"Hmmm. You're right, that looks a bit off. Maybe."
"Interesting. Apparently she is not only more skilled as a ninja in the applied skills, but due to her presence you also are on friendlier terms with several others. Not completely accepted, but several of those involved have a higher opinion of you."
"What's wrong with that? Sounds good to me," said Naruto.
"Okay, now let's go with your Class. What do you want for your specialty as a ninja?"
"Shadow Clone No Jutsu!" proclaimed Naruto. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
"So. Ninjutsu specialist. Specifically the Shadow Clone technique. Hmmm. Looks like the usual Mizuki thing with your inability to do the regular Clone technique."
"Whatever," said Naruto.
"What about back-up profession? You can add a Job at this point, your background in this scenario would allow you to have worked a side-job or had a hobby."
"Wha? How would that help?" asked Naruto.
"All the available Jobs would allow you to draw on a set of skills you normally don't have. By replacing job [Social Pariah] with another profession, you'd lose the benefits of 'Resistant to Weather Extremes' and 'Expert Dumpster Diver' - not that I think you've ever used them."
"So what 'jobs' are there?" asked Naruto, curious and fully prepared to min/max his character as much as possible.
"That's a title that others can give you, but not one you can answer in a job posting. Normally."
"You said a job could give me some kinda benefits?" asked Naruto. "Like what?"
"Each job gives you two skills you can use in addition to your regular ninja skills. Or you could leave them open and hope to run across some power-up later."
"What kinda benefits would I get from -" began to ask Naruto as he looked over the list and then paused as he considered the possibilities. "Grocer."
[Grocer:]
[Character has experience with working in]
[a small general grocery store. Character's]
[two optional job skills are Small Talk and]
[Haggling. Small Talk is the ability to engage]
[in conversation with strangers, establishing]
[a degree of familiarity with them. Haggling is]
[the ability to dicker or negotiate on prices.]
[Note that some merchants will refuse to haggle.]
Half the stuff on the second list made no sense to him. Was a 'butler' someone who kicked butts? What was a 'relic' and how did hunting them have a skill?
"What's 'Dojo Assistant' do?" asked Naruto, thinking he knew the answer to that one.
[Dojo Assistant:]
[Character has been an assistant to the]
[seifu at a dojo, or instructor at a taijutsu]
[school. As a result, the character has a +1 to]
[initial Taijutsu score, and has a familiarity]
[level one in that particular form of taijutsu]
[and any related weapon skills if applicable.]
[Choice must be made as to which school/style at]
[character creation and cannot be changed later]
[though additional schools CAN be added.]
[Dojo Assistant Available Styles:]
[Note that chosen school will be retconned into]
[village Konohagakure. Rival school (if any) will]
[be retconned into different village to preserve]
[in-genre tropes.]
[Aikido, Anything Goes, Bacroi, Baguazhang,]
[Bajiquan, Dragon Kung Fu, Escrima, Fujian]
[White Crane, Goju Ryu Karate, Hosharafu,]
[Jeet Kun Do, Judo, Jujitsu, Kame Style,]
[Kendo, Keysi, Krav Maga, Kung Fu (Generic),]
[Kyokushin Karate, Muay Thai, Northern Praying]
[Mantis Kung Fu, Shaolin Kung Fu, Shippalgi,]
[Shotokan Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Tai Chi Chuan,]
[Tiger Claw Kung Fu, Wing Chun Kung Fu]
"I don't know ANY of that stuff," complained Naruto.
"That's the point," indicated the Being. "If you chose one of those - then you would know it."
Naruto made a face as he looked over the list of skills again. "What's a 'Tracker'?"
[Tracker:]
[Tracker is a hunter/forager profession track]
[that is adept at finding signs of passage and]
[being able to track animals/persons primarily]
[in a wilderness or outdoor setting. Skills from]
[this job track are Observation (passive environ-]
[mental awareness) and Pursuit (following a trail)]
[after Observation has allowed the tracker to find]
[evidence of a target's passage.]
"So all of those job thingies have two of these skills to use," muttered Naruto. "What about Sakura?"
"What about your sister?"
"Shouldn't she have one of these thingies?" asked Naruto.
[Achievement! 'Naruto Is A Good Boy']
"Interesting. Right now she's just 'Academy Student' but I'm intrigued. Which one did you have in mind?"
Naruto was tempted to go with "Medic" since that kind of fit the whole apprentice-to-Tsunade thing. Instead though, he thought there was something else that looked interesting. "What would 'Scholar' give her?"
[Scholar:]
[Scholar is a Knowledge and Research job track.]
[At Academy graduate age, this is more a skilled]
[hobbyist than an expert in the field but can]
[certainly lead to such accomplishments.]
[Field of interest must be chosen before start]
[point begins.]
[Available: Ancient History, Architecture, Art,]
[Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Cryptography, Foreign]
[Studies, Forensics, Fuuinjutsu, Genetics, Genjutsu,]
[Investigations, Ninjutsu, Poisons, Zoology]
"What's 'ninjutsu' mean? She gets a lot of cool jutsu?" asked Naruto, thinking that would be HIS first choice.
[Ninjutsu Scholar Y/N?]
"No," answered the Being. "It would mean that she knows OF many ninjutsu techniques. Not how to perform them."
"Oh," said Naruto, thinking that was a lot less cool. Still, if he was going to have Sakura as a sister. Maybe this? "Dojo Assistant and-" Naruto looked over the list that had just popped up again and chose one at random. "-Tiger Claw Kung Fu?"
"Interesting choice."
"So, what all does that... whoa," said Naruto as an image of Sakura at age 12 appeared and then changed.
Her hair was bound now instead of the usual style, gathered up and pinned in place. She looked to be a bit more wiry-muscled. She was wearing the usual clothing, except that a pair of armored gloves and boots had been added as well as a belt with tassles. More noticeable to Naruto was the way her stance had changed. There was something about that indicated she was ready for a fight at any moment.
"So Sakura would be able to hit even harder?" asked Naruto, not liking the idea for obvious reasons.
"Well, yes," agreed the Being.
"Oh," said Naruto. "Can we change that to 'Cook'?" At least he wouldn't get hit really hard then, right?
The Being sighed. "Done."
[Cook:]
[Character is skilled in the preparation]
[of various foods and the selection of]
[ingredients. Production skill - allows]
[character to prepare meals with successful]
[proficiency check.]
The image of Sakura shifted to one that looked identical to the Academy version, with the addition of an apron.
"Yeah, that's good," said Naruto, sure he'd dodged a kunai with that one. "And I'll go with-"
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(Posted Thu, 07 Nov 2013 16:14)
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