To play the Naruto Wars Roleplaying Game, you need a Ninja Master (NM) to present challenges, adjudicate the rules, and narrate the missions.

You also need players to run heroic characters, a mission (one you may have created on your own, or a premade mission such as Land of Waves), and dice.

A character is a player’s interface with the world of Naruto Wars. Like the hero of a novel or the star of a movie, the player characters (PCs) are at the center of the action. But there’s no script to follow—the course of every mission is determined through the actions the players take. And each character grows and improves as the game goes on.

The Basics

Dice Notation

These rules use the following die notations:
d4 = four sided die
d6 = six sided die
d8 = eight sided die
d10 = ten sided die
d12 = twelve sided die
d20 = twenty sided die

Die rolls are expressed in the format:
[#] die type [+/- modifiers]

Example: 3d6+2 means: "Roll 3 six sided dice. Add the result of the three dice together. Add 2."

Rounding Fractions
In general, if you wind up with a fraction, round down, even if the fraction is one-half or larger.
Exception: Certain rolls, such as damage and hit points, have a minimum of 1.

Multiplying
Sometimes a special rule makes you multiply a number or a die roll. As long as you’re applying a single multiplier, multiply the number normally. When two or more multipliers apply, however, combine them into a single multiple, with each extra multiple adding 1 less than its value to the first multiple. Thus, a double (x2) and a double (x2) applied to the same number results in a triple (x3, because 2 + 1 = 3).

Basic Task Resolution System
These rules assume a standardized system for determining the success or failure of any given task. That system is:

d20 + Modifiers vs. Target Number
The Modifiers and Target Number are determined by the type of task.
If the result of the d20 roll + the Modifiers equals or exceeds the Target Number, the test is successful. Any other result is a failure. A "natural 20" on the die roll is not an automatic success. A "natural 1" on the die roll is not an automatic failure, unless the rules state otherwise.

Ability Scores
Every character has six basic Ability Scores:
Strength (STR)
Dexterity (DEX)
Constitution (CON)
Intelligence (INT)
Wisdom (WIS)
Charisma (CHA)

The Score of these Abilities ranges from 0 to infinity. A limit, if any, will be specified in the rules. The normal human range is 3 to 18. It is possible for a creature to have a score of "none". A score of "none" is not the same as a score of "0". A score of "none" means that the creature does not possess the ability at all. The modifier for a score of "none" is +0.
A character with a Con of 0 is dead. A "0" in any other score means the character is helpless and cannot move.
Keeping track of negative ability score points is never necessary. A character’s ability score can’t drop below 0.

Ability Modifiers
Each ability will have a modifier. The modifier can be calculated using this formula:
(ability/2) -5 [round result down]
The modifier is the number you add to or subtract from the die roll when your character tries to do something related to that ability. A positive modifier is called a bonus, and a negative modifier is called a penalty.

Description of Ability Scores
Strength
Any creature that can physically manipulate other objects has at least 1 point of Strength.
A creature with no Strength score can't exert force, usually because it has no physical body or because it doesn't move. The creature automatically fails Strength checks. If the creature can attack, it applies its Dexterity modifier to its base attack instead of a Strength modifier.

Dexterity
Any creature that can move has at least 1 point of Dexterity.
A creature with no Dexterity score can't move. If it can act, it applies its Intelligence modifier to initiative checks instead of a Dexterity modifier. The creature fails all Reflex saves and Dexterity checks.

Constitution
If a character's Constitution changes enough to alter his or her Constitution modifier, his or her hit points also increase or decrease accordingly at the same time.
Any living creature has at least 1 point of Constitution.
A creature with no Constitution has no body or no metabolism. It is immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless the effect works on objects. The creature is also immune to ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, and massive damage, and always fails Constitution checks.

Intelligence
Any creature that can think, learn, or remember has at least 1 point of Intelligence.
A creature with no Intelligence score is an automaton, operating on simple instincts or programmed instructions. It is immune to all mind-influencing effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns and morale effects) and automatically fails Intelligence checks.

Wisdom
Any creature that can perceive its environment in any fashion has at least 1 point of Wisdom.
Anything with no Wisdom score is an object, not a creature. Anything without a Wisdom score also has no Charisma score, and vice versa.

Charisma
Any creature capable of telling the difference between itself and things that are not itself has at least 1 point of Charisma.

ACTION POINTS
Action points provide characters with the means to affect game play in significant ways. A character always has a limited amount of action points, and while the character replenishes this supply with every new level he or she attains, the character must use them wisely. A character can spend 1 action point to do one of these things:
Alter a single d20 roll used to make an attack, a skill check, an ability check, a level check, or a saving throw.
Use a class talent or class feature during your turn for which the expenditure of 1 action point is required.
When a character spends 1 action point to improve a d20 roll, add 1d6 to the d20 roll to help meet or exceed the target number. A character can declare the use of 1 action point to alter a d20 roll after the roll is made—but only before the GM reveals the result of that roll (whether the attack or check or saving throw suc­ceeded or failed). A character can’t use an action point on a skill check or ability check when he or she is taking 10 or taking 20.
When a character spends 1 action point to use a class feature, he or she gains the benefit of the feature but doesn’t roll a d6. In this case, the action point is not a bonus to a d20 roll.
A character can only spend 1 action point in a round. If a character spends a point to use a class feature, he or she can’t spend another one in the same round to improve a die roll, and vice versa.
Depending on the hero’s character level (see the table below), he or she may be able to roll more than one d6 when spending 1 action point. If the character does so, apply the highest result and disregard the other rolls.

Character Level Action Point Dice Rolled
1st–7th 1d6
8th–14th 2d6
15th–20th 3d6

Reputation

Reputation is used to determine whether another character (a GM character) recognizes a character. Those who recognize the hero are more likely to help the hero or do what he or she asks, provided the reputation has a positive connotation to the character who recognizes the hero. A high Reputation bonus also makes it difficult for the hero to mask his or her identity.
Most of the time, a hero doesn’t decide to use his or her reputation. The GM decides when a hero’s reputation can be relevant to a scene or encounter. At the moment it becomes relevant, the GM makes a Reputation check for a GM character who might be influenced in some fashion due to the hero’s fame or notoriety, as detailed below.
Fame and Infamy

Most characters with a high Reputation bonus (+4 or higher) are considered well known within their profession or social circle. Whether this has a positive or negative connotation depends on the point of view of the person who recognizes the hero.
When a character has a positive opinion of a hero’s reputation, the hero is considered to be famous by that character. Fame, when recognized, provides a bonus to certain Charisma-based skill checks.
When a character has a negative opinion of a hero’s reputation, the hero is considered to be infamous by that character. Also, at the GM’s option, a hero might be considered infamous in certain situations due to events that have transpired in the campaign.
Infamy, when recognized, provides a penalty to certain Charisma-based skill checks.
Using the Reputation Bonus

Whenever the GM decides that a character’s reputation can be a factor in an encounter, the GM makes a Reputation check (DC 25) for the GM character involved. A Reputation check is 1d20 + the hero’s Reputation bonus + the GM character’s Int modifer. (Some Knowledge skill modifiers might apply instead of the Int modifier, if the hero would be well known in the field covered by the Knowledge skill.) Modifiers to the Reputation check depend on the hero and the GM character in question, as shown below. Note that if the GM character has no possible way of recognizing a hero, then the Reputation check automatically fails.
If the GM character succeeds at the Reputation check, he or she recognizes the hero. This provides a +4 bonus or a –4 penalty on checks involving the following skills for the duration of the encounter: Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, and Perform.
Situation Reputation Check Modifier
The hero is famous, known far and wide with either a positive or negative connotation +10
GM character is part of the hero’s professional or social circle +5
The hero has some small amount of fame or notoriety +2
The GM must decide that a character’s fame or infamy can come into play in a given situation to make a Reputation check necessary. A character who doesn’t know, or know of, the hero can’t be influenced by his or her reputation.