NRPG Character Creation Guide

[Pinky]

There, I messed with it for a bit. I also updated the stats page. And the manga really lends the importance to nature manipulations, since every major character has at least one type of manipulation and it was stated that characters must have two types to even be considered for Jounin rank. :O

[Kaden]

That all looks awesome to me, for whatever that's worth. They never really talk about Nature Manipulations in the anime, so you might want to make it clear if you're drawing from the manga more than the anime.

I like the way its organized now, too.

[Celena]

Oh yeah, what about apprentices, shouldn't there be a discription for one since every Kage has one?

[Pinky]

That all looks awesome to me, for whatever that's worth. They never really talk about Nature Manipulations in the anime, so you might want to make it clear if you're drawing from the manga more than the anime.

I like the way its organized now, too.

I started working on this RPG before the anime came out, actually. :O I've only watched a few episodes of the anime, and from what I've seen the manga is clearly superior. Also, there was a mini-arc about nature manipulation, but I'm not sure if the anime has gotten to it yet. Here's a link to the arc, and most of the battles that happen after it revolve heavily around elemental match-ups.

Oh yeah, what about apprentices, shouldn't there be a discription for one since every Kage has one?

Apprentices are simply the students from the three-ninja Genin squads that are trained by Jounin teachers.

[Kaden]

Anything new for this?

[Pinky]

Not really. Chounin is changed to an unachievable rank only for plot-centric characters, but I'm still not sure about the balance of initial TP for character creation. That's probably just not something that'll be ironed out until the RPG actually begins, because I need input from people who want to play and nobody is asking questions about it. :/

Other than that, I'm slowly typing up the story arcs. Think world war with magic ninjas.

[Kaden]

I've always said war would be more fun with magic ninjas. I think the starting TP costs and so-on are pretty good. With flaws you're given a lot of potential flexibility if you want to use it. If you don't, then just RP it out and don't bitch.

I also just noticed that you added extra TP depending on your starting rank. Was worried about that until I saw that it comes with extra requirements. Nice shot.

[Pinky]

Oh, those Talents aren't just requirements: if you create a character at a given level, those are the Talents you start with. They're free. That includes the Custom/Bloodline and Nature Manipulation Talents.

[Kaden]

Oh wtf that's awesome. As long as you don't want anyone to be a Genin, that is. I'm gonna remake my character with these changes.

I'd probably add an unwritten rule that Genin and Untrained ninja get graded easier.

[Pinky]

I'd rather just make Jounin (and maybe Chuunin) a restricted rank at the beginning, and later on allow characters to be made at higher levels.

The differences between the ranks is pretty epic and climbing the rank ladder is prohibitively difficult, but that's the way it has to be. This is a problem that I feel plagues CDBZ, and all similar RPG's, and there's no good way to make it fair for everybody. That's why I want to make it possible to simply create characters at different levels, and give players the freedom to play what they want without worrying about being left too far behind.

[Kaden]

Nez Takashi
Rank: Chunin
Birthplace: Hidden Leaf Village

Talents
Chakra Formation
Equipment Usage
Generic Skillset
Chakra Sense (1)
Earth Chakra Affinity (3)
Increased Chakra Pool (3)
Martial Arts Master (1)
Medicinal Charka Manipulation (1)
Tactician (2)
Technician (2)


Flaws
Rival (2)
Impairment (2)
Fear (2)
Genjutsu Ineptitude (2)

Strength (145%)
Power - 35%
Movement - 20%
Stamina - 90%

Skill (100%)
Accuracy - 25%
Agility - 25%
Proficiency - 50%

Jutsu Limits
Flawed B and A-rank jutsu
Advanced bloodline limits

Custom Techniques

Tsuchi no Anzensei no Jutsu - Safety of Earth Technique - Rank D - This technique creates a simple dome of earth that can be used to block attacks, or delay an enemy. It's large enough to fit two average-sized individuals, depending on how well they know each other.

Points left over: 0

Background

He was born in the Hidden Leaf Village, where he attended the Ninja Academy. He quickly became friends with Joe Smith. The two of them became Genin and were assigned to the same team. During a mission, Joe did something that allegedly caused Nez to lose his left eye. Now he's all made at Joe and stuff. Whatever Joe did left Nez scarred for life.

[Kaden]

I'm pretty sure I got all the costs right. You can do some pretty epic stuff if you're willing to take on flaws.

Starting Points
4 (chounin starting) + 2 (rival) + 2 (impairment) + 2 (fear) + 2 (genjutsu ineptitude) = 12

Costs
2 (Earth Chakra affinity) + 3 (increased chakra pool) + 3 (martial arts master) + 3 (medicinal ninjutsu) + 1 (rank D jutsu) = 12

Oo-rah. Looks like it events out. Couple questions, though.

Since its required for a Chounin to know an elemental manipulation, I assumed that means that they start with the 1 pt version and would then have to pay only 2 pts to increase that to an affinity.

When you take Medicinal Chakra Manipulation, that doesn't come with any basic healing techniques, does it? You have to take the Manipulation and then make seperate healing jutsu for it, right?

[Pinky]

You're right about the free 1-point skill for nature manipulation, and that it would cost the extra points for an affinity. However, you can only have one "affinity" or maximum-level Talent for any of the ones listed under Nature Manipulation.

Martial Arts Master and Medical Ninjutsu are considered to be different kinds of Nature Manipulatons. If you want to have an affinity for Earth Nature then you can only have the 1-point skills for Martial Arts and Medical Ninjutsu.

You're also right about Med Ninjutsu. Just like the elemental Natures, you only buy the skill. Getting the Jutsu is a different ordeal.

[Kaden]

Is it all legit now?

[Pinky]

Technically, yes. But, you don't actually have any jutsu. (besides the ones included in the Generic Skillset) That's gonna be a problem. :E

[Kaden]

I have one. Its between "Justu Limits" and "Background." See? I can like, not get hit and stuff. Its awesome.

And, if you look at Naruto, he only had one jutsu. Didn't stop him from being awesome. Although his jutsu is way better than mine. =(

[Pinky]

Ah, I completely glossed over that. Naruto actually has two major techniques, Shadow Clone and Rasengan, but that's neither here nor there. One would argue that a Chuunin needs more than just one minor technique, but the RPG starts in the middle of a war and the normal "exams" don't happen anymore so sucky ninja are climb through the ranks. Fair warning, though: a fodder ninja with a generic fire attack would cremate you if that's your best technique.

As for the tech itself, the only manga-comparison I can make is with [url=http://leafninja.com/ninjutsu-03.php#017]Jiroubou's earth-style techniques[/quote]. It seems more difficult than his simple, flat Mud Wall (C-rank) but not as complicated as the chakra-leeching Dome Prison (B-rank). I think the chakra-leeching part is a separate jutsu altogether (even though it was never stated as such) so your earth dome would be B-rank like his, and since your Jutsu Limit is Chuunin-level you're going to have to add some kind of flaw.

[Kaden]

Fair warning, though: a fodder ninja with a generic fire attack would cremate you if that's your best technique.

Even with the combination of Tactician and the generic stuff I have at my disposal?

=(

The original idea was to make a character more focused on support and making fewer, but more important, strikes. And then building up my offensive abilities as I gained XP. As I'm looking at it, though, I'd probably remove my current jutsu (I'd want it at some point, though), and change Technician (2) into Martial Arts Master (1). The two remaining XP would then go into making an offensive technique of some kind. Probably something like this:

Earth Spikes - Nez makes sharp spikes erupt from the ground. More chakra means more or longer spikes.

Would that be something I could get with 2 XP? I still have a great handle on where each rank of a jutsu falls. The big things are obvious, but making your own gets kinda sticky.

[Pinky]

Even with the combination of Tactician and the generic stuff I have at my disposal?

=(

There's only such many tactical ways to cover yourself with dirt =P

The original idea was to make a character more focused on support and making fewer, but more important, strikes. And then building up my offensive abilities as I gained XP. As I'm looking at it, though, I'd probably remove my current jutsu (I'd want it at some point, though), and change Technician (2) into Martial Arts Master (1). The two remaining XP would then go into making an offensive technique of some kind. Probably something like this:

Earth Spikes - Nez makes sharp spikes erupt from the ground. More chakra means more or longer spikes.

Would that be something I could get with 2 XP? I still have a great handle on where each rank of a jutsu falls. The big things are obvious, but making your own gets kinda sticky.

I'd say 1 point ought to be enough. The idea is that most jutsu are really cheap to "buy", and only bloodline-like abilities will cost more than one point. This is because useful individual jutsu like yours require prerequisite Talents, so there's already an embedded cost.

The ranking of a jutsu is mostly superficial. The ranks actually have nothing to do with a jutsu's power: it's merely an indication of complexity. Like the earth dome skill, this earth spike skill seems B-rank to me. You could actually have both of them (1 point each), but again, since they're B-rank you'll have to work in some kind of flaw to them.

[Pinky]

I've altered the Stat System a bit by removing the Aspects of Stamina and Proficiency. I figured that stamina is implied well enough through writing (performing a jutsu with greater power = faster drain, physically moving slower = less drain) and that characters of varying levels obviously have the advantage (Jounin has more stamina than Chuunin, Chuunin more than Genin). In the case of Proficiency, the actual ability to perform is already described well enough in both Agility and Accuracy so the third Aspect was ultimately pointless.

Also, the percentage-allocation between Aspects is scraped. Every time I tried to come up with a good method for defining how to calculate a character's performance it always became too complicated. The gist: Strength is for movement speed and power, Skill is for accuracy and agility. The overall performance the character has is decided by the stat's rank (Basic, Advanced, Super) and Talent enhancements.