Thoughts on the Ninja Class

So, Velox wishes to be a Ninja when he grows up. We will see. But right now, here are some thoughts I had on what this class would detail. I am posting this so that it would be more offical. Right now, I am focusing more on the historical ninja, and not that magical anime crap that people think are ninjas. The historical ninja, just so you know, would lose to a historical pirate in a fight. However, a historical ninja is more useful than a historical pirate.

A ninja is basically a spy. The ninja would hire itself out for the jobs of espionage, sabotage, infiltration, countermeassures, and from time to time assassination. One major feature of the Ninja Class that I think I am going to set in stone is that the Ninja Class in not a combat class. It is a class that plays the roles of a spy, scout, ambusher, and someone who tries to mess up the enemy behind their lines. Two me, for game terms, this splits this class up into two major roles. Ninja Stealth and Ninja Infiltrator. Ninja Infiltrator is not a class for the Rake as the Infiltrator would be required to steal. The Ninja Infiltrator sneaks in, steals items that can help his party out or hurt the enemy, attempts to gain inside information, and works behind enemy lines to do as much damage to the enemy as possible before the party reaches them. The Ninja Stealth works on not being seen. They work behind enemy lines mostly to gain information and scout out the area ahead of them. They also seek to kill the right target to help their party out before combat begins. The Ninja Stealth and Infiltrator have very high sneaking skills. The major differences are that the Stealth is better at general sneaking around and sneak attacking while the Infiltrator is better at breaking into things and stealing things.
Though I don't know what it would take to be a Ninja Class, here are the 18 disciplines of ninjutsu (note that I don't use the Japanese names just to make things simple. Also, I modified them a little bit. I might use the normal if I feel like it)
1) Spiritual refinement
2) Unarmed combat
3) Sword Techniques
4) Staff Techniques
5) Spear Techniques
6) Dagger Techiniques
7) Throwing Weapons Techniques
8) Fire and Explosives
9) Disguise and Espionage Tactics
10) Stealth and Infiltration Tactics
11) Retreating and Escape Tactics
12) Horse Riding
13) Water Techniques
14) Botany
15) Meteorology
16) Geography
17) Sociology
18) Teamwork Techniques

Number one deals with basically understanding unity of all things. The Immortals and Mortals. Life and Death. Light and Dark. Ect. ect. ect.
The the next 6 (and sometimes seven as fire can be used in combat) is combat techniques. As ninja are expected to survive they need to be able to fend for themselves if need to be. This doesn't mean that they are fighters, just means that they are expected to be able to be skilled at so many different weapons that they can improvise as the situation calls for it.
The next set (9, 10, and 11 and sometimes 8) are the skills a ninja needs to do his job. To sneak in, get the hidden information, scout the enemy, and ect. They are also the skills a ninja needs in order to stay out of site. A ninja is to remain unseen and he would need this skills to survive. Note that this doesn't surmount to just a die roll. The player would be expected to think for himself on how to do this tasks. Fire is there because it is an excellent tool to use in espionage missions.
The next six (and sometimes seven) are all basic tools a ninja needs to survive on the land. A ninja would be expected to be on its own for long periods, and thus a ninja would be expected to be able to live without outside support for days at a time. A ninja needs to master this skills in order to survive the vast outdoor wilderness. Note that that 8 is also included in this set. Also note that, though not listed here, a ninja would be expected to be able to do some civilian job in order to survive. Jobs such as medicine man, farmer, trader, carpenter, ect.
The final one is Teamwork. From personal experience, stealth works best when you are being helped in some way with a friend(s). I know this from personal experience in the airsoft games I played. I hid best in those games when I had a friend causing a diversion or when I have a friend playing the part of me being an enemy in order to confuse the real enemy. If you want some quick examples of such teamwork, pay attention to how people help the main character out in Metal Gear Solid, Assassin's Creed, and Hitman.

These are just general ideas on how one would play a historical class of the ninja. If young Velox says that this is not for him, then I will put up some more ideas. Also, the rest of you guys need to be talking to me about what you want you want to be when you grow up.