TEXT:  
  writing Matthew J. Hanson
  & Russ Morrissey
  I
  T IS ODD. PEOPLE ALWAYS
  look nervous when they 
  see me. But they have it 
  reversed. They should be worried 
  when they cannot see me.
  Heroes of the far east
  NINJA
  EONS MAGAZINE  |  Heroes of the Far East: Ninja
  Samurai may rule the open battle field, 
  but not all battles are won in the open. 
  Sabotage, espionage, and assassination 
  are the tools of the ninja, and these can 
  do far more damage than a clever 
  flanking maneuver. Those obsessed 
  with codes of honor often look down 
  upon the ninja for what they perceive 
  as shameful tactics, and many believe 
  all ninja are ruthless mercenaries who 
  sell their services to the highest bidder. 
  While true of some ninja, many ninja 
  dedicate themselves to serving a 
  particular lord or to protecting the less 
  fortunate.
  This article presents two new careers. The ninja is a master of 
  shadow, with powers of stealth and invisibility; the shinobi is a 
  master of disguise and poison.  You'll also find new equipment, 
  like the ninja-to, smoke bombs, and shuriken. This is a 
  fantastical, supernatural interpretation of the ninja; for a more 
  grounded approach, see the assassin and burglar careers.
  
  Vanish Before the Blade (requires Walk Unseen). 
  As a reaction, when an attacker is about to strike 
  you, you become invisible. If the attack misses 
  you, you move half your SPEED. You remain 
  invisible until the start of your next turn.
  Shadow Step (requires Walk Unseen). You are 
  able to step from one shadow to another, using 
  an action to teleport up to 30' when in darkness. 
  This action requires expenditure of one LUC die.
  Shuriken Flurry (requires knives skill). You may 
  spend all your actions to throw a flurry of 6 
  shuriken at your target (only one attack roll is 
  needed).  On a successful hit, the target becomes 
  disoriented (moderate Alertness/Stun track). 
  Natural Climber (requires climbing skill 3). You 
  gain a CLIMB speed equal to your regular 
  SPEED.
  Ninjutsu Master (requires martial arts skill 3). 
  Your base unarmed damage increases to 2d6. If 
  it is already 2d6 or higher, you gain no benefit 
  from this exploit.
  Walk Unseen (requires No Misstep).  Once per 
  day you can spend an action to become invisible 
  for up to one minute.
  Ninja are trained in secret academies controlled 
  by powerful clans, and they begin their training at 
  a young age. New students are usually the 
  children of ninja clan members, but they 
  occasionally take in outsiders who show promise. 
  The arduous training focuses the ninja’s body, 
  mind, and spirit. They learn battle tactics, stealth, 
  and how to cloud their foes’ minds. Rumors 
  abound that ninja possess a host of supernatural 
  powers, such as walking on water, changing into 
  beasts, and controlling fire. While some of this 
  may be true, ninja also deliberately spread 
  misinformation to confuse and intimidate 
  enemies.
     The life of a ninja offers great reward, but also 
  great danger. Not only do ninja undertake 
  missions pitting them against a superior number 
  of foes, they must also be vigilant of ninja from 
  rival clans that may be lurking in any shadow.  
     Many ninja strive to keep their true identity 
  secret even from their closest friends and family, 
  both for their own safety as well as the safety of 
  others.
  Heroes of the Far East: Ninja  | EONS MAGAZINE
  NINJA (1d6 years)
  You trained in a ninja clan, and learned the power of 
  shadows.
  Prerequisites: must not have left this career, 
  except for grades in the shinobi career*. 
  Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, INT +1, WIL* +1 
  Skill Choices: swords, knives, reactions, meditation, 
  [physical], [subterfuge], martial arts
  Physical Skill  Base. You gain the following 
  skills at one rank: stealth, climbing, acrobatics, 
  martial arts. This does not increase an existing 
  skill beyond 1 rank.
  No Misstep (requires stealth skill). Your stealth 
  skills are legendary. You always reroll 1s when 
  making an AGI check to hide.
  *In settings where the CHI attribute is used,
  the ninja and shinobi gain CHI +1 instead of
  WIL +1.
  
  EONS MAGAZINE  |  Heroes of the Far East: Ninja
  Water Walk. Once per day, you may walk on 
  water as though it were solid ground for up to 1 
  minute.
  Greater Water Walk (requires Water Walk). You 
  may walk on water at any time as though it 
  were solid ground.
  Darksight. You can see in darkness as though it 
  were normal light.
  SHINOBI (1d6 years)
  Your ninja training specialized in disguise and 
  infiltration.
  Prerequisites: must not have left this career, 
  except for grades in the ninja career*. 
  Attributes: AGI +1, CHA +1, INT +1, WIL* +1 
  Skill Choices: swords, knives, reactions, 
  meditation, [subterfuge], martial arts, herbalism
  Infiltration Skill Base. You gain the following 
  skills at 1 rank: disguise, stealth, thievery, escape 
  artist. This does not increase an existing skill 
  above 1 rank.
  Perfect Disguise (requires Disguise skill). As 
  long as you concentrate (which requires one 
  action per round) your disguise is perfect 
  enough to fool any but close family members.
  Facechanger (requires Perfect Disguise). Once 
  per day you may change your face to exactly 
  resemble somebody else. This takes two actions 
  and lasts for up to one hour.
  Poisoner. You are an expert at poison use, and 
  gain 5 SOAK (poison).
  Poison Immunity (requires Poisoner). Your 
  resistance to poisons increases. You become 
  immune to poison damage.
  Water Breathing. You can breathe underwater as 
  though it were normal air.
  Poisoned Weapon (requires Poisoner). You can 
  spend an hour per day creating 1d6 doses of 
  poison which can be applied to a ninja-to or a 
  shuriken. The poison, on a successful hit which 
  does damage,  continues to cause 1d6 poison 
  damage per round for 1d6 rounds. Applying the 
  poison takes two actions, and it lasts for five 
  minutes once applied. If not used, poison doses 
  become inert after 24 hours.
  The ninja and shinobi are permitted one career 
  change (from ninja to shinobi, or vice versa). If 
  they leave  either career (other than for their one 
  career change), they cannot ever return to either.
  
  Weapons & Gear
  A major part of the ninja's mystique comes from 
  her gear. The ninja-to is the legendary weapon of 
  the ninja, as are shuriken, smoke bombs, and 
  more. These items are part of the ensemble of 
  equipment which helps a ninja appear almost 
  magical in capabilities.
  Ninja-to. The ninja-to is the preferred weapon of 
  the ninja. A shortsword in size and statistics, it is 
  the perfect weapon for the quick kill, and causes 
  critical hits on double-sixes rather than triple-
  sixes. These weapons are unique to each ninja 
  clan, and any non-member who uses such a 
  weapon is marked for death by all ninja.
  Shuriken. Shuriken are small throwing stars. 
  They are not deadly projectiles, used more to 
  distract or to deliver poisons. A shuriken shares 
  the statistics of a dart.
  Smoke bomb. The smoke bomb is an important 
  part of the ninja's arsenal. When thrown as an 
  action, it creates a burst (20' diameter) of 
  obscuring smoke. Any creature which enters or 
  begins its turn in the smoke is considered half-
  blind until the start of its next turn (can only see 
  10'; -4 DEFENSE).
  Metsubishi (blinding powder). Metsubusi is 
  used by ninja to temporarily blind their foes. 
  Often kept in a hollowed-out egg (happo), or 
  bamboo tube, it is thrown in the face of the 
  enemy. On a successful hit, the target is rendered 
  blind until he shakes off the condition
  Item   
  Cost (gc) 
  Weight (lbs)
  Makibishi 
       20 
            1
  Metsubishi 
   75 
            1 
  Ninja-to 
       50 
            3
  Shuriken 
        1 
           0.5
  Smoke bomb 
      100 
            1
  Heroes of the Far East: Ninja  |  EONS MAGAZINE
  The Ninja's Role
  Contrary to popular belief, the ninja and shinobi 
  were used more for espionage and sabotage than 
  for assassination. While they can certainly be very 
  effective killers, they come into their own when 
  engaged in spy or reconnaissance missions. Ninja 
  are renowned for being able to enter the enemy's 
  stronghold, gather intelligence, or engage in 
  sabotage. Ninja were often mercenaries, clans 
  hired to accomplish missions during times of 
  war.
  The terms ninja (忍者) and shinobi (忍び) 
  technically mean the same thing. In the WOIN 
  system, the two terms are used to distinguish 
  between specialists in shadow and in disguise.
     Other careers useful for a ninja are the assassin 
  (hitogoroshi), burglar (gōtō), and herbalist 
  (kanpō-i). At the GM's option, characters may be 
  permitted to take these three careers as part of 
  their ninja training. In addition, the ninja or 
  shinobi should consider all Eastern weapons and 
  equipment from WOIN Fantasy Equipment.
  The effects of invisibility are described in WOIN Elements of Magic. This is a brief recap for convenience.
     Invisibility grants +3d6 to stealth attempts. A failed stealth attempt means that the 'viewer' knows 
  where the invisible creature is due to non-visual clues - sound, tracks, moving items, scent, etc. - but 
  cannot actually see it.
    When you can't see your target, but know where it is, it gets the benefit of cover (-2d6 to attack it).
    Invisibility should not be confused with blindness, which is an entirely separate condition. 
  Makibishi (caltrops). When caltrops are thrown, 
  they fill a 10' diameter area which becomes 
  difficult terrain. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/WOIN/EONS Magazine/Eons 12 - OLD, Careers - Ninja.pdf