Hello all, you're friendly neighbourhood Aya here with some tips and boundaries for jutsu parameters and parameters on a whole, this page will cover damages, speeds and other general guidelines surrounding the application processes, but mainly jutsu, and their boundaries. Just remember that even with this as a guideline, many things ESPECIALLY in jutsu go by a case by case basis, and in many cases staff have to make a judgement calls based on their objective opinion of the jutsu and how it works. If you have any problems, feel free to look higher on the staff ladder for advice, so without further adieu... time to kick things off...
Overcomplicated jutsuIf something is too complicated to the point we can't make heads nor tails of it, we wont try and tackle it and approve it as it is, be clear and objective, and less descriptive in write-ups, detail does not mean always needing the fluff of an IC play by play of the jutsu and EVERYTHING which happens down to a microscopic level intermingled with the mechanics to make the jutsu almost unreadable. Even if you end up adding bullet points of the jutsus' effect. We can't approve something we're having trouble understanding, simple as that.
Rank play-by-playRanks are the levels in which we measure power, effectiveness and also how much chakra is required to use an ability, naturally techniques raise in effectiveness and power the higher the rank, but also in what the techniques are overall capable of. Much of these will be addressed later, but here are some of the basic fundamentals and uses of jutsu at certain ranks.
The ranks range from E Rank, which are basic academy/ aesthetic jutsu which are either cosmetic/ jutsu with little to no combat effectiveness or are the most basic/ fundamental jutsu in a ninjas kit. To SS rank, plot only special abilities which are able to destroy massive areas.
The almighty +1/ -1The almighty +1/ -1 is a powerful statistic increase/ de-buff which increases or decreases a statistic by one rank in power, or a statistic of the person's characteristics increasing their physical capabilities by a single tier, in addition, +1's to techniques do not increase the parameters of a jutsu (range, size etc) they simply increase the offensive or defensive parameters and effect people's ability to negate or defend against them. There are two kinds of +1's/-1's major, and minor.
Major +1'sAre +1's to things such as Strength, Speed, Reaction Speed, and the power of elements and specialisations. These in no small sense directly increase or degrease the power of the character. These increases/ decreases can be maintainable over time and used without drawback at A rank or higher, and can be used through specialisations like genjutsu for de-buffs or taijutsu for the self-buff effect. However, using them at lower ranks is possible if the practitioner takes downsides to balance the power of the effect, which could include things like increased chakra costs or -1's over a prolonged period after use to the user.
Minor +1's/ -1'sAre +1's to specific areas within the areas marked for the major +1's, these cover effects like gaining +1 to breaking out of Genjutsu, or +1 against Suiton based techniques. Targeting specific aspects as opposed to the overall blanket of major +1's. These can be applied for without downsides at B rank or higher, but similar to Major +1's they can be applied for at lower ranks if people include equal downsides to balance the effect.
%'sPercents are fractions of a rank, a jutsu which can give a +50% boost to a strength, is not increasing their total strength, but 50% of a rank. Jutsu of this nature are able to be applied for at lower ranks.
DefenceDefence per rank for defensive type jutsu is a simple guideline, the common rule is a defensive technique is able to shield 4 Techniques of one rank lower, 2 techniques of equal rank before breaking and 1 technique one one rank higher. Any other technique will shatter the shield and unless specified lower rank attacks will not often dent it. Maintainable shields by proxy do not receive the ability to defend against higher ranks due to their maintainable nature, but are still broken by the same 2 techniques of equal rank, regardless of their spacing. While if the defensive technique is of an elemental nature it receives +1 damage from the element it is weak to and -1 damage from the element it is strong to.
Damage/ Healing:Damage is how much damage an offensive technique is able to deal to a person due to the rank of the technique, and the power behind it. Jutsu effects while they may vary in application, residue or visual cues, the offensive effects are usually very similar, and are measured by the degrees of burns/ tissue/ bone damage they are able to inflict on their victims. Similar to damage per rank, medical techniques of ranks are able to heal equivalent damage per rank as offensive techniques deal damage, as it is from an equal and opposite source. Ie, a D rank jutsu is able to deal 1-2 inch deep wounds, while a D rank medical technique should be able to heal 1-2 inch wounds.
Damage Table:E Rank - Minor cuts and bruises, 1st degree tissue damage
D Rank - 1-2" cuts and major bruising, light 2nd degree tissue damage
C Rank - 2-3" cuts and internal bruising, but unable to affect bone, major second degree tissue damage
B Rank - 3-4" cuts and able to break bone and deal 3rd Degree tissue damage, wounds at this rank CAN be lethal if unattended, though lengthy, and rarely are.
A Rank - Are able to cut through an non armoured person with relative ease and deal 4th degree tissue damage, and are often fatal on direct impact as well as having potent area of effect destruction.
S Rank - Are able to cause extensive damage and destruction of landscape, leave large craters and eliminate evidence of a person 'almost' entirely
SS Rank - Ranges depending on the technique.
Speeds Per Rank:Speed of jutsu is a loose yet overall important part in projectile offensive jutsu, and even in some supplementary jutsu. Speed
MUST be included on projectile or ranged jutsu and is able to sway faster or slower depending on the strength and merits of the skill. Eg, an A rank jutsu which only deals what would be considered C rank damage has reason to increase its speed to make up for its lack of damage, 'focusing' in being a quick attack, so to speak.
On the other hand, you can rather than increasing the speed in the site system of Ranks, move around that and increase their speed by a set of meters per second for short bursts, note: these are only approved as short bursts, as they are incredibly fast bursts of speed and cannot be maintainable due to moving faster than rank speeds. Here is a list of approximate speeds to help determine how fast things can go per rank.
Approximate speeds per rank:E Rank - 0-15mp/s
D Rank - 16-25mp/s
C Rank - 26-45mp/s
B Rank - 46-65mp/s
A Rank - 66-85mp/s
S Rank - 86-105mp/s
SS Rank - 106+ mp/s
RangesRanges are the measurement of the effects of the jutsu, and are most often used with specialisations like Ninjutsu, as opposed to Taijutsu techniques which often to not exceed the body of the user. Range is the overall range which every aspect of the Jutsu encompass, Ie, if a fireball as an effect which says it can be thrown 10 meters, but explodes into a 5m fireball, the range would be 15meters, 10 for the ball + 5 for the range of the explosion. Ranges differ often base on the ability, some staying closer while others considerably longer. Though for some things, like sight based Genjutsu or sensory techniques, the range is often 'clear line of sight' meaning that its applicable as far as the user can see clearly
BY NATURAL MEANS, (unless explicitly stated otherwise on another technique). Though, like speed, range is something which can shift to either way, depending on the technique, a weaker ability CAN have a longer range to compensate while a powerful ability would be much more restricted to its range. Here's a basic list of common ranges based on rank for offensive techniques and blast radii for areas of effect.
Ranges per Rank | Detonation radiiE Rank - 0-10m | 1m radius
D Rank - 10-20m | 2-3m radius
C Rank - 20-40m |3-5m radius
B Rank - 40-70m | 5-10m radius
A Rank - 70-100m | 10-25m radius
S Rank - 100-150m | 25-50m radius
SS Rank - 150+ meters | 50m+ radius
Additional Effects/ Scaling EffectsAdditional effects on a jutsu increase the power and overall utility of the technique, thus, you have to gauge just how many additional effects you have on your jutsu. This is the area many jutsu become overpowered in... The ability to penetrate armour/ defensive jutsu of a higher rank than normal or setting something on natural fire is an additional effect which could in some cases come under a minor +1, (though rarely does.) Often it's a judgement call people have to make on jutsu whether or not it does too much or becomes too powerful because of its effects. But as a general rule, the more something is able to do, the weaker the core effect of the ability should be.
Scaling is one of these effects, which has an unacceptable and acceptable variant, one means of scaling is a technique which has multiple ranks where the technique strengthens each rank is fine, though, as a note, the technique while being apped is treated as its highest rank for purposes of Ryo cost and training word count. However other techniques which state they scale with a user's stat or ninja rank to increase overall damage, an opponents ability to block, defensive ability or inability to break however, are not acceptable by site standards, as it is often creating an ability which can become an S-SS rank technique, for D-C rank chakra costs, for little reasoning. That being said, speed or strength scaling is able to be used to augment an additional ability/ effect to make the jutsu more useful, Ie. the jutsu's speed or range may have bonuses depending on the users speed or ninja rank, which is also ok.
Lastly, scaling jutsu when receiving a +1 from an item or other source do not increase the rank of the template used, (Ie, a jutsu which scales from C-SS, when using the C rank application with a +2, you
do not use the A rank version of the jutsu, you use the C rank application and increase its statistic based parameters, damage, defensive ability, etc.)
Additional Costs/ Negative EffectsAn additional cost or negative effect is when a jutsu has an inherent flaw or added cost in the jutsu to allow what it does to be more effective as payment Ie, statistic debuffs, long cool-down times, restricted use, damaging the user etc. These are widely used functions which players use to increase the functionality of their ability and push the bounds of ranks with equal downsides.
Not all downsides are created equal however, and mods approving jutsu using downsides as a general guideline weigh out whether or not the jutsu in question opens up doors for abuse, even with its downside, you need to think is it worse, or better for me person to use this jutsu, and by how much? A D rank jutsu giving a person a +1 to strength for ANY amount of time would need
significant downsides, and would not be allowed to be maintainable. But if it were for one strike, and the users strength was reduced by one or two ranks for several turns after its use, it balances itself out.
It's all about balance.
Chakra CostsChakra costs for techniques are often set in stone, the minimum chakra cost requirement for a technique is set, and immovable, though some techniques increase the chakra cost as a negative effect or explanation to administer more potent effects, and others can even increase the cost of other's techniques as an offensive function. While this is sound and fine, the base chakra costs and maintenance costs for abilities per rank are:
Chakra costs | Maintenance costsE Rank - 5 chakra | 5 chakra per 2 turns
D Rank - 10 chakra | 5 chakra per turn
C Rank - 15 chakra | 5 chakra per turn
B Rank - 20 chakra | 5 chakra per turn
A Rank - 25 chakra| 10 chakra per turn
S Rank - 30 chakra | 10 chakra per turn
SS Rank - 35+ chakra | at least 15 chakra per turn
Cool-downsCool-downs are the time in which a character is unable to use the ability and take effect only AFTER the duration of the jutsu has been met and after all functions of the jutsu has ended. The stronger the jutsu, the longer the cool-down time as a general rule, other guides to cooldowns like 1.5x or 2x the duration, is often acceptable for most jutsu also, though cool-down times often fluctuate depending on the power of the skill (you don't see many 2 post cool-down S rank jutsu). Maintainable jutsu and powerful techniques should often have high cool down times of between 5-10 posts while weak or utility jutsu often have lower cool-down times between 2-4.
Long cool-down times can often be seen as an added downside for a more powerful technique, and increasing the cool-down time of an ability is a good way to nerf or balance it without removing the abilities core effect or function. A prime example of this is an ability which can only be used once per thread or with a cool-down of say, 15 turns, its often considered and allowed to be made a little stronger than usual due to the inability to get a second chance in using it, in almost any combat scenario. While on the flip-side if you have apped a particularly strong ability a mod believes to be borderline going onto the next rank, increasing its cool-down could be a quick and easy balancing factor as opposed to increasing its rank.
SpecialitiesA brief of specialities and the boundaries of their techniques and what they are capable of.
TaijutsuTaijutsu jutsu are body jutsu chakra flow, channelling chakra within the persons body and often not exceeding their skin. While it's Taijutsu which is most often used to increase the user's physical characteristics, they can be used to administer burns on touch, harden their skin and many other effects based on touch. Though chakra can be pushed beyond their skin, it becomes impossible to maintain outside of themselves without some sort of constant physical contact.
BukijutsuBukijutsu techniques, similar to Taijutsu in scope, are to do with infusing chakra based effects into items which would otherwise not have them, though these effects, like Taijutsu can be projected beyond the infused item, control past the weapon itself becomes virtually impossible without some form or means of physical contact between the item and the attack.
NinjutsuNinjutsu is external influence of chakra on the world around the user. Basic magic, it has a wide array of effects which all encompass effecting the world outside of the user.
GenjutsuSubject to some debate on its usefulness, genjutsu is a technique which focuses around illusions, by infiltrating chakra by the means of a trigger into an opponents chakra system to cause varying effects by disturbing their flow in certain areas and in certain ways. This could be anything from causing false sensory input, changing the target's perception of reality, or even mentally wearing out the opponent. Thus ALL genjutsu need a trigger, be it by sighting an opponent within a certain range, creating sound, sending a gust of wind infused with yin chakra or by many other unique means... these triggers however, though crafty in nature, MUST BE INHERENTLY AVOIDABLE, however hard it may be to do so, it must be.
Medical ninjutsu:Unlike normal ninjutsu techniques, medical ninjutsu uses positive energies to regenerate dead cells and damaged bodies using chakra, whether it be a victim or the user. Medical ninjutsu is a requirement for all techniques which would require intricate knowledge of the human body to perform, Ie. attacking an opponent's central nervous system or specific organs etc. Though it does possess some finer offensive techniques like chakra scalpels and some very limited base chakra manipulation.
FuuinjutsuFuuinjutsu are a very diverse set of skills and potentially bodily seals (pre set Fuuinjutsu techniques in the form of tattoos which can be activate as a jutsu for their chakra cost). Fuuinjutsu have effects surrounding the symbol they are cast from, and are unable to perform feats of incredible control by normal means, though diverse, their purpose is often basic, and must be centred around the act of 'sealing.' Be it sealing chakra and releasing it, or creating a prison. Though it lacks the ability to create constructs like large lightning dragons, seals are broken and their effects fade if the seal is damaged or broken.
SeijutsuAre combined skills between the user and the pet Ie fang over fang. These skills use both the users and the pets chakra, though are not needed to be known by the pet to use.
SenjutsuSage techniques are techniques which require sage mode to use, often stronger than an average technique they receive several bonuses, but require to be coupled with another specialisation, Ie. Senjutsu/ Ninjutsu or Senjutsu/ Summoning. In which the ninja needs to have both specialisations up to the rank of the jutsu to be able to use. These skills receive +1 when interacting with other techniques, but not people.
PuppetingSkills limited to the use of a puppet, similar to bukijutsu, often using chakra strings as a conduit to impart effects onto their puppet to increase their potential in various ways.
SummoningSummoning creatures mystical and otherwise, though people are able to apply for non realistic creatures such as many headed dogs and Yatagarasu base around mythological featured animals, some things like dragons, chimera and other mythical creatures are restricted to certain ranks or higher. Summon sizes can be colossal, ranging from the size of dogs, to the size of small hills at SS rank. Here's a guide for summon size. Note: Though size is not power, it should be taken into account, a large summon should have some of its other aspects like powerful jutsu diminished to compensate.
Summon Size ApproximatesD Rank: 2m
C Rank: 4m
B Rank: 6m
A Rank: 10m
S Rank: 25m
SS Rank: 50+ meters
Sensory skillsThough not really a speciality, sensory skills can fall under several techniques and can come under many specialisations, ninjutsu, taijutsu, fuuinjutsu, seijutsu and even puppeting can perform these forms of techniques. The difference depending on 'how' they see or sense, and must have a tie in for their speciality. Though as some sensory skills have more defined ranges, here is a list of approximate ranges which are acceptable when apping sensory jutsu. Note: these are for things like area of effect sensory, rather than things which are simply sight based.
Sensory Range ApproximatesD Rank: 10-15m
C Rank: 15-25m
B Rank: 25-50m
A Rank: 50-250m
S Rank: 250-500m
SS Rank: 500+ meters