"A few black-garbed ninjas can do by subtle means
what would have taken hundreds of armored soldiers to accomplish "

- Stephen K. Hayes

Ninjitsu is the skill that one must master to become a Ninja, the invisible assassin, the stealthing spy. Just like necromancy, chivalry and magery, Ninjitsu possesses a special spellbook, the Book of Ninjitsu, that the Ninja must carry in his backpack in order to perform the spells which also require mana. Ninjitsu isn't a complete skill. In order to be effective, it should be combined to a weapon skill such as Swordsmanship, Fencing, Macing or Archery and for certain special moves, skills in Stealth are also required to fully benefit from this specialization.

Skill	What to Cast
0	Buy from NPC (Makoto Jima)
30	Animal Form
40	Mirror Image
70	Focus Attack
90	Death Strike (up to 120)

From 0 to 75 you don't need anything extra to train this skill but from 75 to 120, you will get better gains if you use a target. I recommend a horse or a rabbit as they are easy to hit. You be in trammel and unguilded. Your target must be tamed. Hop on a boat and do 8x8.

It's important to note that you cannot cast spells, use special moves, or spirit speak while in Animal Form. The healing skill is a good complement to ninjitsu if you plan to take advantage of some of the Animal Forms special powers as it will be the only way to maintain your health aside from HP regen armor/items or a life leech weapon.


Special Items

Certain special items have been created spefically for the ninja, making him even more lethal in his attacks.

Smoke bombs

The minimum skill requirement is 50 ninjitsu. Note that your hiding skills will also be checked in order to determine whether they were used successfully or not. This item is useless if you have no hiding skills. When used successfully, the ninja will hide even in mid combat and be able to stealth away. It costs 10 mana points and a smoke bomb. Cooks and Alchemists can make smoke bombs for you.


Shuriken

The shuriken is a poisoned metal star made specifically for ninjas. Your chance to hit your target is based on your ninjitsu skills. The higher your skills, the greater your chance to hit. The damage they inflict is very low, but the beauty of this item is that it allows you to inflict deadly poison to your target if applied it to your shuriken before throwing it. The ninja using the poisoned shurikens does not need poisoning skills to inflict DP wounds, but a poisoner will be needed to apply it on the shurikens for you. You carry the shuriken in a leather ninja belt that can hold up to 10 of them at a time. The only downside is that the shuriken is slow and must be used at range. If the target is too close, you will not be able to throw them. Shurikens are made by blacksmiths.


Fukiya & Fukiya Darts

These work on much the same principle as the shuriken. They will poison the target with whatever poison you applied on the darts. Once again, the chance to hit is based on your Ninjitsu skills. The main difference is that the Shuriken is long range whereas the the Fukiya is short range. You can be right next to your target and use the Fukiya Darts. A carpenter can craft the Fukiya but the darts are crafted by a Fletcher.

The upside to both the fukiya and the shuriken is that you can strike from the shadows and go back there again if you are fast enough. Poison damage no longer reveals you.

The table below (from Stratics), details the abilities according to skill level that the Ninja will be able to display.

Icon	Name	Mana	Skill	Info
	Animal Form	0	0	Allows you to transform into an animal, gaining special bonuses. If you are running while casting this spell, you will automatically transform into your last selected animal type. Available Forms Animal Skill Special Abilities Rabbit 0 Grants a 20 point bonus to the stealth skill. Rat 0 Grants a 20 point bonus to the stealth skill. Cat 40 Increases regeneration rate. The increase is based on your Ninjitsu skill. Dog 40 Increases regeneration rate. The increase is based on your Ninjitsu skill. Giant Serpent 50 Inflicts low level poison whenever you strike your opponent with a non-ranged weapon. Bullfrog 50 Inflicts poison when your enemy damages you at short range. Ostard 70 Increases movement speed. Llama 70 Increases movement speed. Wolf 85 Increases movement speed and grants a bonus to both your hit chance and maximum hit points. Bake-Kitsune 85 Increases movement speed and grants a bonus to both your hit chance and maximum hit points. Unicorn 100 Increases movement speed and grants immunity to low level poisons. Ki-Rin 100 Increases movement speed and regenerates stamina quickly.
	Backstab	30	20	An attack from stealth with a damage bonus based on your Ninjitsu and the distance you have tracked your target.
	Surprise Attack	20	30	An attack from stealth that inflicts a defense penalty on your opponent for a short duration. You cannot re-enter stealth for 5 seconds after a surprise attack.
	Mirror Image	10	40	Creates a mirror image of yourself that may absorb damage when you are standing within 4 steps of it. A mirror image consumes a follower slot and will disappear in 30 to 60 seconds.
	Shadowjump	15	50	Allows you to teleport while maintaining stealth, but only if you succeed in a stealth check at your destination.
	Focus Attack	20	60	Increases both your damage and the percentage chance for 'hit' properties on your weapon for one attack
	Ki Attack	25	80	An attack that does greater damage based on how far you travel to your opponent from the location where you initiated the Ki Attack. You must reach your target in under 2 seconds.
	Death Strike	30	85	After receiving a Death Strike, if the opponent moves more than five steps, or five seconds elapses, they will suffer direct damage determined by the attacker's Ninjitsu.

Reviewed and updated by Tristan Beltaine