Ninja

Ninjas used deception, ki powers, and martial arts to defeat their enemies, gather information, and steal secrets. Though they lacked the outright combat prowess of fighters and barbarians, they were adept at bringing foes to battle on their own terms, seeming to appear and disappear at will. In Shou Lung, the term "vagabond" often referred to ninjas.

Culture
Highly secretive, the ninja class was a class shrouded in mystery and superstition, a reputation ninja encourage. Individuals of other classes, such as bushi, geisha, wu jen or sohei, were able to learn the skills of the ninja. Chirasu is the patron deity of ninjas. Most of her shrines were built by ninja families and clans. Ninja were almost always human.

Honor was revered by ninja, as it was how their reliability was gauged. The ninja maintained not only their own honor, but the honor of their family or clan. The primary ways a ninja could being dishonor upon themselves or clan was to be identified or to fail in a mission. Depending on the severity of the failure, the ninja was either demoted to nukenin or executed.

Organization
Nearly all ninja were members of a ninja clan. The name of the clan was normally the one of its dominant family. These clans were secretive and often not even publicly known as a ninja clan. Each clan had a specialization. For example, some clans specialized in assassinations and others were known for being master spies.

Ninja clans operated in specific territories. In rural areas of Kara-Tur, one clan only may be found in an area, and often ruled entire villages. In the cities, various clans competed for missions and power, and had the same power as guilds.

A clan was ruled by a single lord. The lord would often have one or two trusted leaders as their trusted advisors, called jonin. Each clan was composed of one or more families, each ruled by a chunin. The lowest-ranked ninja were called genin. A ninja who brought dishonor on their family or clan was called a nukenin.

Ninja had their own secret language, similar to thieves' cant used by rogues, called clan signs. Using clan sign, a ninja was able to communicate complex sentences. Clan signs varied from clan to clan, so a ninja from one clan was not able to understand the clan sign from a different clan.

Known Ninja Clans

 * Fangs of Night were a ninja clan in the city of Ojy-do in Koryo, active around 1357 DR.
 * Hijo clan was the ninja clan ally of Funada clan in Nakamaru in Wa around 1357 DR.
 * Kata clan was a ninja clan in the town of Aru in Wa.
 * Konishi clan were a ninja clan in Kozakura.
 * Royal Vagabonds were a clan in the service of the Emperor. They reported to the Minister of State Security and the Chief Imperial Censor, and conducted missions tasked by the Emperor. They were extremely secretive and acted as the secret police of Shou Lung.
 * Panthers of Xi were a ninja clan based in the town of Xi in Koryo around 1357 DR. They controlled the Vorkani Mountains between Xi and the Malu River in the east.
 * Phoenix clan was a ninja clan and an ally of the Goshukara clan in Nakamaru in Wa around 1357 DR.
 * Vi'oontu were a ninja clan based in the town of Manchar in Koryo. Their name meant "evening swallow that calls death".
 * Yamaguchi clan was a ninja clan in the town of Aru in Wa.

Abilities
The ninja's abilities were focused on spying and assassination. They were highly skilled combatants, proficient in several martial arts skills and weapons use. They also were adapt spellcasters, able to cast a number of efficient spells using kuji-kiri hand gestures.

History
In Faerûn, the ninja arts, or ninjutsu, were believed to have originated on the eastern continent of Kara-Tur. In Kozakura, ninja clans had great power and are feared and respected.

Notable Ninja

 * Ito Yoichi was a cursed bushi/ninja in Ito-jo in 1360 DR.
 * Konishi Ieyasu was the head of the Konishi clan.
 * Lin Goh was the clanmaster of the Panthers of Xi clan around 1357 DR.
 * Motoharu Kaijitsu was a ninja/yakuza adventurer in Kozakura in 1357 DR. and 1358
 * Rantoon Gwa was an infamous ninja and pirate active in Koryo around 1357 DR.
 * Saisho was a wu jen/ninja adventurer in Miyama Province in Kozakura in 1357 DR.
 * Takahashi Yamaguchi was the leader of the Yamaguchi clan.
 * The Serpent was the leader of the Phoenix clan in Nakamaru around 1357 DR.
 * Watanabe Okaji was secretly a ninja and was one of the best actors in Kozakura in 1357 DR.
 * Yin-kung T'o was the cell leader of the Royal Vagabonds in Nakamaru around 1357 DR.
 * Yonin was a head ninja and also a zussho in Kozakura in 1357 DR.