Nei Jing* (Su)

Prerequisite: Improved Unarmed Strike feat

Benefit(s): The ninja has mastered the art of internal power (nei jing), and can use it to deliver attacks without appearing to apply force, by using the nei jing to create harmful harmonic vibrations within the target. When the ninja makes an unarmed attack, she may make a Sleight of Hand check (opposed by observers’ Perception checks) to make the attack appear to be no more than a casual touch. The target of a nei jing attack gains a +5 bonus to this Perception check. Rather than dealing damage immediately, the unarmed attack deals one die of its damage each round (any bonus to the damage is added to the last die of damage dealt). If the ninja delivers a nei jing attack as a sneak attack, the sneak attack dice are dealt before unarmed damage, at a rate of 1 die per round. A ninja may end an ongoing nei jing attack she initiated with a touch as a standard action.

The cause of the damage dealt by a nei jing attack is not immediately obvious. A Heal check can reveal the attack as an imbalance of the target’s internal harmonics ( DC 10 + level of attacking ninja + maximum value of the ninja’s ki pool). Only characters with a ki pool can attempt to stop on ongoing nei jing attack with a Heal check, which has a DC 10 higher than detecting the attack and requires the healer to expend one ki point. A ninja must have at least 1 ki point left to use this trick.