This is where I will put the info concerning house rules and other relevant game mechanics'
Since this is a custom game, there will likely be several house rules.

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I want to give you a few guidelines to create your characters.

~PL 5 with 75 pp to build (when you send it to me, I don't care which character sheet format you use so long as it is well organized and easy to read)

~no starting jutsus - you are just starting your days as an academy student (if you want to hold off on spending some pp to have your character learn more jutsus than others when they become available, that's fine)

~the following skills will be added to the basic character sheet:
    Knowledge: Jutsu (INT) - this is for both learning new and recognizing others (your highest level jutsu cannot exceed your total bonus in this skill, including INT)
    Hand Sign (DEX) - this will be used to activate a jutsu (the exact rules on that will be listed later... just know that this will be an important skill)

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~as far as setting, the feel will be generally the same as the show/manga, but I will be changing the actual setting so as to prevent metagaming (not saying you will, but I'm accounting for future players). There will be all new villages and clans.
    Villages will be named relevant to the type of are where it is located. For example, it will start in the "Village Hidden In The Jungle". New villages will be made known to you when they become relevant to your characters. I want you to learn about the world at the same rate that your PC's do...
    Clans will be named for the various animals that inhabit that area and use that as a basis for their philosophy on fighting / jutsus / life / etc (not saying that they use that animal in everyday speech... it's just a basis for mindset)
    The following is a list of available clans to be a part of:
    - Toratsuriai - named for the Tiger: They believe in balance in all things. If you are stronger in one area than another, you must work your weaknesses harder so that they are not exploited.
    - Kumokinaya - named for the Spider: They believe in patience. Even when they have the upper hand, they wait until they have a position of complete dominance to truly act. They are refugees from another village destroyed by an unknown force.
    - Raioneiki - named for the Lion: They believe in courage above all else. To them, ability is useless without the will to use it. Even a weaker foe can overcome you if he has more heart.
    - Kurohyuteinei - named for the Panther: They believe in caution over recklessness. It is better to have few allies than to have a trusted ally betray you.
    - Sarukiten - named for the Monkey: They believe in clever planning. Physically, they are not as naturally imposing as the other clans, so they must make sure to always stay a step ahead of them to keep their edge.
    - Zoudanka - named for the Elephant: They believe in determination and strength. If you are forceful enough, you can impose your will on any foe.
    - Kaerudoku - named for the Frog: They believe in the power of being underestimated. If your foe believes you to be weak, he will let down his guard. This will give the perfect opportunity to show him his folly
    - Karasueigo - named for the Raven: They believe in intelligent planning and cunning use of skill. There is no obstacle that the mind cannot overcome.
    - Kametetsugaku - named for the Turtle: They believe in community. They are the most philosophical of the clans. They are the investigators. They are the healers. They are the advisors. They take noone's side until they have learned all there is to learn.

At this time, I will not be allowing additional clans. The only other option is to be clanless (essentially, an orphan). This particular circumstance will be rare and will require good justification.

That's all I have to give you right now, but that should be enough to get your creative juices flowing for character concepts. Once you have one, send it to me in a new rMail. Your character concepts will help shape the future of the Hidden Jungle Village.

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Jutsus -

Jutsus will be created in the same manner that powers are for other MnM games. This will separate the three main types of jutsu.

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    Ninjutsu - this is the default type of jutsu. To activate a Ninjutsu, you will have to make a "Hand Sign" skill check equal to 10 + the level of the jutsu (or number of ranks purchased). So, a level 5 jutsu will require a DC 15 hand sign check. (when you consider that a maxed rank skill at PL 5 is 10 ranks + dex, that's not too hard)
This flaw is worth -1 to the cost per rank
If you want, you can decrease the ranks used (and, in turn, its effectiveness) to decrease the hand sign DC.
If you REALLY want to make sure you pass the check, you can extend the sign action by one sep (from free to move to full round to additional rounds). Each step you increase the action to will reduce the DC by 5. (if you intend to do this, you must state how long you will be taking to perform the check before rolling - please put "hand sign (free)", "hand sign (move)", "hand sign (1 rd)", "hand sign (2 rd)", etc)

In addition to the point cost benefit for this necessity, there are other possibilities. If you natural 20 your hand sign check, you can choose one of the following 2 options:
    1.) Expert Swiftness: Both the hand sign and the jutsu are considered free actions for the round (even if you extended the hand sign action time). This still leaves you with your move (provided you haven't used it already) and your standard action to use as you see fit. This only works once per round. So, no, you cannot have infinite jutsus if you continue to roll nat 20.
    2.) Expert Potency: You may add an additional +5 to the effective rank of the jutsu for the purpose of determining save DC's (for offensive jutsus) or +2 to the effective rank for utility jutsus (i.e. Naruto's Shadow Clone jutsu would create significantly more clones).
    You may only make use of one of these benefits per round (even on different hand sign checks)

If you roll a natural 1 on the hand sign check, the jutsu backfires on you (as determined by me) in some way. This could either be comical or devestating depending on the jutsu. (Naruto's Sexy Jutsu turning him into a hideous member of the opposite sex, for example)

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    Genjutsu - since most genjutsu involve illusionary techniques, it will have the duration flaw (still -1) to concentration. This will not require any skill checks to initiate. Only concentration checks to continue if something happens to disrupt your concentration (i.e. taking damage)

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    Taijutsu - these are primarily physical strikes and will be handled one of two ways depending on the effect.
    physical, damaging attacks are built using the "strike" power (no flaws)
    all non-damaging attacks with a range of touch are not changed
    all non-damaging attacks with a range of more than touch recieve the "range" flaw to drop it from "ranged attack" to "touch attack"

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    Keggei Genkai - these are jutsus passed down throughout the family. They will be specially designed jutsus built as a joint effort between the PC and the GM on a case-by-case basis.

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Substitution Jutsu -
    A staple in the Naruto universe. I will be using the version outlined in the "Mecha And Manga" MnM book.

Substitution
Effect: Defense
Action: Reaction
Range: Personal
Duration: Instant
Cost: 2 points per rank

You have the frustrating ability to avoid attacks that would hit you, by tricking your attackers into hitting an illusory decoy. When you are hit by an attack that targets you specifically, you can make a power check as a reaction. If the result is greater than the attack or Reflex save DC, you disappear from the spot and appear at any location within (power rank x10) feet, leaving behind a purely narrative replacement (traditionally a sawn-off log). You cannot buy more ranks in this power than the setting’s PL. You can make an immediate Stealth check when you reappear. Each time you use this power in the same encounter, you suffer a –2 penalty to your power check, as your attackers grow wary of your little trick.  This is not a mode of teleportation; this power assumes that the target that an attacker struck or imprisoned was always a substitute and you were really hiding or following from somewhere else. The Gamemaster may disallow the use of this power if you could not possibly be somewhere else when your substitute was attacked.

It is not stated in the origional entry, but I am putting the stipulation in that this ability can be used only once per round. (so, if you are targeted by two attacks and your substitute out of the way of the first one, you must treat the second one normally)
This jutsu will not require hand sign skill checks as I do not want the game to be cluttered up by too many unnecessary rolls and this jutsu contains all the rolls I feel that are necessary

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All rolls will be made by the players publicly. If you forget to make a roll (i.e.: doing something acrobatic without making the check) I will make it for you and edit it into your post.
Skills such as using "sense motive" to determine if someone is lying will be rolled by me secretly, as well. (in a pbp game, this will save time) If you character succeeds this opposed check and determines that someone is lying, then I will certainly let you know and you can react appropriately.
My rolls (especially concerning foes) will be made in private. If you want to know how potent your enemy is, I suggest you invest in the "Assessment" feat.
The "Assessment" feat will apply only to physical ability. If you want to determine the amount of chakra a character possesses (a.k.a. their potential PL), then you will need to learn a special jutsu.

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Eventually, upon reaching a certain rank (PL), a character will find one of their jutsus to be their "Signature Jutsu". If you want a specific one to be your signature jutsu, do not tell me which one it is. I will know by how frequently you use it. If I see one as being your "go-to-jutsu" then it will be assigned as such. The benefit for this is that the rank cap on it will increase. You must still spends point to increase it as normal, but the amount by which it can be raised will increase.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 07:46, Tue 15 Feb 2011.