Sort of analogous to the Superman or Batman debate. One has superpowers but a fatal flaw that makes him weaker than a kitten, the other has no superpower but the means to neutralize the superpowers of the other.
Or US Navy Seals vs. Army Rangers. Rangers you call up to assault an airfield, they get new haircuts, they double time it into battle singing cadences and have the full support of the US military to blow up stuff. Seals on the other hand are covert, much more lightly armed and used for different things, or else you may get a kind of debacle that happened in Panama in 1989 when they tried to get Noriega's personal plane and unexpectedly got into a fight.
Well, ninjas are supposed to be hyped in a way that that they are these black clad warrior-commandos that single-handed deal out suffering, but the reality is more likely that they aren't front line combat troops. Their job isn't to fight head on, that's what the Samurai, his retainers or the noble-warrior class does. Ninjas would be used to poison your enemy's water supply or to issue false orders to the enemy or something, not for stand up fights. Consider that some of your better known, successful pirates were experienced seamen who served in a professional navy at some time or another.
In sum, it depends on the conditions that you set up for them to fight in.
In honor of Bill Grant, here are a couple of pirate jokes:
1.
A little boy with a speech impediment dresses up as a pirate for Halloween.
At the first house a woman opens the door, and the boy says, "I'm a birate. This is my barrot. Can I have some bandy?"
The woman looks at him and says, "My, aren't you cute. But where are your buccaneers?"
The boy gets angry: "On the side of my buckin head, you buckin idiot."
2.
Long ago lived a seaman named Captain Bravo. He was a manly man who showed no fear in facing his enemies.
One day, while sailing the seven seas, a look-out spotted a pirate ship and the crew became frantic. Captain Bravo bellowed, ''Bring me my Red Shirt.'' The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt and whilst wearing the bright red frock he led his men into battle and defeated the pirates.
Later on that day, the look-out spotted not one, but two pirate ships. The captain again called for his red shirt and once again, though the fighting was fierce, he was victorious over the two ships.
That evening, all the men sat around on the deck recounting the day's triumphs and one of the them asked the captain, ''Sir, why do you call for your red shirt before battle? The captain replied, ''If I am wounded in the attack, the shirt will not show my blood and thus, you men will continue to fight, unafraid.''
All of the men sat in silence and marveled at the courage of such a manly man as Captain Bravo.
As dawn came the next morning, the look-out spotted not one, not two, but TEN pirates ships approaching from the far horizon. The crew stared at the captain and waited for his usual reply.
Captain Bravo calmly shouted, ''Get me my brown pants.''
Arrrrgh!
Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl.
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,478PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,478
Miami, FL USA
These hypothetical match ups I've always found to be rather silly and it's the kind of stuff you'd see on some dumb "History " Channel show.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Joined: Apr 2008 Posts: 19,581Raw Kryptonite
Beat the Kobayashi Maru
Raw Kryptonite
Beat the Kobayashi Maru
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 19,581
MS
...with a bunch of other smelly men, fighting hunger, thirst, scurvy... Laid = rape/pillage? I guess ninas are kind of monk-like though. It's a toss up.
