Ninja Burger
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Ninja Burger (忍者 バーガー) is a parody website started in late 1999, purporting that a sect of noble ninja have taken to secretly delivering fast food meals, anywhere, anytime, within 30 minutes or less. Failure to deliver within the ascribed time limit results in Seppuku. Some of Ninja Burger's rivals include [Pirate Pizza], Otaku Bell and [Samurai Burger]. The site riffs on many of the same points as Real Ultimate Power, another ninja parody website.
Ninja Burger became well known after appearing on and becoming an affiliate of Fark.com, and soon after it was turned into a role-playing game. The site has also spawned a series of comic strips, several short films, two Role-Playing Games, a card game, a multimedia CD and a book.
RPGs
The original Ninja Burger Role-Playing Game was published by 9th Level Games in the Spring of 2001. Based on 9th Level Games' BEER Engine (redubbed the SAKE Engine for this game), it featured three supplements, approximately one per year thereafter: Teenage Mutant Ninja Burger, Iron Ninja Burger Monkey, and BURGERTECH!.
A second edition of the Ninja Burger RPG was published as a PDF in March of 2006, using an all new ruleset based on [Atomic Sock Monkey Press]' Prose Descriptive Qualities PDQ system, created by Chad Underkoffler. The game features a campaign set in San Francisco, California, which is (according to the backstory) the home of Ninja Burger Headquarters. Unlike the original game, it allows players to take on specific roles within the organization -- such as chef, driver, etc. -- in addition to the baseline role of "ninja". It also greatly expands upon the scope and scale of the original setting; whereas the 9th Level Games' game was designed for 30-minute game sessions where just about everyone died at the end, the 2nd Edition is designed for longer campaigns that allow characters to grow and develop as they normally would in any RPG.
Like other games utilizing the PDQ system (including Dead Inside (DI); Monkey, Ninja, Pirate, Robot: the RPG (MNPR:RPG); and Truth & Justice (T&J)), Ninja Burger is notable for the flexibility and simplicity of its rule systems. The core mechanic is to add 2d6 plus a freeform stat or set of stats, and compare to a difficulty number either a fixed difficulty number or the opponent's roll. In conflicts, the amount which you beat another character's roll by is the amount of damage or failure ranks (see below). Stats are rated in five named ranks: Poor [-2], Average [+0], Good [+2], Expert [+4], and Master [+6].
Conflicts result in the accumulation of either "failure ranks" (which recover at the end of the contest) or "damage ranks" (which may take longer to heal). Each point of either type means that the loser must choose a stat to downgrade by one rank. So if you lose a conflict roll by 3, you must lower three stats each by one rank, or one stat by three ranks (with a minimum of Poor: -2). You can choose any stat to take your damage in -- i.e. you can downgrade your "Accounting" quality based on a hit in a fight. When you can't lower your stats any lower (i.e. a hit when all stats are at Poor [-2]), then you have lost the contest.
Ninja Burger adds several elements to the system, including various Honor mechanics (along with a Seppuku system should you lose too much honor) and Ninja Magic. Particularly noteworthy is the role of the Dispatcher; more than just a Game Master, the Dispatcher is an active participant in the game, being a member of the team and, in almost every respect, just another Player Character.
Card Game
A popular card game based on the Ninja Burger license was also published by Steve Jackson Games in November, 2003 (ISBN 1556346107). A supplement to the card game entitled Sumo-Size Me was published in Spring, 2005 (ISBN 1556347413). It shares only the core concept with the Ninja Burger RPG, using a completely different set of rules and game mechanics designed and developed by Steve Jackson.
Ninja Burger Employee Handbook
The Ninja Burger: Honorable Employee Handbook originally appeared as a self-published PDF through the website RPGNow, and was published in 2006 through Citadel Press (ISBN 080652796X). Originally slated for release on June 6, it appeared in bookstores two weeks early and was available over the Memorial Day weekend along with Maddox's Alphabet of Manliness, another release from Citadel's [Rebel Base Books] line.
The Handbook purports to be a real employee handbook from Ninja Burger, and as such is an obvious parody of "real-life" employee handbooks. It includes material such as: Ninja Burger History, Fitness, Recipes, Safety Tips, Etiquette, Salary & Benefits, Health Coverage and the company's literal Termination policy. Also included are a Ninja Burger job application, menu and employee newsletter.
Web Comics
Several long running web comics have appeared on the Ninja Burger website. The longest-running is called the NB Crew; drawn by Rocco Commisso, it documents the adventures of a small Ninja Burger crew (consisting of Max, Doughna, Steve, Minja and Jade) as they battle various enemies. Other strips include the original (and now defunct) Ninja Burger Comic Strip (by Lazarus Berry) and The Ninja Shift (by Recca Hanabishi). Each strip exists in its own Ninja Burger universe, and the characters, situations and laws of physics operate independently within each strip. None follows any "official storyline" and each is developed independently of the others.
Ninja Burger has also been referenced on other web comic sites, including [All About Eda], [Stalag 99] and Sluggy Freelance.
Influences
Though not directly influenced by it, Ninja Burger's concept is similar to a Saturday Night Live sketch from the late 1970's by John Belushi entitled "Samurai Deli." In this skit, Belushi played a samurai working in a New York City deli who would commit seppuku if customers were unhappy with his sandwiches (which he prepared using his katana). Other possible influences include Snow Crash, which features a ninja-like pizza deliveryman named Hiro Protagonist and "A Fistful of Yen", a short parody of Enter the Dragon from Kentucky Fried Movie.
Day of the Ninja
In 2003, the creators of Ninja Burger declared that December 5 would be celebrated as Day of the Ninja. On this day, people are encouraged to dress as ninja, engage in ninja-related activities, and spread information on ninja online.
External links
- [Ninja Burger Website]
- [Steve Jackson Games Ninja Burger Card Game]
- [Ninja Burger Second Edition RPG]
- [Ninja Burger Employee Handbook]
- [Ninja Burger TV Commercial]
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