Sub-Specialty System

The title of "Master" is a difficult goal to achieve and one that is viewed with great scrutiny once obtained, despite this, there are those among us who can be called titles such as "Master" or "Sage". Whether these titles are self proclaimed or awarded by others is of little consequence. What matters is that these individuals are very powerful within their respective fields of specialization and once this level of mastery has been achieved one must ask themselves the single and solitary question that drives us all to move forward: What's next? Indeed the choice is a tough one, should these individuals focus on their craft, honing it to perfection? Or should they step out of their comfort zones, falling back into the role of a student in order to stretch themselves and learn what may have eluded them in youth. It is time that we introduce to you, The Sub-Specialty System.

The Sub-Specialty System is designed for those who have always wanted to let their characters grow into more versatile fighting machines. There is a great deal of power to be had by those willing to put in the time to hone a third specialty and because of this only those who have truly mastered their respective arts can move on to this phase of their development. As a result, only those shinobi who have achieved A-rank or above can take part in this system. But those who do not meet the standard should take heart, knowing that one day you could qualify for a sub-specialty can bring a whole world of flexibility to your character development that you never thought you could have! Due to the power of having a third specialty there are obviously rules regarding how one obtains it and how powerful one can be within this new specialty.

When one achieves A-rank they must decide if they wish to train for a sub-specialty. If they decided to do so they must then seek out a teacher, one who has proficient skill in the desired specialty that the A-ranked or above ninja wishes to be trained in. The teacher can be no lower than A-rank and they must agree to train the learner. From there the two must enter a training topic together where the A-rank teacher will instruct their "student" on either the basics or to enhance their usage of the desired specialty. Within the topic the "student" must post an equivalent of 7,000 words, cumulative throughout the entire topic. At the topic's conclusion it must be submitted in the evaluations section where it will be evaluated as normal. The "teacher" will receive normal EXP as per normal RP but the "student" will be evaluated and judged as to whether they learned the specialty or not. A score of at least 16/20 must be obtained by the "student" to master a sub-specialty. Upon doing so, the "student" will obtain access to the third specialty and thus the ability to use Jutsu up to B rank within this specialty. However, once the "student" achieves the elite S rank, they are able to further push their understanding of this sub specialty to the A rank level (allowing them to use jutsu of that sub specielty up to A rank).

Before anyone gets too sparkly eyed over this, we need to lay out the ground rules. Learning a new specialty is not the same as mastering it. It takes a great many years to master an art and one can only master so much before their other skills begin to decline. It is for this reason that the sub specialty that an A-ranked ninja learns is limited in the power that can be used from it, and so to with a ninja of higher ranking. An A ranked shinobi who picks up a sub specialty will only be able to use up to B rank jutsu from the chosen specialty, while S rank ninjas are able to use jutsu up to the A rank level. However, those who gain the third specialty are also granted access to one Special Characteristic up to their respective rank, that falls under their new specialty's limitations. For example, Special Characteristics such as 'Flash Speed' become accessible if one gains weaponry or taijutsu as a third specialty. This does not open up a special characteristic slot, just allows you to gain a special characteristic that may have otherwise not been allowed before having a certain specialty.

In regards to weaponry, those who wish to gain a third specialty in Weaponry may only choose one of the three ranges to specialize in. This is to allow those that have it as their first two may still have an advantage. They may only utilize up to B - Rank weapons while they are A ranked shinobi, and A rank weapons while they're S ranked shinobi.

In addition, one is not able to increase or 'better' a current specialty by focusing on its current weakness. For example, a Weaponry user that specializes in short and long range attacks, cannot learn mid-range as well. This is done to eliminate the advantage for the specialties that are broken up and can therefore alter or cover their weaknesses, which compared to genjutsu, are unable to do so.