Alternate Hyuga Build

[OdionXL]

Hey guys, I've been a lurker here for a long while and now I finally have question of my own for this fabulous community!

I was wondering is it possible to build a "kakashi-like" Hyuga nin? One that doesn't focus on the gentle fist, but rather a generalist with Jyuken being another tool in his arsenal? Has anybody tried this before?

Thanks!
- Odion

[keksmuzh]

The short answer is yes: because of the way techniques are set up, it's pretty easy to give just about any character decent ability in most of the major technique types.

If you're really trying to build an effective, at least somewhat min/maxed Hyuuga Generalist...it gets more complicated. Here are a few overarching thoughts on the concept.

1. Taijutsu is still the most important part of your arsenal, even if you don't know a single Jyuuken move. Many of the Byakugan bonuses are most relevant in melee combat, and with melee taijutsu being arguably the overall best build-type, it's hard to go wrong with this. The best possible way to do this is only possible with the Way of the Master supplement (which has numerous powerful debuff tai techniques, as well as a feat to make Wis your primary stat for taijutsu).

I actually have played a similar concept; a Hyuuga archer with access to water clones and a few other complimentary techniques. He ended up mostly being the party scout, and was nearly unkillable via AoE (reflex save through the roof). The main problem with this concept was a severe case of MAD: dex for attack rolls, str to hit, wis for will save and essential scouting skills, con to not die and use a reasonable array of techniques, and int for ninjutsu. I could possibly have dumped one, but it didn't fit the concept, and archery is already under-supported in core.

2. Will Over Flesh is your best friend. Basing your chakra off of wisdom reduces a lot of the MAD problem with generalists, allowing you to make minimal investments in Con. Combined with the ability to make wis your primary stat for taijutsu (with Way of the Master) and attack rolls (taijutsu master ability), you can get a lot of mileage out of an already useful stat. Why am I making such a big deal out of chakra pool? It takes a LOT of chakra to get the most use out of the Byakugan, especially if you're using the x-ray abilities outside of combat.

3. Pick a secondary technique type to pseudo-specialize in. As nice as it is to want to be able to do everything, it's simply not possible outside of extremely high point buy games. By far the best secondary is ninjutsu, as it has the widest array of effects under one heading, and Int is rather useful for skill points as well.

[SirShadow]

The best Affinities for Generalists are Fuuton and Suiton. Fuuton is better if you're focusing on melee and Suiton has issues with material components.

It's not hard to throw a 14 at your Charisma (especially if you're reducing MAD with the above suggestions, which are great by the way). With their abysmal Will saves and Wis dump stat, you'll still be seriously screwing with any melee/taijutsu focused enemy, even if you only have middling skill in genjutsu.

[OdionXL]

Thanks for the responses. I am glad to see that the concept is not inoperable. In regards to you Sir Shadow, I was thinking the Fuuton element would complement the close-mid range fighting style that a Hyuga naturally drifts towards take Katon later to add serious Long-Range firepower to the mix. The funny part is that instead of a Kakashi-like build it would actually drift into an Asuma-like build, which I would be completely fine with because it would fit with the Doukagan wielding Gouken fighter and the Shinobi Swordsman that round out our three man squad. I also agree with you Sir Shadow about the Genjutsu too, seeing as our team would have a lack of that it would allow me to fill in that spot too via dabbling.

TL;DR: Great suggestions all around!

P.S. the ShinSword player also suggested another build that might be interesting in its own way: A Hyuga Medical Spec would acts more like Kabuto (aka assassin) using posions, jyuken, and the chakra scalpel to take apart opponents peice by peice...I thought that sounded interesting as well, thoughts on that too perhaps?

- Odion

[Reznor]