Shinobi

The Emerald Kingdoms have made great use of the services of espionage, deception, and ambush attacks. While most cunning nobles are capable of their expertise in these goals, there are specialists referred to as Shinobi employed by a few Samurai who perform these deeds almost exclusively as their service to their lords. While their actions are not always very honorable, their willingness to serve their clan at any endeavor is well-respected. They work behind-the-scenes and often in the shadows to achieve the aims of their lords.

No clan employs more Shinobi than the Scorpion Clan, even though outsiders to the clan would never know that. Yet even the noble Crane and Lion clans who are commonly seen as highly noble and honorable do still utilize Shinobi for any of a number of different persons. Sometimes a Shinobi is a stealthy saboteur, sometimes a capable courtesan, and other times a deadly assassin, these skilled individuals are the hidden hands of the clans at work in the shadows. Each clan teaches a poignant mixture of skills and combat techniques, and no single Shinobi could perform all the many services the clans may need them to do, so no two Shinobi are truly ever alike.

Shinobi Arts

3rd level Shinobi feature

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, your clan teaches a unique style of combat and additional necessary skills. You learn your choice of one of the following options:
Fuuma Strike: if you attack a creature with a poisoned weapon, you increase the save DC of the poison on the weapon by 1. This bonus improves to 2 at rogue level 9, and 3 at rogue level 17.
Iga Strike: if you hit a creature that you are hidden from with a weapon attack, you gain one instance of Stealthy Striking. You may only have one instance of Stealthy Striking at a time. When you hit with a melee attack, you may expend Stealthy Striking and your weapon deals 2d6 bonus damage of the weapon's type. This bonus damage improves to 3d6 at rogue level 9 and 4d6 at rogue level 17.
Koga Strike: When you attack a creature you may roll your choice of Deception or Performance opposed by your target's Insight. If you succeed, you gain advantage on that attack roll and that enemy does not realize you were the source of the attack. While later investigation may reveal you to be the attacker if there is sufficient evidence, you will not be seen as the source of this strike by the target creature for a minimum of 30 seconds.

Additionally, each Shinobi is specially trained for one of a few very special purposes, and their training in that aspect is top-tier. Choose a skill you are proficient with, and whenever you make an ability check with the chosen skill, rolls of 8 or lower on the die are treated as if you had rolled 9, instead.

Fuuma Strike

Whenever you hit with a poisoned weapon, the save DC of that poison increases by 1. This bonus improves to 2 at 9th level, and 3 at 17th level.

Iga Strike

If you hit a creature that you are hidden from with a weapon attack, you gain one instance of Stealthy Striking. You may only have one instance of Stealthy Striking at a time. When you hit with a melee attack, you may expend Stealthy Striking and your weapon deals 2d6 bonus damage of the weapon's type. This bonus damage improves to 3d6 at rogue level 9 and 4d6 at rogue level 17.

Koga Strike

When you attack a creature you may roll your choice of Deception or Performance opposed by your target's Insight. If you succeed, you gain advantage on the attack roll and that enemy does not realize you were the source of the attack. While later investigation may reveal you to be the attacker if there is sufficient evidence, you will not be seen as the source of this strike by the target creature for a minimum of 30 seconds.

Skilled Operative

9th level Shinobi feature

At 9th level, you learn the expanded basis of your Shinobi training, and you are able to utilize new abilities as a result. You gain new capabilities based on which combat option you chose for your Shinobi Arts feature, as follows:
Iga Strike: you have advantage on saving throws against poison damage spells or traps, and poison effects. Poison effects from non-magical poisons cannot kill you or cause you to be reduced to less than 1 hit point.
Fuuma Strike: when you expend Stealthy Striking for any attack, you may reroll 1's and 2's on damage dice you roll once each until the end of your turn.
Koga Strike: once you have used the Koga Strike, whenever you attempt to convince others you were not the attacker, you gain advantage on Deception or Performance rolls for this purpose until you leave the sight of any possible witnesses. Additionally, if you use the Koga Strike, you have advantage on Stealth rolls against that target or any creature within 10 feet of it until the end of your next turn.

Additionally, your versatile training has expanded to grant you greater advantages. You gain your choice of the Actor, Poisoner, Ritual Caster, or Savage Attacker feats.

Clan Influence

13th level Shinobi feature

At 13th level, you become esteemed among your clan and may receive services from them. You may use an hour to call in a favor from your clan once every day to gain one of the following benefits:
- You gain one day of service from an expert or warrior your clan employs. They will follow you and obey your orders without you paying them or making any bargain with them for one 24-hour period, after which, they have no further obligation to serve you, although you may pay them, bargain with them, or otherwise convince them to continue serving your commands. This expert or warrior follows the Sidekick rules for these purposes, and is friendly to you, willing to serve your goals for as long as they align with your clan's goals, for the entire 24-hour period beginning when you designate it.
- You can borrow any one magic item your clan has access to. This item may be of no greater than Very Rare quality, and you may use it for any amount of time, but only ever one item in such a way at any one time. You must return the item to be able to use another item in this way, and if the item becomes lost or destroyed, you must reimburse your clan for that loss in a way in which they see fit, whether through gold cost, a service of value to the clan, or some other agreeable arrangement.
- You may gain an audience with a representative of another clan, noble house, or regionally important representative. This may not be a long meeting, perhaps only long enough to present a message or deliver an approved gift, but you can nonetheless exhibit your noble clout enough to meet most other intermediate-level nobles, although you cannot meet archons, seneschals, princes, princesses, kings, queens, emperors, empresses or any station much higher than a duke, lord, or premiere.
Once you have used one of the options from this feature, you may not use the same option again for 7 days. Your clan will do their best to meet your request as soon as they are able to, which may still yet take 2-3 days to arrange the desired outcome, at your DM's discretion.  This reflects the process of recruiting the desired expert, fetching the requested item from the clan vaults and delivering it to you, or going through the bureaucratic channels necessary to arrange the desired meeting.

Superior Shinobi Training

17th level Shinobi feature

You are a master of all of the many skills and arts that the Shinobi employ, and no matter what endeavor you pursue, your talent and training will see you through in most cases. Whenever you make an ability check or Dexterity, Intelligence, or Charisma saving throw, you may choose to add your proficiency bonus to that check or saving throw, even if your proficiency bonus is already applied or doubled for that roll. You may use this feature after you roll for the check, but before you know the result. You may use this feature twice before you must finish a short or long rest to use it again.

Additionally, if you become the target of a spell, you may use your reaction to make your choice of a Deception or Stealth check. If your check result is higher than the caster's spell save DC, that spellcaster cannot target you with spells until it finishes a short or long rest, although you may still be within areas of spells that target casts. You may use this feature once before you must finish a short or long rest to use it again, but if you make your Deception or Stealth check and fail, it does not count as a use of this feature.