NRPG Bloodlines and Custom Jutsu

[Pinky]

List any bloodline limits or custom jutsu that you would actually want to use in the game. Keep in mind that there is a main plot being plotted by plotters, and player characters will generally not be as great as the "main" characters in this story. The ranks will indicate the overall performance as being anything from fodder-level (Candidate) up to manga's secondary main characters - Kurenai, Kabuto, Asuma, Neji (Jounin). Mostly only NPC's will be anything like what you'd find in the way of the manga's leading main characters. Also, this tiered ranking system is meant to vary at a rate so that each rank is effectively equal to twice that of the immediately lower level. Excluding changes from Talents/Flaws, Genin are half as powerful/fast/skilled as Chuunin, and one-quarter that of a Jounin. These are only a percentage difference that compares sheer skill, strength, and jutsu limit; in the actual game a Jounin can be effectively better than ten Genin or half a dozen Chuunin.

Being ninjas in wartime, the characters in this game tend to die quickly. And NRPG death is nothing like other certain RPG deaths - when a character dies it doesn't come back. Of course, characters may exist long enough to rise through the "regular" ranks, but characters who do not have plot protection are in mild danger of dying on any mission, particularly when participating in main plot events. If and when some misfortune befalls them, or a player gets tired of their character, then the pre-fixed tiering system permits new characters to be made at any given level.

The rank tiering system was chosen in part to help compliment custom jutsu development. Players are encouraged to make multiple tiers for custom bloodlines and complicated techniques, where it starts with lower rank abilities with one or two "upgrades" that build it into a better version. This is so that newly created/promoted characters will have abilities available to them that are appropriate for their performance level even if they're only using one or two jutsu.

Most special techniques from the manga are so overpowered that they simply can't be available to the general public while other techniques may be usable. (a list of unusable techniques will be made and added to as time goes on) Here are two examples of proper custom techniques: the first is a watered-down advanced bloodline limit and the other is a bastardized version of a family-oriented jutsu, both of which will be available for general use in the game.

Uchiwa Family's Demonic Eye.
A decaying branch family from Konoha's Uchiha. During the rise of Uchiha Madara there was a sect of the family which followed his brother, and after Madara killed him they fought the main family to avenge their lord. Many of them died in the battle, but some survived. Now that Madara has been destroyed they have returned to pay homage to his slayer the Neo Hokage Uchiha Sasuke, and they honor him as their fallen lord reincarnated. However, their numbers were so small that their blood has become too thin to awaken the true Sharingan. Instead, their eyes can only glow with a demonic red tint (3pts, C-rank) which gives them the ability to see the color of chakra in infrared, and (4pts, flawed B-rank) predict movement which increases Skill by 20%, and ultimately (5pts, perfected A-rank) the ability to prevent the effects of C-rank illusions while their eyes are active.

Shadow Affinity.
The Nara clan are the original masters of Shadow Nature Manipulation in Konohagakure, although they only recently began to gain global notoriety due to the exploits of the super-genius tactician Shikamaru. Their natural affinity for Shadow-type Nature Manipulation allows them to turn their very shadows into a weapon. Using Shape Manipulation, the shadow may link with someone else's shadow; then the victim becomes bound to the shinobi and unable to move on their own. The closer the two shinobi are the easier the bind is to maintain; the more targets the binding is split between the weaker it becomes. Lower levels (3pts, C-rank) only cause the victim(s) to mimic the physical movements of the shinobi and the required training improves Skill by 15%; at moderate levels (4pts, flawed B-rank) it allows the shinobi to control the victim(s) independently from their own movements and the shadow becomes strong enough to inflict physical damage at close range; at the high performance levels (5pts, perfected B-rank) the shadow becomes strong enough to raise up off of the ground.

[Pinky]

Physical Nature Manipulation.
The true masters of Physical Nature Manipulaton in Konohagakure are the Akimichi clan; it is a supplementary technique, more Ninjutsu than Taijutsu. This type of Nature Manipulation allows the shinobi to alter their very body, and combined with Shape Manipulation it may cause bizzare and unnatural growing and stretching. The lowest form of Akimichi-style Physical Nature Manipulation (3pts, C-rank) allows the shinobi to grow their body up to twice that of its normal size, increasing Strength by 15%; at moderate levels (4pts, flawed B-rank) the shinobi may manipulate only part of their body and increases Strength by 20%; then, with highest performance (5pts, perfected B-rank) size multiplication raises to x4 and Strength enhancement to 25%. There are also styles to soften, harden, or stretch the body or parts of the body, or even change its composition into something other than flesh and blood.

Puppetry.
Shinobi puppetry is very different from theatrical puppetry, although many of the principles are the same. Special chakra-sensitive fibers are used to connect the puppet to the puppetmaster that allow the shinobi to control it with subtle Shape Manipulation. The wires themselves are so small that they cannot be seen with normal eyes, and because puppetry is a ranged technique the shinobi is most vulnerable when they themselves are engagued with Taijutsu. Traditionally, ninja puppets are equipped with a variety of hidden weapons: grenades, needles, gas canisters, and blades of all kinds. The more wires that are connected to a puppet the easier it is to control; controlling more puppets lowers the shinobi's ability to control them. At the beginning stages (3pts, D-rank) the shinobi may only use one puppet equipped with few weapons and increases Skill by 15%; with moderate ability (4pts, C-rank) the shinobi is able to control one puppet with each hand.

Familiar.
One of the most varsatile specialties is to have animals who are trained in the ninja arts, which work symbiotically with the shinobi. Among the Leafs, the Inuzuka's Canine Familiars and Abrume's Destruction Bugs are the most reknowned. The Inuzuka breed their animals for special purposes and they are life-long companions with the shinobi; the Abrume clan's chakra-eating bugs are generally less important on a personal level but they are easily replaced with bugs that are newly caught. For Inuzuka, the (3pt, D-rank) Beast-Man Clone technique transforms both the animal and shinobi into identical hybrids of canine and human which increases Strength by 15%; the higher form (4pt, flawed B-rank) Combination Transformation: Rare Beast fuses the familiar companion with its master to form a single monster of great power and increases Strength by 40%.

Restricted Jutsu: Uchiha Sharingan, Hyuuga Byakugan, Fuuma Rinnegan, Kaguya Bone Pathways, Yamanaka Mind-Body Change,

[Kaden]

You might want to make a separate thread for what happens if you die. This is kind of a random place to have to go looking for it.

So, basically, anything "unique" in the series falls under the realm of Custom/Bloodline?

[Pinky]

First I tried to post info about death in the Character Creation Guide thread, but it spun off into a rant about custom jutsu since the two systems are so closely connected and I didn't want to muck up that thread. I should copy/paste the core talking points in the CCG thread, though. :E

But yeah, pretty much the best (and most expensive) techniques will be bloodline/custom. Also take note that I've only posted high-end techniques. Jutsu like Water: Dragon Projectile and Fire: Dragon Flame Projectile would be considered "perfected B-rank" skills, but they're much simpler than a bloodline and would only cost about 1 or 2 TP to gain. Creating jutsu is expected to be the most complicated part of the game because you've got to figure out how to make it worthwhile without being too abusive, and give it an appropriate cost/rank for it's overall effectiveness inside the context of the character's Talent/Flaws. I'm sure there's going to be problems along the way, which is why I want people to start working on their ideas now and so we can figure out how to address those problems as soon as possible.