Ninja Sutras
Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of Obscure Arcana, home of the best magical spells available for free, week after week. We’re wrapping up Ninja Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, and I find myself in a bit of a pickle. Back in the day when we created Ancient Warriors: Way of the Ninja, we decided to create a spell-less ninja, which is still the kind of ninja I believe in. With that in mind, I decided that this Obscure Arcana wouldn’t contain any spells.
What will we be talking about, then? Well since it’s all about the far-east-themed ninja, I’ve decided to return to another bygone time for Necromancers of the Northwest. Those of you who remember Sutra Week will likely recall that sutras are oriental-themed variant spells, which can be cast by even non-spellcasters, including our ninja class. For those of you who are wondering, the ninja presented in Ancient Warriors: Way of the Ninja has a sutra caster level equal to his ninja level.
BESTOW IDENTITY
Type charm
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range touch
Target one creature
Duration 1 time unit/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
You bestow a potent magical charm upon an individual that alters his appearance, causing others to perceive him as you. For as long as the target bears this ofuda, he appears to all mundane and magical senses to be you. He assumes your appearance at the time the ofuda was empowered, gains your voice, and can perfectly mimic your mannerisms so long as he bears the ofuda. This translates to a +2 bonus per sutra caster level on all Disguise and Bluff checks made to imitate you. Additionally, the charm protects against magical attempts to discern the bearer’s true identity. Any divination spell of a level lower than the effective spell level of this sutra treats the target as though he were you. This causes some spells, such as trueseeing,to simply fail to reveal the target, but may reveal false information for other spells (for example, if this sutra had an effective spell level of 8th, then a trueseeing spell would reveal the target as you, while a detect evil spell would register the target only if your alignment was evil. Spells which do not attempt to identify the target, such as clairaudience/clairvoyance, are unaffected).
NINJA’S SHURIKEN
Type punitive
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range medium (100 ft. +10 ft./level)
Target one creature
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
As you hurl your ofuda, it transforms into a deadly shuriken in midair and explodes on impact. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. If you succeed, the shuriken explodes upon impact, dealing 1d10 points of damage per effective spell level to the target. If you cast this spell during the surprise round of a combat, the shuriken flies more accurately, dealing an additional amount of damage equal to 1/2 your sutra caster level.
SERPENT’S WARD
Type warding
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range touch
Target object touched
Duration 1 time unit/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates; Spell Resistance yes
You place an ofuda scribed with a prayer to the deadly serpent upon a single flat surface. The next time a character other than you touches the object on which the ofuda was placed (or within 5 feet of the ofuda on that object, if the object is larger than a 5-ft.-cube), the area within a 5-foot-radius of the placed ofuda is filled with a deadly spiritual venom. Characters in the area have their health suppressed, suffering a -2 penalty to their Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom scores for 1 minute. When your sutra casting level reaches 6th, these penalties instead last for 1 hour after triggering the ofuda. When your sutra caster level reaches 12th, the penalties to Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom increase to -4. When your sutra caster level reaches 18th, these penalties become permanent and cannot be removed unless the target receives the benefits of a remove curse spell or more powerful magic.
SHADOW REND
Type punitive
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range 30 ft.
Area 30-ft.-radius burst centered on you
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Will partial (see text); Spell Resistance yes
You warp nearby shadows into a deadly miasma, damaging all those who are close to you. You cannot cast shadow rend in areas of bright light. Each creature in the affected area suffers 1d4 points of damage per effective spell level of this sutra. Additionally, affected creatures must succeed on a Will save or be shaken for 1 minute.
If cast in an area of dim light, the damage increases to 1d6 per effective spell level and affected creatures must also succeed on a Fortitude save or become fatigued for 1 minute. If cast in an area of darkness, the damage increases to 1d8 per effective spell level and affected creatures are additionally staggered for 1 round.
TIGER’S STRENGTH
Type charm
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range touch
Target one creature
Duration 1 time unit/level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
You bestow an ofuda inscribed with a prayer to the mighty tiger onto another, so that you may lend him your martial prowess. As a swift action, the bearer of this sutra can choose to substitute your base attack bonus for his own base attack bonus for 1 round. He can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your primary sutra ability score modifier (typically Wisdom).