Skills from Sheik

Everyone loves a ninja. In the many Zelda worlds, few characters encompass that allure more than Sheik, the mysterious stranger skilled in the lost arts of the Sheikah. Who is he? What are his goals? These questions drew players into the story of Ocarina of Time, and Sheik’s allure has continued even long after his mysteries have been resolved.

Today, we present some Techniques based on Sheik’s exploits, so that you might also be as cool and powerful as this enigmatic warrior. These Techniques are ideal for Heroes who want to move and strike quickly, and keep opponents from knowing exactly who or where they are.

Check ’em out below!

New Techniques

Bouncing Fish Kick

6 Tokens
Cost: 10 Stamina
Learn Requirement: Push-Off Kick
Use Requirement: Your legs must be free, and you must be able to move
Range: Melee
Damage: Weapon + Combat
Effect: Before performing the attack, you jump on top of your target, using your horizontal jump, even if you have already reached you maximum Movement for the turn. You may then jump off of the target, again using your horizontal jump (you cannot remain atop the target). Roll To-Hit target’s Vitality; on success, you push them one square in a direction of your choice. This attack cannot be performed if you are Halted or Slowed.

Kip-Up Kick

6 Tokens
Cost: 5 Stamina
Learn Requirement: Push-Off Kick
Use Requirement: Your legs must be free, you must be able to move, and you are currently Prone.
Range: Melee
Damage: Weapon + Combat
Effect: You stand up from Prone. Roll To-Hit target’s Vitality; on success, you push them away from you one square, and push yourself one square away from them. (This should leave two squares between the two of you.)

Quick Change

6 Tokens
Cost: 1 Stamina per item swapped
Range: Self
Minor Action
Effect: You can swap out any number of items from your Hands, Hip, or that you are currently wearing, with items in your Pack or elsewhere on your person. Each swap costs 1 Stamina – for instance, changing out your current Chest armor for a different Chest armor would cost 1 Stamina, as would swapping your equipped sword and shield for a greatsword.
Special: If you cast the Spell Impa’s Disguise or Vanish (or another disguising, illusory, teleportation, or otherwise self-obscuring effect) as your Standard Action this turn, the visual effect is seamless. For example, you could use this with Impa’s Disguise to quickly transform into a differently-equipped, visually distinct alter ego at a moment’s notice. Whether this transformation serves to hide your identity or otherwise confound the enemy is up to you and the GM to determine.

Sudden Substitute

Might also be known as Kakariko Kawarimi or Stump Swap

9 Tokens
Cost: 12 Stamina
Learn Requirement: Vanish or Quick Change
Use Requirement: You are hit by a Line, Melee, or Sweep attack; and you are able to move
Range: Self
Reaction
Effect: You disappear in a puff of smoke, leaving a rough-hewn log or other rough facsimile of yourself in your place. You suffer no damage from the attack, nor any other effects (ailments, forced movement, etc.). You may move half your Movement away from the decoy’s location before reappearing; you are invisible during this movement. Roll To-Hit target’s Concentration; on success, the decoy object is not destroyed, and the target is Distracted by the decoy object. (The decoy object has 1 HP, no Defense, and no Guard Stats.) This Reaction cannot be performed if you are Halted or Slowed.

Additional Notes

To mimic Sheik’s throwing needles attack, you can use the Throwing Glove weapon from the “Expand your Armory” article. Since this weapon also has the Hands-Free property, you can still use that hand to grab enemies or use items, just as Sheik does.

This article doesn’t contain any of the magical attacks Sheik uses in Hyrule Warriors. While we considered including those effects as Spells that make use of the Perform trait, we wanted to focus on the physical, Stamina-based ninjutsu angle of Sheik’s abilities. If you’d like to see some of those other, more magical ideas, though, let us know in the comments or on our Discord server!