Wujcik Erick - The Palladium Book of Weapons and Assassins

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The Palladium Book of Weapons and Assasins is published byPil1adium B o 0 k ~ 6 0 l Casper A ~ Detrolt MI 48210.Copyright 1983 by Kevin Siembieda. Illustration ©Copyright 1983by Michael Kucharski. All rights reserved under the Universal©Copyright Convention. Nothing may be reproduced in part or wholewithout permission from the publfsher except for use in reviews.



Palladium Books Publisher

Erick Wujcik Writer

Paula Leasure Editor

Michael Kucharski Illustrator

Kevin Siembieda Art Director

Table of Contents

Introduction to Weapons and aaaaaina 4Guilds and Societies of asaaains

THE ORDER OF ASSASSINS

History of the Order of asaaaina 6A Miasion of aaaaaina t ion 10Costumes of the Order of aaaaaina 11

THE THUGS

Thug History

12Thug Background 4A Typical Thug Killing 15Thug Techniques 16River Thugs 18Thug Costumes 19

THE NINJA

Ninja History 2Ninja Winter Techniques 22Ninja Training 24The Ninja Coatume 25Ninja Equipment and Supplies 26Ninja Weapona 26Ninja Climbing Techniques 34Ninja Water Techniques 34Feuaal Japanese Castles 36Samurai Warrior• 38

Poisons 9Dictionary of aaassin Terms 43Bibliography 48Chronology

Maps

Middle East of the Order of aaaaains 8Thugee India 20Ninja Japan 23



IKTRODUCTIOM TO W APOMS AND

ASSASSINS

History tel ls or innumerableaeeaeeinationa fro• the earlieet recorda atthe dawn or history r i ht throuch to today •enewspaper headline• . Mo era hee ~ nspared the work or madmen and fanatica asthey continue to attempt

to changethe path

or history with sincular acta . I t iealtogether too ea1y to track downbiocraphlee of the slain ones . Informationon the l l l ~ e r e 11 u1ually spare•.

History feels the influence of theselndlviduale . Por Juet one elt lllple, whatmight the world have become had not thefather or Alexander the Great, Phillip II ofMacedon been assassinated? I f there hadbean no Locueta (the polaoner) alght theRoaan Bpira have flourished under a coodleader like 8rittanlcua?

Knowing that auoh oharl e can be eaallyand quickly wrought n modern tiaea i t is nowonder that we often hypothesiseoonepiraciea and plotters who aredeliberatly attempting to influence eventeto suit some dlabolocal plan. I t ie eaay forterror1eta and tanatioe to get and uee

efficient killing weapons n the modernworld. The historical aaeaee1n needed t r110re effort and training to perfora IIUrder.

Over and over again history recorda thatthe captured aeesaee1n waa iaaed1ataly putto death, executed, tortured, or simplyescaped . Those aesaeaina or our own ageaeea to ta l l mostly into the two catagoriee

or madmen (who gat eo warpedsatisfaction out or klll inc a public figure) orconspirators (tarroriata or fanatica who aret r fro• proteaeional 1n their pursuit or thev1ot1a) .

Aeeaaaination has a direct and i iateetfeot. I t is a elmple and economical aotioncompared to the difficult task oroonetruotive polit ical or eocial action. Inorder to disable a polit ical body, l t lesimpler to remove the head than to deatroythe entire body. To kil l an idea byel1111nating i t s roreaoet opponent - the ooldlogic is apallingly easy to Understand.Governments often accuse each other orthese tactics although auooeeetul «enciesare known ae executioners rather thanaeeaeeine.

Before gunpowder made aeeaeeination apossible career for any lunatic there were

many obetaclee to efficient killing. Thiebook describes the ancient methode and theeecret arts or murder perfectedprofeeaionale.



GUILDS ND SOC11TIIS OF SS SSINS

•The who kil l • tor a price reaardaindiacriainate killinc aa tooliah andunprofitable. Ke i ae likely to kil l anyonewithout cettinc paid for i t aa a banker ia tolend aoney at no lntereat.•

-B,J, HUrwood , Society and then

When apeakinc t orfanisationadedicated to the tine ar t ak1lltul murderthere are really only three proper h1ator1cale x m ~ l e • The Order of Aaeaa1ine, TheNinja, an4 The Thuc• t India . In eaoh oa1ethl l l croup• were dedicated to tra1n1ncmember• in the preoi1e technique• tor

quickly and 1ilently diepatchin their ohoaenv1ot1me.Althouch no other hiatorioal example•

are well-documented there may be a aimpler eaaon t r thi1 1 auooeaal We oan eaailyimac1ne an eft1c1ent and dedicated aecretcroup t A•••••1na l1v1nc 1n yaantium,Renaiaaanoe Italy, or aixteenth centuryurope, No doubt there would be a autt1o1ent

demand tor their ••rv1oea 1 but how would weknow about the exiatanoe t any trulyauoouatul croup. conaider that any auohgroup would have to rely on o ~ l e t eaecrecy in order to prevent theirextermination by the lawful authoritiea. Totake another point t view, i t would be

equally profitable to work for theaatabliahed government, aa innumerablegovernment agenciee have done (and, nodoubt , continue to do) ,

The Weatern European hired aeeaeain1that hiatory haa deacribad are usual lyamateur killere and known criminala. Theaeeaaaination of Thomas Becket by adrunken mob of ing Henry the Second'aBarone waa a typical aedieYal kill ins.Getting a few etrongara ewordmen togetherand ambuahinc the victim was uaually theheight t technique.

So assume that other •Guilds• ofAaaaaaine exieted and you'l l find no realdisagreement from the historical record,You '11 a imply find that there s noconfirmation an4 that any details concerningthem must be left to your imagination.Perhaps the methode of the groupe describedin this book wi l l inspire that imaginativeeffort .



T17 bR'> R bf A . . S . S ~ t s . S I NHistory of theOrder of ssassins

After the death of M o ~ e d theProphet o Islaa, contusion over a propereucceesor led to the religion's separation

into SUMHI and SHIITI factions. Thedoainant Sunni taction b a l i a v ~ that theleadership or IIW' should t a l l to aqualified leader elected by the faithfUl. TheShlitea believed that euooaaeion should fa l lto the family o Muhammed (specifically toAli , the huaband ot Mohammad'• daushterPa t i - ) .

Arter Mohammed' death in 6)2 thesuccession became more and more a aatterot contention between the mainetreaaSunnitea and the ainori ty Shiitee. Plnal ly, in76 l\lsa al- Cada was recognized by thema3orlty of Shiites aa the seventh Iaan orlegitiaate euoceeeor to Mohammed.However, Jl\laa had an older brother, Ismail,who had been disinherited by their father.The Shiite extremeate clung to the beliefthat Ismail and his descendants were theonly true Imana that followed. TheseISXAILIS becaae a etrong secret sect andla ter eatabliahed the Patiaia Empire.

In 1094 the Patimid Khali , Muatanair,died leaving behind three aona. Although theeldest, N1sar, wae not successful in seizingpower he waa the inspiration for the NlsariIamaili sect which came to be known as theOrder of Asaaealns.

HASSAN-I SABBAH becaae the leader othe Iamalli movement i n Perala and Iraq andcreated a well-organized underground ormany followere. In 1090 he had himselfsmuggled into the formidable castle or

ALAKOT. The former owner eventuallyrealised that hie fortreea waa coapletelyinfi l trated and was allowed to leave (with adraft for ) , 000 Dinars in payaent). Ha88anspent the next thirty - rive years in Alaaut

d l r e c t i ~ the Order of Assassins.Having no oraanised ~ and no great

wealth, Hassan was unable to fight anef fective war. Assassination had a longhistory in Islam and Hassan had no shortageof ranatios willina to die tor hie oauae . In1092 the l ra t assassination was completedand i t set the pattern for a l l the subsequentaote .

Bu Tahir Arrani diaguised himself aa aSufi holy man and approached the l i t ter orthe Vizir Nisam al-Mulk. On the pretext orpresenting a peti t ion Bu drew a knife andkilled the Visir. He was slain in turn afterhe t r i p ~ d on the tent ropes while

atteapting to escape.Hasean established the t i t l e of Pidaiewho were to be trained in the use or thed a ~ g a r n d i ~ s e a in l ~ e and incourt etiquette . These devotees were tauchttotal obedience to the Master and were toldthat ordinary religioua beliefs ware for themaaeee and that only the Iman had trueeternal knowledge. The Masterde11onetratad his power to the Sultan seaiesariea nodding to a young Pldai whoiutediately drew a knlte and al i t hie ownthroat . Thia waa followed by another PidaiJuaplng to hie death froa a parapet onco.-and . In response to the ambassador'sdemanda he explained that another 60,000men would obey him with the sameenthuaiaam .

Kasaan was just aa ruthless in hieperaonal dedication to hie Order . Herepelled invasions of Alamut by trickery,aasaaeination, bribery, and out-and-outl iea. He baniahed a l l women from thefortress in 1108 (including hie wife anddauchtera). All three of his eona wereexecuted , two tor dlsobediance and the thirdtor having a drink from a wineskin.

The largest threat ever raced by Kasaanwas the Seljuke led by Sultan MuhammadTapar. Hie death led to a brier pauae inhoetil l t iee and the removal of a seige atAlamut. Aa his aucceaeor, Sanjar, waaproceeding to reau.ae the auaul t he was

delayed. One aorning he awoke to find adagger planted in hie pillow and a note froaHaaaan offering peace. Sanjar found i tconvenient to aaree.

Haasan appointed Buzurg Uaid to be hieeucceaaor before hie death in 1124. Ualdbroke with the will of Hassan by appointinahie own son and creating a dynasty thatlasted until 1256. Eaoh of the sevenaembare o the dynaety differed greatly inphilosophy and their capacity to rule. I t wasprobably the inconsistency of their variousreicns that prevented a vast expansion oftheir fa i th .



Marco Polo described a training groundt r the Aesaaaina aa a copy or Paradisetaken roa the Koran. Prior to being givenan assignment the Pidai would be druaged.He would than awaken n 'Paradise'surrounded by beautiful women and aardena.Attar describing hie dream he would betold that i t was a foretaste o what wou l dhappen to him attar he committed anaeeassination. 4any commentators have alsodesoribed the Pidai as being high on hashishduring thier assaults . Neither t thesestories la as convincing as the real religioustanatioiaa exhibited by the Asaaaalna.

Although Aaaaaaina would go to greatlengths to hide themselves prior tocoaalttlng their murders they were alwaysvery open about the crime i teel t The Orderseems to have uaod assassinations s tool

t terrorism aa much aa a way o eliminatingtroublesome persona.

I t ia ironic that the Aaaaaaine wereeventually felled by rotten leadership ,Khurahah who had ascended to the Iman in1255, decided to submit to the threat o theMongola. Travelling with the mongol leadershe ordered the surrender of over hundredAeaaaain ortreaees. In 1256 Alaaut w s

surrendered. Althoueh i t was recaptured bythe reaaining Assassins in 1275 i t held outtor only another year. Aasaasina continued

in name and occasionally in dead t rcenturies but were broken as a major powerin the world.



Map of the Middle East of the Order of ssassins

ALAMUT

STIDGHa IJ OF THE OR JlR OF T i ASSArsJNS

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PESH·KABZ

OAGQM CONWIDN TONOitr/IERN INDIA .

VM10V S IIP BI N AN ) /NOlANKNIVES US£0 BY THE ORDER OF THE ASSASSINS .

KRISW ~ ~13 I IWIEJ .,J..,)

ING FOR ALL TH£Sl

J<NIVE S 15 .. G E .

HALADIEOOvai C a L A ~ ¥ > 101/q

GCMMoN TO /lOTH A IABS 1W0 INDMN ..



Mission of ssassination

Surrounded by bodycuarda the Grandidr or Khuraean, Palthral-Xulk, wae

approached by a lone becaer holding out apetition, Allowing the begger to coaeforward be wae just starting to read thepetit ion when the 'begger', actually a Pidaiefrom the Order of Aaaa•eina, brought out a

daager and fatally stabbed the Vi ir .A1though immediately seized by thecuards , the aeaassin was not through withhie mission. Under tortured he revealed thenames o twelve accomplices in hie crime . edied with the satisfaction of having killedthirteen enemiea or the Order t Aeaasainawith a single dagger thrust .



Costumes of the Order of ssassins

Although the Order of Aeeaea1na tavoredthe wearinc t pure white garwente theywere trained in diaguieing t h ~ l v aaany oonoelvable ~ b e r of Ialamlc eoo lety l rainlng emphaebed the uee of the dagger

and i t w e their exolueive weapon In

addition eaoh Pidairw e

trained in speakingl l the neceeeary dialecte ae well ae how tobehave 1n court and foraal aituatione eo aanot to appear out t place.

®



hug istory

Aa early as the eichth century there havebean accounts o Islaaic axtremeat groups•ncaatnc n r i tual stranclinc· Althoughthaaa early inoidenta aay or may not haveany connection with tha ninataanth century'fhuga i t is certain that the ThlrteenthCentury saw at least a thouaand thugsexiled fro• Dllhl. No doubt the kil l ings othe h ~ a had been caine on or centuriesprior to the British crack-down in the early1800s.

Thugs are worahlppers o Kali, one othe goda o the Hindu pantheon. K&lithirsted or blood and her ugly black statuewas often rituallY coated in tha blood osacrificial animals. Sha ia uaually shownboldine a drawn sword, a nooae and a cluband wreathed in human skulls. Aocordlnc toThU lore she originally oaae to eat al l thebodlea o the victima. Unfortunately, oneThU violated her aost sacred taboo - belooked back and saw her eatinc. As i t wasnot a pretty sight abe vowed that abe wouldnever eat that way again . But ascoapanaation tor her devout worahippereahe gave thea one of her taeth to be used asa pickaxe or the digginc or gravaa .

The Thugs were also known as Thugees,

Phansipra (the Hindustani word for nooseia Phanai) , Ari Tulucar ( in Tamul) and Tant1Callaru (in Canareae). The word Thug Ileanadeceiver in northern India. In oontraat withthe extrema religioue aeperation thatdivides India to this day, tha Thugs havealways consisted o different proportions oHindus and Moslems workin« to«ether.

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THIS rJitiG 7DOl W SUJE 70 ()IG ~ V S .IICCORDING TO UGENTJTHf f1CJ A)f£ IS ACTIJALLYOlE OF KIILI J TEETH,N WILL MotKE ftK

SOUND WHILE D/ IJNfJ.,



Althouch soae forty thousand people~ a t e r i o u a l y Yaniahe4 in India 1n alngleyear 1812) , the British authorities 4i4 nothave the sl ightest suspicion that the hugeexiate4. ad the Thugs continued 1n theire ~ r e a e r i tual kil l ing they alght never havebeen diecovered, According to tradition

certain caatee, diat1gure4 persona, w o ~ nand other people involved in aotivi t ies .likeburial r i tea oou14 never be killed.

The a o e r n i ~ a t i o n of the Thugs lead totheir diecovery by the Britieh General .SirWilliaa Sleeaan. Through hie dedication andcareful inveat1gat1ve work the whole aecrataociety of the Thug• waa eventuallyrevaaled . Jy 1848 the e ~ e r a i n a t i o n or thefhuga w coaplete. Sleeaan was intelligentenough to provide alternative education nd

career• to the Thug• and their aona, therebycoapletinc the elimination or the cult . Ther i tual atrangulation peraiated in Bengal nd

. y t i l l coeur there rroa time to tiae .

~ T I J C O I ALI



Thug ackground

At the age or thirteen or eo the rather ofa young Thug would bring hia aon a l ong onthe yearly expedition. They would wait untilthe las t rains of the monsoon season wereover and venture out to the household of arespected Thug leader.

The gang would gradually drif t in to thehouse of the leader. When al l were present

the ceremonies would begin, A prieat of Kalind tour of the Thugs of hlgheet characterwould s i t on a carpet reserved for theri tuals . The others would s i t around theroom awaiting the results with someanxiety . After being handed a braes platef i l led with r ice, wheat and two s i lver coins,the priest would be asked what the day, hourand direction of the next expedition shouldbe. The priest would contemplate andeventually aupply the proper informationand the cane would go back to their hoaesunti l that t iae,

On the seleoted day the previouscereaony would be repeated with a braes jugof water and a white hankerchiet containgone si lver coin, two copper coins , f ive places

of tumeric and the consecrated pickaxeprepared . The priest would lead the group toa secluded place outside the village and theceremony would begin. The leader of theThugs would cry out to Kali asking t r asign . After engaging in group prayer al lwould wait tor some kind of sign . I f no signwas observed within thir ty minutea or t abad omen occured then the expedition wascancelled and the priest selected a new day.

Once a favourable omen was received theThug leaders and the priest would remainand meditate on the goddess for the nextseven hours. Meanwhile al l the others wouldmake al l the preparations for the longtravel . Even af ter leaving any bad omenbefore the next day's aid-day meal aeant

that the expedition must be cancelled.After the second day of the Journey the

group would sp l i t up into saal l groupe. Apair of Thuga disguised as baggers assignedto scout ahead might leave four or s ix hoursbefore the reat . The next group of eightdressed as ooldiere would then leave . Thenlarger groups posing as merchants orpilgrims would leave a t intervals until thefUl l 40 to 15 Thugs were n motion on theroads.

Whenever a group found an appropriateset of viot1mo they would leave ~ : ~ r k e in theground tpdicating when nd how the othergroupe were to join them. A proper kil l ingwould not take place until the Thugsoutnumbered their victims by at least threeto one. Thugs were constantly on the watchfor bad omena and were rorbidden to ki l l agreat variety of people including certainholy men , aweepero , maimed or sick peopleand women. There were a great variety ofpeculiar rules to be followed. Peoplewearing gold o r n ~ e n t s could not be killedn the f i r s t week t an expedition, the

braying o a donkey indicated a definitevictim , and a rabbit running acrose the roadfrom right to lef t meant that a l l currentlymarked victims ware to be le t go .

The new Thug recruit saw nona of themurders. Having a fun time and riding onponies while acouting he would always be inthe company o other young Thuae. By the

end of the f i r s t expedition he will only knowthat the Thugs engage n robbery. I t won'tbe until the third expedition that he will beallowed to see an actual atrangllng,

®

Once exposed to the real i ty t the Thugtllvea he will be allowed to dig craves nd

butcher the bodies . Yen a t this stace theyare rewarded with a share in the loot .Eventually they are allowed to hold the eat

t the vict ims being strangle d , The rank ofSHUMSEEA ia given to someone who actuallydirects the victim before death and holdstheir hands while they a re strangled,

TUPONEE ie the r i tual where the rawsugar GOOR i s eaten af ter a murder iscoapleted . No one but Thugs who havestrangled with their own hands are allowed

to eat the sacrad Goor which repreaents theflesh of the t iaer .t a youth wiahee to become a strangler

or BHURTOTE than he must seek out aGURU or teacher and become an apprentice .If accepted there will be a period o yearswhen he i s taught the proper method offolding and knotting the yellow or white ai l•scarf . One end must be knotted around aailver rupee such that t i s t i.ght but withovan end showing.

When the young Thug has finally learnedto usa the RUM L with speed and strength avictim will be selected . The f i rst vict ia iauaually an elderly t raveller . Several olderThugs will observe the omens for a timewhile the viotim sleeps. When Kali is

believed to have fiven the proper signalthen they will qu okly shake the viotimawake hold him for the kil l ing . The youthnow whips the Rumal around the victim ' sneck , catches i t , twists and then turna hieknuckles inward toward the neckbone untildeath arrives.

The t i re t kill ing ie a t iae of greatrejoicing and cereaony. Delighted with hienew statue , the new Bhurtote gives a feastfor hie Guru's family nd is accepted as afull member o Thug societv .

TRADITIONS OP A THUO

Thugs were often prominent or trusted• • ~ b a r e o Indian society. One elderlygentleman waa chosen by a British Governoraa a companion t r the Governor's youngchildren. very year the old Thug wouldrequest a month ot t to visi t his agedmother' and leave to commit dozens ofatrangllngs. He was described as completelygentle and trustwortl\y by his employers.

Thugs engaged in their trade because ofholy duty to Kali. Aa to their vlctime1 T h e ~destiny i s written on their foreheads. •Thugs were quick to defend themselves aaupright membera o society.

A thief is a contamtible being, but aThug ••• Never t a banker's treasure warebefore me, and entrusted to care , ' tho 1n

hunger and dying I would spurn to steal ,"said one Thug . But he continued with, "Butl e t a banker go on a journey and I wouldcertainly murder him.•

Thugs were parais tant in puraulnf avict ia marked by Kali . One Muslim ot t cartravell ing from Punjab to Oudh with twoservants was approached by Thugs in avariety or disguiaea . Warned about Thugactivi ty he refused to travel with any or thevarious groups who approached him. Finally ,in a remote location he found a group t

ooldiere wailing around a fresh grave . Theyexplained that they had juat burled theirleader but , because they were not l i terate ,they could not read the proper eulogy fro•the Koran. Would the kl.nd officer help thea?Yee, nd when kneelinc over the holy bookfor prayer the Thugs on either side of hiafound good use for the fresh grave.



TypicalThug illing

A group of prosperous Indian merchants is

travelling on the long road from Dackar toHinduatan. The tr ip will take at leastfif teen days and n llll lY ways i s dangerous

nd unpredictable. Naturally, meeting anyother party heading in the same directioncan be ~ u i t a re l ief - the more people n aparticular croup, the less chance there willbe t bandits attacking.

This particular group or newcomers is

welcome because they are or tho samereligion and caste. They alao aeem to be~ u i t t i li r with road and canconfidently give helpful directions. Within aday or two i t ia diff icul t to t e l l whichindividuals belonced to which group. Thenewcomers have been extremely friendly andhelpful - surely a good sign that suchcomrades have been encountered.

Suddenly one t their number yells out•Tombako kha lo •, get out your tobacco• .

Coincidently, each or the original party isseated directly in front of one of the

@

newcomers and l l are instructed to lookupwards ••• Just in time to have a scarfthrown around their necks by the personbehind them.

Strangled froa the rear their handa areseized by the one with whom they were justconversing. Their lege are pulled out by yetanother or the thug•· Within seconds l l theoriginal party is dead. Their bodies aredragged over to a shallow grave where theyare stripped and otherwise prepared. Toasoure that the grave will not be diaccvereddeep slashes are made in the abdoooen {toprevent swelling) and l l the major joints ereslashed {to prevent rigor mortie}. A daggeris alao thrust into each eye, thusguarantying the death of the victim.

Minutes f ter the fatal cal l the bodiesare concealed and there is no trace whateveror tha crime that has ocoured. The Thugsthen continue their travals, looking for tho

next l ikely group of viotimo.



hug echniques

Technique iJaPortant . i t i \ 110st of theThugs the apprentice spent .any yearslearn1nt; to t ie the perfect knot. Afterfoldinc the ecart , one end •uat be tiedaround a coin t ightly , yet without the endprotruding. Then the strangler holds theother end and toaaea the knotted end around

With other Thua groupe there werevaria iona. Two popular Yariationaaentioned 1n the l i terature include uain acord with a loop that could be tightened andthe uae ot a continuouslY twisted and

tightened ecarf . The River Thuae ueedanother method1 one thug would toea thecord around the viotia'e neck an4 anotherwould catch i t . They would then pull 1noppodte directions while a third ' 'hug pulledthe victim's head backward.

I

ll l/1 /f/

A IJK R COMWJN TO

IH RTHriW IMJJA

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the • ic t . ' a throat . This knot is eaucht withthe tree hand, together the hands tichtenwith a quick twiat and the f inal praaaure iaexerted by puahlnt; the knucltl o bothhands inward on the back ot the viotim'aneolt, preferable directly on top of the neckbonee.

Startina at as yoUII an aa• as ten, the'l'hua apprentice INSt learn the proper careof the sacred pickaze. Dil&in& ot gravee andthe preparation ot bodies were also ot sreat1•portanoe . Pinelly, no Thug training wouldbe o o ~ l t without learning the ri tualp r e p r t i o ~ of Coor, a raw susar treat eatenat every cere•onial occaeion .



RIIMAL OR Rl tW.

ONlY WHITE OR YEl.LOW SILKSCNtF OR JWfDI<ERCJ.IJEF WASClS£D BY TJE TIIIJ S.

MJ..ED TIGHT

S lft.WG MOUfP THE VICTIM S THif()I(Tn UGHTTNG JI>EEP

CA/161/T WITH F REE HNVD

7WLST



SHR T H TCH

C1 00 fT W TERUNE

iver Thugs

Thugs who plied their trade on thewell-travelled rivers of India warscU.f.terent froa their land-baaed brothers 1neeveral waye, Unlike the other Thugs, who

u e u a ~ l y went on expeditions on a seasonalbasis, the River Thugs engaged in ayear-round trade. Their method ofstrangulation was di£ferent (see ThugTechniques) and they prepared the bodies bysimply breaking the backbone and attachingweights.

River Thugs toot great pride n theirboat and travellers were often attracted tothe superior quality and appearance o theThug cra.tt. These boats ware alec speciallymodified with concealed openings at thewater l ine used for disposinc of the bodies.

In addition to the crew there w o ~ begroupe or Thugs posing au w e l ~ o t ttravellers at the dock areas. y offerin,advice about the quality and price or thedifferent boats they would persuade thet ravellers to take passage on the Thugcraf t . When the captain found the r ivercleared of other traffic he would signal bytapping three tiaaa on the deck.

Land Thugs o.tten worked tocether withthe River Thugs and used their boats lntheir expeditions. Because of the tight

security of the River Thugs they might neverhave been detected had t not been tor theirrslationahip with the others.



hug costumes



Map of Thugee India



inja istory

As is typical of m ny of the ar ts andtraditions t Japan, the tolkhero roehiteuneis credited with starting the f irs t Ninjaschool. Yoahltewne ie alao credited by eoaeJapanese sources aa being Gengie Khan. The

truth of theae legends ia equally dubious.During the long periods of turmoil andcontusion between the twelfth and thesixteenth centuries the Ninja were in realdaaand. Gradually over thie time the lords

t the Iga and Koga clans devoted 111 re andmora ettort to training apeoialiced Ninja.These agents could then be hired outprofitably for espionage, aaeaaaination andai l i tary purposes.

The strongest of the Ninja lords werestationed in Iga Province and eventuallyinspired the wrath of the christian torcea.In 1581 General Oda lad a 40,000 man forceto de&troy 4,000 Ninja and l l of their baaeain rca.

Ninja activity in Xoga had always beent r leas orcanimed (with up to 5 competingclans). Between the Iga refugees and theXoga clans numerous Ninja supplied theneeds t the feuding lords . In 16)7 the Ninjaplayed out their last or war role whenthe Tokugawa Shogun s · defeated therebel christiana t Kyuahu .

After Japanese society stabilited , theNinja cradually drifted into civilianoccupations. Many became law-enforcementand govern.ent intelligence agents. Perseveral generations the gardeners• of theShogun remained Iga Ninja.

inja

After travelling for weeka in a variety ofguises ranginc from i tenerant soldier towandering priest to simple peasant the t t .Bfinally co to don the black Ninja garb.Looming over the landscape 1e the loe&l

D a i ~ o • a castle. Surrounded by a moat andhigh walla and guarded by ever presentguards, i t presents an imposing facade toanyone other than a trained NinJa.

The t i re t step to penetration consists orcrosainf the moat. This ie easilyaooompl shed with the uae o breathingtubes that leave only a tiny wake in thewater indicating passage.

Long hours spent in learning to cllab are

profitably uead to acale the t i r t portion orthe eecarpaent. Tha final high wall is

conquered once a padded grapplinc hoot hasbeen secured to the edge.

A passing cuard requires a rew mo tat the Ninja ' s t iae - not to attack but

aerely to asauaa the position or atillneeeand invisibi l i ty while he passes .

Moving silently throuch the innersanctum, the Ninja finally locates his prey.Several bodyguards present l i t t l e d i ~ t i e u l t yaa the Ninja raiaea h i e l ~ up above theceiling beams and travels directly over thesleeping D a i ~ o Once overhead a thinthread is lowered down to the aleepingaan •a mouth. Then amall drops of poison aredribbled down the thread.

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Unfortunately, the D a i ~ o awakes a tthis point . As he calla the alarm, the ninjamust flea the awakening etronghold. Swlftlythe Ninja moves to the opposite aide of thecastle. Caltropa are teased on the floorbehind him as he paeaea, either crippling orslowing hie pursuers. When the e n a ~ is

actually n sight several Shuriken are

ewiftly toeeed in their direction.Once on the ramparts there are guardsdirectly bl ocking the Ninja. Par fro•retreating he chargee directly towards theobstacle. Just as he reaches aword range hedives forward into a roll that takes himbehind the two guards. Drawing his shortaword on rieing, he dispatches one cuardbefore he has completely turned around . Theother guard ie acre cautious but is

distracted by a handful of stinging duetpulled rom a hidden pocket and throwndirectly into hie eyes.

Diving over the wall into the moat heseems to coapletely dieapear. In apite orthe e a r n ~ t aaarching of cuarde no trace e

aver found. Among the usual travelera yet

another buddhist beggar-prieet walks thedusty road towards the eaetle the nextaornlng. At the castle gate he deaamdesanctuary n the naaa of the thousand eyesand arme t the merciful Kwannondai-boeateu. He ia admitted when yetanother batch of t ired Samurai ride out npursuit of the aiasing Ninja.

IIOKKA 00



teamwork was an important coaponent inNinja strategy. By u ~ the b aldlls ofeach ftinja in eeperate places the e n e ~ wasoften intialdated with the feeling that a l l

Ninja were superhuman. Ninja also likedusinc a team 1n euoh a way that t appearedthat only one Ninja was responsible for acreat deal of destruction. The use of Ninjaagents already placed inside an e n e ~ campwee aleo quite effective .

One effective Ninja tact ic involved

d e l i v e r ~ a false message to an enemy lord.The message would cal l for a reply and theNinja would wait for the response . He wouldthen deliver the response or a carefulsubstitute to tba other e n e ~ lord. Once theNinja established himself as a meesanger heaicht go on indefinitely while i n t e r e p t ~valuable information and creatingaiein ormation or dissention between theeneay l.orda

IIUGEl KUNEI NO JUTSU refers to theNinja tactic of anonyalty. Every Ninja waesupplied with at l.east two identit ies fromohlldbood. This enabled a Ninja easily sl ipfrom one personality to another. Ninjatypically maintained two or more separateoaraere and families in order to provide safe

retreats and better information on e n s ~actions. In several oaeea Ninja leadersactually set up 1mac1nary competing Ninjaorganisations so they could be employed byboth aides 1n a oon liot. The moat sucoesatul.Ninja were so secretive that no ono overdiscovered their real identi t ies .

Nin a Winter ecmlquesChanging from his typical black garb the

Ninja could become an equally effectivewinter aa88ssin or t ighter . Every piece ofthe Ninja costume would be duplicated nwhite . Even the sword scabbard and hil twould be changed to pure whi t e material.e .

To walk on the surtaoe of hard-packedsnow or ice a device with five metal. bladeswould ~ attached to the white tabi. Afterproper training a l'finJa coulc1 run over thesurface of the snow leaving behind only aset of puzzlinc paralled aarks.

Another Ninja technique involved theuse of KUJI-KlRI, a series of tinceraoveoente with m ical significance. Asidefrom hel.ping the Ninja to concentrate orreotore energy, i t could al.so be used tohypnothe or stun an e n e ~ into aoiDBntaryinaction. The eighty-one fincer aotionecoul.d also be used as a kind ofcommunication when silence was necessary.

Spiritually the Ninja were trained inSHUGENDO Buddhism that stressed usingthe inner resources of the mind and body. Aawith most t the Samurai JUtsu,practicioners of Ninjutsu fe l t that spirituaenlifhtenment was necessary for exceptionalphye cal activity and awareness .

Por travell1ng over ice-covered l.akeariv ers the Ninja used specially designedblades . The device consisted of two bladeson each foot, one in the front near the toe1and the other in the back near the heel. Withese bl.adee the Nin ja had superb balance.r a ~ took place a t every opportun11with the wearing of GETA or wooden ologs

on the ice. Wearing theae ackward anc1slippery shoes, the Ninja developed 8\lrebalance that served him well in a variety os i tuations.

The DOK was a pocket heater made oro.n outer shell of metal. This was f i l led wlhot coals and made a convinient handwarmer. I t was also useful. for eettin& fire nd touching off flame-arrows.



Map o Ninja Japan



injaTrainingTHE NINJA LIPELONG TRAINING

In order to become a Ninja one had to beborn into one of the clans. Training began assoon as possible and very young childrenwere taucht how to dielocate bones in orderto sl ip free of bonds .

Located in secret Mountain locations, theNinja oonduoted training away rom societyin general as well as from r ival Ninja clans.

As with any Japan••• martial art form, theaaetere or SENSEI o Ninjutsu wareaccorded great reapect. Training s alsobased on TORIMAKI , secret documentsrelating to the heritage and techniques ofeach Ninja family.

Training in the varioua fighting ar t s(JUTSU or JITSU means ski l l or ar t) was al ife-long pueuit. KDlJUTSU orsword-trainingJ K'IUJUTSU or archeryJIARIJUTSU or spear-training, BOJITSU orstick-fi&htingJ and IAIJUTSU or the art oquick-drawing the sword , were a l l part ofstandard NinJil training. Since a Ninja mightbe called on to serve ss an epy in an ane=,yarmy tor years 1 t was necessary that heknow a l l the ski l ls of the varioue soldiers.

Sword t rainine concsntrated on thespecial Ninja short sword (similar to aWakazashi). In arohory the NinJa epeicializedin the short bow . Different YU or echoolehad different specialties. The Kyushin yuwas noted or BIS NTO, or wide-bladedspear, techniques. In the Pudo Ryu, Iaijutsu,or fast-draw techniques, were used withswords and daggere to great e feot .

The Ninja also had to learn horse-ridingand a variety of courtly ski l ls in order topass for one of hi£her r ank when disguiead.A Ninja had to be more than simply l i terate ,he had to be able to pass t r differentmember• of society and be able to forgedifferent styles of writing.

Climbing was a eeperate art for the Ninja

and meMt years of training and practice. Ina4dltion the tlinja h d to learn to juapacross wide gaps, to run o r long periods oftime, and to escape from various binding•and types of rooms .

®

A Ninja spent a lifetime learning newwaye of escaping detection. Holdingperfectly at i l l for houre was mandatory .Hiding in gape between larce objecta, intrees and roof spaces, and blending intoehadowe were a l l necessary ekille. Imitatinganimal sounds and learning to distractattention by throwing small objects alsohelped in evading notice.

Disguising himself in e variety of waysmeant that the Ninja must be well versed inthe typical eul l - ta l l t of those profeaeione.In order to safely f i t in the mainetreaa ofJapanese society other ski l ls l ikecaligraphy, music-making, and art had to belearned. A Ninja had to be able to apeak aa aequal to merchants, priests, Samurai, andpeasants in order to pass undetected .

Minor abil i t ies l ike being able to hidesmall objects af ter beinc captured or belncable to judge the authenticity and depth of aperson s sleep by listening were importantparte of Ninja training.

Unarmed coabat was another special ty othe Ninja. Special techniques for atr iking anopponent (including the TOGADURE-RYU

tact ic of otriking both eare with open palma)were continuou1ly practiced. Methode oatr iking the e n e ~ with feet , hands, kneesand hips were a l l employed . Ninja also hadspecial bone-breaking secrets . Rollingtowards or awaye from the opponent inunexpected ways saved many Ninja from theotherwise deadly swords strikes of theSamurai.

Strategy and tactice were essential tou c c e e ~ u l Ninja operations.

GOJO-GOYUKU was the study of the fivefeelings and desires of an enemy. Whenevera Ninja could detect aloth, lust,soft-heartedness , short temper, or thesigna of a coward then he knew how to takeadvantage of i t . Using bribes , threats,

f la t tery or in1ults could either perauade orprod the n ~ into favorable activity. Byproviding for the desiree of an e n e ~ theycould be easily manipulated.



NIAlL COIF

lfiMJ COSTIINESa

The Ninja had a variety o1' out1'1ta1'or 1pecial work. The baa1c

oonalat1d t a body prot1ctor, a(10011 panta), aroln protector , belt ,

1 (aoot a w1th a gap next to the big toe) ,, and head-maak. For nightrat1ona the entire out1'1t would be inok . Winter o ~ r a t 1 o n a meant a ooapletely

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Por 1'1chtln o ~ r a t 1 o r w on thebattle1'1eld there ware chain a i l Jackata andlescill6• · Chain aa1l guarda t r the wrbta ,handa and naok alone with a metal chin swardooapleted the araor.

Every Ninja waa trained in eevenetandard diaguiaea . Each Ninja had to beable to drlaa, move, apeak, an4 act in a

oonvlnoinc 1'aah1on in each o1' the dl a,uiaea.Rolea included that t monk, commonpeaaant, Yam buahi pr1eat , travelllnc~ 1 c 1 a n 1trollin ~ ~ ~ . 1 o 1 a n Mrchant and1tenerant priest .



Ninja quipment and Supplies

In order to t ravel alone through enemyte rr i tory for extended periode of time theNinja developed a variety of specialequip•ent and supplies. In order to carrythe various weapons and devices al l of theNinja clothing was outf i t ted with secretpockets and compartments . Special pouchescrried inside the clothing, next to the body,were also very uaetul.

A typical Ninja would carry arope-with-book combination, a slate pencilwith r ice paper, shuriken , spare hooks andnails , small metal weights and some kind ofshovel or digging tool. His sword could becarried on his bel t or concealed under hisclothing on his back. A three-foot-longtowel nd a canteen of green tea were alsostandard.

l E l SUBISHI, four-pointed caltrops ,were essential for making quick escapes.They could also be scattered around a hall ,path or doorway t the Ninja needed somekind or warning that his work was about tobe interrupted.

Maps, a compass, and forged passes anddocuments were useful items on many c the

Ninja aesignmenta. Chainmail armour wasueually only used when the Ninja wasengaging in actions on the bat t lef ie ld notduring a secret inf i l t rat ion orassassination. Poisons and healing potionswere carried in hollow bamboo tubes orsmall ceramic bottles.

Typical food ratione would consist ofbleached rice , wheat flour , dried f ish , driedplume and a powder made fro• pine trees.Other high-energy roods were a paste ofsoybean curd, a juice made from unpolishedrice and a mixture of plums and raw bamboo.In addition various herbs were available tohelp curb hunger or th i r s t .

Other weapons might include a smallquiver containing a small or dieassembls

bow and a number of arrows . A t ravell ings tar r could hide a fighting chain or blade,Small, easi ly breakable, egg-shapedcontainers would be f i l led with blindingpowder for emergency escapes.

Finally, moat Nlnja always carriedwhatever clothing and equipment werenecessary to s l ip into another role ordisguise.

Ninja WeaponsThe Ninja u4UOI/y ala not otte•pt to or•

h i • ~ • or race to face coabot wit h theroralaabl• Soaurol. Rather hi3 Intention

~ a • to ar• hla3elf wi th •any p o n ~ or•uprlee and dis trac t ion. Hie prl•ary weapon

~ a • a • ~ o r d curved blade about twentyInch•• long. The re la t ive ly ehort length

allowed ror the weapon to be eoelly hfdden.Because or the variety of odd places Qndpostures ~ h e r e the Ninja fought the shorterblade more rlexible n Irs mot/one.

Starr weapons were also very popularwith the Ninja. The Ninja s favorite weaponfor open combat (when concealment was notnecessary) was the broad bladed spear or

poleara known as a BISENTO. Travellers indisguise carried a hollow baaboo staff . Anopponent would be entrapped by a metalchain that could be released from one endand hit with the lead-f i l led opposite end. ASHIKOMI ZUE was a s ta f f or cane used bythe Ninja when imitating a blind man. Thecane became a deadly weapon when a springloaded blade was released from one end.Some spear-weapons were designed to beassembled or even designed like a telescopefor quick extension.

The Ninja bow was shorter than standardand could sooetimes be disguised as anotherobject or disaasseabled into two or morepieces. Special fire-arrows were very usefulin setting f ires and distracting the e n • ~ ·

Other Ninja projecti le weapons includedblowguns (disguised as smoking pipes. swordscabbards or walking staves) and a largevariety of throwing knifes, daggers andbladee. SHURIKEN or SKAKP M had anywherefrom two to ten pointe and were toesed l ikeoverhand, underhand or s t r a i ~ h t a r o e d l ikemodern-day frisbees . The Ninja oftencarried a aling or five or more metal dartathat could be thrown accurately or eventossed backwards at a rapid rate.

The class of chained weapons were alsovery popular with Ninja . Easily concealed ,the KYOTETSU SHOGE consisted of a metalring a t one end and a double blade on theother connected by a long cord of wovenhuman hair . Metal chains with ends ranging

froa small blunt weights to heavy axes wereused with great ski l l . A cord with agrappling hook attached was not only usefulin combat but also as an effective climbinstool . Any of these weapons could besubstituted for the garotte , another popularNinja weapon.

Peculiar Ninja weapons also includedsharp metal claws inserted in the finger and

toe naila and used for slashing the e n e ~ .The TEKAGI or SHUKO was a pair of metalbanda worn around the wrist nd pala . Fourmetal points in the palm could be used tors tr ik ing or climbing. Connecting the twocricular bands was a metal bar that droppeddown from the palm to the wrist acroaa thelnaide of the arm. This bar could be used as

o block ngoinat an enemy sword atrike.Another favorite N i n j ~ w e a p o n conaiated

of a blindlng powder that could be throwninto the eyes of an opponent. This powderwas made ot a variety of ingredientsincluding pepper, metal shavings, etc •• Theblinding powder would be thrown directlyfrom a hidden pocket or released by crushinga shell- l ike container.

With the exception of the sword, apearand chein weapons moat NinJa weapons wereused more to distract than to ki l l .Well-trained as the Ninja were , they wereusually not willing to face an armed Samurai.The great Ninja used his mind more than hisweapons. Moat of the weapons pictured are

typical Ninja special t ies but there arehundreds of other Japanese weapons that; aNinja would be trained to use while indlsguioo or n emergency si tuations.



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Ninja limbing Techniques

The primary assistance to the Ninja'stamed abili ty to climb was the use of verysort Tabi (split-toed socks) that allowed himto use hie toea and feet while climbing woodor atone surfaces . Each Ninja was expectedto be able to climb a variety of surfacesunassisted .

When the climb was to be made veryquickly or over difficult surfaces then theNinja could hie specially deeJ.gned climbingtools . Ladders would be made or rope orbamboo nd commonly had a hook or 'rake '

buil t into the top tor attaching to the edseof the wall. The ladders often ooneieted of asingle vertical rod with the crosspieces t iedor pessed in place . There were sometimesmetal epikaa attached to each c r o p i e c ~ sothat the whole ladder could be driven into awall . Another device was an eight foot oalts t f f f i t ted with metal oroaaplecea and alarge hook that doubled as a weapon.

Rope ladders came in a variety of styles.Some were simply knotted at intervals toprovide handhold . Wood pieces could beinserted into loops or knots. Metal ringswould be provided eo that crosspieces couldbe eaaily inserted . Ropes could also be runthrough a whole aeries of hollow bamboosections. These bamboo sections could then

be grabbed nd turned a t a right n ~ l e to therope to create better support .

Ropes were the main choice for NinJaworking alone. At one end would be agrappling hook used to catch tree branchesor the tope t walla. These grapling hockscould have one , two or three separate hooks .Another type of grapple was the KUM DE orrake made up of four or five long metalpieces ending in hooks .

T KAGI or SHUKO (see weapondescriptions) which were worn on the bandaallowed the Ninja to climb otherwisediff icult surfaces with ease. Another devicewas made or a spiked section of wood ormetal with cord on each end. The Ninja wouldput this around a tree trunk or wood pi l l r

to pull himself up and then 'hug ' the basewhile l i f t ing the spikes up further .

The ropes of the Ninja were oftenatrengthned by braiding women's hair intothem. Ninja could also use any of their chainor rope weapons effectively as climbingtools.

Ninja ater Techniques

In order to infil trate n ~ ter r i tory orcastles the Ninja often had to cross bodiesof water or Moats. There were manytechniques developed to accomplish thesetasks including swimming and the use ofwater-croaeing devices.

Ninja were required to learn how to swimwell nd could travel under water for alencthy period or time. By using a hollow

reed, sword scabbard or smoking pipe theNinja could stay completely submerged andescape detection . Some authorities alsoclaim that Ninja would take down an inflatedanimal akin in order to talte occasionalbreaths while swimming a great distance.Another device to speed the Ninja'sprogress through the water was a MIZUKAKIor webbed flipper that could be worn on thefeet.

Being totally submerged in the water wasoften not 4esired because of the possibledamage to the many powders and oddsupplies that the Ninja carried. Crossing thesurface of the water l ike Water Bugs lead tothe rumors t Ninja being able to •walk onwater , The simplest device was a set of

four inflated skins that were used as acomplete l i fe jacket. With a akin on eachside and behind him the Ninja would thanbalance on the fourth akin and hold i tbetween his legs while paddling with aballlboo oar.

Another raft- l ike device was theKYOBAKO-PUNE, a collapsible waterproofbox used as a small boat. The KAMEIKADAwas Jllade of crossed bamboo floated on foursealed ceramic pots. By f i l l ing the pots withwater the whole thing could be submergedand hidden out of sight,

Legend has i t that the Ninja usedNIZUGUMO or water spiders to actually' walk' on the aurtace of the water. Each tootwas inserted in a separate barrel or floating

device. The Ninja would then make his wayover-the water with the help of a long poleor flat-bottomed paddle used to keep hisbalance.



FLOATA770N OEYICES

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Feudal Japanese astles

Sneaklnc into oaatlea in FeudalJapan waa t r troa eaey. Pirat the Ninjawould have to Bake hie way paet a expaneeot cleared land that waa constantly undercareful aorutl.nJ by alert S lll\lrai. Thle t i rat

obataole could be avoided but only by solnthrouch aheer cl i ff tacea, acrose ocean orriver atreohea or over dense awampebecause thee• were uaualiy t ~ the ' backdoor• ot a oa.tle .

Once the Ninja reaches the actualperlaetsr ot the caatle he would have tooro•• a deep moat. The next step would bethe outeraoat wall or r a ~ r t Dividing thisoutaide wall atruoture fro• the rest t the

complex there were well-lit paeaacea withregular guards on patrol . Th••• passas••would often be constructed in a bewilderingmace and mi ht bs trapped in a variety ofways . There wen arrow an4 ba l ietaopenlnca to be avo14sd and deadly trapdoorsthat would release a torrent of rook• on theoarel••• Ninja. This outside peri er i sknown a the S NMOM RU and houeed thel lvinc ctuarter of the sarriaon.

How the Ninja waa faced with anotherwall, auoh atsepar and ta l ler than the laatone. Onoe over the eecon4 wall there wouldbe yet another piece of open croun4,aoaet1Des supplied with an additional aoat .Thla aecon4 section (the NIHOMARU)contained the atorerooaa of the caatle.

Next, the Ninja would have to cliab thewalla to the 1nneraost courtyard - thia onebeinc the talleat and steepeat yet . Inaidet h b wall the eli te bodyguard of the Daiayowere constantly watohlnc. This third sectionwaa called the HOKIARU and held the aln

residence of the warlord.Pinally, the Ninla would be faced with

the in Y OUR (tower) i tael t rhiastructure rose tl\ree or acre le.,ela up andwas heavily fortified. As a further h urdthe top level was an obaervation poet thatoverlooked the entire coaplex. I t ie nowonder that the Ninja wno penetrated aDalayo s castle was credited wi theupernatural powers.



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amuraiWarriors

THE NINJA'S POEr SANURAI

In the study of the history o warfareworldwide there is one eleaent of theJapanese fighting ethic that differsdraaatically froa the West. In Japan thereis no concept o prisoner o war . TheSamurai warrior does not surrender and istrained from birth to accept death as aninevitable and sometimes desirableconclusion. Suicide is not only acceptable

but heroic and the Japanese mythos honoramoat the fallen hero who bravely diesbefore submitting to the humiliation ofcapture.

The Samurai are the warrior claaa ofJapan. Each Samurai warrior is entit led towear the DAISHO a set of two swords, toindicate hie rank. The swords consist o thelarge fighting K T N nd the esallerWAKAZASKI. Trained as superb warriorsthey would often devote an entire l i f e t i ~ eto perfecting their martial ski l ls . ~ h e i rs t r ic t code was that o BUSKIDO aphilosophy of behavior and combat thatdominated their l ives.

Coneider SOMe of the Samuraiachivemente. Magnificent Zen Archers were

trained to pull bows seven and a half toeight feat long with remarkable speed andprecision. Master archers demonetated theirskil l by ohooting blindfolded or on horsebackwhile a t ful l gallop . Westerner& visit ingJapan would be astonished by a Samurai whocould bring down a bird unharmed or ehoot acluster or arrows into a post acrose a yard

at night while seated inside and separatedfrom the target by two or more walla. In thedesign of Japanese armour i t wasacknowledged that i t was useless to a ttemptto shield against a close-range, direot arrowstrike .

The training also e ~ e n d e d to spiritualand philisophical awareness or one eourroundines. Catching a well-trainedSaJiurai off-balance s ex t r e l lydiff icul t . Masters would often go to a etateo ful l readineee when a retainer or etudentwould simply consider an attack against hie.Facing this kind of martial art nd ski l l the

Ninja wao forced to resort to the use of twoprimary weapons, unorthodox fightingtechniques and a willingness to use the rigidcodes and behavior o the Samurai againethim.

In addition to a l l these formidableabil i t ies the Ninja also had to be wary ofthe Samurai s eagerness to adopt the spacialtr icks nd devices ot the Ninja. Walkwaysnear the edge or a castle wall might bescattered with the Ninja s own type of

c a ~ t r o p e a real threat to aomeone wearingsoft tabi. Some Sanurai were also devotedto the study of Iaijuteu, or the quick draw,that involved instantly slashing out at thef i rs t sicn or danger .

Ninja had to keep their wits about them

and continuously develope new tr icks andtechniques in order to keep the s ~ u r ioff-guard. There waa a deliberate a t t e ~ p tby the Ninja to cultivate rumors of the Ninjas u p e r i o r i ~ y . So long as the Samurai regardedthe Ninja as a dangerous foe they mightmore easily put them off balance and escapetesting their fighting a k i l ~ s directly.



PO SONS

There has been a taaolnatlon with polsonthat e%tends beyond recorded history .Pr imitive peoples are (and presumably were)constantly trying new formulas to etteotlvepoisons . Por example, there are over JOO OOOdifferent plants to choose froa and eachhave quite different properties.

However, i t is not unti l recent times thatany real understanding ot either the

tunction or ingredients ot toxins cameabout . People often believed that a plantwee poisonous to r tanoitul reasons like toulsmell or evil looks. The to oe wasregarded as deadly polson since beingintroduced into Europe n the mid 1500s.Tales o people bein& hideously murdered bya r i pe love apple or to oe introducedinto their toed seem pretty oll ly today .

Real toxins exist everywhere in neture .Before refrigeration or properrood-preservation techniques many peoplewer e done in by food poisoning. Bacteria andalgae n untreated drinking water were oftenfatal . Improper food preparation and the useot risky herbs were also hazardous. Eventoday millions o t people experience

poisoning every year.I t

' s really a wonderthat anybody survived a t al l .

But attempting to polson someoneintentionally i s dlt t icul t proposition. Thetoxicity ot any plant or fungus can depend onwhen i t is picked , what part is used and howi t is prepared. Even when a sure poison is

re fi ned there i s s t i l l the problem odelivery. Too much polson and there may bet e l l - ta le flavor• or eevere reJection thatwill result in simple disooafort. Too l i t t l e

poison will not only cause no hal'll but caa.yactually contribute to the building up ot animmunlty in the intended victim. Tocomplicate matters i t is impossible topredict how susceptible a person may be to aparticular polson. Some individuals will diefrom an accidental trace or a relativelyharmless herb while othera can easilywithstand pounds ot supposedly deadlypoison.

I t s interesting that The poison thatt i l led Socrates, hemlock, was also used as asuicide potion by certain American Indians.While this proves how effective i t was, i tseems unlikely that anyone could drink alethal quantity without suspecting thelethal properties o t the contents.

Rumore ot poiaoninga were common nancient Rome. According to some sourcesentire families w ~ dispatched to assuret hey would not attain the position otEmperor. The poisonings ot RenaiasanoeI taly eventually had the root o Europedefining a poison victim as having been' i talianatod ' . The punishment for poisoningat the time was boiling alive nd i t wasimplemented rom t i me to time until the endo the seventeenth century.

Madonna Teotania dl Adamo brought massmarket techniques to the sale or poisons inthe sixteenth century. She marketed apotion or succession called variouslY Aqua

Totfana , Aquetta di Napoli or Manna ot St.Nicholas Di Bari . I t was sold as a cosmeticand directions indicated that i t could beused as a cure tor troublesome or unwantedhusbands. The arsenic in the mixtureeventually claimed 600 victims.

In 1676 and 1679 there were twocelebrated poisoning cases that scandalizedFrance. In the f irs t the Marquise de

Brlnvllliare apparently used her hospitalcharity work as a way ot experimenting witha variety ot different poisons. Sheeventually killed both her rather and hertwo brothers with her discoveries.

In the second case , the Aftalr ot thePoisons, dozens ot prominent Pronch figureswere rumoured to have participated inpurchasing poisons nd partiolpstinc 1nBlack Masses. Catherine Deshayes waeburned alive tor her part but when theinvestigation touched upon the aistreea ofLouis XIV the entire invsstication wasdropped.

H MLOGK

POISON RROW ND SPEAR POINTSt

The most famous polson arrowo woretipped with a Curare mixture. The SouthAmerican Indians would oolaot Strychnos andother plants and boil down a dark brownresin. This would almost instantly parsl1zsbirds or small animals. Humans required twoor more shots tor complete paralysis . Ninjaused the body fluid or a blowfish for thesame kind or effect.

Almost every warrior in the world knewenough to smear dung on a blade to assuresoaetlaea fatal inteotions. Horse dung is

known for transmitting Lockjaw throughpuncture wounds.



POISON PLAiftS

CHRIS1'11AS ROSHelleborue niger growe year- round in any

1\lgh woodland area , Heart t a l l ~hYPerteneion and drope:y are t reated withthle plant. Ueed by Celte and Gauls torpolson arrows.

Active oxlneo Cevadine, JerTine,Veratralbine and Veratridine.

Lethal Ooaageo 2-4 leave• - ~ Patall ty

DEADLY NIGH SHADAtropa Belladonna grows wild a l l over

woodlanll nd •&dow areas. Uaed as a•dioine for eye disease, oollo, ulcera,kidney atone• nd aethaa. he ettec t of theplant ie ln l t lal ly narcotic and leads toeuphoria and hallucination• .

Active Toxino Atropine.Lethal Doeageo 1- 4 berrlee - 8 5 ~ Patall ty

POXGLOVIDigitalla purpura ie found ln l o ~

woodlands and. 1e a very pretty nd tn cnn tflowering plant. 'lhla 1a the source t theDigitalia 4ruc used for heart attack viotiaa .

It 1a alao a ~ tor dropay (related tokidney diaor4era). One aurdereaa kil led atleaat eleven people with Foxslove in thlacentury.

Active Toxinao Dleltoxin, Digitalin and

Digitonin.Lethal Ooaageo 2-6 leave• - 6 ~ Fatali ty

iouta ulata la water healook foundin dowa or aarehea, Conluaaculatua ia poieon hemlock nd baadifferent poiaon and grows in drier ground.No curative value . I t has been uaed aa aauioide drug by the ancient Greeks and theAMrican Indiana.

Active Toxin•• Coniine (ln Conium)Lethal Ooaageo Powder 11&4e fro• the

center t the ate• aixed with water - 9 5 ~Patail ty

HBNBAffllKyoecyaaue niger 1a part of tl\e

nigl\tahade family CODOnl) ' toun d ingarbage du.pe and waate 1\eapa. I t le ueed•• a Mdioine t r aathM, 'bronohitia, nerved u eu e and rl\e Un An intereat lnc uaefor the plant ia crude ' t ruth aeru. ' .'lhia la t te r effect ia created 'by inhaling theaaot:e t the routlnt; aaeda.

Active Toxin• • Hyoec:ra-ine, Hyoscineand. atropine .

Lethal Doaages 20 aeede - 5 ~ Fatali ty

II>RSKOODAoonit\111 napallua 1a aleo mown ae

buttercup nd grows ever,rwhere - inclU41ncin 11&1'\)' o m ~ ~ e n t a l gardena . It can 'be used

to treat artl\ritie , t ibroeitia , nd nerveprobleaa. I t has been used u poison forepear and arrow pointe.

Active Toxinao Aconitine and aoonine.Lethal Ooaageo A aouthtul t any par t -9 ~ Fatali ty



CATEGORIES

Tha following catagoriae can be ~ • • d intoxins . Lethality of any toxin

1n n a t ~ can vary treeandcuelyto local conditione. Local raintall,

eaaacn, nd altitude can al l

the toxic content of a plant. In aanytoxic nd non-toxic varieties of

plants, nd an i l e are v i r t ~ l l yPer example, in northern Africa

are varieties of ncn-poiecnoue enakae'mimic' their poieon ooueine exactly.

POISONS . N a t ~ l mineralcontainina Areenic or other haa-yy

were larfaly overlooked~ t i l

recentOne trad tlonal Ninja poison wae theoxidation found on tarnished copper.

1e axtraaall.f toxic but wae consideredanoU«h for water pipes ndvaeeale in ancient t iaee.

TOXINS. Of oourea , infectionbacteria can be axtraaally hazardous,

aany aicrobas will produce toxicin water and food, Food not

cared for can ba deadly.Blua- araan Als a ie a frequent ki l ler of

a and . . ,u.ale. Pound 1n st l\dinc wa tar,t ie identified by the ~ u s u a l color. Other

cr,ani... ara lese ccaaon but juet

TOXINS. A good example of a toxic~ • ie the Ercot that crowe on wheat andcraee-lika plante . Nadieval EuropeeoaatiMe ezparienca epidemics of

infestation.~ e h r o o a a coaa 1n over )0,000 dltterantand can be da (tly. 'fha in

their uea ae a poison ie theout which on•• ara

poiecncue. Althouch ealactlnc sateie a difficult and riety procaee i t

e evan mora difficult to absolutely identitydeadly one. Poisonous auehrooaa are

rare and readily contusedeater varieties . In addition evan the

r at of the pcieoncue variet ies may

no toxin at al l in certain conditione.

PHY'fOTOXINS or PLANT TOXINS. Withever )00 , 000 different plant variet ies i t ieno wonder that acianca et i l l hasn tidentified al l the toxic varieties. The toxincan be located 1n roots, tubera, eteme,laavae, berries, flowers or bark. Certain

plants, like potatoes, tomatoes and rhubarb,have poisonous leaves but are otherwiseeate. Other plants will only contain poisond=lng certain eeaeons. Poison Ivy ndPoison Sumac contain allergens that willaffect soma people mora than others.

Recant atudiea indicate that leafy treeacan produce a variety of toxine depending onthe inaeota that are threatening them. Theeetreee m8.f alec c o m m ~ i c a t e uaingspecialized oompounda released into the air .Their neighbors g y then respond to insectthraata that have not yet apraad,



ZOOTOXINS or ANIMAL TOXINS. In oh

like Wasps and Bees produce toxins that arenot usually fatal in small quantit ies .However a single st ing can ki l l an allergicindividual. The spider family, especially theTarantula, the Scorpion, and the BlackWidow have evolved poisons that can befatal even in very small quantities .

Toa4s and Salamanders secrete poisonson their skins. Siaple contact with the skin

t soma toads can ki l l Snake veno• containshighly e o ~ h i e t i o t e d nerve poisons capableor parlyztng or kill ing a human in ainutee.Poisons are rare among aammals but someshrews have poison glands.

Sea and water dwellers have manydifferent poieona. Another favorite Ninjapoison source was Blowfish. Aa ny ae 100people die every year in Japan tr • eatingiaproperly prepared Blowfish.

NINJA POISONS•

Aside from the usual kinde of plants theNinJa relied on a number t other interestingpoiaona. Green tea alxed with soybeanpaate nd buried t r 40 days was supposedto ki l l sick person within two or threedays. Green, unripe frui ts such as plume andpeaches could be aixed into other foods andwere ruaoured to ki l l inatantly.

Ninja alec had recipes t r two types ofpoison gasses . The f i rs t included newt molend snake. Paper was used to absorb the

mixture and the burning or the paperproduced sleeping fumea . The second

witches brew called tor rate, tree leavea, acentipede, cotton aeeda and cattle dune.When a ball JUde o the peste waa burned t

produced another sleeping cas.



Dictionary of ssassin Terms

ADKORB A - Thug tera for an escapedviot1a,AIKUCHI - Japanese or Ninja daggers .AISHA - Ninja tr ick of taking advantage ofsympathetic feelings.AM TORI NO JITSU - Ninja trick using aperson ' s supposition that a raincoatindicates so.. ne is present inside i t .BAJ D - ThU4 a l l clear ' signal, called outwhen the aurder si te ia sate nd ready.

BAJfiJ - thus .. chandiae .BAROO - A Thug with either illustriousancestors or one who is highly respected,BILES - Thus burial grovea.BBYLHA - Thug who chooses the place of11urder.BHI1R'l'OTE - ' lhug •s honoured rank ofstrangler.BIS NTO - Ninja broad bladed spear.BISUL PURHA - Thus tera for an in.correctstranclinc position , such as the ~ llllssing the neck and getting around thehead. This is cause for lose of Bhurtote rank.BO STICK - A co.-on Ninja or Japaneseweapon.BOJHA - Thug who takes the aurderedoorpae to the grave.BOJITSU - Ninja training in the use of afighting stick or ata t t .BORXA - Thug who baa been init iated.BUNIJ - Thug t ~ for aerchandise orproperty, used to describe a person worthaurdering.BURG ELA - bug accoaplice troa outsidethe croup.BURICA - Thug chief or leader.BOSHIDO - The S&murai code of chivalry.Otten used by Ninja in disguising their truenature.CHAXUZEN NO JITSU - Ninja skil l of hiding1n an n ~ caap prior to the start or abattle.CHBEKA - Thug for a cowardly or t iaid

'l'hiJC.CHIKAIRI NO JITSO - Ninja infi l t ra t ion ofeneay linea durinc a r.

CHIICYU lfO JI SU - Ninja trick t

pretendlnc to betray his own lord afterbeing captured.CHOOKADIHA - Thug tara for tbe act ofdirecting the v1ct1a ' s attention upwards,perforaed by po1nt1ng to the sky or someol:tject above.CHUNIN - A Ninja croup leader .DAIMYO - Tara for a Japanese feudal lord.DAIS - Ia.. l i a1saionar1ea orp r o ~ i a t aDHAOA Thus tara for negotiation, usedeither to find out intoraation abouttravellers or when obtaining protection troa

looal otfioiala .DHONX.KE - Thug te ra for a guard orpol1oeaan.DKURDALHA - h ~ tera for strangling aviot1a .DINAR - An Ialaaic coin conaiating t

rouclll.y t ur g:raas of gold.DOlA - A pocket heater uaed by Ninja t r

oonv1n1ently sett ing fires. Made with a shallof iron and filled with burning coals.DOOHR - Thug tera for a viot1a a screaafor help.DOSHA - Ninja t r io t t taking advantage ofanger or short teapered persona.EMIR - Ialaaic provincial governor.EHHYU NO JITSO - Ninja s t i l l of enteringan eneay c - p by trickery.

PIDAIS -..

bera of the Order ofAasaaaina specifically trained for acta ofterrcriaa.



J'UltlYA - Ninja pins or poisoned darts shotthrough blow guns.TUXUMI-BARI - Ninja darts ooncealed inthe mouth and blown out at an enemy.FUKURO-GA SKI NO JITSU - Ninja ski l l ofdouble erose where the lord is betrayed andthe Ninja joins the n ~ as a double agent .O K KURK - Thug technique where oneThug would pretend to be violently i l l andthe others would convince the victims that aspecial ceremony must be performed , a l l eo

that the victims could be properly posi tionedt r mUrder .OEIMYU NO JITSU - Ninja ski l l ofperforming te rroris t acta inaida an n ~camp.G MIN - A Ninja agent, the lowest lavalranking Ninja.GBHNAI - Ninja rice drink.GETA - Ninja wooden clogs used tor walkingon ice in order to practice balance .GISHO-GIIN NO JITSU - Ninja art offorgery.GOBB - Thug circular grave where acentral pil lar of earth is l e t t standing ,around which the bodies are packed. The holeia actually doughnut shaped.GOJO-GYOXU - Ninja philosophy ofmanipulation through the use of characterlaws.

GOOKHE - Thug term t r a person carryingbones to the holy river and is thereforeexempt from murder.GOOR - Thug'a ceremonial sugar to be eatenat ter every strangling.GOOR CH UNT Thug's special knot aroundwhich the Ruaal is tied.GOOR PONCK - A Thug who is capable oftying the GOOR CH UNT knot.CO NEBAIT - Thug term or a person who iadietigured by the loss of a hand , nose orother body part and ia considered bad luck t oki l lOYOKURO - Ninja poisoned tea.H K M

Ninji/Japanese spl i t skir t orloose trousere.KEMGEN-KASKI NO JITSU - Ninja akill ofc11sguise .HILLA - Thug t i t le or honor for the threeThugs r e ~ n e i b l e for the Kueee (pickaxe),the goor {sugar), and choosin the murdersi teHOK NO JITSU - Ninja ar t of arson.Sometimes involves the use o fire arrows.HOTARUBI NO JITSU - Ninja tactic ofallowing capture or a false or misleadingsecret message.HUJJA - Islamic term tor a person having adirect l ink to the Iaan.IAI JITSU - Ninja ar t of fast-drawing asword.INAN - Islamic tera tor tho rightfulspiritual and temporal ruler or Islam . In theIslamic faith there is no division betweenpoli t ica l and religious loadorohip.INPO - Ninja aki l l of hiding.ISMAILIS - Islaaic eect believing in Ismail(died ?60) ae the proper euccesaor toMoha.lllllad.ITAJC - Thug icn of good fortune.JHIRH - Thug s1anaJ, to ki l lJINN - Islamic creatures of magic.JIRAI - Ninja land mine .JOBI NO JITSU - Ninja taotio t enlisting inthe aneiii,Y r ~ and serving as aeoret agents.JONIH - Ninja leaders.JYVALOO - Thug victim discovered to be

s t i l l alive after being etransled .KALI - Thug god of death .KALIP or KHALIP - I slamic term for theproper successor of the Prophet Mohammad .K M - Ninja fightin« scythe .

®



KAMEIKADA - Ninja one-1:1an r a1 h IBBdewith bamboo or wood and watertight ceramicjuga.KANKALI - Thug term tor the god KaJ.i.KAHTHUNA - Thug tar . for cutting up thebody o the victim to prevent swelling .KAWA-NAWA - Ninja fighting or climbingrope with a grappling hook on one end.KEN - Ninja term for a sword or blade.KENJITSU - Ninja art or swordmanahip.KINSKA - Ninja bribe that takes advantageo a known desire or weakness.

KITSONGAKURE NO

JITSU -Ninja sk i l l

o hiding in water by imitating a f ox.KO-GATANA - Ninja knife.KOMUSO - NinJa role o i t inerant priest .KOPPO - Ninja bone-breaking techniques.KORAN - Islamic holy book written by theProphet Mohammad.KOZUKA - Ninja knife.KUJI-KIRI - Ninja uao r finaer movementsto hypnotize or contuse an opponent.KUJJE& - ny non-Thuc woman. Wo&anforbidden as a viet • .

KUKI SKIN-RYU - Ninja techniques tor theBisento spear.KUMADE - i n ~ a rake o hooked metalpieces.KUMI-UCHI - Ninja aartial art based on

wrestling techniques .KUNASHI - Ninja digging device.KUNOICHI - Ninja female agents.KUNOICHl NO JITSO - Peaale Ninjatraining techniques.KOSARI - Ninja fighting ohain.KUSARI-OAMA - Ninja sk i l l with the chainand scythe.KYOT TSO-SHOGI - Ninja weapon made ofwomen's hair with a metal r incon one endand a double-pointed knife on the other.KYONIN NO JITSU - Ninja tactic ot takingadvantage of fear or superatltion .KYOSKA - Ninja tact ic of taking advantageot cowards.KYUJITSU - Ninja sk i l l o archery.LUGKAE - Thug position of gravedigger.MAHDI - Islamic t ~ for messianic Imana.MAM&LUKES - Islamic term for slavesraised to be warriors.MANRIKI-KUSARI - Ninja techniques offighting with a chain.IIAULEB A Thug who takes aoney home tothe families before the expedition is over.NISO-SHIRU - Ninja food used to make soup.NIZUGUMO - Ninja water-crossing devicemake of curved wood and cord .MIZUKAKI - Ninja webbed foot-gear usedfor awimaing.MIZU- TAIMATSU - Ninja torch designed toburn in the rain.MONON NO JITSU - Ninja sk i l l Of findingweak spots in enemy defenses.

MUFTI - Islamic official trained in PublicLaw.NUGEI-MUMEI NO JITSO - Ninja art otsecrecy .MOLLA - IslaDio teacher of law.NACINATA - Japanese apear.NAWANUKE NO JITSU - NinJa technique ofescaping bonds by dislocating bone joints.NINJITSU - The art ot the Ninja.NIZARIS - Islamic ter . for beleivera in therightful succession of Nizar (died 1095) aaman. Another terw or the religious sect of

Assassins.NYUDAKI NO JITSU - Ninja eki l l ofdiscovering an n ~ weakness.PHUR JKARNA - Thug term for clanninc themurder si te .POLA - Thuc eigne IAd.e in the road toindicate direction and urgency.PONGOO - River Thug o Bengal.PUTORA - Thug tara or a bad omen.

@



R KUSH - l'linja tft.Ct o of takinc a4vantaceof lacineaa.R M D N - Ielamic 110nth of fu t inc.

R M SBB - Thug 1ancuace or dialect .RONIN - Saaurai who are without a lord,wan4erinc warriors .RUM L or RUHM L - Thug hankerchief oracarf used for a atranglinc cloth .RY KUKON NO JITSU - Ninja technique ofinfiltration by diacuiae.RYOH N NO JITSU - Ninja technique t

kidnapping ene-r ottioiala tor hoetagee.

SACCHI-JITSO - Ninja technique t usingnatural geography to advantace .S MUR I - Warrior class of feudal Japan.SASHIMI - Raw t ish, a main dish tor theNinja nd al l Japanese .SATOBITO NO JITSU - Ninja taotic ofinciting rebellion in the eneaies camp aaongthe dissatisfied .SHIBA G KURE NO JITSU - Ninja techniqueof hiding in or &IIOJ1& oo..on objects .SHIKOMI-ZUB - Ninja sword-cane ueed whenposing as a blindaan.SHINOBI- ZUB - Ninja etatt with a chainhidden in one end and a lea4 welcht in theother.SHOGUN - Military ruler of feudal Japan.

SHUGEnDO - A Japaneee eect or Buddhieabaaed in •ountain •oneetarlee. Closelyaff i l i a ted with the Ninja.SHUK - Ninja device used for oliabinc andfighting. Consiste or a metal band with t ur

sharp spikes that 1a worn in the pal.ll or thehand.SHUNSEEA - Thug who holds the hands orfeet of the victia.SHURIKEH - Ninja throwinc weapons.SOON - Thug who ia not yet a strangler.SOTH - Thug who convinces the victiae.SURB LUND KHAif Thug leader ' s o o mtor the assumption t proper poaitiona.TABI - Ninja or Japaneae aoolta that have aapllt t r the big toe.TANAGOKORO-TAI M TSU - Ninja

palm-siBed torch,TANIIRI NO JITSU - Ninja tactic where ateam of Ninja pretend to betray their lord i norder to join an enemy caap .T NTO - Japanese dagger uaed by Ninja .TANUKI G KURE NO JITSU - Ninjatechnique of cliabing treea.TAQIYYA - A doctrine of Shiite Ialaa thataaltee secrecy nd l iee lecit i e for thepurpose of guardin& the religion.TEBKULA - Thug tera for a stolen objectfroa a vioti.Ja which . y be dangerous in thati t may be identified.TEKAGI - Ninja device used to crip walla ortrees tor climbing .T TSU-BISKI - Ninja four-pointed caltropa .

TOFU - Japaneee food lade of soybean ourd.TOOAKURE-RYU - Ninja tichting techniqueor slapping both eara of an n ~eimultaneouely.TOMB KO KH LO - Thug sisnal formurder, l t means get out your tobaooo .TONKI - Ninja throwinc daggers.TONPO - NinJa eecape techniques,TSUNB NO MIZU - Ninja food a&de frompickled pluae.TORIM K - Secret Ninja dceueents.TOPPUL - Thug tera for a path or aide-roadconvenient for murder.UKIDARU - Ninja water-croeaing devicelllll.de or waterproof reed pota.USTAD - Tnug tera for a tutor or teacber.UZUR GAKUR NO JITSU - Ninja technique

of hiding in gap• between obJects.WAKIZASHI - Japanese ehort sword .



YAMABIKO NO JITSU Ninja tact ic oJoi.nina an e ~ lord attar pretending totight with his own aide .YANABIKO SHICKO NO JITSU Ninjatechnique t r discovering n e n e ~ acent byreavealing alee intormation.YAMABUSHI A warrior prieat froa thoaountaina t Japan. A frequent Ninjadisguise .YARI Ninja spear.YARlJITSU Ninja ar t o t fighting with theapear.YOJA NO JITSU Ninja tact ic t

penetrating n eneJQY line by pretending tobe a beggar or cripple.YOJI Japanese toothpick.YOJI CAKURE NO JITSU Ninja tact ic o tdistract ing a guard by throwing a smallobject.YOMOGA X NO JITSU Ninja practice o tuintaining two aetarate identit ies.YOROI Japanese chest protector.YUBI Ninja aaa.rtial. a trike to n o n e ~ aright ltidney.ZAGARASHI YAKU Ninja poiaon made ogreen t ru i t





Chronology

HRONOLOGY OF THE WORLD S ASSASSINS

600

632760

10901092111811241138116211661192121012211252

12551256

125712901304133815811603167918121848

- Leaendary beginning of the Ninja

• Death of Mohammed the Prophet of Islam• Ismaili Sect establiahed n Islam- Haaaan Sabab takes the Fortreaa of Alamut- Nizam a1•Ku1k 11 the f i r at victim of the Aasassina- Sanjar makes peace with the Aaaa11in1- uai3 becomes the aacond Maater of the Aaaasstna• Kuh...ad becoaea the third Kaatar of the Aasaaaina- Raean I I become• the f i rst Iman of the Aasaaaina- Ku h . d I I baco-• the eac:ond l Un of the A uine- Yoritomo beco.es the f i r at Shogun of Japan- Haaan I l l baco the third Iman of the Aaaaaatna• Aladdin bec:omea the fourth Iman of the Aseaaaina• Imperial Prince Hunetaka become• Shocun

Ninja aervicea come into great demand- Khurehab bec:omaa the f i f th lman - of the Aeaaesina- Alamut i l aurrendered to the Monsola

- lhurahahi l

put to death by the Konaole- 1 000 Thus• captured at Delhi- Gunpowder i s i ntroduced to tba Wast- Aahikqa Shoganate begin•- Daatruction of the Iaa llinja by GeDeral Oda- Iayaau baca-ee the f i rs t o ~ u g a w a Shogun- Franch Affai.r of the Poison•- Firat Brit ish aoldier killed by Thus•- Deetruc:tion of the Thug Cult in India

Dedicated to the memory of Dan LaFleche

the best warrior I have ever known.

He would have enjoyed this



by Kevin Siembieda

A l8t .-a« r. .. . .,.,,............. .. . o•tr •

dlan1<1tr ~ . l9e q k ~ e l l s , 60 - ·50 - . ~ <drda, U dii i Kttr ..- l l rai(>IU, dnllo,Oattft l. ud •ucl l Mort

be Plllodium Rolt-playlna Oame is a romJlrehemlvc

nile book t lw cmues and outlma a world or hlpfuwp and od <lliWr<. Tbll lt a turbulml ) OWII world. . t i l t 110J>.IIW1WI races or o l f e ~ ~ Ore, Goblin and

0..< ploc to destrOJ human-kind; a world doak<d 1n

maaJc lll) lt<Y, and diOatr. llt out..,f·tht-way cora<ris the dr<ad Tombs of ~ r s l d i an lntrodUCtOfY ...,.,.

arlo pilllna the p l a ~ r s . . . . . . . the hordes or undead

tbot have rul<d the tombs ror bundr<ds or · r sTbt Palladlum ~ a ) i n Oamt ;, po-escnt<d 1ft a

RIUdy, liO 111,1<, 10ft bound volume, btautlflliJ

IDU$lrll<d •ith tht bcsl an, tnOJ>', and arapha; SI9.9Sposl paad).

Palbldlaa l oob

S669Cup<r

~ r o i t Mich. 4t210

A---n.- n . , _ . , . - c - -C ' e ,~ - - . . _ O . . . O i o . , _ . H - T O_. . (( :uoda). tA...,..III), Blod•.od o., lc '

New Zaloold) ............



'the l 'allad lum l3ookS of

\\7EAPONS &

A l ~ i \ \ 0 1 1 1 ~Til E PALLADIUM BOOK OF Wl.APO'IIS & AltMO\J R tontahu H lYilCS of

armoui, each dearly lllusllalfd wilb 11\IIOUIIOIU. Araour lypn 11p11 • oriel and in·

elude Europun, Aolon, Indian, and Japan . . .

The wupOb .Rdlon drpiCii dl rrft'tnt • t tpont , rrom kniYC$ and SY.Ord.S tO

pole-arms and axes.

-.._ '. ,,._..... ...._. ___ _ ...... . = = = = = = ~ a l ~ ; ~ ; l l p ~ .' ' . ~ = · = = l = : : : ; : : = · = · =. ~ - - ~

TbiJ bcaulifuUy Uluslla tfd )() ~ · boot It the ldtal rd tttc,.... tool f• r u yo . S4 9$

(l>ou pajd)

THE PALLADIUM BOOK OR f.APOSS 6 CASTLES outltncs lhe d<•tloptncnl of

EarofiHI <ISIIH, ca<ll tllunnud and tompktt Wllh floor plans.

Tilt PoJiadlouo Book ol Wto pom Auaulos Is 1bcthud bool io lbc I'CIIO 'ftcd P1lladlum CIPOM JtnCS.

J J C f S 1 fd As:saruu c.xplorcs the aua .um JOCidio

lh rou hc>ul h i > ~ o r r (>u<h • • 1hc Ninja and Thuaal.

examinlna thth methods. wn pen.s, tools. 1nd poi)ORJ

CootoJolnc ' upoo the first detalll a variety of bows ud tTos•llo•u .includtna the Cbincsc rcpcalina croubo . . W llh information on si1c, man, pull, rateof tire and ot locr po1nts of iDI<rtll . Th< second uet•on IS d.-otcd to Jittt o < ~ ~ . . . . , . . .and their usc. OvtT 1 huDCircd lllullrauons. S4.9S (l>oSI pajd ).

\ \ 7 ~ A P O N S &

ASSASSINSWhy did thtsc SOCieltC$ COn¥ tO CJI»>? How ckadl)

were th<11 What u myth and rtalhyl What t«Tct lmode them the pow<n thll they wcr<l The UISwtcu Ate

unlocked In the PI I CJ of W 'pon.sand nassim. Ovor ahundr<d llluilralion• dtplttlna wcapens. tools. armour.spec l l construtuons. c:ostum«. and more fill th i.1 .SO

poa• play.na aid S4.95 (post paid).c::c== tniJ•~ = = ~

Documents

Wujcik Erick - The Palladium Book of Weapons and Assassins