Kodurabo: A system of Hedge Magick for Ninjas

By Rev. K.

Hollywood can't make a picture about history without tinkering with it. Can't even get Batman right. Hell can't even settle on who is going to be Batman! They can't even tell the right story in some cases.(anybody see First Knight ?) So why should it be a surprise that they couldn't get Ninjas right...

Ninjutsu is hard to describe without getting all spiritual and shamanic because it's primarily a spiritual art form that has as it's goal the protection of life. Ninja follow the code of Budo just as well as samurai do. They are not bad...They are just drawn that way. They do however believe in using every weapon or tool at their disposal without a second thought, and Hedge Magick definitely falls into that category.

It is the sheerest form of ethnocentristic arrogance to assume that only Europeans were capable of developing hedge Magick especially since many master of the various Ryu's may have been Akashic Brothers or Asian Dreamspeakers.

Thus I present a form of Hedge Magick ascribed to the skilled practitioners of Ninpo.

Note, Most Gaijin characters won't have even the slightest inkling of these abilities even if raised in the east. These secrets are guarded jealously out of long tradition and the Koga Ninja clan are particular hard asses about this. Since many American ryus are run by frauds this knowledge can be hard to come by.In most cases these aren't considered Japanese secrets by their practitioners. They are considered Family secrets.

1) Sound from the Void

The user of the magick may place a sound that he can make with his mouth at any place within his line of sight. The sound may be as loud or as soft as the caster want it to be up to the limits of his own voice. This is almost always used to distract or divert the attention of targets.

2) Walk without Trace

Ninja are skilled in the art of counter tracking but this ability enables them to walk swiftly and soundlessly over a surface that ordinarily would be a telltale.(i.e. Snow, mud, creaky floor, leaves, etc.) Note, that Ninja may use counter tracking by adding the number of their own tracking skill to the trackers Difficulty, but this is time consuming and sometimes requires special tools. the above method however requires only willpower and lasts for a scene.

3) See without Seeing

While nearly every Ninja learns to develop blind fighting techniques, this ability enables a Ninja to "see" by using his ears and his skin as a form of proximity sense. With this ability, Ninja operating in areas with any available light operate as if it were broad daylight and may still roll a straight perception roll in absolute darkness or while blinded. In this way Ninja can flee or kill in conditions that would stymie someone with just blind fighting skills.This extends to even the use of missile weapons out to medium range.This ability is a surprise to almost every Lasombra who has encountered it. This ability last for a scene.

4) Clouds of the mind

Gives the Ninja a limited form of Arcane. When the point of willpower is spent, the user may subtract his Kodurabo rating from the difficulty of any roll involving stealth for the rest of the scene. This can even be used in plain sight as long as the Ninja can create some kind of distraction that will enable him to re-roll stealth. Typically this is created with torinokos(little flash grenades)

5) Veil of Sight

The goal of many Ninja, Veil of Sight enables the user to become completely invisible. Note that this is psionic invisibility and while powder sprinkled on the floor or running in water will not betray you to those who are directly observing you. The Ninja can still be spotted indirectly by videocams,motion sensors and geophones.