterious Down, where they learn their esoteric combat arts competing in ceremonial combat using bare hands, thrown sticks, and irregularly shaped balls. Recently, their homeland has been involved in a terrible war with a race of implacable bird creatures, and the gninjas' countrymen are losing. Attempts to use these finely trained assassins in the war proved disastrous, so they instead have sent them to faraway lands to gather gold doing what they do best so that it can be used to buy men and material more suited for open field gnome-on-therapod combat.

When not dressed in assassination gear, gninja are not distinguishable from more local gnomish folk, but their accent is unmistakable once someone has been exposed to it. They tend to be taciturn as a result, as they make folks nervous. Nonetheless, they are as fond of the pub as any gnome, perhaps fonder. Larger towns may have “gninja dens” catering mainly to this clientele.

ST: 11
DX: 16
IQ: 11
HT: 12

HP: 11
Will: 11 (Mental Strength 15)
Per: 12
FP: 15
Speed: 7
Move: 7

SM: -1

Dodge: 11
Parry: 13 (May parry missile weapons)

DR: 2 (komodo dragon skin)

Attacks: (note they have extra attack 1)
Gnunchaku (18): 2d+4 cr. Reach 1. (3d+7 from ambush)
Punch (18): 1d+3 cr. Reach C. (2d+5 from ambush)
Kick (18): 1d+4 cr. Reach C,1. (2d+6 from ambush) Roll to stay up is 20.
Natural attacks count as weapons.
Boomerang (18): 2d+3 cr. Acc2. Range 78/130. Many are hollow - only 2d-2 damage, range is 52/91, but these burst as a nagteppo or grenade on impact. (Blinding powder, flash, glue, and smoke are all possible. Sometimes they contain small swarms of extremely poisonous spiders (only 5 HP, but 2d-1 tox. damage).)
Mini Razor Boomerang (18): 1d cut. Acc 1. Range 7/13. Poisoned (at a minimum) with monster Drool – roll vs HT or 2 tox. damage, but more deadly poisons are probable, especially for the target of the assassination. Treat as shuriken for holdout, etc.

Traits: Alcohol Tolerance; Bad Temper; Callous; Chi Talent 2; Code of Honor (Gninja); Disciplines of Faith (Chi Rituals [2]); Combat Reflexes; Expert Backstabbing 6; Extra Attack 1; Honest Face; Nightvision 5; Resistant to Poison 8; Spider Climb; Social Stigma (Minority Group); Trained by a Master; Weapon Master (Gninja weapons and bare hands); Widget Worker 2

Skills: Acrobatics – 15; Blind Fighting – 12; Climbing – 18; Disguise - 16; Escape – 16; Fast Draw (Boomerang) – 17; Flail – 18; Forced Entry – 18; Judo – 14; Jumping – 16; Karate – 18; Light Walk - 16; Lockpicking – 15; Mental Strength 15; Parry Missile Weapons – 18; Stealth - 20 (May hide at the beginning of a battle like a Thief); Thrown Weapon (Boomerang) – 18; Traps 15.

Class: Mundane...ish.

Notes:
Normally gninja will attack the desired target from ambush for a single round and then run. A good plan to kill quickly and a better plan to escape safely should be assumed. Gninjas may have almost any weapon or piece of spy gear and the skill to use it if it gets the job done. They are not against bribing folks who aren't the target, attacking folks in the bog, or joining a delving group as a “perfectly reg'lar gnomish monk mate” in order to assassinate a particular dungeon critter. Care should generally be taken to not arbitrarily kill PCs without recourse, but an encounter with a gninja out to get you should be brutal, and trying to stop one from killing someone else is a serious challenge.

Really rich or influential employers have been known to employ batches of gninja to attack in waves. Gninjas that attack in groups will probably be a little weaker than the stats given here, but will gain one level of Higher Purpose (avenge my comrades) per 1/3 of the group killed, with the final gninja having a full 3 levels.

PC gninja are possible. Use a gnome with the Monk template and access to the Thief template's goodies if your GM allows. (Or if you play GURPS DF, get thee hence to WH23 and buy the supplement.)

[1] Also marital artists. Or so they claim.
[2] Chi rations include charred bugs [3], giant rabbit jerky [3], brewery scrapings on toast [3], and diluted goat urine [3].
[3] If asked, these are described as “not great, but close enough mate.”

In closing, I'd like to apologize to the entire continent of Australia. Pleeeease don't assassinate me!