Ninjas are cool, as are tabletop roleplaying games; therefore, tabletop RPGs with ninjas in them must be extra cool! But what is a ninja, exactly, and what makes them such a staple of pop culture? The following RPG systems, each with their own stylized take on Ninjas somewhere on the spectrum between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, try to answer this question.
Ask most people born in the 20th century what a ninja is, and they’ll generally think of a stealthy assassin dark clothes and a hooded cowl, wielding exotic weapons such as throwing stars, sickles, and Sai daggers. Ask people who grew up during the 2000s or 2010s, and they may cite the Ninja Gaiden