Definition of a Technique (also known as Jutsu)

A technique, or jutsu as it is commonly called in the Naruto world, is a skill that usually involves a pre-determined range of physical motion (either as martial art moves or "hand seals") that is accompanied by the channeling of spiritual energy (Chakra) to achieve a desired effect.

Jutsu are generally separated into five broad categories: Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu, Ijutsu, and Kinjutsu

Ninjutsu means "Nin(ja) Skill" and Nin, literally translated, means hidden or person. On this board, Ninjutsu can best be described as the projection of chakra using a medium (usually an element) or the effecting of your surroundings using chakra. Examples of ninjutsu include breathing fire or moving underground.

Please note that on this board it is rare to get jutsu that does not use some form of medium to produce an effect. Things such things as "chakra blasts" will not be tolerated. On this board all ninjutsu techniques' names are next to the rank which is after the description, telling you whether it is a Ninjutsu or not.

Genjutsu or "Illusionary Skill" uses chakra to directly distort or enhance one of the six senses (hearing, touch, smell, taste, sight and emotion). The chakra that leads to and from the brain is controlled to produce this effect.

Examples of Genjutsu range from the "Sly Fellow Mind" skill which merely disorients an opponent and causes them to walk in circles, to "Sight of Hell" which causes a gruesome, although fake traumatic scene to Genjutsu that takes its victim into another world entirely. Genjutsu on this board also next to the rank on the jutsu.

Taijutsu, or "Physical (Martial) Skill (Art)" differs from the other jutsu classifications on many points. First, unlike all other jutsu classification, taijutsu rarely requires the use of hand-seals. Second, it does not use any elemental medium to perform the effects. In a lot of cases, Taijutsu doesn't even use a noticeable amount of chakra.

Taijutsu can best be described as jutsu that uses one's own body as the medium. This can be to the effect of enhanced punches or kicks, increased physical ability, the use of better (all be it linear) motions to create a better effect. Taijutsu on this board are next to the rank as well.

Ijutsu or "Medical Skill" is best defined as a skill that uses your or someone else's body as a medium to create an effect within yours and/or someone else's body. This can range from healing someone, to removing poison, or to harm someone. Some Ninjutsu, such as the "Bandage Creation Skill" is considered Medical Jutsu simply because it fits. Medical Jutsu are next to the rank after the description of the jutsu.

Kinjutsu or "Forbidden Skill" is a classification that covers most of the more morbid jutsu. They range from jutsu that harm the user or are considered too cruel, to jutsu that are simply considered too powerful to be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Technically Kinjutsu is merely a subclass of any of the other main classifications, however we point them out because there are several limits placed on who can start with them.

No one may place Kinjutsu on their first character and only Jounin Ranked ninja or higher may have any Kinjutsu. Even if your character meets all of these criteria, kinjutsu still counts as "advanced jounin" rank, meaning that you have to earn one of the two bonus jutsu to get one. If you would like one of your characters to learn a Kinjutsu, you should ask beforehand. Kinjutsu is next to the rank also.

Reading the Technique List

Now that you know what a technique is, you need to know how to read them. Here is an example of a technique. Basically, all jutsu are formatted in the following way:

QUOTE - English Name [Japanese Translation]
There would be a long paragraph here detailing what happens when the jutsu is used. | Chakra- ## | Effect (Usually damage)- ?? | Rank, then type of jutsu (Kinjutsu, Ijutsu, etc.) | anything else goes here

QUOTE - Clone Skill [Bunshin no Jutsu]
A basic technique which creates false clones of the user. The clones are used as a diversion while the user attacks. The clones are incapable of attacking and disappear if directly hit. | Chakra- 5 (per clone) | Academy Genjutsu 

Note that in the first line, it is the name of the jutsu, along with the Japanese translation.

Under that is a description of the jutsu. The description may be any length, and details what happens when the jutsu is used. Note that hand-seals are excluded from the description. Forcing people to know the hand-seals for every jutsu would be ridicules, and thus they are excluded from the jutsu list.

After the description there is a separation bar "|" that separates what we call the "stat area" of a jutsu from the description. After that bar we will have the chakra cost of the jutsu. The chakra cost must be paid in full in order to attempt to use the jutsu. The cost must be paid even if the jutsu fails or misses for some reason.

After that there is another bar and then the damage that a jutsu will perform if it is successful. Note that this is really only the suggested amount of damage and highly variable depending on how it hits. It is customary to allow the person the jutsu being used on determine the actual damage as they also determine if and how it hits. If you feel this privilege is being abused, feel free to contact a staff member to resolve the issue. If the jutsu does not directly damage the opponent, then this entire section is omitted as is the case in the above example.

After the damage there will be another bar and then a rank will be named. The ranks are, in order from lowest to highest: Academy, Genin, Chuunin, ANBU, Jounin, S-Rank, and Sennin. You must be the listed rank or higher to have or learn the jutsu. Medical jutsu will have "Medical" before the rank to note them as medical jutsu. Only medical-nins may have medical jutsu. Some incredibly rare exceptions to this rule may occur.

After the rank there will be another bar and then we will put anything else that is important to the jutsu. This could be anything from number of times it can be used per battle to a clarification on the description.

If, for some reason, a section is not needed in a jutsu the entire section is omitted. If the jutsu is not designed to be used in battle we simply place "| Non-Battle Skill" after the description and then another bar, and then the required rank. No chakra cost or damage will ever appear in a non-battle skill.

Incrimental, Per X and Every post Jutsu

After looking over the list you may notice some jutsu have "(Inc)" or "(Inc#)" (replace # with a number). This stands for incrimental jutsu. This denotes that you can place different chakra amounts to enhance their effects. In example:

QUOTE - Healing Hand Skill [Chiyute no Jutsu]
A technique which concentrates chakra into the hand. The hand is then capable of healing internal or external wounds when placed over them | Chakra- 30 (Inc3) | Healed Damage- 40 (Inc3) | Medical Chuunin Ijutsu

One can pay 30 chakra to heal 40 HP, 60 to heal 80 or 90 to heal 120. Basically, you can pay the chakra cost multible times, up to the number within the parintheses next to "Inc."

Also note that the (Inc) tag ONLY applies to the number directly to the left of the tag. In example:

QUOTE - Canon Punch [Taihou Sentou]
A jutsu where one places a large amount of chakra into their leg and releases at the time of impact, they can add a small amount of explosive power to their attack. Unfortunately, the explosive force can not be too strong as it could harm the user as well. | Chackra- 2 (inc2) | Damage- Strength+4(inc2) to your punch damage| Advanced Genin

Putting 4 chakra into the jutsu with a strength of 5 would not mean that the jutsu would do 18 damage, it would only do 13 damage. The strength is not effected by the (Inc) tag.

Other jutsu may have (Per X) in their description (replace "x" with anything). These jutsu are similier to incrimental jutsu in that you may pay the chakra cost multible times. However, it differs in a few areas. The first is that there is no limit to how much chakra you can put in unless it is specified in the jutsu. The second is how it effects the technique. Incrimental jutsu merely increase the power of the jutsu. Placing more chakra into a (Per X) jutsu means that are basically using the jutsu multible times, but in the same action. That means that some of the projectiles (or whatever) may hit your opponent while others may miss.

Some posts have (Every Post) in their description. This merely means that you must pay the chakra cost every post as long as you want the jutsu to remain active. Paying this cost does not count towards your one jutsu a post limit. Also note that there is a difference between "(Every Post)" and "(Per Post)." Per Post means that you pay all the chakra at once and that's how many posts it lasts, every post means you pay an upkeep.

Jutsu "Styles"

A Jutsu style is actually one jutsu, but it's split up into stages which gradually improve. Jutsu "Styles" are most commonly used as a way to regulate martial arts and show who is better at what style of martial arts (or taijutsu style) as well as give someone a way to focus on something other then jutsu.

Styles work just like normal jutsu, except that they count as two jutsu against how many jutsu you can have at character creation. In addition, earning a higher stage of a style is somewhat harder then normal. A general rule of the thumb, we make someone earn the style before getting it. In example, to earn the second stage of the lotus style we'd probably wait until you earned three stats before giving you the style itself (which would give you another three stats). In the case of nin or genjutsu that are split up into stages, just earn int or something.

Creating your own Jutsu

Under normal circumstances, applying for a technique separate from your application is not needed. You can merely place the desired technique in the proper section of your application using the above format. When we grade your application we will also look at, balance, and help edit your technique until it is up to standard. Do not worry about getting the stats correct for your technique. You merely place the desired stats and the staff will make the final decision.

If you feel that you must apply for the technique separately from your application for any reason or if you wish to create one or more "universal techniques" (techniques that the entire board may use freely) you can place a thread in the special permission forum that contains the desired technique.

It is advised that you apply for any custom techniques that you wish to add to your character after character creation before starting a training thread. This will solve a lot of problems that might occur and in the end save both you and the staff a lot of time.