Moar Naruto D20 (Short Chuunin Exam Campaign)

Started by Inerrant Lust, August 15, 2015, 12:54:12 AM

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Vex

#50
Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to preserve the last post for my own record keeping. I'll make more edits to it as I go along.

Quote from: TheFourthShade on August 29, 2015, 12:45:53 AM
Nah, the rage issue's dying through the backstory.  I've got thinking to do, in any case.  I'll be back with another idea, I think, or a refinement of this one.

Okay. Still think Warmonger would be a neat choice, though, even if he's going to be a Sacred Fist. Frenzy might be a problem at first, but as he levels in Sacred Fist and his Will saves get higher, it'll become less of an issue. Heck, he can even tap into his rage from time to time when it's beneficial for him, than make an easy Will save to cut the frenzy when he wants, making it something of a controlled, focused fury. The bonus feats for Warmonger are useful for a high Strength character, and Killing Spree is a nice ability for a melee character to have.

If you're going to stick with Sacred Fist, by the way, I highly recommend the Way of the Master supplement. It's basically made for the Sacred Fist, giving them a feat that lets them use their Wisdom modifier for the basis of their Taijutsu skill and DCs, and make attack rolls with Wisdom as well. It also gives them access to a unique set of Taijutsu focused around pressure points, disabling enemies as you beat them down. It's very neat stuff, and easily what can separate the Sacred Fist from just being a Wisdom-based Taijutsu Master.

Quote from: Inerrant Lust on August 29, 2015, 01:30:38 AM
More or less what I had in mind. I was toying with the idea that there hasn't been a war between any of the Five nations in nearly 20 years... but that minor places like Kusa/Ame/Taki are having small conflicts that basically make the five hidden villages feel uncomfortable. Almost like a Cold War vibe. Of course each Kage has their preferred 'vassal'... but they can't risk joining the war openly. Though I suppose occasionally a few 'observers' or 'trainers' from the great nations get caught in the crossfire and are forced to defend themselves.

In fact, if I continue this past the exams... the theme of 'world peace' will be central, I think..

As for the template question.. unless it is specifically required by a feat (like Moujoo Aishuwu or however you spell it), then I don't think it's necessary to take a feat. In all likelihood, that's just a remnant of an earlier version of the pdf.

Thanks chief. And yeah, that sounds like a good idea to me. Cold War-ish might be a neat concept for it, where it's untenable to for the bigger states to be at war, but they still have power plays to make. I don't want to think too much beyond this game, but I'm sure we can fit in some notions of that going on during the Exams itself.

Quote from: Zaer Darkwail on August 29, 2015, 04:25:14 AM
Aha, so my char would be fourth user of sharingan then. Did not know Sarada has sibling (at least wiki did not tell nothing about it).

That's because, canonically, she doesn't. I believe Inerrant Lust is saying that it would fit better with this game if he wasn't Sarada's kid, but instead, the son of a second child of Sasuke and Sakura. I'm not sure how that plays with Yoshi's backstory or not, but it's something you might want to work out with him, if he's uncomfortable with the current arrangement.

Zaer Darkwail

Well, I am fine with that my char is the son of the second child of Sasuke/Sakura, but then age difference is going to be too big for Boruto marrying the second child (unless we add a third child for Naruto and Hinata who then married to second child of Sasuke and Sakura). As I still want to keep 'painfully awesome' grandparents :P. Even if now less narrow and individual but still pressure would be still there.

Vex

#52
Actually, I think I got that wrong. I don't think Lust is suggesting Yoshi to be the son of Sasuke and Sakura's second child. Rather, I think what he's saying is that he should be their second child. I thought about it sounded weird, as he wanted less time between this game and the (current) end of the series, rather than more.

So, if you take take his proposal, he's not the grandson of Sasuke and Naruto. He's Sasuke and Sakura's second child, Sarada's younger brother, and presumably the only son of the family. On the one hand, that takes away the union between two great lines idea, and Naruto is more of a close family friend and "uncle" rather than his grandfather. However, that still means a lot of pressure in succeeding the Uchiha line, and he is the son of Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, two of the greatest shinobi in ever known. I'd still say the pressure's pretty high on him. Theoretically, it would be the same for Sarada, but she doesn't have quite the responsibility, seeing as females typically aren't held with continuing the family line the same way, at least not when there's a male around who can still continue it.

Zaer Darkwail

Aha! Well, I am fine with that also (I skipped generation because I thought Lust wanted more time between the canon events). I am fine with that I loose the 'Naruto' lineage albeit it bit dims down the concept of being direct heir of two lineages combined (and in theory able produce byakugan children or sharingan children, I do not believe single person should ever be able mix those two while sharinga users could develop rinnegan in extreme rare case).

Inerrant Lust

I was thinking of a team mate (her original team, at least) for Shiori could be a character I played long ago that could be adapted as an NPC... A blind swordsman. The original concept was that he was from an independent ninja family in Otogakure before Orochimaru took over. His clan had an unspecified but powerful doujutsu... and while good ol' Snakeyes was killing his parents, their kid blinded himself on his father's orders. Thus he was useless as a potential host and eventually found refuge in a friendly village. Of course this needs to be adapted a little.. and I'm not quite sure how. :P But yeah, he's pretty debilitated by blindness rules. So.. he might be a bit Lee-esque in these exams. He might fit the passionate role in Shiori's original team.. or the genius (since he is one..) but a disabled genius that has to work hard to overcome his disability.

I have about 9 teams of three drafted up... Only two have sheets that I felt like making. The rest are just level progressions and a sentence for myself to keep track of them. Example; 'Smart 3, Puppeteer 3; A puppeteer of the future.' In total, that's about 30 participants who will receive screen time (if I can fit them in, some might only be around for one scene or two...) The other hundred or so genin participating will be non-name nobodies. :P

QuoteOkay. Still think Warmonger would be a neat choice, though, even if he's going to be a Sacred Fist. Frenzy might be a problem at first, but as he levels in Sacred Fist and his Will saves get higher, it'll become less of an issue. Heck, he can even tap into his rage from time to time when it's beneficial for him, than make an easy Will save to cut the frenzy when he wants, making it something of a controlled, focused fury. The bonus feats for Warmonger are useful for a high Strength character, and Killing Spree is a nice ability for a melee character to have.

If you're going to stick with Sacred Fist, by the way, I highly recommend the Way of the Master supplement. It's basically made for the Sacred Fist, giving them a feat that lets them use their Wisdom modifier for the basis of their Taijutsu skill and DCs, and make attack rolls with Wisdom as well. It also gives them access to a unique set of Taijutsu focused around pressure points, disabling enemies as you beat them down. It's very neat stuff, and easily what can separate the Sacred Fist from just being a Wisdom-based Taijutsu Master.

I've actually been looking at Sacred Fist. It's an interesting class, but a little underwhelming.. I thought it let you use your wisdom score for attack rolls in the stance, but I was wrong. Therefore it still kind of demands you split your ability scores between Wisdom and either Str or Dex. If you took 2 levels of Taijutsu Master, you could use your wisdom score both for attack rolls and for the additional bonus to defense you can get at 3rd level of Sacred Fist... but that's basically spending 2 levels (which you can't at ECL 6 anyways) to replicate an effect Weapon Finesse and some armor can do.. Maybe. I dunno. Just some musings on it.

QuoteActually, I think I got that wrong. I don't think Lust is suggesting Yoshi to be the son of Sasuke and Sakura's second child. Rather, I think what he's saying is that he should be their second child. I thought about it sounded weird, as he wanted less time between this game and the (current) end of the series, rather than more.

So, if you take take his proposal, he's not the grandson of Sasuke and Naruto. He's Sasuke and Sakura's second child, Sarada's younger brother, and presumably the only son of the family. On the one hand, that takes away the union between two great lines idea, and Naruto is more of a close family friend and "uncle" rather than his grandfather. However, that still means a lot of pressure in succeeding the Uchiha line, and he is the son of Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, two of the greatest shinobi in ever known. I'd still say the pressure's pretty high on him. Theoretically, it would be the same for Sarada, but she doesn't have quite the responsibility, seeing as females typically aren't held with continuing the family line the same way, at least not when there's a male around who can still continue it.

Mmhm. That's what I meant.

As I said, some of the Jounin might be around for the first and third part of the exam.. Indeed, they'll likely be helping you train for the month between the 2nd and 3rd stage. I was planning on either having the 'generation Boruto' people fill these rolls.. or for non-Konoha players, their Jounin might be loosely related or associated to the canon characters. Hell, the theoretical lovechild of Samui and [url=http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Darui]Darui... :p

To be honest, that's more me being lazy... making characters with some loose connection to the canon rather than having to create entirely new ones because it's so far removed from the last event displayed in the canon.

Vex

Quote from: Inerrant Lust on August 29, 2015, 11:19:50 PM
I was thinking of a team mate (her original team, at least) for Shiori could be a character I played long ago that could be adapted as an NPC... A blind swordsman. The original concept was that he was from an independent ninja family in Otogakure before Orochimaru took over. His clan had an unspecified but powerful doujutsu... and while good ol' Snakeyes was killing his parents, their kid blinded himself on his father's orders. Thus he was useless as a potential host and eventually found refuge in a friendly village. Of course this needs to be adapted a little.. and I'm not quite sure how. :P But yeah, he's pretty debilitated by blindness rules. So.. he might be a bit Lee-esque in these exams. He might fit the passionate role in Shiori's original team.. or the genius (since he is one..) but a disabled genius that has to work hard to overcome his disability.

I think it could work out. I think a blind character is very workable in this system with some liberties taken. Here some unofficial rules that look pretty good to use on this basis. And the Blind-Fight feat is really good, as it reduces the miss chance in half, effectively (down to 25%). I'd also look into adapting Pathfinder's Blind-Fight feat tree. Naruto d20 has even more aid for such a character. If he has Doton affinity,Ninpou: Chisendou Tanchi can give him tremorsense for up to 60 ft for a minute or so at a time. Even if he isn't, the Relics Repository offers Earth Sense seals are available for a Foot slot that gives up to tremorsense for up to 40 ft twice a day. It also offers the Blindfold of True Sight, which would be the perfect item for him (granting blindsight 30ft), but it's an epic item. You might be able to have one at a lesser level that grants Blindsense instead. I'd think Mist Fighting training would apply just as well for blind characters. I think you could also develop a unique set of techniques that grant some kind of "chakra sight" that senses others via their chakra signatures. Requires the Keen Senses feat, but I think you could do something like that.

Yeah, that could be neat. It could be an interesting contrast to Shiori herself, comparing their respective conditions. I sorta see him more as the "genius" member of the team more than the passionate one. I think calm, serene and tactically calculated works for a blind swordsman. I could see Shiori getting rather attached to him, both as a talented shinobi and someone who she could help (if not even more). It's a very different kind of genius, one that's quite different from the examples in the series. I like the idea.

Quote from: Inerrant Lust on August 29, 2015, 11:19:50 PMI've actually been looking at Sacred Fist. It's an interesting class, but a little underwhelming.. I thought it let you use your wisdom score for attack rolls in the stance, but I was wrong. Therefore it still kind of demands you split your ability scores between Wisdom and either Str or Dex. If you took 2 levels of Taijutsu Master, you could use your wisdom score both for attack rolls and for the additional bonus to defense you can get at 3rd level of Sacred Fist... but that's basically spending 2 levels (which you can't at ECL 6 anyways) to replicate an effect Weapon Finesse and some armor can do.. Maybe. I dunno. Just some musings on it.

It is a little underwhelming. It's not a bad class, though. I just think it's not very exciting. Aside from the higher unarmed strike damage, the Wis to Defense, and Evasion, it's kinda bland. That said, stats-wise, it's a pretty solid class. d8 HD, 3/4 BAB, fantastic progression for all three saves, and a moderate defense progression. It's not as optimal as your typical Taijutsu master, but it doesn't suffer the typical weaknesses either. Will saves are usually the bane of a Taijutsu specialist, but not so with this class. It's probably your strongest save, and that's saying something.

That said, the class could definitely use some flavor. But, again, that's Way of the Master is for. The Exalted One is a high-level prestige class for Sacred Fist, in the same way that Exemplar is for Taijutsu specialists, Devastator is for Ninjutsu and Genjutsu specialists, and Exarch is for Medical-nin, and it offers some really neat tricks for them. One of them, Peaceful Master, lets you use your Wisdom modifier for attack and damage rolls while in the Sacred Fist stance, which basically means you get to eventually use Wisdom for damn near everything that's important to you (Will saves, Taijutsu calculations, attack, damage, defense, chakra if using Will over flesh, you're just missing HP, really, so make sure to have at least 14 Con). On top of that, the Kyushojutsu style of Taijutsu techniques is made for them, and it's a pretty unique style of Taijutsu, focused heavily on status afflictions and debuffing the opponent, leaving them wide open for your bigger strikes. It really makes them feel different than your standard DPR focused Taijutsu Master.

So, seeing as that's the end game, you don't focus much on Strength (10-12), run with a good Dex score (14+, always useful as a secondary stat, even after Way of Expertise, as it still adds to your defense, initiative and reflex saves), solid Con (14 will do), and max out Wisdom as high as possible (16+). That shouldn't be too hard to arrange. Take Weapon Finesse and Pressure Secrets as early as possible, three levels of Devoted Hero (pick up Faith if possible, awesome ability for Wis-builds), three levels of Sacred Fist, and two levels of Taijutsu Master to pick up Way of Expertise (maybe two more later for Weapon Specialization). After that, you make sure to go at least five levels of Sacred Fist (any more than that is optional, really), and bide your time with whatever until Exalted One becomes available. At level 15, you are the Grand Master Monk of Legend. Granted, you're going to struggle at low levels, but by as early as level 8, you could be rocking it pretty hard. Your strikes don't do as much as a Taijutsu Master at that point, but you have fewer weaknesses, and the Pressure Points style really can even the score with the right techniques.

But, you're right that it's probably a rough road to go for this game in particular. You won't really come into your own until level 8 or so, at the end of the game, although I think you could do reasonably okay through most of it, seeing as by level 6, you're at least getting Wisdom to Defense.

Quote from: Inerrant Lust on August 29, 2015, 11:19:50 PM
As I said, some of the Jounin might be around for the first and third part of the exam.. Indeed, they'll likely be helping you train for the month between the 2nd and 3rd stage. I was planning on either having the 'generation Boruto' people fill these rolls.. or for non-Konoha players, their Jounin might be loosely related or associated to the canon characters. Hell, the theoretical lovechild of Samui and Darui... :p

To be honest, that's more me being lazy... making characters with some loose connection to the canon rather than having to create entirely new ones because it's so far removed from the last event displayed in the canon.

Heh. Well, you could do that, I suppose. Certainly makes sense for the Konoha-nin (and the Kumo-nin, for the latter example). But, I'd like to take some liberties with some of us from lesser known villages. There are lots of neat idea to run with, and I certainly don't mind working with you to create a Jonin concept for Shiori's team, at least.

Inerrant Lust

QuoteHeh. Well, you could do that, I suppose. Certainly makes sense for the Konoha-nin (and the Kumo-nin, for the latter example). But, I'd like to take some liberties with some of us from lesser known villages. There are lots of neat idea to run with, and I certainly don't mind working with you to create a Jonin concept for Shiori's team, at least.

Well, if you have any ideas, I'm all ears. :p

Inerrant Lust

So... should I begin cutting off recruitment?

The only characters we have fleshed out in a lot of detail are Vex's and Zaer's. :P

I'll take one more, but I can also GM NPC it just fine.

Zaer Darkwail

Well, I cna round up sheet very fast for my char if him being son of Sansuke/Sakura is okay and is younger brother of Sarada.

Vex

Ha! Sorry for my abrupt silence for this week. I've been rather busy, and have been kept away from Elliquiy in general. I still owe you some backstory, don't I? ^.^;;

Well, if you're satisfied with Yoshi and Shiori, then I suppose we could run with them. You were only looking for a three person party, and you do have the option of a GM PC that way, if you're up for it. Still, I think it worth at least following up with ShadowFox, at least, seeing as he did start a sheet, even if he was a bit scant on the details. He's a player of yours in another game, anyway, so it shouldn't be hard to just ask if he's still interested. It might be worth checking up with FourthShade as well, as he did put a bit into a story, even if he hasn't worked it out much.

A minor side note that I simply forgot to mention, I had Shiori set with a Fuuton-affinity, as I thought it fit the character concept the best, as Wind is lighter on the damage but has a lot of trickery, a few battlefield control techniques and supportive elements. But, I'd be willing to move it to Suiton, if someone else wanted it. Seeing as this game is likely gonna be in Kirigakure, having someone with Water-affinity would be pretty useful, and I wouldn't mind it being her.

Zaer Darkwail

Well, my guy is going to be genjutsu/ninjutsu user and wind has more applications for things (and besides katon, fuuton is accepted affinity for advanced bloodline trait).

Vex

Which is a little strange, seeing as Wind doesn't seem to be very special to them. Fire seems to be a major thing for the clan. It should be noted that the Battle Mime class build around the Uchiha does require "Fire Affinity", so it would still require you to have Katon if you intend on going that route (although I wouldn't necessarily oppose it if Inerrant Lust let you ignore that bit).

Still, I'll look into an alternative technique list for Shiori with a Suiton affinity, just in case.

Zaer Darkwail

Well, he could enter battle mime later date as he gets additional affinity.

Vex

He could, but I'm not sure it would be worth it by then. One of the biggest benefits to the Battle Mime class is the ability to select the Sharingan bloodline feats as bonus feats for any class. If he makes it to level 11, though, he probably already has a few of those. He doesn't really need the added flexibility. The saves to the class are nice, but unless getting that and a +2 to one of Int, Cha, or Str while the Sharingan is active is important enough for you to invest three levels into it, then it's probably best to pass. It's more of a class that helps you going along than it is one that you add after your build is done.

Anyway, I'll get to work later on tonight for seeing what I can do with Suiton for Shiori. It's not as supportive an element as Fuuton is, and that water requirement is kinda pesky, but it does seem like a fun type to have for this game specifically. It shouldn't be a big problem either way, seeing as Shiori isn't really centered on elemental ninjutsu. Any suggestions, Zaer?

Zaer Darkwail

Well, you could pick a feat and have affinity to three elements; wind, water and ice. Besides her chakra vampirerism she could have Hyouton user. I could go for Katon then which is more offensive and fits for more sharingan lore.

Vex

I'm gonna pass on that. I like the concept of Hyouton, but it's supposed to be a rather rare ability. I'd like to respect the lore of it. As I said, elemental jutsu isn't a major focus for Shiori, and as such, being able to use the Ice release, something that would mark her as truly exceptional, wouldn't get the needed focus. I understand why, for gaming purposes, someone could just tack that onto a build if they wanted, especially seeing as they could create an AU where it's not so rare, but for the sake of loyalty to the setting, that's not something I'm going to do. Besides, she's already a Chakra Vampire, and I'd like that to be a major focus for her. If I made her a Hyouton user on top of that, it'd draw some of the focus away from that (not to mention, it would make me feel too much like I was trying to make my character this game's designated "special snowflake", no pun intended).

I thinking more in terms of techniques. I don't have much experience with Suiton ninjutsu specialists, mostly because that required water always felt like an unnecessary burden, but seeing where this game is set (and similarly, where Shiori is from), it makes for a sensible choice. I did give Masumi a Suiton-affinity, but she's a solid Taijutsu specialist, and her Ninjutsu were selected entirely to supplement her capabilities as a warrior. As such, I was looking for suggestions for Shiori, who is more of a technique-user. I figure Katsutai no Jutsu would be fun for some visuals, for obvious reasons. I'm eyeing Kirigakure pretty heavily. If she can find a method of seeing through the mist, it seems like good protection for her while she heals, and a good vehicle for her to perform sneak attacks.

As a side note, as it's a bit higher than what this game will pertain to, but I was strongly considering Shade for one of Shiori classes, post Chuunin Exam. I think it fits a Medical Expert rather well, thematically, as using their medical knowledge to an offensive end. It gives her a rather unique tool to center her battle strategy around. Any solo battle she takes part in is essentially trying to find a way to open the opponent up for that Death Attack. Even if they can avoid the death attack, Medical Specialists can eventually convert their sneak attack dice for Str or Dex ability damage. Against tough opponents, handing out up to -6 to their Strength and Dexterity sounds like it would be damn useful, even in group battles. She doesn't strike often, but when goes in for the strike, it hurts.

My only hesitation is that the Shade class is only exciting on odd-levels. It's benefit for levels 2, 4, and 6 are very, very lackluster. Almost wasteful. I'm half inclined to just go Genjutsu Master instead for a similar feel. Sure, we lose the Death Attack, but for those same seven levels, it still gets +3d6 Sneak Attack in the end (just -1d6 from a Shade), slightly better saves, lots of bonus chakra, two bonus feats, and Hide in Plain Sight, along with two other Genjutsu Masteries. I was much bigger fan of Shade when it was a five level class, but I understand why they changed it. +4d6 Sneak attack for five levels was a bit exploitative. Still, what they expanded it with feels like pointless filler, and even if they intended to do just that, it should be more subtle. That's something Pathfinder did right that 3.5e so often got wrong: no class level should feel like a waste, or that it was "the cost" for later levels (see the most even levels for 3.5e's Rogue, the odd levels for the Fighter, or almost the every level of the Sorcerer class). I think something like Evasion, an improved feint, the ability to run or charge from a hidden position without a penalty to Hide, a bonus to attack when striking an opponent unaware, or just Hide in Plain Sight would had been more interesting than just a bonus to saves against Poisons. It's kinda hard to justify the class as is, aside from those that build around sneak attack or death attack specifically. A shame, cause I really like the thematic quality to it otherwise.

Zaer Darkwail

Well, there is some suiton techniques which does not need bodies of water around (one jutsu which I call 'spit ball no jutsu' uses your own saliva for the jutsu). Also considering some scenes in anime the water users seem able 'explode' lots of water from their mouths (convert their saliva for water source in charging it with chakra to grow tremendous amount). There could be somekind ruling suiton users can use saliva but it costs extra chakra with techniques to do so than use natural bodies of water. Anycase cannot go wrong with water prison which can seal someone in and also get technique which allows swim better and also breath under the water longer periods of time. Also imagine default underwear choice for men and females from Amegakure would be swimsuits somekind (as normal underwear gets soggy wet and hard to dry clean).

Inerrant Lust

If we don't get a third person, the GM PC I'm inclined to play will be a Suiton user... But that won't matter much, since they would be more taijutsu-oriented anyways. Specifically, a sword. :P Then we'd have a good even mix of Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu.

Also.. does it still rain in Amegakure? ::)

I'm genuinely curious... I'll wait until this evening to decide, as shadow has dropped out and shade said he'd have to think about a character some more.

Jayna

Quote from: Inerrant Lust on September 06, 2015, 02:35:28 PM
If we don't get a third person, the GM PC I'm inclined to play will be a Suiton user... But that won't matter much, since they would be more taijutsu-oriented anyways. Specifically, a sword. :P Then we'd have a good even mix of Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu.

Also.. does it still rain in Amegakure? ::)

I'm genuinely curious... I'll wait until this evening to decide, as shadow has dropped out and shade said he'd have to think about a character some more.

Hey! I had to work a couple twelve hour shifts back to back and by the time I got back on I figured you had filled up.

If you still need a third I can throw something together for you to look over!

Inerrant Lust

Ah, it's fine. But yeah, I'm willing to take any newcomers. :P

The game will be very puzzle based, so I really don't want to play a GM PC since they'll either be useless for solving any of the puzzles... or they'll be too useful. It's a rather difficult threshold for a GM to manage, no?

For now, just having fluff and a general idea of the crunch is sufficient. There won't be very much dice-rolling for the first few pages of the thread, I should imagine.

Vex

Good to hear you're still interested, Janya. If you need any help, don't hesitate to let us know. I'm sure we can figure something out for you, if you're still interested.

In the mean time, I figure, since we're waiting anyway (and the heat in my place isn't making me swelter not being by the fan), I'll get back to adding a little more to Shiori's background.

Quote from: Inerrant Lust on August 30, 2015, 10:00:08 AM
Well, if you have any ideas, I'm all ears. :p

Ha! Well, no specific ideas. But I can throw some ideas at the wall and see if any of them sticks.

Ideally, you want a Jonin that compliments the skills and attributes of the genin, and we don't know too much about all of them yet. You've indicated a blind-swordsman for one of them, which I think is pretty neat. For the sake of balance, I suppose a hot-headed offensive ninjutsu focus would make more sense for the other, an unusual choice for the team's Red Oni, but not unheard of (Jiraiya, for instance), or someone who blends ninjutsu and taijutsu to an extend (as the Shinobi Swordsman class embraces). That said, I've always kinda liked the thematic angle for a team as well. Ino-Shika-Cho had a fun ring to it (a play on a card game tactic).  Team Gai's Chinese-flavored Taijutsu theme was the best (subjective, obviously, but screw it, they're awesome!). And speculation, I know, but I always thought Team 8 had a bit of a forest theme, seeing as all their abilities seem to rely on abilities that would be extremely helpful within the context of scouting and tracking in a forested area (Shino's bugs, Kiba's animal instincts and scent, and Hinata's Byakugan and suiton-affinity, Kurenai didn't fit the theme well herself, but her Genjutsu did seem to favor using vines and trees). Not sure what kind of theme Shiori and the blind swordman would suite (disability theme sounds weird), so maybe it's not such a hot idea.

Anyway, it would be helpful if her Jonin was a Medical-nin, or at least had some passable experience with medical knowledge. It would help explain any progression she makes on her medical ninjutsu in that time (not that I expect much major development on that angle), and help explain how they were able to pick up on her condition. I see her Jonin as the first to figure out there was something off with her on a more physical level than simple rookie mistakes and inexperience. Although, I could just see them just having a perceptive eye or an innate talent with sensing chakra on a deeper level than most (Sensor-nin?). She could half a separate mentor who's a Medical-nin, I suppose. I see them as more of a calm, cool but sensible and perceptive sort (more like Kakashi or Asuma than, say, Gai). 

Lastly, I sorta imagined there was one adult in Shiori's life that she had a rather close relationship to, as something of a surrogate parent (she is an orphan, after all). One of the characteristics I imagined for Shiori is that she is a truly "devoted" shinobi. She is truly appreciative of those who are there for her in her times of need, and repays such kindness with unquestioned loyalty. One of the reasons she decided to become a shinobi is to repay the village for taking in someone like her, and being fairly accepting of her, despite having no previous ties to the area. It's also one of the reasons she's truly ashamed of her condition, believing it to be a burden on her village, whom she swore to serve. Similarly, as someone who has come to care about her and whom is the only person she feels she can truly lay her soul and worry upon, even in this difficult time, she ought to have a rather extreme loyalty to them, despite any flaws they might have. Maybe even Haku-level.

I think it interesting to play with from a story context, as to what kind of trouble that unquestioned and unwavering loyalty might bring to her, but I'll admit, it's perhaps a bit too much for this Chuunin-exam story to bring enough light upon. So, it's probably best to shelve the idea for now, and possibly pick it up if we assume to go further with the character. Besides, I'm not sure the Jonin in particular is a good fit. I thought it might, but now I'm thinking it'll be a separate adult instead.

Zaer Darkwail

Perhaps Shiori's surrogate parent is shrine maiden? I imagine as orphan she was taken in by the local shrine and raised there (shrine in hidden village that is, it's used for old ceremonies and also for weddings and funerals etc). So for time Shiori worked as shrine maiden until she went academy and she may part time in the shrine (during festivals or big events or whenever her mentor needs go short trips and acts as priestess of the shrine).

Inerrant Lust

Working on an initial post now.

It's taking quite a bit of time because I realized I had to create pretty much 9 new characters from scratch. (Since a lot of the NPCs I had in mind didn't quite fit the mold..)

Even though the Jounin will disappear not long after the exams begin. :P

Zaer Darkwail

Nice, post up link either here or in PM when post is done :)

Inerrant Lust