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Old 04-20-2020, 09:19 PM   #1
clu2415
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Default Building an ISWAT Ninja

I’m starting a 600 point ISWAT game. One player is totally new to GURPS and wants to play a ninja. I don’t have a lot of experience building powers or dodgy characters, so I’m a bit lost. Here’s a wish list I got from him. My comments are in parentheses.

Quote:
I want a ridiculous video game pop culture ninja who is more deadly and extreme than is ever necessary. It’s not enough to be a good “ninja” I also have to be an angsty scarred veteran who wails on an electric guitar on rooftops before battles with mutant chickens from mars.

So, things I want;
—stealth ability, sneak, infiltrate, disguise, observation, stalking, all the way up to Invisibility Art (This is pretty easy. Some talents to invest in or possibly wildcard skill(s))
-fighting prowess with all stereotypical ninja weapons and style, perhaps a True Art or Wildcard style, I dunno
-I really liked the idea of throwing Shurikens into eyeballs and plucking out eyeballs as GURPS: Martial Arts describes techniques (Signature move with targeted attack technique)
-I want a ridiculous sharp magic sword of my ancestors (Signature Gear? Dungeon Fantasy has a Dismemberment enchantment.)
-I need constant smoke bombs and shurikens (Gizmos, or maybe a cornucopia magic item)
-I want a version of the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique or dim mak or whatever, a killing pressure point
-I want to be super fast, like move as a blur and run up walls and on water fast
-an escape or duplication power; possibly teleporting ten yards and leaving an illusion behind, maybe Duplication with Construct, but with a time limit and 1 hp
This campaign will be mildly cinematic; 1-2 wildcard skills and 2 levels of enhanced defense.
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Old 04-20-2020, 10:43 PM   #2
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: Building an ISWAT Ninja

600 CP is really, really high for a new player. I would personally go for the cinematic ninja because it would be simplest. I would give them ST 12, DX 20, IQ 12, HT 20, Basic Speed 12.00, Basic Move 15, Combat Reflexes, and Trained by a Master (burning 460 CP right there). After that, you just have to spend the remaining 140 CP (plus any from negative traits). I would suggest a couple of Style! Wildcards.
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Old 04-21-2020, 03:00 AM   #3
Balor Patch
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Default Re: Building an ISWAT Ninja

DF12 Ninja has a 250 point template and various power ups, including a Ninja! wildcard skill.
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Old 04-21-2020, 07:26 AM   #4
ericthered
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Default Re: Building an ISWAT Ninja

A lot of what he wants is gear: are you more comfortable saying that specific gear systems are available, or would you be more comfortable buying magical family heirloom swords with CP and gadget limitations?


A note on the sword: you'll want an armor divisor as well as high damage in most cases.


For the killing palm, or whatever, you have two routes you can go with. one is simple pressure secrets (the skill, page 215 of basic). Its simple enough, but its mostly just a damage multiplier. Pressure points also works for that. You can also build it as an affliction: (heart attack +300%, Melee C -30%)


For the unusual movement, there is a set of movement powers that will work. For blurred movement, if the idea is travel, I'd do a limited version of warp (accessibility: only to unobstructed places, accessibility: only to places I can run or climb to, limited range, 100 yards), maybe with reliable added so he can warp at a moments notice. Clinging and walk on liquid are both something he may want as well.



If he's just moving quickly while staying in place, but is "A blur", that's obscure.


For leaving an illusiory double, I'd grab the illusion advantage from powers, and give it a really high limitation for only being good for the one trick, then link it to warp.
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Old 04-21-2020, 04:22 PM   #5
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: Building an ISWAT Ninja

Quote:
Originally Posted by clu2415 View Post
I need constant smoke bombs and shurikens (Gizmos, or maybe a cornucopia magic item)
An alternative option is Consumable Signature Gear, which I think is from Supers. I don't have that book, but from memory I believe it's something like you get 1/5th the worth of Signature Gear, but the items in it automatically refill every session. If the campaign TL is 8, and the character has Average Wealth, 1 point of Signature Gear is typically worth $10,000 worth of gear; even cutting that down to $2,000 for being consumable, that should buy a lot of shuriken and smoke bombs. Note if he doesn't want to have to carry the stuff around, a Cosmic Payload (basically hammerspace) should work; alternatively, you could just give him an appropriate Innate Attack (for the shuriken) and Obscure (for the smoke bombs), and flavor it as him throwing shuriken and smoke bombs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by clu2415 View Post
I want a version of the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique or dim mak or whatever, a killing pressure point
Affliction (Heart Attack) can work, but is kind of underwhelming for the cost. A melee crushing Innate Attack with Side Effect: Heart Attack can get you more bang for your buck, and honestly a lot of depictions of a "Death Touch" involve a fairly strong strike that does damage on its own (Kenshiro's strikes aren't exactly weak*, and Bill coughed up blood after the Bride hit him with it**). Alternatively, you can get nasty with it; I worked up a technique for the joke-super One Trick Pony where a strike from her horn caused the target's blood to basically turn into blades and tear them up from the inside; I made a more general form in the Killer Abilities Thread. For proper "Omae wa mou shindeiru" action, give it a Delay - or better yet, to mimic That Other Game's Quivering Palm ability, give it Delay (Triggered), so the ninja can strike a few people with it, then snap his fingers and watch them all collapse.

*One of the few parts of Fist of the North Star I've actually watched was a movie where a female doctor knew some of the pressure points from Ken's style. She tried to use them to kill the antagonist, but wasn't able to strike hard enough to get past the virtual armor his muscles granted him.
**I don't feel that saying a movie called Kill Bill has Bill dying at the end counts as a spoiler, really.

Quote:
Originally Posted by clu2415 View Post
This campaign will be mildly cinematic
Unless you're working under a different definition of "mildly cinematic" than me, there may be a bit of an issue between you and the player; he pretty clearly wants a ridiculously cinematic ninja character, so you'll need to ask yourself if the character and campaign are really going to match up well. Disconnects between the expectations of the players and GM can pretty readily ruin a campaign if you aren't careful.
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