Enhancement proficiencies are unranked additions you can add to a character at the cost of a proficiency slot. If you choose to take an enhancement at creation, you would drop your lowest level proficiency to add it.
Physical Enhancement Physical abilities are usually weighted by a culmination of a characters martial arts skills. An enhancement puts a character a step and a half above where they would be normally, meaning the character would be better at that one thing than someone who would normally be a step ahead of them in other physical aspects.
Mental Enhancements Mental enhancements strengthen a characters mind or let them use it in a way that provide unique insights.
Mental Fortitude A character with a high degree of mental fortitude is naturally more resistant to the effects that genjutsu have on the mind and can break them more easily with kai. Normally it is more expensive to dispel a genjutsu than it is to cast it, but those with this trait can escape using less chakra. They are also able resist the effects of Yamanaka techniques more easily. Two examples are detailed below.
Photographic Memory An ability that gives the one who has developed this ability a near perfect recollection of anything they experience. Regarded as a powerful espionage ability, a glance at uncovered intelligence documents is enough to steal its contents. Those with access to bingo books (chunin and above) can quickly recall listed details about criminals in it. Missing ninja who were known to have this ability while they were in the village are often given a much higher ranking than their strengths may suggest.
Hearing Enhancement Those who have this trait are much less likely to be snuck up on than their peers and have a knack for gathering intelligence. Jutsu that target hearing can be used to disable this ability.
Scent Enhancement An enhanced sense of smell is useful for tracking and quickly identifying a person surrounded with clones. Enemies aware that they are being tracked by scent may be able to decieve this sense with scent masking.
Visual enhancement Some shinobi are born with extraordinary eyesight or are trained to be more perceptive. The limits of this extend to being able to perceptive clairty, allowing for them to read lips and find subtle breaks in foliage to track others down. This enhancemet cannot be improved and is not to be confused with dojutsu.
Underwater Adaptation Through experimentation or a rare genetic mutation the character is able to breath underwater and travel water at speeds that rival their movement on land.
Expanded Lung Capacity Useful for all occasions where holding one's breath is beneficial. It can be used in the water, under the ground, and in the event of attacks that target the respritory system. For shinobi that rely on making sound to perform jutsu, this could give a slight empowerment as well.
Advanced Release(s) are a proficiency that require two elemental proficiencies of the required elements for them to be advanced past dormant. Similarly to a heritage, the advanced release must be taken at creation. Once a character is an apprentice level in both of the base elements, they may spend an upgrade to bring the advanced release from a dormant state to journeyman level.
Bakuton (Explosion Release) Bakuton condenses an electrical charge of electricity (raiton) into earthen material (doton) in order to create quick and violent explosions. As an advanced release it has devastating offensive power that excels at destroying barriers. These explosions are not super heated, relying on sheer sudden force and shrapnel to deliver its damage.
Hyoton (Ice Release) Hyoton combines water (suiton) and wind (futon) to quickly freeze liquids. The ice of the average user is cold enough that when fire begins to melt it, the water will douse it and refreeze unless the majority of the ice is dissipated. As an advanced element it has exceptional defensive capabilities. Offensively it is deadliest with direct touch but does not lack in ranged jutsu like ice shards. It is not known for devastating area attacks, but weather and terrain control are strong suits to this advanced release.
Mokuton (Wood Release) Wood release is a combination of earth (doton) and water (suiton) capable of creating life in the form of wood. It boasts impressive defensive capabilities such as making wooden barriers and structures, though at the beginning it lacks destructive power with only things like wooden spikes available to use as weapons. Advanced users of mokuton can create durable wooden constructs to do battle and some masters can even grow forests. Overall mokuton excels at terrain manipulation and defense, but is on the weaker side offensively.
Creating wood clones that have access to the character's jutsu and a telepathic bond with the user is dependent on having the shadow clone proficiency. Without it they are only able to create basic constructs that utilize melee attacks.
Yoton (Lava Release) Lava release combines earth (doton) and fire (katon) together to create molten lava. Lava release takes on many forms: acidic mudflows, quicklime which acts like a quick drying cement, to vulcanized rubber. Most users start with one manifestation of ability in a weak form and progress it over time, sometimes picking up other styles along the way. Manipulating pure molten rock comes at higher levels, a proficiency strong for controlling terrain or dealing incredible damage.
Ranton (Storm Release) Ranton combines the destructive power of electricity (raiton) and the predictable nature of water (suiton) to create beams of electricity that can be manipulated as easily as water. Raiton by itself is often difficult to use at a range because of the unpredictable nature of air currents, the streams of water used in storm release allow them to overcome this weakness. Ranton is very destructive and allows for very complex shaping and control.
Futton (Boil Release) Boil release combines fire and water to release corrosive vapors. Typically used from the mouth, this release can cover terrain with vapors that can easily dissolve most organic matter at its highest levels. While nothing stops a katon user from shooting fire into water, it would be very inefficient to try to bring large quantities to a boil, futton users do not have that problem. As a user advances they can boil more and more volume of water and make larger clouds of corrosive vapors.
Shakuton (Scorch Release) Scorch release combines wind (futon) and fire (katon) in order to created super heated flames capable of desiccating water. Shakuton progresses much like katon but typically does not immolate because it eats through matter so quickly that it loses fuel, but it has little trouble dealing with water. Advanced users can control highly compacted orbs and control the heat around them to protect themselves and others while quickly being able to direct them at targets without hand seals. Powerful users can conjure up to three of these orbs.
Jiton (Magnet Release) Jiton combines earth (doton) and wind (futon) in order to create magnetic fields capable of carrying and manipulating metallic objects. As a user grows in skill the amount of metal they can pick up increases. Some users make use of projectiles like shuriken and manipulate them on the fly, while others might use iron or gold dust to create waves of easily compacted material.
Other Combinations Other combinations can be applied for just like a normal ability. Please make sure to explain it is an advanced release and include the two elements that make it up. Exclusivity is not a requirement- say you wanted an advanced release that dealt with mushrooms instead of wood, you are allowed to use earth and water. If you are doing a unique combination understand it is not protected (meaning others can do something similar) and that its capabilities will be handled by arbitration with staff each time it advances. We are not allowing keikkei tota (combining three elements) at this time.
Nintaijutsu Requirement: Taijutsu [Journeyman], Ninjutsu [Journeyman] Nintaijutsu is the combination of ninjutsu (generally elemental) and taijutsu. As such, it requires the user to be fairly skilled at both - requiring a journeyman level in both to be acquired. Nintaijutsu is varied and powerful, allowing for a wide combination of physical and mystical techniques. Nintaijutsu begins at journeyman level when it is unlocked.
Eight Gates (1-2) Requirement: Taijutsu or Bukijutsu proficiency equivalent to the level listed for the gate. Only the first two gates are common knowledge, a special claim is required to unlock the knowledge of how to use the other gates.
The eight gates target eight specific chakra points in the body that limit the flow of chakra inside of an individuals body. By opening these gates, one can temporarily increase their physical capabilities. These limiters exist to prevent overexertion, and breaking the gates can have terrible side effects on the body up to and including death.
The Gate of Opening (Rookie)- Opening the first gate, located in the left hemisphere of the brain, removes any inhibition the user might feel. This opens up the opportunity to overcome natural instincts to perform more dangerous techniques where a moment of hesitation could be the difference between success or failure. After opening the first gate the user will feel fatigued after a brief period.
The Gate of Healing (Apprentice)- The second gate is located in the second hemisphere of the brain. Opening it provides a rush of energy that can easily overcome the fatigue of the first gate. The second gate provides a great increase to the users strength, but exhaustion will set in after a brief period.
Requirement: One proficiency at journeyman level. Shadow clone allows a user to split their chakra in half in order to create a clone capable of using their techniques. Each rank of shadow clone allows the user to create an additional clone with the technique, although chakra can be a limiting factor as it spreads thin among multiple clones. Luckily any chakra left over if these clones are broken by a single blow returns to the user.
In addition to gaining more clones with each rank, each upgrade allows the clones to return information from different sense to the user when they fall. From apprentice level the user can remember the clones sense of touch, such as the feeling of the blow that caused them to dissipate. Each subsequent rank up the user can remember an additional sense that the clone encountered (hearing, sight, sound, or taste).
Shape transformation shapes pure chakra into useful forms. One shape manipulation commonly used by samurai, who coat their blades in chakra to extend the range of their attacks and even to throw weaponized chakra a short distance from them. As pure chakra it lacks any sort of elemental strengths or weaknesses, just dealing in force.
Advanced users can learn to rotate orbs of chakra to perform rasengan, and grand masters are said to be able to merge other forms of chakra into these orbs of spinning chakra to create things like rasenshuriken.
Shape manipulation includes barrier ninjutsu is arguably the best defensive jutsu commonly available to shinobi. This ninjutsu creates constructs of pure chakra create personal protection for its user (generally while holding a one handed seal). Not only does it protect against conventional attack, but even particles in the air like the chakra of a sensor can be disrupted by barriers. In its lowest form this type of ninjutsu can create incomplete shields. As a user gets more advanced the stronger and bigger a barrier can get. Barriers can be used to either keep someone in or trap someone inside. Compared to doton, barrier ninjutsu's weakness is that it requires constant kneading of chakra to maintain. Fuinjutsu is often used to compliment the skill to overcome that weakness.
Requirement: Master level Fuinjutsu Space time ninjutsu allows for shinobi to overcome the obstacles of distance. The most common form of space time ninjutsu is summoning, which eschews the need for this proficiency because of the powerful contract scrolls rovided by animals. For most everything else space time, this proficiency is required.
At the beginning stages one can perform things like sending messages over long distances. As a user gains competency they can slip small objects across planes. At a master's level things in the lane of the flying thunder god technique become possible, which can be used to teleport between seals. Space time jutsu is incredibly taxing to chakra reserves and must be used very sparingly.
Requirement: Journeyman level Fuinjutsu Juinjutsu (Lit: Cursed Seal Techniques) are a derivative branch of the Fuinjutsu proficiency. The sealing art itself focuses on ancient principles of near runic and mechanical applications of chakra. Juinjutsu applies the same principle, but on the mind - and with various applications to the world around it. Juinjutsu itself is unranked but can be improved upon with each rank up put into fuinjtusu.
At its heart, Juinjutsu controls things - basic users will be able to moderate one's language whereas more advanced users would be able to use it as a mechanic to trigger harsher traps for the unwitting participant. Masters of this art would be able to affirm some limited control over people, things, beings and summons - but those with living chakra systems always act independently of extraneous forces.
Those who possess this proficiency are able to extract and perform surgeries to transplant genetic tissues into themselves and others. Each character is capable of having one active implant, with multiple implants only being possible through the use of juinjutsu to deactivate and activate different kekkei genaki. Transplants themselves generally have drawbacks such as a constant chakra drain seen in stolen dojutsu, requring them to be covered up.
Transplanted/Experimented abilities start at one rank lower than the donor (if no player character donor, then rookie) to a max of journeyman. Unranked transplants (such as byakugan) must be obtained from a donor and require at least a journyman level in this proficiency. Experimentation does not have a master rank or above. Transplants that started without a player character donor cannot advance in rank past rookie without gathering additional genetic material from a valid donor.
The ability to absorb chakra is confined to physical touch between the user and their target. Requiring the use of chakra itself, lower ranks in this ability are mild and while draining don't retain enough chakra to completely pay for the use of draining jutsu. It also generally requires longer periods of contact to drain a signficant amount of chakra, making taijutsu a vital supplement to this skill.
Improving this proficiency typically increases the amount of chakra that can be drained, the speed it can be drained, and the efficiency of absorbing the chakra that is being drained.
