
With this, all my initial classes I had posted in my initial post on the Burning Wheel forums are not fully fleshed out to level 10. I believe I would like to include rules (including racial variants) for Sheikah, Yiga, and Gerudo playing as Human classes, but I am going to save that until next time.
The Sheikah and the Yiga
The Sheikah have been residents of Hyrule for as long (or arguably longer) than the Hylians. In ancient times they were said to be devout servants of the Goddess Hylia, and this devotion continued for generations upon generations of service to her mortal descendants, the Royal Family of Hyrule. Yet, their devotion has not always been returned by the people of Hyrule. Their secretive nature compels them to live apart from the rest of the residents of Hyrule, and the wondrous technology they created in ages past, was both looked upon in awe and called blasphemous at the same time. The Sheikah were often honored when they were useful, and cast aside and distrusted in times of peace.
The mistreatment at the hands of ignorant people they were supposed to help caused many of the Sheikah to grow hateful of the very people they had sworn to protect. In time, a large group of them broke from the main clan, swearing allegiance to the Calamity and vowing the ruin of Hyrule. This faction came to be known as the Yiga clan, and the faithful Sheikah continue to do battle with them, sometimes covertly and sometimes overtly, to this day.
Sheikah and Yiga are fundamentally the same people, but the ideological divide is so strong they count as different Stocks in game terms. Still, many feel drawn to the ideology opposite of the clan that raised them, and it is possible to change from one to the other during play.
Sheikah/Yiga Ninja
The Sheikah and Yiga martial arts were once one and the same, and while there have been many generations since they split, many spies and traitors on both sides have kept each apprised of the others secret techniques, and the two traditions have more in common than they’d care to admit.
The Sheikah developed the techniques that make up the Ninja class as part of their service to the Royal Family as their bodyguards and spies, while the Yiga clan has adopted more aggressive techniques, the core of the style remains.
When choosing this class, you must declare yourself to the Sheikah or Yiga clan, answer the appropriate Nature questions.
Class Name Class Overview |
Class name Starting Options |
Stock
Class |
Sheikah/Yiga
Ninja |
Sworn to the Shadows |
A Ninja serves best when no one even knows they are there, and have been trained from a young age to serve silently and avoid being noticed. This can make things difficult when the time comes for them to try to assert themselves or take on the reigns of leadership. |
Raw Abilities |
Raw Abilities: Will 4, Health 4. |
Wises |
Choice one of Sheikah Technology-wise or Lost History-wise, take a second wise of your choice |
Skills |
Scout 4, Dungeoneer 3, Criminal 2, Fighter 2, Lore Master 2, Scholar 2 |
Starting Weapon/Armor |
Dagger, Leather Armor, you do not start with a shield or Helmet |
Starting Trait |
Sworn to the Shadows |
Alignment |
Sheikah Ninjas must be lawful. Yiga Ninjas must be Chaotic. See Ninjas and Alignment below. |
Sheikah/Yiga Nature
Write Nature: Sheikah or Narture Yiga on your character sheet. If you are a Sheikah, your descriptors are Sneaking, Waiting, and Storytelling, if you are a Yiga, your nature descriptors are Sneaking, Deceiving, and Stealing. Both Sheikah and Yiga characters have a base Nature of 3. Answer the questions below appropriate to your stock to determine your final starting Nature score, and possibly some traits.
Sheikah Nature Questions:
When confronting a foe, do you strike from the shadows, or do you meet them head on?
- If you strike from the shadows, increase your nature by one.
- If you meet them head on, you may replace or increase your home trait with Bold or Honorable
When the calamity rears its ugly head do you retreat to safe places to await the return of the hero or do you take matters into your own hands?
- If you await the return of the hero, increase your starting nature by one and decrease your starting Fighter skill by one (or health if you don’t have Fighter).
- If you take matters into your own hands, your nature and fighter remain unchanged
Can you recount all the legends of Hyrule of olde, and recite the lineage of the princess Zelda back to the goddess Hylia?
- If you tell the legends, increase your nature by one.
- If you don’t put much stock in old tales, you may replace or increase your home trait with Jaded or Skeptical.
Yiga Nature Questions:
When confronting a foe, do you strike from the shadows, or do you meet them head on?
- If you strike from the shadows, increase your nature by one.
- If you meet them head on, you may replace or increase your home trait with Bold or Foolhardy
Do you lie even when it won’t gain you anything?
- If you never tell the truth when a lie will do, increase nature by one, but you start with an enemy (in addition to any enemy you my gain from the circles questions).
- If you only lie when you have something to gain, your nature rating remains unchanged, but you do not start with an additional enemy.
If you need something, would you steal it, even if it would hurt the person you took it from?
- If you steal without caring what happens to the person you take from, increase your nature by one.
- If you won’t take from those who can’t afford to lose, you may replace or increase your home trait with Generous or Compassionate (Middarmark).
Ninjas and Alignment
The way of the Ninja is as much about your state of mind as it is about your physical training. Ninjas can swap between their starting alignment and unaffiliated without any penalty. However, if a Sheikah ever becomes Chaotic or a Yiga ever becomes Lawful, the dissonance between the philosophy of their style and their new ideals causes them to suffer the following restrictions:
- Can not level up (although still track rewards spent)
- Can not use any [Sheikah] or [Yiga] level up abilities
- The internal conflict this creates causes an additional factor in recovering from Angry or Afraid
These restrictions persist even if their alignment changes again. In order to resolve this internal conflict, a Ninja can, do one of the following:
- Abandon the Path of the Ninja, losing all Ninja abilities, becoming a Warrior or Thief (if alignment appropriate) of the same Level. This can be down as personal business in any town.
- Act in a manner according to the proper alignment for their stock (Lawful for Sheikah, Chaotic for Yiga), until their proper alignment is restored. Then, they must seek out their mentor, or find a new mentor if they lack one, for retraining.
- Find a new mentor in the opposing clan. Often this will involve a test to prove your sincerity. Once inducted into the new clan, reduce your maximum nature by one, and change your Stock, Nature, and nature descriptors to reflect your new Allegiance. Replace all existing [Sheikah] or [Yiga] abilities with a different ability from the same level (you may take [Sheikah] or [Yiga] abilities corresponding to your new clan). Gain a new enemy in the clan you left. It is up to the GM if you can take this option more than once.
Ninja Level Benefits
Level 1
Ninja: Ninja may wield Bows, Daggers, Halberds, Polearms, Slings, Swords, and Two Handed swords. They may wear leather and chainmail armor, they cannot use a helmet or shield.
Some level up benefits are labeled [Sheikah] or [Yiga], you may only choose these abilities if you are the appropriate stock.
Level 2
Ninja Tricks: A hidden Ninja Star, a handful of needles, a bit of wire, a silk sash, a Ninja can always find or reveal an innocuous or hidden object that functions as a weapon. These ninja weapons count as weapons, but provide no bonuses.
Surprise Attack: As the level 2 Thief Ability
Level 3
Bodyguard [Sheikah]: In a Kill, Capture or Drive Off conflict, whenever one of your allies takes damage, before rolling for and applying armor, you may choose to take that damage instead, applying your own armor, if any. You take the entire amount, unless that amount is greater than you have hit points remaining, in which case, your ally takes the remainder.
Skirmisher: As the level 3 Warrior ability.
Going Bananas [Yiga]: In a Kill, Capture or Drive Off conflict, after both sides have revealed their actions on your turn to act, if you revealed attack or feint action, you may elect to take any amount of damage up to one less than your current hit points, if you do get +1s to your attack or feint roll per hit point lost on top of any other bonuses.
Level 4
Decoy [Sheikah]: Once per adventure, when your Party enters a flee conflict, you may declare yourself to be acting as a decoy, if you do, any of your other party members can choose not to participate in this conflict. If you win the flee conflict, or lose it with any amount of compromise, those that did not participate escape without incident. If you lose the flee conflict without compromise, this ability does nothing.
Hide in Shadows: As the level 4 thief ability
I Don’t Have to Outrun the Bear… [Yiga]: As the level 4 Burgler Oft Overlooked benefit
Level 5
Gone in a Flash: Through the clever use of Deku Nuts, Smoke bombs and misdirection, Sheikah Ninjas know how to make good an escape. Once per adventure, when you win a Flee conflict, you may downgrade the level of compromise you owe by one (Major -> Compromise, Compromise to -> Minor, Minor -> No Compromise). You should announce your intention to use this ability after the level of compromise is announced, but before the exact terms are declared (And the GM should give you a chance to do so).
Agile: As the Level 5 Warrior ability.
Level 6
Zelda’s Lullaby [Sheikah]: Gain Songbird and any other one other Song Ability from the Rito Bard’s List.
Technological Heir: +2d to all tests involving ancient Sheikah runes and ancient Sheikah technology.
Yiga Art of Disguise [Yiga]: Once per phase, you may use the First Circle Magician Spell Arcane Semblance. You may use Scout instead of Arcanist to cast this spell.
Level 7
Protector of the Goddess [Sheikah]: As the level 7 Burglar Shoulder the Burden Ability
Ninja Warrior: Reduce the factors of all Dungeoneer tests you make by one
Blades of the Yiga [Yiga]: You specialize in the art of misdirection, even in combat. You have +1s to the feint action in fights or battles. This is in addition to any other bonuses you man have
Level 8
Blinding Speed: Use level instead of health for all chase and flee conflicts.
Ninja Scroll: As the level 8 thief Dilettante ability
Level 9
Heroic Ability: Choose Scout, Fighter, or Dungeoneer; tests with that skill/ability now succeed on 3-6.
Transformed: You may change one of your Nature descriptors to Fighting, Climbing, or Fulfilling (your duty). If you change your base nature descriptors (due to changing from a Sheikah to a Yiga or visa-versa), you may choose which of your new nature descriptors to replace.
Level 10
To Die Without Leaving a Corpse [Sheikah]: If your Goal is noble, not even death can stop you, if you would take the Dead condition while perusing a righteous Goal, you instead take the special Spirit Warrior condition, described below.
Conservation of Ninjitsu: When you are alone or traveling with no other Ninja, gain +2 might. When traveling with a single other Ninja, you have +1 might. When traveling in a group of 4 or more other ninja, all of you have -1 might. Enemy ninja have no effect on this ability.
Calamity’s Blade [Yiga]: When entering a kill or battle conflict from a concealed position, you may automatically kill any number of enemies of your choice with a combined might less than or equal to your own, do this before rolling disposition. If after using this ability no enemies remain, there is no conflict, and it doesn’t take a turn.
Spirit Warrior
The ultimate technique of the Sheikah, the Ninja who invokes it will fulfill their mission, even if it takes them a thousand years. The Spirit Warrior condition has the following effects:
- Your Maximum and current nature becomes 6 when you acquire this condition, but can be taxed and depleted as normal.
- You are immune to all other conditions (and therefore the Grind)
- All tests reasonably in pursuit of your Goal are considered within your nature.
- Track spent rewards separately from existing spent rewards.
When you accomplish, change, or abandon your goal the Spirit Warrior condition ends you dissipate into the Spirit World, unable to be revived by any means. Your next character gains all unspent rewards, all rewards spent while under this condition count towards your new character. Finally, if you accomplished your goal, one piece of your equipment takes on a magic property related to stealth, protecting the innocent, or defeating evil to be inherited by your next character.
Current PaDC score: 23/31
Image from Wikimedia commons: link