I have been working on the plot of my sci-fi novel and, whichever angle I approach it from, it seems inevitable that there will be a fight between a ninja and a pirate. Obviously I want this fight to be as realistic as possible. While I think the ninja would normally have the advantage, the fight will be happening on a ship, and he may not have found his sea-legs. I can also imagine a scenario where the pirate's parrot may momentarily distract the ninja while the pirate grabs his cutlass. If anyone has any suggestions as to how this might play out, please let me know.
this you proving a point Ben? throwing a tangent into another thread to get my attention? my suggestion to the thread creator: don't plan the fight in advance. just write it from moment to moment without thinking ahead, the flow and reactions will be more natural
Not really. I hope you don't think I'm trying to bully you because that's not my intent. I merely remembered your post quoted here, and I thought it bore a humorous connection to this post.
ehm, please read: will add, you might want to write a few alternate versions of the fight, then choose your favourite
I can't help but feel like this is kind of like Alien vs. Predator or Godzilla vs. Tyrannosaurus Rex. 'Cause pirates and ninjas are both badass and awesome. Does the ninja have any other weapons except those useless shuriken? 'Cause if the pirate has a cutlass, he could mortally wound the ninja. But if it's a katana vs. cutlass, then I don't know, the ninja might have the edge there -- pun totally intended. The pirate could also carry a firearm and just shoot the ninja. I'm rooting for the pirate. Let me know how it goes.
What if a shark jumped up out of the water and bit them both? And then they fell INTO the water, but a dolphin came to rescue them, but the dolphin could only rescue one... which would the dolphin chose?!? Do dolphins like pirates, or ninjas?!? Or maybe dolphins hate them both, and this dolphin would go rogue and attack...!
First question. Is the fight on a pirate ship or a space ship? I take that back if the ninja does not have his sea legs. If a pirate ship then there would have to be a crew who would also be pirates. Advantage pirate.
It very much depends upon you're definitions. "Pirates" were made up of all manner of outcasts. Criminals, escaped slaves, political dissidents, and even common sailors. The captain often would fight fairly well since he had to dominate a crew of cut-throats (note that pirate captains were elected by the crew). The others would be a mixed bag. There was no training course for pirates. In addition, pirates could be armed with anything from small swords (the captain), to the cutlass, to axes, cleavers, and choppers. The true ninja were spies and assassins, not super warriors. But they were trained professionals, and that would give them an edge in a one to one fight. Much would depend also on the setting. Pirate boarding actions were either sneak boarding actions or surprise attacks, flying a merchant flag one moment, and then raising the Jolly Roger the next and immediately firing a broadside before the crew of the other ship could react. If the ninja picked the attack the pirate would probably be asleep and dead before he knew what was happening.
Pirate with an eye patch would struggle with depth perception. Pirate may also be drunk. But these are stereotypes, and a ninja may well get tangled in rigging.
i think it would depend entirely upon the terrain, on land the ninja, at sea the pirate. in dock it's unpredictable.
Is this a movie ninja or a real ninja? Because real ninjas were not the superhuman fighting machines that movies portray. When your whole strategy is to exploit the flaws in the samurai honor code, fighting a pirate is suddenly outside your skill set. On the other hand, real pirates were almost exactly as the are portrayed in book and film, so your ninja is pretty much fucked in this situation. The best option for the ninja is to disguise himself as a pirate.
Depends on who has more skill/tech, obviously! I cannot believe this is even a debate. Just because you are called a "pirate" does not mean you know how to fight well. Just because you are a practitioner of ninjutsu does not mean you are any good at it. Without proper context and background information on the combatants, there is no way to determine who would win. How about ninja pirate vs pirate ninja?
Hey bud. I'm not too sure about ninja's and pirates. But I do know war. I spent about ten years of my life in the military. I'll give you a few bits of advice about what I know. During an ambush, the discrepancy between opponents respective skills, abilities and knowledge is greatly diminished. Doesn't matter if the victim is the most elite soldier in the world, and the attacker is some back woods villager. At the moment an ambush is sprung, all advantages other than that of surprise are negated. When outnumbered in an unknown territory, speed is your security. It doesn't really matter how fast or slow you're moving/sneaking around. You're constantly trained to prepare for the worst case scenario, and in most cases involving war or I would say ninja's, that is being discovered before you are ready to reveal yourself.
I feel like I'll never really fully understand the posts made by @Chinspinner. Are there other pirates on said ship? (Fun fact: iPad tried to autocorrect ship to shit.) Because you could easily have the other pirates jump in, either to defend their captain dude, or to overthrow him so they can steal his ship and make it their own! What's a pirates favorite letter?
Depends upon the Ninja's agility score versus the Pirate's strength score. A +3 agility ninja always wins unless the pirate hits a saving throw. Seriously, decide who you want to win and contrive the situation in such a way that its fun, suspenseful and doesn't rely on Deux Ex Machina. This isnt an English yeoman versus a French heavy knight at the Battle of Crecy. Realism went out the door when you put the two in the same room together.
Thanks all for your responses, there are some superb ideas here. I think I have choreographed a realistic fight scene now. The pirate notices movement in the periphery of his vision. He barely has time to react before several shuriken thud into the timber at his side. He pulls out his pistol and fires, but the ninja leaps out of the way. The ninja then jumps at him, but Mr Polly starts flapping maniacally in the ninja's face giving the pirate time to draw his cutlass. Unfortunately, due to his patch and the resultant difficulties with depth perception he just swings at thin air. The ninja back flips away but gets caught in the rigging like a fly in a web. The pirate swiftly pours powder into his pistol and prepares to fire again, but when he looks up the ninja has gone. His crew mates are gathering around now firing off questions "what the hell just happened?", "Was that a fucking ninja?", "私は海賊です." He looks searchingly at the last pirate to have spoken; his beard is lop-sided, it doesn't look real. The ninja! He jumps at the ninja. They slide across the deck and slam into the balustrade. A shark propels itself from the water and closes rows of razor-sharp teeth about their legs. They are both dragged inexorably into the sea. But what is this on the horizon? A pod of dolphins! I think that is going to be the general gist of it. The important thing is that it retains that element of realism; particularly given that the ninja would already have been hiding in a barrel for two weeks and that might already stretch the credibility of the scene.
Why would the pirate be wearing a patch if he wasn't about to board another vessel. They weren't just decorative, they had a purpose. And if the pirate had actually lost an eye, I think he'd have figured out some way to judge distances.
