Ninjas are masters of infiltration, stealth, and assassination. Much of this takes place covertly, undertaken in solo or commando raids where they effortlessly carry out their mission without anyone having spotted them entering or leaving. However, in many instances ninjas enter a place, carry out their mission, and leave all while in full view of people, with none of them realizing what they're seeing. Such missions, usually carried out in disguise and under seemingly-innocent actions, are usually undertaken by female ninja, otherwise known as kunoichi.
Natsuki was born of one such mission. Her mother, a skilled kunoichi of the Kurotora clan, was sent to seduce a minor diplomat and steal the papers he was carrying between local lords of the Yonhosu Valley. While it was no problem for her to convince the man to take her to bed and then steal the papers while he slumbered afterwards, the young woman had no idea that by chance, her usual contraceptive had failed. It was only several weeks later that she realized she was carrying a child. When she finally gave birth, she named her new daughter "Natsuki," which meant "summer tree" in her native language.
Raised among ninja, it was almost immediately obvious that Natsuki was blessed by the gods. She picked up even very complicated skills extremely quickly. She was quick and agile, wise and confident, and extremely beautiful. Only her strength and health were unremarkable, but even those were merely average, rather than bad. Moreover, when she began to train in earnest, it soon became apparent that the girl possessed a strange magic, very unlike the usual onmyoudo or religious magic that the clan's mystics employed. In an effort to try and master this mysterious power, Natsuki's teachers instructed her in the ways of "hearth magic," the broad form of charms known mostly among peasants, and though this revealed nothing of her strange abilities, it did teach her valuable new skills.
Natsuki soon became a valuable kunoichi to the Kurotora clan, and undertook several missions where she was easily able to slip into places and steal or kill as was required of her. However, as she came of age, she began to be assigned more and more to various undercover roles. Stealth was exchanged for subterfuge, and her disguises were replaced with false smiles and small talk. Her exquisite beauty made her perfect for getting close to various important men, but she often found herself unsure of what to say or do to properly make them interested in her. Several times, she resorted to her strange magic, or to charms she had crafted, to achieve the necessary results, despite having been warned by her elders that it was best to not use any such powers unless necessary, for fear of detection. Worst of all, though, was that she was expected to make her body available to her targets. While she understood the rationale - that it was easier to gain access to a person and/or their things by sleeping with them - she absolutely hated doing so. With the rebelliousness of a teenage girl, she bitterly resented having to let her body be exploited.
And then one day, it seemed as though fortune had smiled upon her. One of the items she was sent to steal was a small ring from the vaults of a powerful warlord. Having left him asleep after he finished with her, she was heading back to her clan when she was struck by the urge to try the ring on. Doing so, she was surprised when a large, red-skinned demon appeared. Backing up in fright, she was shocked when the demon explained that he was bound to the ring until he granted three wishes to the wearer. Realizing why her clan elders wanted the ring stolen so badly, Natsuki was overcome by a sudden sense of vindication. She wouldn't give the ring to her clan...she would use it for herself! After all, she reasoned, they owed her something for how they'd turned her into a whore on their behalf. Thinking for several minutes, she decided to use the wishes to her own benefit. Her first wish was to know the secrets of alchemy, jealously hoarded by the mystics in her clan. The demon granted her wish, and instantly she knew how to prepare the various concoctions. Overjoyed, she made her second wish, to be able to use her innate magic even faster. The demon again granted her wish, and she suddenly felt that she would be able to bring forth her magic quicker, though doing so would be more taxing. For her final wish, Natsuki smiled as she wished that her body was more suited for assassination, thinking that if she were a better combatant, she would stop being sent on missions of a sexual nature. However, the demon, knowing that assassination missions for kunoichi often consisted of killing men while they slept, and usually after bedding them, misunderstood. As such, Natsuki's joy soon turned to shock and then horror as the demon made her small, pert breasts grew to become the size of cabbages!
When she demanded to know what he'd done, the demon explained his reasoning. Almost hysterical, Natsuki tried to tell him that he'd misunderstood her wish, and that he should undo what he'd done. But it was too late, and the demon laughed as it explained that it was no longer beholden to her or any other mortal, and with that it departed in a roar of flames, its laughter ringing in the air. Tearfully cursing herself, Natsuki trudged back to her clan sorrowfully reported what she'd done. Needless to say, the elders were furious. In punishment for her foolishness, Natsuki was then assigned to nothing but seduction missions, and even when not on them was forced to participate in rigorous sexual training, maximizing the use she could get out of displaying her body, particularly her newly-enlarged breasts.
For almost a year, Natsuki sulkily endured her new lot in life. With every man she gave herself to, every embarrassing exercise she had to undergo, she silently cursed her own stupidity, the demon of the ring, and the gods for giving her such a desirable body. Every night, she prayed for something to happen that would free her from her awful duties. Unfortunately, the gods were apparently listening. As she was returning to her clan from what had become a routine of seduce-screw-steal, she was horrified to see the clan headquarters on fire! The local warlord had grown tired of a renegade band of ninja operating in his territory, and had somehow acquired information on their whereabouts. Running to help her comrades, Natsuki's bravery was not rewarded; she succeeded only in alerting the attacking forces that there was another ninja that they'd missed. It didn't take long before a badly-injured Natsuki was forced to flee for her life, running into the forest.
Collapsing from her injuries, Natsuki awoke the next morning to find herself strangely healed. Sitting up, she found herself in the company of a teary-eyed young girl. Introducing herself as Kusha, the girl explained that she'd healed Natsuki's injuries, sensing a strange kinship between them. Though grieving and suspicious, Natsuki didn't send Kusha away, and the two soon found that they did indeed have two things in common. The first was that Kusha also used the strange, innate magic that Natsuki herself commanded. According to Kusha, the westerners called it "psionics." The second was that they'd both lost their clan; Kusha's had been decimated by a pack of evil spirits several nights previously. It was then that Natsuki noticed the fox tail behind Kusha, betraying that her newfound friend was actually a kitsune, a fox spirit.
Eventually, the two decided to travel together, and leave the Yonhosu Valley behind. After all, neither was certain that there wouldn't be assassins following them to make sure that their respective clans were finished off. Relying only on each other, Natsuki and Kusha spent months travelling west, since Kusha thought that there might be more people like them, more "psionicists," in those strange lands. The two went through many things together, sharing experiences that were good (defeating a pack of ghouls that was attacking a small village), bad (fleeing for their lives when a pack of assassins caught up to them), and awkward (when Natsuki found out that Kusha was actually a boy, despite his feminine appearance), eventually becoming fast friends.
Eventually arriving in the west, and both badly missing the support structure of belonging to an established group, set out to look for others like them. It was purely by chance that Kusha sensed the presence of a powerful psion. Curious, the pair tried to follow the man that Kusha had sensed, not realizing that he had detected them in turn. When they were ambushed by his friends, the two were unprepared and, though they fought hard, were eventually defeated. Captured, the two had their minds read, and surprisingly were released when the group that had captured them - all of whom were linked by a strange bond that seemed to intrigue Kusha - determined their origins and reason for stalking their leader. Even more surprising, the pair were offered a place with the band, most of whom had psionic capabilities, and after some cajoling from Kusha, Natsuki accepted. Of course, when she later realized that the group - which consisted of one man and several women, not counting herself and Kusha - were all lovers, and expected her to join them, that almost ended her involvement with them. However, after much pleading from Kusha (who didn't want to leave his newfound clan, or lose her), some talking with Kiren (the leader of the group, who was rather handsome), and a long conversation with Karali (the den mother to the others, who also subtly cast a charm spell on the headstrong girl), she agreed to remain with the team. In all the time that's passed since then, she's grumbled and groaned about her choice ever since, but has never truly regretted it, since for the first time in a while, she feels like she truly has real friends and a home of her own.
NATSUKI CR 23[]
Female Superior Chosen human psychic rogue 10/fighter 3/savant 2/enlightened monk 5
N Medium Humanoid (Human, Psionic)
Init +7 (+7 Dex); Senses Listen +19, Spot +19
Languages Common, Abyssal, Ancient, Celestial, Draconic, Infernal, Kitsu, Spirit, Sylvan
AC 34, touch 26, flat-footed 33 (+8 bracers, +7 Dex, +5 Wisdom, +3 enlightened monk AC, +1 dodge (when psionically focused; Wind martial arts style)); Dodge, Two-Weapon Defense, Psionic Dodge, danger sense, Deep Psychic Meditation (crown, throat, or base)
hp 141 (20 HD)
Immune diseases (except for supernatural and magical diseases)
Fort +14, Ref +16, Will +12; danger sense, improved evasion, still mind, Deep Psychic Meditation (throat, solar plexus, or base)
Spd 80 ft.
Melee +5 defending war fan +24/+24/+19/+14 (1d6+1 plus 2d8/x3) and
Melee +5 defending war fan +25 (1d6 plus 2d8) or
Melee unarmed strike +18/+18/+13/+8 (2d8+1) and
Melee nipple spikes +19 (1d2) or
Ranged fukimi-bari +21/+16 (3 plus poison/x3) or
Ranged kunai +21/+19/+17/+16/+14/+12/+11/+9/+7 (1d3+1/x3) or
Ranged shuriken +21/+19/+17/+16/+15/+14/+13/+12/+11/+11/+10/+9/+9/+8/+7/+6/+5/+4/+3/+1/-1 (1d2+1)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +14; Grp +19
Atk Options Combat Expertise, flurry of blows, Pressure Point Strike, Rapid Shot, Stunning Fist (8/day)
Special Atks sneak attack +4d6
Combat Gear 2 +5 defending war fans, 60 shuriken, 12 kunai, 6 fukimi-bari, wire with leather grips, nipple spikes
Powers Known (ML 14th, 124 pp)
- 3rd – dimension slide, escape detection
- 2nd – detect hostile intent, psionic darkvision, thought shield
- 1st – attraction, defensive precognition, entangling ectoplasm
Psi-Like Abilities (ML 2nd) At will (immediate action) – catfall (augmented; 20 ft.)
Abilities Str 12, Dex 24, Con 18, Int 26, Wis 20, Cha 16, App 20
SQ AC bonus, catfall, danger sense (improved uncanny dodge and uncanny dodge), evasion, improved evasion, ki psionics, ki strike (magic), ki style (wind), purity of body, speed bonus, still mind, trapfinding
Feats Action Maneuver Proficiency (defensive), Action Maneuver Proficiency (movement), Artful Legerdemain, Ascetic Warrior, Assassin Training, Body Container, Chest of Holding, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Cross-Class Proficiency (Hearth Wisdom), Dedicated Alchemist, Deep Psychic Meditation, Dodge, Hot Body, Improved Grapple, Improved Ki Weapon (war fan), Improved Unarmed Strike, Jack of All Trades, Ki Weapon (war fan), Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Practiced Manifester, Pressure Point Strike, Psionic Dodge, Psionic Meditation, Psychic Meditation, Quick Draw, Quicken Power, Rapid Shot, Shinobi Arsenal, Stunning Fist, Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (war fan), Weapon Technique (kunai), Weapon Technique (shuriken), Weapon Technique (war fan)
Flaws Frail, Pathetic (Strength), Poor Reflexes
Skills Appraise +8 (+10 regarding alchemical items, poisons, and traps), Autohypnosis +17, Balance +20, Bluff +14, Climb +14, Concentration +19, Craft (alchemy) +30, Craft (poisonmaking) +30, Craft (trapmaking) +30, Craft (all others) +8, Decipher Script +8, Diplomacy +5, Disable Device +22, Disguise +5 (+7 to act in character), Escape Artist +20, Forgery +8, Gather Information +5, Handle Animal +3, Heal +7, Hearth Wisdom +25, Hide +21, Intimidate +7, Jump +32, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) +8, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +8, Knowledge (geography) +8, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +8, Knowledge (psionics) +8, Knowledge (religion) +8, Knowledge (the planes) +8, Listen +19, Move Silently +21, Open Lock +17, Perform (sexual techniques) +20, Perform (all others) +3, Profession (all) +5, Psicraft +8, Ride +7, Search +8, Sense Motive +5, Sleight of Hand +27, Spellcraft +10, Spot +19, Survival +5, Swim +1, Tumble +19, Use Magic Device +3, Use Psionic Device +3, Use Rope +7 (+9 to bind someone)
Possessions bracers of armor +8, bag of holding type I (containing an alchemist’s lab, climber’s kit, healer’s kit, masterwork thieves’ tools, face paint (10 applications), 60 ft. black silk rope, 200 paper strips, 10 basic shrine offerings, and 4 abundant shrine offerings), potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of gaseous form, potion of invisibility, flask of ectoplasmic skin, flask of mimic clay, vial of rejuvenation essence, vial of acid neutralizer, 2 vials of evaporating antitoxin, vial of health restorer, vial of instant ice, light bottle, vial of neutralizer, vial of rage gas, vial of scent breaker, stone bottle, vial of stone dissolver, vial of stun gas, vial of alchemist’s fire, thunderstone, vial of blue whinnis, vial of deathblade, vial of large scorpion venom, vial of insanity mist, 2 vials of binary dark reaver powder, vial of oil of taggit, vial of terinav root, vial of infernal seed.
Danger Sense (Su): Natsuki has the ability to augment her ability to sense danger. When active, this ability grants her the effects of the danger sense power. This ability is active as long as she maintains psionic focus.
Natsuki’s danger sense ability also grants uncanny dodge. While her danger sense ability is active, she can react to danger before his senses would normally allow him to do so. She retains her Dexterity bonus to AC even if she is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, she still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.
Natsuki’s danger sense ability has a second augmentation that grants her improved uncanny dodge. While her danger sense ability is active, she cannot be flanked; she can react to opponents on opposite sides of her as easily as she can react to a single attacker. This defense denies another rogue the ability to sneak attack Natsuki by flanking her, unless the attacker has at least fourteen rogue levels.
Improved Evasion (Ex): Natsuki can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. If she fails such a save, she only takes half damage. Improved evasion can be used only if Natsuki is wearing light armor or no armor. Natsuki does not gain the benefit of improved evasion if helpless.
Sneak Attack (Ex): If Natsuki can catch an opponent when he cannot defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage.
Basically, Natsuki's attack deals extra damage any time her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when she flanks her target. This extra damage is 4d6. Should Natsuki score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.
Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet.
With a sap (blackjack) or an unarmed strike, Natsuki can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. She cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual -4 penalty, because she must make optimal use of her weapon to execute a sneak attack.
Natsuki can sneak attack only living creatures with discernible anatomies -- undead, constructs, deathless, oozes, plants, and incorporeal creatures lack vital areas to attack. Any creature that is immune to critical hits is not vulnerable to sneak attacks. Natsuki must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. She cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment or striking the limbs of a creature whose vitals are beyond reach.
Still Mind (Ex): Natsuki gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against powers and effects from the telepathy discipline as long as she is psionically focused. If using the default magic-psionics transparency rules, this ability is also effective against any spells and effects from the enchantment school. Natsuki can expend her psionic focus as an immediate action to increase this bonus to +4 on one saving throw. The decision to expend psionic focus for this bonus must be made before the GM reveals result of the roll.
Trapfinding (Ex): Natsuki can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20.
Finding a nonmagical trap has a DC of at least 20, or higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic or psionic trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell or power used to create it.
Natsuki can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic and psionic traps. Magic and psionic traps generally have a DC of 25 + the level of the spell or power used to create them.
If Natsuki beats a trap's DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check, she can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with her party) without disarming it.
COMBAT[]
Natsuki has a truly bewildering array of options in combat. Unless circumstances are dire, Natsuki will always spend the day leading up to a mission in preparation. During this time she'll pick out a plethora of weapons, poisons, and alchemical items and secret them on her person. She'll also spend twenty-four hours (in three eight-hour segments) awakening three of her chakra centers (via her Deep Psychic Meditation feat). She'll also craft any charms she'll think could be useful, usually giving at least some to her teammates. Rarely, if she thinks it prudent, she'll construct transportable traps, bringing them with her on a mission (carefully stored in her bag of holding) and setting them up on site.
Battle Tactics[]
Natsuki doesn't believe in a fair fight. She'd much prefer to poison an enemy and be far away by the time it kills him, or to simply murder her enemies in their sleep. However, if a physical confrontation breaks out, she's able to handle her own.
Most of Natsuki's combat training focuses on defense. Her standard operating procedure, when in a fight, is to defend herself from harm and look for a chance to get away. To this end, she has myriad options to prevent herself from getting hit in combat. Both of her war fans are defending weapons, and at the first opportunity she'll reallocate their enhancement bonuses to her AC. Likewise, since she's been thoroughly trained in the use of her war fans (represented by her Weapon Technique feat in them) she can also open and close them in a dizzying array that subtracts anywhere from -1 to -5 from her attack rolls with each fan (she usually takes a -5 penalty with each fan) and adds a corresponding dodge bonus to her AC. She can likewise also use her Combat Expertise feat to take another -5 penalty to all attacks in exchange for a similar dodge bonus to AC. She further gains a +1 shield bonus when using both fans, thanks to her Two-Weapon Defense feat. Finally, she also uses her Dodge and Psionic Dodge feats against the most dangerous looking targets (she can use both feats on the same individual).
Natsuki has several other defensive options as well. If necessary, she'll use her defensive precognition power, taking a standard action to augment it for 13 power points (granting her a +5 insight bonus to AC) if possible. Further, if she's activated her crown, throat, or base chakras (see below) then she also gains a bonus to AC (the throat chakra increases her AC since she gains her Wisdom bonus to her armor class).
Beyond her potent defenses, Natsuki is a skilled combatant, though she's no front-line fighter. She'll typically try to take advantage of her environment in a fight, using her myriad alchemical items (see below) to try and turn things to her advantage. She also makes liberal use of poison (see below) with her weapons to try and wear her enemies down. Beyond that, she'll try to get into a position to sneak attack her opponent whenever possible.
When engaged in melee, Natsuki always uses her war fans, if possible; even without them, though, she's skilled in hand-to-hand combat. When she first brings out her fans into melee, she may make a Bluff check, opposed by her target's Sense Motive check. If Natsuki succeeds, she gains a +4 circumstance bonus to all attack rolls with her war fans against her enemy for 1 round. Since her war fans are special monk weapons, she may make a flurry of blows with them, adding an extra attack but taking a -1 penalty to all attacks in the flurry. Further, damage dealt with her war fans also does an additional 2d8 damage (as listed above), since she's able to channel her unarmed strike damage through them; these extra dice of damage are multiplied on a critical hit. Beyond that she may make an off-hand attack as well (usually with either her fukimi-bari - which allows her to spit up to three needles on the same attack roll; see below - or with her nipple spikes). If she uses one of these off-hand attacks, however, all of her attacks take a -2 penalty.
Natsuki is also well practiced in throwing weapons, particularly shuriken and kunai (kunai are throwing daggers with ringed pommels). Her training with those weapons (represented by her Weapon Technique feats with them) allows her to throw multiple ones on a single attack action. Each subsequent throw on the same attack action uses the same attack roll, but at a -2 penalty for each additional thrown weapon (e.g. if Natsuki throws a kunai, and rolls a 6, she has a total attack roll of 27; if she throws two more kunai as part of the same attack action, they're considered to have attack rolls of 25 and 23, respectively). Natsuki may throw up to three kunai and seven shuriken as part of the same attack action (if something raises her Dexterity score, such as if she activates her Sacral chakra (see below) then she may throw a maximum of eight kunai on the same attack action). When making a full attack action in melee combat, Natsuki usually takes an additional -2 penalty to all her attacks so that she can use her Rapid Shot to gain an extra ranged attack - she takes a 5 ft. step back from her melee opponent, sheathes one of her war fans (a free action, since she does it via her Artful Legerdemain feat) draws and throws the maximum number of kunai or shuriken, or an alchemical item (which she may do since she hid them via Artful Legerdemain) and then draws her war fan again (via Quick Draw). Natsuki gains a +1 bonus against ranged targets within 30 ft., thanks to her Point Blank Shot feat.
Hidden Items[]
Natsuki's training allows her to hide a truly staggering variety of items both on and in her body. She usually always takes 20 when hiding an item (spending two minutes hiding it on her body), and takes a -15 penalty (via her Artful Legerdemain feat) so that the item may be drawn as a free action (even if it's a weapon), for a total Sleight of Hand result of 32. Note that her hidden shuriken gain a +4 bonus to this result, due to being extraordinarily small; likewise, her kunai are a form of dagger, and so have a +2 bonus to the Sleight of Hand result. Likewise, thanks to her Hot Body feat, all heterosexual male (and homosexual female) humanoids, fey, giants, monstrous humanoids, and outsiders - as well as creatures with those types as Augmented subtypes - take a -2 penalty on Search and Spot checks while Natsuki is in view; in essence, Natsuki is so attractive that they have a hard time concentrating, making it even less likely that they'll find her hidden items.
A list of what items she has hidden, and where, follows:
Natsuki keeps her garroting wire (see below) hidden in her hair, disguising it as a tie used to pull her hair up in a ponytail. The wire has leather straps on the ends so that the wire can be used without damaging her hands. She makes sure to artfully arrange these to appear to be a bow on her hair tie.
Fukimi-bari are hidden needles kept in the throat. Natsuki is able to hold six of them, and can spit up to three as part of a single attack roll, with each needle inflicting 1 point of damage (and receiving no Strength bonus). Natsuki usually coats each needle with deathblade poison (injury DC 20; initial 1d6 Con; secondary 2d6 Con). Further, each time an opponent is struck by one of these needles (which have a range increment of 5 ft.), they must make a Will save (DC 27) or lose their Dexterity modifier to AC for 1 round. Natsuki's Assassin Training feat allows her to keep these poisoned needles in her throat without fear of injuring herself with them. Her fukimi-bari cannot be located with a Spot check, and gain a +10 bonus to Sleight of Hand on opposed Search checks (see above) to find them.
Natsuki's Chest of Holding feat allows her to keep up to 25 lbs. of items tucked between her breasts, so long as the items are of Diminutive size or smaller. Items so hidden have a +4 bonus to Sleight of Hand on opposed Spot or Search checks (see above) to find them. Bottles and flasks are considered to weigh 1 lb., while vials are considered to weight 0.5 lbs. This only functions while Natsuki's chest is covered; if rendered topless, all of the items held in her chest fall out. Natsuki keeps the following items hidden in her cleavage: potion of cure moderate wounds, 6 kunai (which weight 1 lb. each), 60 shuriken (each of which weighs 0.05 lbs.), a flask of alchemist's fire, a thunderstone, a flask of ectoplasmic skin, a flask of mimic clay, a smoke bottle, a light bottle, (the following items are all in vials) rejuvenation essence, acid neutralizer, 2 evaporating antitoxins, health restorer, instant ice, neutralizer, rage gas, scent breaker, stone dissolver, stun gas, blue whinnis poison, deathblade poison, large scorpion venom, insanity mist, darkreaver powder (this is a binary poison; each half is held in a separate vial), oil of taggit poison, and terinav root poison.
In addition to her other weapons, Natsuki also uses a set of nipple spikes. She usually inserts them at least a day ahead of time, so that the 1 point of damage the insertion inflicts on her can heal naturally, letting the spikes embed themselves in her nipples properly (removing them causes similar damage, though she considers this an unavoidable irritation). This has the side-effect of making her appear as though her nipples are protruding through her top (and, once she uses them in combat, as though they've ripped through her clothes), but since much of what she does still involves aspects of seduction anyway, this isn't usually a problem. When using her nipple spikes, Natsuki will make sure to coat them with blue whinnis poison ahead of time (injury DC 14; initial 1 Con; secondary unconsciousness).
Natsuki's Body Container feat lets her store a single item (size Diminutive or smaller) in each of her major body cavities. While her fukimi-bari occupy her throat (see above), that still leaves two other such openings that she uses. As with her fukimi-bari, items hidden in this way cannot be found with a Spot check, and gain a +10 bonus to Sleight of Hand on opposed Search checks to find them. Natsuki keeps a potion of invisibility hidden vaginally, and a vial of infernal seed stored anally.
The skin on the lower back part of Natsuki's right calf appears slightly blistered. In fact, this is a skin pocket, a small incision in her leg that can hold a Diminutive or smaller object. Anything stored in there gains a +6 bonus to Sleight of Hand on opposed Spot or Search checks (see above) to find them. Currently, it contains a potion of gaseous form. Because the wound from the skin pocket was healed magically, rather than naturally, the only way to access anything in the pocket is to cut it open, which deals 1 point of damage to Natsuki.
Besides the above, Natsuki keeps another half-dozen kunai secured to her body. Two of them are strapped high up on her inner thighs. The other four are secured in small holsters on her lower back. She likewise keeps her war fans on similar holsters on her upper back (grabbed by reaching over her shoulders). She doesn't have to hide those as much, however, since they appear to be mere decorative fans rather than deadly weapons, allowing her to carry them openly without suspicion.
Pressure Points[]
Natsuki has had extensive training in how to manipulate the body with pressure points. By touching a creature in certain areas, Natsuki is able to turn their chakra - the system of mystic energy points that empowers and regulates the body - against them. Further, she is able, through a deep meditative process, to manipulate and expand her own chakra system, though she cannot do this to others.
The simplest and most direct form of chakra manipulation that Natsuki knows is how to stun a creature. This is simply a blow to the solar plexus (or corresponding region) that temporarily disrupts the body's chakra flow altogether, making it difficult for it to do anything until it can restore the connection. This is represented by her Stunning Fist feat, which she can use eight times per day (DC 25).
More complex manipulations of a creature's chakra system are possible, but more difficult. Natsuki is able to manipulate a creature's pressure points to either cause harm, or to help them. If attacking a creature, she must declare she is using this power (represented in game terms by the Pressure Point Strike feat) before making an unarmed attack. If the attack is successful, the foe receives a Fort save (DC 25) against the pressure point effect. If manipulating an ally's pressure points, she must make a level check (1d20+20) against the DC of the effect she's trying to counter. She may only use these manipulations on humanoids (including herself), monstrous humanoids, and giants; other creatures have chakra systems that are too different to manipulate, or they simply lack one altogether. Each use of this ability costs her a certain number of psionic power points. These power points are paid before the attack roll or level check is made; if the attack fails or the power does not work, they are lost with no benefit. The list of chakras on the body, and how she can manipulate them, is given below:
- Crown Chakra - Also known as the Celestial Dragon Point, this chakra, located at the top of the head, regulates magic and psychic power in the body. When attacking this point, an affected creature cannot use any spells, powers, or spell- or psi-like abilities for 1d4 rounds. If using this pressure point to aid an ally, manipulating it allows Natsuki to remove a spell, power, or spell- or psi-like ability as if using greater dispel magic (regardless of magic/psionic transparency). Manipulating this chakra requires 5 power points.
- Third Eye Chakra - Also known as the Water Turtle Point, this chakra, located in the center of the forehead, controls perception and mental acuity. Attacking this foe lets Natsuki blind or deafen them (her choice when using this ability). Used on an ally, manipulating this pressure point removes blindness or deafness. Manipulating this chakra requires 2 power points.
- Throat Chakra - Also known as the Red Monkey Point, this chakra, located as the base of the throat, is the link that allows the body to be regulated by the mind. Attacking this point causes an enemy to be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds. When Natsuki touches this point on an ally, she may remove paralysis. Manipulating this chakra requires 2 power points.
- Heart Chakra - Also known as the Royal Viper Point, this chakra, located over the heart, governs the health and well-being of the body. When attacking this point, a creature takes a -6 penalty on all saves against poison for 1d4 rounds. On an ally, this point neutralizes poison already present in an ally's body. Manipulating this chakra requires 4 power points.
- Solar Plexus Chakra - Also known as the White Tiger Point, this chakra, located in the center of the chest, governs the body's agility and motor functions. Attacking this point is represented by use of the Stunning Fist feat (and does not require expending a power point). Using this point to aid an ally removed the stunned, sickened, or fatigued conditions. Manipulating this chakra requires 1 power point (optionally, using Stunning Fist may also cost 1 power point, to bring it in line with the use of this chakra. In this case, it may be used any number of times per day, so long as the power point cost is paid).
- Base Chakra - Also known as the Emerald Snake Point, this chakra, located just below the navel, governs the body's stability and internal regularity. Attacking this point lets Natsuki flood an enemy's body with internal toxins (this has a Fort DC of 24, unlike the rest of the pressure point abilities; initial 1d4 Con, no secondary damage). On an ally, this pressure point delay's the onset of poison for 1d4 hours. Manipulating this chakra requires 3 power points.
- Sacral Chakra - Also known as the Dragon Soul Point, this chakra, located in the genitals, governs a being's natural resistance to manipulation from mystic forces. Attacking this point lowers a creature's spell resistance (and/or power resistance) by 1d6+5 for 1 round. On an ally, this point increases their spell/power resistance (from any source) by 1d6+5 for 1 round (this does not require a level check). Manipulating this chakra requires 3 power points.
As noted above, Natsuki is capable of advanced manipulations of her own chakra system. Doing this requires more than merely physical manipulations, however, requiring that she meditate for a long period of time in order to force her chakra centers to work to a higher potential. Natsuki may "awaken" up to three of her chakra centers (as listed above) at a time. Awakening a chakra center requires 8 hours of uninterrupted meditation. An chakra center remains awakened until it is reset to a closed state (requiring a standard action, no AoO), or until Natsuki falls below 0 hit points. Once awakened, a chakra center is available to be "activated" to a higher function. Once activated (a standard action, no AoO), these higher functions last for 1 hour. Natsuki has a total of three available activations per day; however, activating the same awakened chakra twice inside of twenty-four hours is difficult, requiring an expenditure of two activations (e.g. Natsuki could use all three activations to activate all three of her awakened chakras, or she could activate a single awakened chakra once, and then expend another two activations to activate it again later that same day). Multiple activations of the same chakra overlap (do not stack). The effects of her awakened chakras are listed below (Natsuki usually has her crown, base, and sacral chakras awakened).
- Crown - +3 natural armor bonus.
- Third Eye - 14 temporary psionic power points.
- Throat - +2 bonus to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
- Heart - 28 temporary hit points (these do not stack with other temporary hit points).
- Solar Plexus - +2 morale bonus to one saving throw, +1 moral bonus to the other two.
- Base - +2 bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.
- Sacral - Power resistance 19.
Strangulation[]
One of the less-savory aspects of her role as an assassin, Natsuki has had ample practice at strangling victims to death.
In order to strangle someone, Natsuki must first begin a grapple. Thanks to her Improved Grapple feat, she does not provoke an attack of opportunity to do so. If she makes the necessary touch attack, and the subsequent opposed grapple check (she gains a +4 to all grapple checks, including strangulation attacks, from Improved Grapple), she and the target are now grappling, and she does unarmed strike damage to her opponent. At that point, she moves into the target's space, and as an attack action can make another melee touch attack against the victim (if she only uses her hands, she takes a -4 penalty to this check, and the victim must be her size category or smaller; if using her garrote (see below) she takes no penalty to this check, and may affect creatures up to one size category larger than her), and begins to strangle him as of the next round. Against this touch attack, the victim may still apply their natural armor bonus, and additionally, gains a +4 armor bonus if wearing full plate, as that provides some measure of protection. (If wearing a leather collar, they also have a +4 armor bonus against this strangulation attack; a gorget - a specialized collar specifically meant to protect from strangulation - provides a +10 armor bonus against this attack.) Strangling someone always requires that Natsuki use both hands.
While strangling a creature in this manner, Natsuki must make a successful opposed grapple check each round (as an attack action) on her turn. The victim being strangled may likewise make opposed grapple checks (as attack actions) on their turn to escape. If Natsuki fails any of these grapple checks, then the victim has successfully freed himself of being strangled, though he and Natsuki are still grappling. A creature being strangled can hold their breath for 2 rounds per point of Constitution. Following that, they must make a Constitution check (DC 10) to continue holding their breath each round, with the DC increasing by +1 per previous success. Once this check is failed, the victim is reduced to 0 hit points and is unconscious. On the subsequent round, if still being strangled, he falls to -1 hit points and is dying. If Natsuki continues to strangle him, then he dies on the round after that. Note that, if she releases a victim when they fall unconscious at 0 hit points, he remains unconscious for 2d6 minutes, and remains at 0 hp. If released at -1 hit points, he is automatically stabilized, but does not regain consciousness until healed (either naturally or magically). A victim being strangled may attempt a Bluff check (opposed by Natsuki's Sense Motive check) to pretend to have fallen unconscious.
As an optional rule, when strangling someone Natsuki may inflict 1d3+1 damage each round (either in addition to the normal effects of strangulation, or replacing it - the former idea is recommended). This damage may be either lethal or non-lethal, at her discretion.
Natsuki keeps a wire, with leather straps on the ends, hidden in her hair as a tie (see above). When she intends to strangle someone, she usually uses this wire as a garrote. Doing so grants her a +3 bonus on any grapple check made to strangle someone. If using the optional damage rules (see above) the garrote inflicts 1d6+1 points of damage, which is always lethal damage.
Natsuki may only attempt to strangle living creatures that breathe, and have a discernable throat; constructs, deathless, elementals, incorporeal creatures, plants, and undead are thus immune to being strangled (as are certain other creatures, at the DM's discretion). While being strangled, a creature cannot take the following actions: pin an opponents, take an opponent's weapon (the garrote only), or speak (including casting spells with verbal components). While strangling someone, Natsuki likewise cannot take any of the following actions: attack her opponent, draw a light weapon, pin her opponent, retrieve a spell component (she has none anyway), or take an opponent's weapon.
Because of the inherent danger that trying to garrote her opponent presents (she's unable to effectively deal with other creatures while doing so), she only attempts such an action if she's alone with her target, or if she has enough backup to effectively deal with anyone else around. She usually only does this to characters she wants to take alive (since she has much faster ways of killing people) or needs to kill silently (such as someone she's sent to assassinate while in the guise of a lover), and usually only then if poisoning them isn't a viable option, or if the poison simply doesn't work.
Hearth Magic[]
While Natsuki doesn't know any true spellcasting, she is well versed in "peasant magic," better known as hearth magic. This is the crafting of various charms for purposes such as healing, defense, worship, and more. While eschewed by traditional spellcasters, Natsuki is still able to achieve tangible, if subtle, results by using her hearth magic. For Natsuki, her hearth magic is empowered through prayer, which she directs to the spirits of her ancestors.
Hearth magic is described in detail in Kitsunemori [1], by Alejandro Melchor. The full text of how exactly hearth magic is constructed and used can't be reprinted here. Instead, several of Natsuki's charms are listed below, along with their use and effect. Natsuki knows a total of twenty hearth magic rituals, with the remaining twelve left up to the GM to decide (though most are likely to be wards).
- Devil Ward - Natsuki makes a Hearth Wisdom check, with a +5 bonus, and for 1d4+1 hours Outsiders with the Evil subtype cannot physically make contact with her unless they make a Will save (the DC being equal to Natsuki's Hearth Wisdom check). Natsuki must engage in ritual prayer for fifteen minutes to activate this charm, and it is focused on the magatama she wears on her necklace (a magatama is a blue seed-shaped elemental gemstone, refer to Kitsunemori for more on them); without her magatama, she cannot use this charm.
- Mystic Barrier - Natsuki makes a Hearth Wisdom check, with a -7 modifier, and for 1d4+1 hours she, or whomever she grants this charm to, gain her Hearth Wisdom check as their Will save against spells. Natsuki must engage in ritual prayer for three minutes to create one of these wards. Further, the person she gives it too must also be given a small charm (which Natsuki creates also) as the focus of the ward; if the charm is lost or removed, the ward ceases functioning.
- Treat Demon Fever - To use this healing charm, Natsuki must pray for twenty-four minutes and make use of one of her abundant shrine offerings at a shrine (one is located near her room when she's at home). After doing so, she makes a Hearth Wisdom check (DC 24) and if successful (and she always is against that DC) gains a +3 bonus on Heal checks to treat demon fever.
- Treat Devil Chills - This works exactly as Natsuki's treat demon fever charm, except that Natsuki must pray for twenty-four minutes, the Hearth Wisdom DC is 24, and she gains a +5 bonus on Heal cehcks to treat lycanthropy.
- Treat Lycanthropy - This works exactly as Natsuki's treat demon fever charm, except that Natsuki must pray for twenty-three minutes, the Hearth Wisdom DC is 23, and she gains a +4 bonus on Heal checks to treat lycanthropy.
- Treat Mummy Rot - This works exactly as Natsuki's treat demon fever charm, except that Natsuki must pray for twenty-four minutes, the Hearth Wisdom DC is 24, and she gains a +2 bonus on Heal checks to treat mummy rot.
- Ancestral Guidance - Natsuki prays to her ancestors for luck and guidance, making a Hearth Wisdom check (DC 16). She must pray for thirty-two minutes, and it must be at an appropriate shrine (Power Rating 1 or higher; see Kitsunemori - otherwise assume that it must be at an existing religious area) dedicated to her ancestors; if the shrine is to another being, she takes a -4 penalty to her Hearth Wisdom check. She uses an abundant shrine offering, granting her a +2 bonus to her Hearth Wisdom check. Success means that she gains a +2 bonus (+1 per 5 points by which her Hearth Wisdom check exceeded the DC) on all other Hearth Wisdom checks she make (since they're all dedicated to her ancestors) and on any Charisma-based checks regarding her ancestral spirits. If she rolls a natural 1 on this check, she takes a -5 penalty to all such checks (as well as ancestral forgiveness checks, see below) until the next full moon.
- Ancestral Forgiveness - Natsuki prays to her ancestors for forgiveness when she feels she's sinned or otherwise done something shameful, making a Hearth Wisdom check (DC 19). She must pray for thirty-eight minutes, and is subject to the same bonuses and penalties as for ancestral guidance, above. Success means that she is considered to be forgiven by her ancestors.
Alchemical items, poisons, potions, and traps[]
Natsuki keeps a variety of items stored on her person for various utilitarian needs. The widest variety of things she carries are her alchemical items. She usually uses various items for different kinds of missions, as outlined below.
When covertly breaking and entering, Natsuki will use mimic clay to try and create a key for an exceptionally difficult lock (if she doesn't have her thieves' tools, she'll use mimic clay to create them instead). For obstacles made of stone, she'll use stone dissolver to melt her way through. Should lighting be an issue, she'll shake her light bottle to make it glow, though since doing so makes it last for an hour, she'll only do that if using psionic darkvision is not an option (though if she absolutely needs to douse it, she'll simply pour it out).
When in a fight, she'll save her acid neutralizer to see if her enemy tries to use acid attacks, otherwise she'll throw it at them offensively (it's extremely basic nature also causes damage). If she has a chance, she'll rub her ectoplasmic skin over herself to gain the damage reduction it offers. If facing large numbers of enemies, she'll avail herself of her rage gas, stun gas, and thunderstone to try and keep them from effectively attacking her. She'll save her alchemist's fire for a particularly vulnerable target (usually using it on flammable objects, ideally to create a diversion). If with her friends, and poison is an issue, she'll use her evaporating antitoxin to help them overcome it, otherwise she'll drink it herself as necessary. Finally, to escape from combat, she'll use her smoke bottle, and manifest an augmented dimension slide to effectively disappear.
While escaping from a bad situation, will use instant ice to try and slip up anyone pursuing her closely. Once she throws off immediate pursuers, she'll lay down scent breaker over her trail to make sure she can't be tracked by scent. Only when she's sure she's out of danger will she stop to use her health restorer, and if necessary, her potion of cure moderate wounds. If she has some time, but needs to recover quickly, she'll use her rejuvenation essence.
Natsuki is an expert poisoner, and by spending a full-round action, can judge how vulnerable or resistant a target within 30 ft. is to poison (within 40 ft. for constructs, dragons, and magical beasts). Natsuki typically keeps a variety of poisons on herself, since different ones are used in different situations. She always keeps her fukimi-bari covered with deathblade poison (see above), and her nipple spikes with blue whinnis (see above), and has extra vials of each on her person in case she needs them again. She'll typically save her large scorpion venom (injury DC 18; initial 1d6 Str; secondary 1d6 Str) for when combat breaks out, poisoning one of her war fans to use in melee combat; if things seems serious, she'll apply her terinav root (contact DC 16; initial id6 Dex; secondary 2d6 Dex) to her other war fan. She'll also save her insanity mist (inhaled DC 15; initial 1d4 Wis; secondary 2d6 Wis) for using against large groups of enemies in combat.
Natsuki's remaining poisons are for more subtle uses. When on a seduction mission, she'll use her oil of taggit poison (ingested DC 15; initial 0; secondary unconsciousness) when she and her mark are alone. If at all possible, she'll mix it with her neutralizer (alchemical item) ahead of time to disguise the taste (as an optional rule, you can allow someone partaking of an ingested poison to make a Wisdom check, with the DC equal to the poison's DC, to detect the foreign substance, and stop eating it before it affects them. A neutralizer adds +10 to this DC). While she'll sometimes be able to put this in her target's food, often the only time she can get her target alone is for a sexual encounter. In this case, she'll instead rub the oil of taggit on her breasts, letting the target ingest the poison off of them.
If looking to kill a target without raising suspicion, and unable to get them alone, Natsuki will instead resort to her dark reaver powder (ingested DC 18; initial 2d6 Con; secondary 1d6 Con + 1d6 Str). Because she uses a binary version of dark reaver, this poison is actually split into two halves, each of which must be consumed by the target before the poison takes effect. Because of this, each individual half does not register as poison to various spells and effects (such as detect poison, neutralize poison, etc) until body halves of the poison have been ingested. This allows Natsuki to give the target half at one time, and the other half at a later date, often consuming just half of the poisoned food or drink herself if anyone is suspicious. If even this is impractical, then she'll spread her terinav root poison across something the target is likely to touch.
It's recommended that the optional rule for poison damage from the Book of Experimental Might [2] be used. Specifically, once a person is poisoned, they take 1 point of the poison's damage reach round, until the poison deals it's maximum damage (e.g. a poison that dealt 1d6 points of Constitution damage would deal 1 point of Con damage each round for 6 rounds). A person makes a saving throw every round, and once they make a successful save, they no longer take any damage from the poison. This makes keeping track of poison damage easier.
One of Natsuki's most closely guarded secrets is the vial of infernal seed that she keeps hidden anally. While Natsuki knows about the dangers of abusing this drug too much, it's saved her from some close calls before, and she has yet to overdose on it, or become addicted to it. Using this drug requires that she cut herself (for 1 point of damage) and pour it into the wound. She voluntarily fails her save to be affected by it (but she virtually always makes the DC 6 Fort save to avoid becoming addicted), and takes 1d6 Intelligence damage as it clouds her mind. However, she gains a +4 alchemical bonus to Strength for 1 hour. During this time, she radiates evil, and takes a -2 penalty to all Charisma-based checks when dealing with good-aligned creatures. Needless to say, Natsuki only uses this when in a fight that she can't run away from, and even then only if things are dire. Natsuki never has more than one vial of this drug on her at a time, carefully harvesting the fiendish bodily fluids over time from Elai (both from after the pleasure devil is wounded in a fight, and after a sexual encounter she's had).
The magic potions that Natsuki keeps are only used when she's in dire peril, and most of them are hidden more thoroughly than the rest of her gear. The cure potion is kept between her breasts, with most of her other alchemical items and poisons, and is used as a backup when her health restorer hasn't done enough to heal her. Her invisibility potion, stored vaginally, is only consumed when trying to escape from dangerous opponents that are close by. Finally, stored in the skin pocket on her lower right calf, is her potion of gaseous form. This is used only if captured; once her captors have left her alone, she'll cut the skin pocket open, by biting if necessary (taking 1 point of slashing damage in the process) and consume the potion to slip free from wherever she's been incarcerated, moving to escape as quickly as possible.
Natsuki is also, among her many other talents, a master trapsmith (albeit for mechanical traps only). However, setting up traps is often time-consuming, and difficult to do covertly. The majority of the traps she sets up are defensive, placed strategically around the keep that she and her friends call home. When she does make traps in an enemy's place, she'll stick to simple booby traps (see the Dungeon Master' Guide II) that can be set up quickly (in 1 minute, or as a full-round action by taking a -10 penalty to her Craft (trapsmith) check; if she fails this check by 5 or more she springs her own trap on herself), such as using her garroting wire as a tripline (CR 1/2). If she has more time, she'll try setting up more elaborate traps, such as using her fukimi-bari to create a poison needle trap (CR 1) or setting up a group of loose bricks (or similar heavy objects) to fall from the ceiling (CR 2).
CURRENT SKETCH[]
For the first time in a very long time, Natsuki feels content with where she is in life. Since joining Kiren and his group, she's come to think of them all as her clan, and is fiercely loyal to them. Despite this, she continues to go about at least somewhat armed and prepared at all times. Her life as a ninja has made her cognizant of the fact that an attack could come without warning at any time, no matter how potent a place's defenses are.
Appearance[]
Natsuki is notably beautiful, and tends to turn heads wherever she goes. She's fairly petite, standing 5' 3" tall, which makes her unusually large breasts all the more noticeable (something she's become resigned to). Her features mark her as being from the east, as does her long, silky black hair, which she usually ties back into a ponytail. When dressing practically, she puts on tight clothes that won't get in her way during a fight, while seduction missions tend to call for stylized clothing that puts her natural curves on display. When relaxing, she prefers to just wear underwear and a loose kimono. No matter how she dresses, though, she always chooses an outfit that leaves her cleavage on display. This isn't to be lewd; it's simply because the majority of her hidden items are between her breasts, and she needs access to them.
Sex[]
Currently, Natsuki is enjoying her own personal sexual revolution. It's been a long time since she wasn't being ordered to use her body as a weapon to get close to someone, and she relishes being able to be as sexual as she wants to (or doesn't want to) as it suits her. Ironically, because of this freedom, she's willing to volunteer to go on the occassional seduction mission now (though the team rarely requires that of her), which is the only instance of her sleeping with someone who isn't part of Kiren's group. Her Bluff skill is good enough that she can usually convince a target to take her to bed, though this doesn't always work. When she does undertake a seduction mission, she makes sure to ask Karali to use a spell to "deaden her womb" beforehand, not wanting to become pregnant the way her mother did.
Despite her imperfect knowledge of flirting, Natsuki is very proficient in the bedroom. She gains a +6 (+4 Con, +2 synergy from Perform (sexual techniques)) on checks to sustain sex. If she takes 10 on this check, she can last for 50 minutes before needing to rest. Regardless of how long she's able to last, however, Natsuki is exceptionally skilled in pleasuring any lover she's with. If she takes 10 on her Perform (sexual techniques) check, she gains a result of 30, granting her a +4 bonus on Diplomacy checks with that person until their next sexual encounter, or until one day has passed.
Relationships[]
Natsuki considers the team she's part of now to be her family. She considers them all to be very dear to her, and would gladly die before betraying them. However, no family is without their quirks and rough spots, and that's true for Natsuki as well. Despite her feelings for them, she's somewhat uncomfortable with the level of intimacy in the group. She has no problem sharing a bed with Kiren, but becomes embarrassed at anything more sexually explicit (which happens a fair amount of the time among the other girls). Likewise, she was taught to always keep her feelings and emotions hidden, and while she lets her guard down to a large degree with the others, the fact that she's mystically bonded to them all several times over (through Kiren and Kusha's worldthought networks, as well as through Miri) makes her feel vulnerable in a way that she doesn't know how to deal with. The particulars of Natsuki's relationship with the others is summarized below:
- Kiren - The leader of their group, Natsuki has something of a submissive streak when it comes to Kiren. Viewing him as the head of her new clan, she tends to obey his orders without question, and dotes on him quite a bit (she gets a kick out of how that tends to make the other girls somewhat jealous). Kiren is the first man Natsuki has been with because she wanted to, and not because she was ordered to, and she cherishes him for that.
- Karali - Although she'll never admit it, Natsuki is somewhat intimidated by Karali. Between the vampiress's confident manner, magical prowess, and enormous breasts, everyone tends to do what Karali says unless Kiren overrules her, and Natsuki is no exception. Despite that, however, she also views Karali as something of a surrogate mother, and opens up to her easier than the others (save for Kiren and Kusha). Natsuki has no idea that Karali has been using magic to alter her (Natsuki's) thoughts to make her more compatible with the group (both sexually and otherwise) and would be furious if she ever found out.
- Naxilera - Natsuki and "Naxi" get along very well together. Although Natsuki's strong suit isn't direct combat, she enjoys sparring with the half-drow synad. They tend to jab at each other good-naturedly about whether its better to fight a foe directly or indirectly, and tend to compete even in the middle of a fight (though they never let that overcome their good judgment). The one rough spot in their relationship is that Naxilera has made it clear that she finds Natsuki attractive, something the ninja girl isn't completely comfortable with.
- Elai - Unlike with Naxilera, Natsuki gets along with Elai about as well as dolphins do with sharks. The pleasure devil is an intensely sexual creature, and enjoys teasing Natsuki in that regard (usually by either making a sexual advance on her - Elai is both bisexual and a nudist, and knows that Natsuki is somewhat homophobic - or by saying that Natsuki must be a nymphomaniac, since she always has something pushed up inside her). Natsuki tends to be easily baited by this taunting, and responds in kind to the "slut devil" (her name for Elai). The fights between the two often tend towards being more than just verbal (usually when Elai decides to use her greater command spell-like ability to make Natsuki masturbate), so the others tend to break it up before things get too out of hand. Despite the fact that Elai gets on her nerves immensely, Natsuki has lately had sudden bouts of being fiercely aroused by her, something she finds very disconcerting.
- Hala and Tala - Natsuki's relationship with the twins is a cordial one. Generalist combatants, the beautiful twins fall somewhere between Naxilera's martial ferocity and Natsuki's indirect fighting, something which works quite well for all of them. Always polite, friendly, and never judging, Natsuki can't help but admire the twins, despite the fact that they're the most sexual members of the group, save for Elai. Like most of the rest of the team, Natsuki knows that the two are "dvati" but doesn't truly understand what that means. She tends to think of them as being two sisters who are extremely close, rather than being a single entity in two bodies.
- Chishara - A complete enigma in virtually every regard, Natsuki has no idea what to make of Chishara. A small, pale creature, even her race is a mystery, though she's obviously female. Asking her about it proves impossible, as Chishara seems to have the mentality (and the attention span) somewhere between a kitten and a hyperactive child. Given that, her frankly erotic nature is something Natsuki finds disturbing; Chishara (who, like Elai, eschews clothing) is as likely to cuddle with someone as to molest them. By herself, she'd just be a pest, but Chishara is never far from Kiren's side, and more than a few times she's intruded while Natsuki and Kiren were intimate, something that apparently all the other members of the group have had to deal with; even Karali can't seem to tame the little creature. However, ever since she saw how Chishara is able to transform her body into a fearsome combat form, she has never questioned her odd teammate's worth.
- Kusha - While Natsuki was initially very nervous around Kusha, the two grew very close as they fled the Yonhosu Valley together, saving each other's lives several times over, and are now closer than siblings. Natsuki tends to think of Kusha as a little sister, since the kitsune is the most feminine member of the team, even though he's male. Ironically, despite Natsuki's mild homophobia, she has no problem with the fact that Kusha is attracted to men; he already looks and acts like such a girl, that it's easy for her to think of him that way completely. The two often sleep together, though nothing has ever happened between them. That may change, however, as Kusha has recently begun to have a mild sexual identity crisis.
- Miri - While Natsuki and the others have a good relationship, it's something of a stretch to say that she has a relationship with Miri at all. Existing as a spiritual bond between the team, and recently awoken to sentience as her own entity, Miri hasn't directly interacted with most of the group, though she's always close to all of them. Similar to Kiren and Kusha's worldthought networks, Natsuki is aware of Miri's presence at all times, and isn't sure she's totally comfortable with that. Miri, however, is intensely curious about everything, and tends to ask Natsuki (and all of the others) questions without any preamble, often questions that Natsuki finds rather embarrassing. So far, it remains to be seen how the two will get along (indeed, it remains to be seen how Miri will fit into the group dynamic altogether).
"CLEAN" VERSION[]
To use Natsuki without any sexual overtones, only a few changes need to be made. Replace her Body Container, Chest of Holding, and Hot Body feats with Endurance, Diehard, and Run. Delete her 17 ranks in Perform (sexual techniques) and add 1 rank to each of the following skills: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Craft (alchemy), Craft (poisonmaking), Craft (trapmaking), Disable Device, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, Spot, and Tumble. Delete her Appearance score, and raise her Strength from 12 to 13.
DESIGN NOTES[]
Ability Scores[]
Natsuki's ability scores were generated using the "powerful array": 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18. Her initial scores were Str 8, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 10. Her Appearance score (from the Book of Erotic Fantasy [3]) was given 13, the average score from the powerful array. Her templates (see below) grant her a total of +6 to each ability score (this was also assumed to be true for Appearance). Her ability points gained for leveling up were distributed as follows: +1 Int (4th level), +1 Int (8th level), +1 Dex (12th level), +1 Dex (16th level), +1 App (20th level). Her Pathetic (Strength) flaw subtracts 2 from her Strength score. This all gives Natsuki the ability scores listed above.
Race[]
Natsuki has both the Superior and Chosen templates as inherited templates. The Superior template is from Knowledge (current events) #13 [4], and adds +2 to each of her ability scores. The Chosen template is from Infinite [5] and adds +4 to each of her ability scores, along with the ability to take epic feats at sub-epic level, if she meets all the other prerequisites (Natsuki never availed herself of this ability, however).
Challenge Rating and Level Adjustment[]
Natsuki's Challenge Rating is equal to her class levels, +1 for the Superior Template, +2 for the Chosen template (the Chosen template doesn't list an actual CR adjustment; this is calculated since the bonus is twice as much as from the Superior template, and is 2/3 the listed ECL adjustment).
If using Natsuki as a player character, she has a +1 level adjustment from the Superior template, and a +3 level adjustment from the Chosen template, making her equivalent to a 24th-level PC.
Classes[]
In addition to her fighter levels, Natsuki also has levels in psychic rogue (from "The Mind's Eye" articles on the Wizards of the Coast website [6]), savant (from Paths of Power [7] by Distant Horizons Games), and enlightened monk (from The Mind Unveiled: The Enlightened Monk [8] by Dreamscarred Press).
Skills[]
Natsuki has a total of 305 skill points spent. This takes into account her having increased her Intelligence score at 8th level. Her Jack of All Trades feat lets her make checks in every skill untrained, so she has skill bonuses given for all skills in her stat blocks. Only Balance, Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Craft (alchemy), Craft (poisonmaking), Craft (trapmaking), Disable Device, Escape Artist, Hearth Wisdom, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform (sexual tecniques), Sleight of Hand, Spot, and Tumble actually have skill points spent on them. All of her skills come from the SRD, save for Craft (poisonmaking), which is from Complete Adventurer [9] by Wizards of the Coast. Natsuki also has a +2 to Tumble (factored into the listing already) from her Wind martial arts style (from The Mind Unveiled: The Enlightened Monk).
Feats and Flaws[]
Natsuki is given one feat at every level, as suggested in The Book of Experimental Might [10] by Malhavoc Press. This is in addition to her bonus feat from being human and her six bonus feats from her two savant levels (each level grants three bonus feats). She gains one feat for each of her flaws (each of which is from Unearthed Arcana [11]); as per GM fiat, she has three flaws rather than two. She gains the Dodge and Psionic Dodge feats as monk bonus feats (those two specifically via her Wind martial arts style). Finally, her backstory describes her using a ring of three wishes to gain an additional three feats (specifically Dedicated Alchemist, Quicken Power, and Chest of Holding) as laid down in The Practical Enchanter by Distant Horizons Games [12]. This gives her a grand total of thirty-five feats.
All of the feats not from the SRD are summarized below, in alphabetical order by source:
Action Maneuvers [13] (by The Le Games)
Action Maneuver Proficiency (defensive) - You do not take a -4 penalty when attempting a fall-over dodge, flip-dodge, or up-the-walls backflip.
Action Maneuver Proficiency (movement) - You do not take a -4 penalty when attempting a wall-jump, wall-run, or grinding.
Complete Adventurer [14] (by Wizards of the Coast)
Jack of All Trades - You may make untrained checks with all skills.
Complete Psionic [15] (by Wizards of the Coast)
Practiced Manifester - You gain a +4 to your manifester level, if you have four non-manifester Hit Dice.
Dragon #336 [16] (by Paizo Publishing)
Pressure Point Strike - You may give up Stunning Feat uses to harm enemies of aid allies by hitting their pressure points.
Experts v.3.5 [17] (by Skirmisher Publishing)
Cross-Class Proficiency - A selected skill is always a class skill for you.
Kitsunemori [18] (by Alejandro Melchor)
Improved Ki Weapon - The selected weapon deals an additional amount of damage equal to your unarmed strike; this damage is multiplied on a critical hit. Your weapon can also deal touch spells that others cast on you.
Ki Weapon - The selected weapon benefits from your ki strike class feature, and you may use touch spells you cast through it.
Shinobi Arsenal - Grants proficiency with shuriken, kunai, fukimi-bari, war fan, and several other nina weapons.
Weapon Technique (kunai) - Throw a number of kunai equal to your Dexterity modifier on an attack roll (up to three at most), with each subsequent kunai thrown gaining a cumulative -2 penalty.
Weapon Technique (shuriken) - Throw a number of shuriken equal to your Dexterity modifier on an attack roll (up to eight at most), with each subsequent shuriken thrown gaining a cumulative -2 penalty.
Weapon Technique (war fan) - Take anywhere from a -1 to a -5 to attack rolls with a war fan and gain an equivalent dodge bonus to AC each round.
Mega-Feats Vol. II [19] (by Skortched Urf' Studios)
Dedicated Alchemist - You may make alchemical items without being a spellcaster.
The Mind Unveiled: Enlightened Monk [20] (by Dreamscarred Press)
Ascetic Warrior - Your enlightened monk and psychic warrior levels stack for determining bonus power points and a few other class features. (This was used here to let Natsuki's enlightened monk and psychic rogue levels stack for bonus points and the listed class features; there was no feat to specifically allow those two classes, so this one was used in lieu of that).
"The Mind's Eye" [21] (by Wizards of the Coast)
Deep Psychic Meditation [22] - You can awaken three of your chakras at a time.
Psychic Meditation [23] - You can awaken one of your chakras at a time.
Skirmisher Publishing Forums [24]
Body Container [25] - You may hide an object in each of your major body cavities with Sleight of Hand; it cannot be found via Spot checks, and a +10 bonus against Search checks.
Chest of Holding [26] - You may hide up to 25 lbs. of objects three or more size categories smaller than you between your breasts. You gain a +4 bonus on Sleight of Hand checks to do so.
Tests of Skill v.3.5 [27] (by Skirmisher Publishing)
Artful Legerdemain - You take only a -15 penalty to using Sleight of Hand as a free action. You can also hide or draw a weapon on your body as a free action.
Hot Body - You gain a +2 to Charisma-based skill checks regarding any creature that would find you attractive. Such creatures also take a -2 to Search and Spot checks when you are visible.
Untapped Potential: New Horizons in Psionics (Expanded Version) [28] (by Dreamscarred Press)
Assassin Training - You can use poison without risk of poisoning yourself, and can determine how resistant to poison a target is.
Gear[]
Natsuki was given 220,000 gp worth of gear, as a 20th-level NPC. If played as a PC, since she's a 24th-level character she should have a total of 1,800,000 gp of gear.
Several of Natsuki's items come from various third-party sources: her nipple spikes are from the Skirmisher Publishing forums [29]. Her war fans, kunai, shuriken, fukimi-bari, face paint, black silk rope, paper strips, and shrine offerings are from Kitsunemori [30] by Alejandro Melchor. Her wire garrote is from Dragon #355 [31] by Paizo Publishing. Her psionic alchemical items (ectoplasmic skin, mimic clay, and rejuvenation essence) are from Dragon #358 [32] by Paizo Publishing. The skin pocket on her leg is from Dragon #359 [33] by Paizo Publishing. Many of her alchemical items (acid neutralizer, evaporating antitoxin, health restorer, instant ice, light bottle, neutralizer, rage gas, scent breaker, smoke bottle, stone dissolver, and stun gas) are from 40 Alchemical Items [34] by Adamant Entertainment. Finally, her infernal seed drug is from Theocracy of Canceri [35] by Paradigm Concepts.