Character Builds - Ninja
It’s been a bit since I’ve done a character build of any sort (or any sort of consistent writing), and for that I apologize, dear reader. I’ve been spending a lot of time reading through old Dragon magazines - not much else to do after knee replacement surgery - and the ninja made appearances in a number of them. Now you may be thinking Why would you want to do a ninja build, since the monk exists. Well, the ninja is more than just running around, all dressed in black, killing people with their feet
The ninja isn’t a frontline brawler. You strike from darkness, snuff out a single target before they can scream, and vanish. This build combines the Monk (Shadow) for unarmed strokes and mobility with Rogue (Assassin) for supernatural stealth (Shadow Step) and critical-hit ambushes. Poisons, thrown weapons, and a number of other sneaky abilities round out the build. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the Ninja build.
* Note - I’m trying out a slightly new format in an attempt to make it more user-friendly and accommodate the new character creation rules in 5.5e. Constructive criticism is always appreciated - except from you, Stephen.
Ninja Character Build for 5.5e
Race - Wood Elf
Let’s start with the general elf traits.
Darkvision. You've got 60 ft. of it.
Fey Ancestry. It never hurts to have Advantage against being charmed.
Keen Senses. Take Survival, since Insight isn't a must-have, and we can easily pick up Perception when we pick our class.
Trance. It is awesome, not only mechanically but thematically. Since you don’t need sleep and can’t be put to sleep, our ninja will forever be on the lookout, and it really plays into the whole ninja motif.
Wood Elf Traits. The wood elf’s speed increase to 35 ft. alone makes the species the top choice. Ninjas are lightning fast, at least if you believe the lore, every ninja movie ever, and of course, Nautro. Throw in Druidcraft (sensory effect and fireplay), Longstrider, and Pass without Trace, and you have the wood elf for your ninja.
Ability Scores (Point Buy)
STR - 10 (+0). You’re all finesse, using agility to kill, not brute strength
DEX - 17 (+3). Stealth, increase in AC, and your Attack modifiers
CON - 14 (+2) As always, more hit points are always a good thing.
INT - 10 (+0) Nothing wrong with average smarts.
WIS - 14 (+2) Your spellcasting modifier helps with the AC (Monk)
CHA - 10 (+0) You live in the shadows, hopefully silent and unseen.
Background - Criminal
It was a toss-up between Criminal and Wayfarer. While the Wayfarer gives you the option to increase your Wisdom score, and your origin feat is the Lucky feat, I went with criminal for the chance to boost our ninja’s Constitution. You also obtain the Alert origin feat and Sleight of Hand, which seemed more in line with the build.
Ability Scores. Increase your Dexterity by 2 and Constitution by 1.
Feat. Alert. Add your Proficiency Bonus to Initiative and swap places in said Initiative.
Skill Proficiencies. Sleight of Hand and Stealth.
Tool Proficiency. Poisoner’s Kit* (See if your benevolent GM will let you switch, (If not, you’ll get proficiency at 3rd level)
Equipment. Always take the gold (50 GP). We’ll add it to the gold we’ll get from the Class selection and list all our equipment there.
Equipment
Armor. Leather armor. You’ll be getting rid of it when you start taking levels in monk, but for the time being, the +1 to your AC is something you’ll want
Weapons. There are a lot of options here, and the monk weapons and rogue weapon proficiencies are pretty much the same. The one weapon you’ll want for sure is a shortsword as your primary melee weapon. For a ranged weapon, go with a hand crossbow. Other melee weapon options include a dagger or a sickle, and additional ranged options include darts or a shortbow.
General Equipment. Burglar’s Pack, Caltrops, Smoke Grenade. With any leftover gold, go ahead and buy yourself something pretty.
Class Build by Level
Rogue 1
Armor Class 14 Attack Bonus +5 Damage Bonus +3
Skill Proficiencies. Acrobatics, Deception, Intimidation, Perception.
Expertise. Stealth, Perception. All the proficiencies for the ninja are covered, and the 2 most important are supercharged at 1st level.
Sneak Attack. Advantage adds 1d6 with finesse or ranged weapon
Thieves’ Cant. Ninja super secret coded language.
Weapon Mastery. Vex, as it covers both your shortsword and hand crossbow.
Rogue 2
Cunning Action. You’re a hit-and-run killer.
Rogue 3
Subclass. Assassin, obviously.
Assassin’s Tools. Here’s where you gain proficiency in the Poisoner's Kit we discussed above, along with a shiny new pack of poison all of your own. You also gain proficiency with the Disguise Kit and even get a Disguise Kit with glasses, fake mustaches, and maybe even a wig!
Assassinate. Some changes from 5e to 5.5e. No more crazy extra damage, which is probably a good thing since you’re pretty much a superhero out of the gate, but now you don’t have to worry about the whole “is the target surprised” issue, which is a nice trade-off.
Initiative. You have Advantage on Initiative rolls.
Surprising Strikes. During the first round of each combat, you have Advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn. If your Sneak Attack hits any target during that round, you deal an extra an additional 3 damage of the weapon’s type
Steady Aim. As a Bonus Action, you give yourself Advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. You can use this feature only if you haven’t moved during this turn, and after you use it, your Speed is 0 until the end of the current turn. Make sure you kill your target when you use this or you’ll be a sitting duck.
Now that we’ve been able to take the Assassin subclass, it's time to start adding some monk levels to our ninja
Rogue 3 / Monk 1
Armor Class 16 Attack Bonus +6 Damage Bonus +3
Ability Score Increase. Raise your DEX by 2, and it’s now a solid 18.
Bonus Unarmed Strike. Attack Bonus Action is now in play. You can make an Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action.
Dexterous Attacks. Your DEX modifier is up to +4, so using it instead of your Strength modifier for the attack and damage rolls of your Unarmed Strikes is great. Now you can grapple and choke out your target with more confidence, since your DEX also determines the save DC.
Martial Arts Die. 1d6 damage good for Unarmed Strikes, melee strikes already obtained
Unarmored Defense. Time to ditch your Leather Armor and add your Wisdom score. Between increasing your DEX and adding WIS, your AC is now 16.
Rogue 3 / Monk 2
Armor Class 16 Attack Bonus +7 Damage Bonus +4
Focus Points. Not a fan of the name change, but that’s just my opinion. You get 2 to start, and 1 additional per level thereafter.
Flurry of Blows. You can expend 1 Focus Point to make two Unarmed Strikes as a Bonus Action.
Patient Defense. Run away or get the fuck out of the way, your choice. Dodge is helpful when you can’t move after using Steady Aim ability. You can take the Disengage action as a Bonus Action. Alternatively, you can expend 1 Focus Point to take both the Disengage and the Dodge actions as a Bonus Action.
Step of the Wind. Run away really fast. You can take the Dash action as a Bonus Action. Alternatively, you can expend 1 Focus Point to take both the Disengage and Dash actions as a Bonus Action, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
Unarmored Movement. A speed increase of 10 ft. is great (45 ft. total), especially in conjunction with your Dash ability and if you cast Longstrider.
Uncanny Metabolism. Really overpowered, even if it is only once per Long Rest. When you roll Initiative, you can regain all expended Focus Points. When you do so, roll your Martial Arts die, and regain a number of Hit Points equal to your Monk level plus the number rolled.
Rogue 3 / Monk 3
Subclass. Way of the Shadow.
Deflect Attacks. Straight from the Player’s Handbook.
“When an attack roll hits you, and its damage includes Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing damage, you can take a Reaction to reduce the attack’s total damage against you. The reduction equals 1d10 plus your Dexterity modifier and Monk level.
If you reduce the damage to 0, you can expend 1 Focus Point to redirect some of the attack’s force. If you do so, choose a creature you can see within 5 feet of yourself if the attack was a melee attack or a creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself that isn’t behind Total Cover if the attack was a ranged attack. That creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take damage equal to two rolls of your Martial Arts die plus your Dexterity modifier. The damage is the same type dealt by the attack.”
Lots of words, but basically, you can reduce damage and maybe even send a little back to the bastard who hit you.
Shadow Arts. Shadowfell power, baby.
Darkness. Embrace the dark and expend 1 Focus Point to cast the Darkness spell, can see within the spell’s blackness, and can even move it around. Crazy.
Darkvision. Your Darkvision is up to 120 ft.
Shadowy Figments. You know the Minor Illusion spell, and Wisdom is already your spellcasting ability. No need to use Focus points to cast.
Rogue 3 / Monk 4
Feat. Poisoner. Use that Poisoner's kit to its full potential.
Ability Score Increase. Increase your Dexterity score by 1, to 19.
Potent Poison. When you make a damage roll that deals Poison damage, it ignores Resistance to Poison damage.
Brew Poison. You’ve already got proficiency with the Poisoner’s Kit. But what you really want this for is to brew poison, use a Bonus Action to apply it to your shortsword. On a hit, the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 2d8 Poison damage and have the Poisoned condition until the end of your next turn.
Your damage is starting to add up.
Slow Fall. Use a Reaction when you fall to reduce any damage you take from the fall by an amount equal to five times your Monk level, so you hopefully don’t go splat.
Rogue 3 / Monk 5
Extra Attack. Two attacks per Attack action
Stunning Strike. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a Monk weapon or an Unarmed Strike, use a Focus Point to force the target to make a Constitution saving throw. Fail, and they have the Stunned condition until the start of your next turn. Success still isn’t that great for the target, as their Speed is halved until the start of your next turn, and the next attack roll made against the target before then has Advantage.
Rogue 4 / Monk 5
Armor Class 17 Attack Bonus +9 Damage Bonus +5
Feat. Skulker. You take hiding to a new level, becoming a true ninja. Hide when only lightly obscured (shadows, dim light, fog). When you miss with that hand crossbow (or whatever fancy ranged weapon you have now), no one sees where it came from (missed ranged attacks don’t reveal you). No Disadvantage on Perception in dim light. And let’s not forget the +1 to your Dexterity, bringing it up to 20.
Sneak Attack. Up to 2d6
Rogue 5 / Monk 5
Cunning Strike. A lot is going on here, boosting your already potent sneak attack. Use a damage die (1d6) to add one of the following Cunning Strike effects.
Poison (Cost: 1d6). You add a toxin to your strike, forcing the target to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target has the Poisoned condition for 1 minute. At the end of each of its turns, the Poisoned target repeats the save, ending the effect on itself on a success. Two options to poison your victims now.
Trip (Cost: 1d6). If the target is Large or smaller, it must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or have the Prone condition.
Withdraw (Cost: 1d6). Immediately after the attack, you move up to half your Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
Sneak Attack. Increased to 3d6
Uncanny Dodge. Take a Reaction and halve damage from one attack. Now you can reduce all damage, not just the Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing (Monk’s Deflect Attacks)
Rogue 5 / Monk 6
Speed +15 (50 ft.)
Empowered Strikes. Switch your damage type to Force damage, which not many creatures have Resistance to.
Shadow Step. This is your signature ninja move. Bonus action teleport 60 ft between areas of dim light or darkness, which you can do whenever you spend a Focus Point and cast Darkness (Way of Shadow). You have Advantage on the first melee attack after teleporting. Teleport, Sneak Attack (with advantage), then Cunning Action Hide back into the shadows.
Rogue 6 / Monk 6
Armor Class 17 Attack Bonus +10 Damage Bonus +5
Expertise. Acrobatics and Sleight of Hand
Rogue 7 / Monk 6
Evasion. Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, no damage on success.
Reliable Talent. I guess it's useful with your Poisoner’s Kit. Maybe…not really.
Sneak Attack. Increased to 4d6, which is the main reason since Evasion is about to be doubled up.
Rogue 7/ Monk 7
Evasion. Nothing of use since you received Evasion last level.
Rogue 7 / Monk 8
Feat. Speedy (60 ft. movement!) or Tough (add 28 Hit Points)
Rogue 7 / Monk 9
Acrobatic Movement. Run on walls and water.
Rogue 7 / Monk 10
Speed +20 (65 ft.)
Heightened Focus. Flurry of Blows 3 attacks, Patient Defense. Temp Hit Points, Step of the Wind. Bring a friend with you.
Self Restoration. Remove Charmed, Frightened, or Poisoned conditions. Don’t have to eat or drink.
Rogue 7 / Monk 11
Armor Class 17 Attack Bonus +11 Damage Bonus +5
Improved Shadow Step. No more dim light/darkness to teleport and Bonus Action unarmed strike when you arrive.
Rogue 7 / Monk 12
Feat. Grappler. Attack and Grapple as one Action, Advantage on Saving Throws, and no extra movement means you can drag your target all over the place with your increased speed. +1 to STR
Rogue 7 / Monk 13
Deflect Energy. Deflect Attacks feature against attacks that deal any damage type
Like what we do?
Join our Patreon!
You’ll get early access to deep dives, the Homebrew Hoard
featuring 500+ monsters, ad-free articles, and more!
Follow us on Reddit to keep up to date on everything we talk about!
Art Credit - Wizards of the Coast
