Hi there, new guy reporting in

Hi guys, I'm new here. So what's the scoop?

EDIT: I read through some of the rules and I'm a bit confused. Is this a semi-statistical (where the stats just serve as guidelines) or a fully statistical site? Also, are the rules permanent or are you guys possibly open to some new changes to the system?

we are open to changes in the rules, they aren't set in stone, but are still in place. the stats. what your character is able to do does depend on your stats, though through stats and abilities you should be able to utilize your character will full efficiency if you are a creative person. Anything else you want to know, or want me to clarify?

Ok...So I assume that this forum is already more or less ready to go, and if I suggest a new system I'd just be wasting my time, no?

Well, we'd have to check it out first. if the admins, mods and i agree, then i guess we'd think about how we could do this. suggest away. Sorry it took me so long to respond though..only have internet when i go to school, and only go to school 3 times a week

Ok, here it is:

There should be 2 types of topics: [Important] and [Casual]. You can simultaneously RP in as many 'casual' topics as you want (such as training, wandering in town, socializing with friends, friendly sparring ect...), but you can only RP in 1 'important' topic at a time. Important topics are RPs like a mission, a war, a battle to the death, escaping from the village, in short something that is important and has a major impact on your character. You can enter and leave [casual] topics whenever you want, but you can only enter [important] topics withing the first 12 hours (or 24, haven't decided yet) when they are opened and leave them only by escaping or if there is no one willing to stop you. This is to avoid topics being finished on the run or deliberately dragged out just because some member got OOC knowledge that someone was going on (Personal Comment: OOCrs should die!).

Stats rules
Although in RP battles the quality of the post takes priority, we should add a stat system that should serve as a guideline for what something is or isn't within the limits of some ninja. This should help to prevent GM and unrealistic battles (like unlimited chakra or spamming high level jutsus).

A ninja's capabilities are represented by 4 Physical Stats(PS) (Stamina(Stm), Strength(Str), Agility(Agl) and Perception(Prc)) and 4 Knowledge Stats (Taijutsu(Tai), Ninjutsu(Nin), Genjutsu(Gen) and Kekke Genkai(KG) if he has one). In case they aren't obvious the spoiler below explains each stat in greater detail. Remember, they only serve as guidelines, they're not set in stone:

Spoiler:

FAQ: How do I improve a ninja's stats?
As you train, role play for fun, complete missions, defeat enemies, ect... your ninja gains experience points (EXP). Just like in video RPG games, once it has enough EXP the ninja "levels up" and gains an additional 10 PS and 5 KS. You can put the new points all on 1 stat or spread them around, it's your choice.

Ninjas are human (powerful humans, but still human) which is why each PS stat has a cap of 150 points and each KS stat a cap of 100 points. Bonus stats from equipment/jutsus/skills/ect... doesn't count towards the cap. When you first create your ninja you start at level 0 and all your stats are 0.

FAQ: How do I gain EXP exactly?
I'm a strong believer in "quality over quantity" so I'm not ganna suggest some stupid condition like "make a training topic and for every 100 words you get this or that much EXP". Most sites have those kinds of rules and the next thing you know everyone stays cooped up inside the villages, posting solo training topics instead of going out and do missions and socialize with other ninja.

Which is why once per week:
-Open a training topic 400~500 words. Based on quality (yes quality not quantity. We don't want a 10 paged essay) a mod/admin will award you 1~6 EXP. Training with a sensei, teammate, special gear or training grounds can greatly increase the EXP you earn.
-Ask a mod to evaluate a topic where you rped just for fun (hanging out with friends, exploring the village, taking a walk, ect...). A mod will reward 1~3 EXP.

You can also obtain EXP by completing missions and killing/capturing enemy ninja. It's a much faster, but more dangerous way of earning EXP:
-D rank mission / ninja with levels 0~10 = 2 EXP
-C rank mission / ninja with levels 11~20 = 4 EXP
-B rank mission / ninja with levels 21~30 = 10 EXP
-A rank mission / ninja with levels 31~40 = 25 EXP
-S rank mission / ninja with levels 41~50 = 75 EXP
(You receive twice as much EXP if you kill/capture a PC ninja, normal amount if he's an NPC or if he's defeated but escapes. You receive half the listed EXP if an NPC is defeated but escapes.)

Required Exp for next level:

• Levels 0 to 5 = 5 Exp per LvL
  
• Levels 6 to 10 = 15 Exp per LvL
  
• Levels 11 to 15 = 20 Exp per LvL
  
• Levels 16 to 20 = 25 Exp per LvL
  
• Levels 21 to 25 = 30 Exp per LvL
  
• Levels 26 to 30 = 35 Exp per LvL
  
• Levels 31 to 35 = 40 Exp per LvL
  
• Levels 36 to 40 = 50 Exp per LvL
  
• Levels 41 to 45 = 65 Exp per LvL
  
• Levels 46 to 50 = 85 Exp per LvL

Obtaining new jutsus, equipment and other stuff...
To avoid confusion, we should use money (Ryō) as the universal currency for "buying" (figuratively speak) canon or invent custom jutsus, weapons, armor, items, clans, ect... I know that jutsus are learned and not bought, but this is the easiest option. If you must then, think of the money you spend on them as money used for renting a scroll or treating your sensei or everyday expenses like food, clothes, bills, rent, furniture...

FAQ: How do I earn money?
Being a full time Ninja is a job just like any other which means you get salary. Every week you receive money based on your rank from your Kage or village council. Kages and Village councils reserve the right to withhold money from inactive members or award extra money to exceptional ninja. Weekly payments:

RANK	Payment
Genin	12,000 ryo
Chuunin	24,000 ryo
Special Jounin	35,000 ryo
Jounin	45,000 ryo
Medic-Nin	+ 3,000 ryo then equivalent rank
ANBU	+ 6,000 ryo then equivalent rank
Sennin	54,000 ryo
Kage	62,000 ryo
Missing-nin	D: 11,000 ryo C: 22,000 ryo B: 33,000 ryo A: 44,000 ryo S: 55,000 ryo

A Missing nin's idea of salary is rob civilians. BTW, I think ninja ranks should be just titles, not a reflection of a ninja's combat power (Naruto is a genin yet he's one of the strongest ninja out there). We should leave the ranking system up to the councils of each village. How they want to promote their own ninja, what kind of tests they deem worthy, is their own business (they are the ones who have to pay them after all).

A much faster, but more dangerous way of obtaining money is by completing missions
-D rank mission = 3,000 ryo
-C rank mission = 15,000 ryo
-B rank mission = 50,000 ryo
-A rank mission = 150,000 ryo
-S rank mission = 600,000 ryo

If you want a mission go to your village's administration section, you'll see a missions section. There you'll find a list of available missions, pick one, post that you're taking it and complete it.

If you don't like the choice you can create your own mission, just open a request topic in the your village's mission section. The mission will have to be approved by the staff before you can start it. The reason for this is to prevent people from spamming high level mission that have easy objectives.

Solo missions are allowed but if multiple PC ninja complete a mission they have to split the rewards. The kage or council may award extra money for a job well done. No more than 1 ninja team may be sent on a mission. A ninja team can only have 1 leader and there can't be more than 3 PC ninja on 1 team. The only exceptions to this rule is when a sensei is assigned to watch over 3 low level genin.

Please remember that missions are [important] topics so you can't start a new mission before the current one is finished. An exception to this rule is if a high rank mission is taking way too long to complete (usually because of lazy inactive members). In such a case you may request another low rank (D or possibly C) no-risk-involved mission in a [casual] topic. The timeline of the low level mission will be treated as if it had happened before the high ranked one.

FAQ: So how do I "buy" stuff with money?
Go to your village's shinobi shop (black market for missing nin), read the list of available stuff, decide which you want to buy then open a topic and list the stuff you want. A mod will subtract the money from your account and add the stuff you bought. Simple. The same goes with custom stuff except you have to wait for them to be approved first.

Below is a list of the standard cost for jutsus and skills (custom stuff tend to be more expensive though). Prices for equipment varies too much to be generalized.

• D rank jutsu/skill = 8,000 ryo
  
• C rank jutsu/skill = 16,000 ryo
  
• B rank jutsu/skill = 32,000 ryo
  
• A rank jutsu/skill = 64,000 ryo
  
• S rank jutsu/skill = 128,000 ryo or more

NOTE: There is no limit to how many jutsus a ninja can have (Kakasi supposedly knows 1000), but there is a limit to how much equipment you can carry. The rest you'll have to leave at home.

COMBAT RULES
RP battles should be conducted like in any other Naruto RP site. Each side takes turns posting an exciting short story explaining what their character do and in the process are careful not to GM or otherwise cheat. At the end of the post put in a spoiler the definitions of all the jutsus you used and other important stuff that need mentioning.

Eliminating reasons for cheating!
Rather than fix the problem once it happens, we should try to prevent them form occuring by rooting out the source.

Death isn't so bad here!
The number 1 reasons for cheating in RPs is because people don't want to lose their characters, since it's usually a royal pain in the ass to create a new one from scratch. For this reason, if on this forum a ninja dies that member's next ninja should 'inherit' (figuratively speaking) some of the money and EXP of the previous ninja. You'd have 3 options:

1. Inherit 1/2 of the EXP your previous character had and 100% of his the money.
   
2. 3/4 of the EXP. 75% money.
   
3. All of the EXP. 50% of the money.

Unlimited Chakra
A ninja casts jutsus by drawing energy from his stamina (in case of ninjutsus he further molds this energy with spiritual energy). To avoid people acting as if their ninja's have unlimited chakra (thus spam ligh level jutsus), each jutsu should have a Stamina cost which is subtracted from that ninja's Stamina stat. When the Stamina stat becomes 0 that ninja can no longer cast jutsus.

Freezing Time
There has always been an issue of people performing WAY TOO MANY actions in 1 post (you have to remember than in real life 1 post is suppose to last only 10 to 20 seconds). I think that the number of actions a ninja can perform in 1 post should be mesured with Battle Points (BP for short). Like with stamina cost, each action and jutsu will cost a certain amount of BP (Example: throwing a Kunai=1 BP, casting a C rank ninjutsu=4 BP, ect...). Unlike Stamina, BP is refreshed at the start of every post. Whether because of skill, experience or just plain nerves, it's logical to assume that veteran ninja could perform more actions than newbie ninjas. For this reason ninja with a higher level will get more BP each post compared to those with a lower level. NOTE: More BP doesn't more time, it just means that ninja with more BP are able to perform more action within the same time frame (those hypothetical 10~20 seconds) as a ninja with fewer BP.

• Levels 0 to 2: 2 BP
  
• Levels 3 to 6: 3 BP
  
• Levels 7 to 10: 4 BP
  
• Levels 11 to 14: 5 BP
  
• Levels 15 to 18: 6 BP
  
• Levels 19 to 22: 7 BP
  
• Levels 23 to 26: 8 BP
  
• Levels 27 to 30: 9 BP
  
• Levels 31 to 34: 10 BP
  
• Levels 35 to 38: 11 BP
  
• Levels 39 to 42: 12 BP
  
• Levels 43 to 46: 14 BP
  
• Levels 47 to 50: 16 BP

By using the "planning my strategy ahead" excuse, BP from the current post can be transferred to the next post (no more than 2 BP can be transferred this way).

Fighting fair, fighting fast!
Waiting weeks and months to complete a battle usually causes people to lose interest or GM just to end things faster. Battles in [important] topics need to be dynamic, which is why every 6th post a mod/admin with check the progress of the battle. He will evaluate each post, check each ninja's accounts, and then pass judgement. If the battle was conducted fairly, with nether side GMing, cheating or unrealistically making their characters stronger than they are (like dodging everything even though their Agility stat is low), he will post "All is well, continue as you were". If something in the battle was amiss he can also pass a different judgement such as "Ninja [insert name] should have been lightly/moderately/badly/mortally wounded" and the battle will have to continue as if said ninja really was injured in some of the previous posts. In cases of obvious cheating an admin/mod can simply kill the guilty ninja and close the topic if need be.

I can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message...
[Important] topics shouldn't stop just because someone is inactive. If a member with a ninja in an [important] topic doesn't post within 24 hours, the kage of his village (or someone from the village council) will RP for him. If you announce that you won't be active due to personal reasons, then you can choose who will RP with your character in your place.

Its crowded in here, isn't it?
On other sites when more than 2 PC ninja engage in a fight (like 2 VS 2 or 3 VS 3), the battle tends to drag out a lot since there is a lot of waiting for everyone's turn to come for them to post. Lets try to avoid that by allowing the person who's turn it is to post to control the rest of the PC ninja in his team as if they were clones or NPC subordinates.

Due to the great potential of this rule being misused there will be great restrictions to the amount of control the current poster can exercise over the other PC ninja (unless given explicit permission from the owner of the character):

1) The current poster can't use the other PC ninja to take hits in his place (like human shields) nor can he use them as a decoy for an auto-escape from the topic.
2) Even if not used as shields, he can't say that they got hurt or killed by enemy attacks. When it comes time for the admin to pass judgement he will decide how much they were injured, assuming they were injured at all.
3) He can't make them spend more than 20% of the max stamina in 1 post.
4) He can't make them behave out of character and can't make them cast kinjutsu or other self damaging jutsus actions (like cutting themselves in order to escape a genjutsu).

5) Regardless of how many ninja there are on each team, the posting order is ALWAYS "team 1, then team 2, then team 1 again and so on", the only question is who will make the post for each team. Before a the start of a mission or when entering the topic or just before the battle, the members in each team have to decide among themselves what their own team's posting order will be. A) Whether they take turns or B) Leave all the posting to 1 man (in case he's among the best, unbeatable RPers on the site) or C) First come, first serve. If someone comes online and notices his team hasn't posted yet, he does it right away even if he posted last time.

The admins are especially pleased when members on the forum show that they trust each other. The more permission to use his character a member gives to other members when its their turn to post (especially for restriction 2), the more kindly the admin will look upon them when its time for judgement. Besides, controlling the whole team simultaneously has its benefits. For one, the ninjas will have a "hive mind" since only 1 person is controlling them all. Just imagine the kind of complex tactics you can pull off (something you can't do in forums where everyone posts 1 at a time). The second enormous advantage is the collaboration jutsu. Little BP cost, little stamina cost, enormous destructive power.

The admins also like to see dynamic battles with fast posting, the team that always waits more than 12 hours to post will not score any extra points with him.

GENJUTSUS
I'm afraid here we'll have to get technical. Genjutsus will have "attack power" and every ninja has an innate "resistance" to genjutsu which usually looks like this:

Attack power = Gen Knowledge + the jutsus base power

Gen Resistance = Gen Knowledge + 1/2Perception

The base power of genjutsus depends on the rank:
-D rank = 0
-C rank = 20
-B rank = 40
-A rank = 60
-S rank = 80

Some genjutsus with a trigger (such as eye contact) can have 10~30 more base power than the above listed. Area or multi-target genjutsus tend to have 10~30 less base power.

But most of the time genjutsus don't have one and they cannot be avoided, but they can be dealt with:

• A) Injuring the one casting the genjutsu instantly ends it.
  
  
• B) If your gen resistance is equal or greater than the attack power of the genjutsu then the genjutsu fails outright.
  
  
• C) If the difference between your resistance and the genjutsu's attack power is 15 points or less, you can use the "Kai" jutsu do dispel it.
  
  
• D) If the difference between your resistance and the genjutsu's attack power is more than 15 points then it's too late to use "Kai". In this case use option A), or wait for an ally to dispel it for you or wait for the genjutsu's duration to expire. Also note that every round (1 BP = 1 round) you are under a genjutsu, your genjutsu resistance temporarily increases by 1, by 2 if that jutsu has previously been cast on you by the same ninja. If you wait long enough your gen resistance might increase enough to use option B) or C). Once the jutsu is over gen resistance resets back to normal.
  
  
• E) If it's way too dangerous to remain under the genjutsu and wait for its duration to expire or your temporary gen resistance to build up, then as a last resort you can injure yourself in order to temporarily increase your gen resistance. A Light of moderate injury will increase your gen resistance by 10 or 30 respectfully.
  

NOTE: If the difference between your resistance and the genjutsu's attack power is more than 45 points then you are not aware that you are under a genjutsu thus you can't inflict damage to yourself.

If you have multiple genjutsus on you (from different enemies) then only the one with the highest Gen power affects you. If they are from the same enemy then he chooses which one affects you. A single Kai dispels all genjutsus that would normally fall within the scope of its negating effect.

World map and traveling rules
My suggestion for the world map. There are 40 countries recorded on leafninja.com so we too will have 40 countries, and no, we don't need a separate section for each country since most are just minor countries. If someone wants (or needs because of a mission) to go to a minor country all he needs to do is write its name in the topic title. Since even on the manga and anime they don't specify the locations of each country, I have taken great liberties in arranging them. Enjoy.

Spoiler:

To prevent people from "teleporting" half way across the world just to join some other important topic (like an attack on their village), or escaping any fight they want whenever they want, or sneaking into any village without problems, I've suggested the following rules:

Traveling

Spoiler:

Being Intercepted

Spoiler:

Escaping

Spoiler:

Entering a Foreign Village

Spoiler:

-Resting, Looting and Retrieving
In [important] topics, after a battle, you can choose to rest and recover (provided you have the necessary items/skills or a medic nin along) before traveling again (you have to announce it in big bold letters at the beginning or end of your post). If you don't, and you are intercepted before you enter a friendly haven, then you will enter the next battle with the exact same fatigue and damage you received at the end of your last battle.

Discarded non-consumable items (kunai, shuriken, swords ect...) used in casual topics, in which they were not destroyed somehow, are returned to you when you leave the topic. In [important] topics, after a battle, you have to announce in big bold letters at the beginning or end of the post that you choose to "search and/or retrieve and/or loot". This will allow you to:
1) get back all of your discarded equipment
2) loot the body of your enemy (if you are with other PCs you make a deal who gets what)
3) Do both

Looting the body of the defeated nets you 20% of their current money.

These (and any other) after battle options increase the travel time to the next topic by 6 hours each.

Because on other sites Kage's generally have nothing to do, here we can assign them to running the village (with the help of the village council). If they do a good job, the normal members will enjoy lots of benefits (such as extra EXP from training topics, cheaper jutsus and equipment, ect...). The system is very similar to those of other strategy games such as "Civilization" for example.

The Budget
The ninja villages are military organizations that need funds in order to function. "The Budget" represents all the money that village has at its disposal. From here the kage and ninja council divert funds to pay ninjas their weekly salary, research new jutsus/items/equipment, improve the village itself by building better academies/hospitals/training grounds/defenses/ect...(see Development for more info). NOTE: While giving ninjas their regular salaries IS mandatory, the council reserves the right to not pay inactive members or award extra money to exceptional ninja.

The Budget isn't a bottomless pit, spending money uncontrollably will leave you broke in no time. But there are 2 ways of filling it back up:
-Once a week the village receives 200,000 ryo from the Daimyo of your own country. Subjugating other minor countries under your "protection", increases the weekly income to a certain degree (depends on the country itself). NOTE: If there is a missing nin in your country or in a subjugated minor country, the money he robs from people for his weekly "salary" is deduced from the money your village receives on a weekly bases.
-When a ninja successfully completes a mission (especially high ranked ones) a HUGE part of the reward money goes into the budget.

Mission	The Ninja receives	The Village Budget receives
D Rank	3,000 ryo	0 ryo
C Rank	15,000 ryo	30,000 ryo
B Rank	50,000 ryo	100,000 ryo
A Rank	150,000 ryo	450,000 ryo
S Rank	600,000 ryo	2,000,000 ryo

The Ninja Council
The ninja council is a group of trusted members who are given limited mod powers. They help the Kage with administrative stuff like organizing exams, grading training topics, handling transactions in the shinobi shop, editing ninja accounts, keeping an eye on the budget... They also elect or replace the Kage (if he sucks at his job).
NOTE: To become a council member one must first make a request topic and then await admin approval.

Reputation
Reputation: "The estimation in which one is held in public opinion". Reputation has direct impact on a village's political influence, which in turn has effect on the probability of being attacked by NPC ninja when traveling in other countries and the ease with which a ninja village can use diplomatic means *cough*intimidation*cough* to subjugate other countries and ensure their continued loyalty.

When you kill/capture a criminal or an enemy ninja from one of the other great villages you gain the following rep points:

• Genin -> 2
  
• Chuunin -> 4
  
• Special Jounin -> 8
  
• Jounin -> 14
  
• ANBU -> equivalent rank +2
  
• Sennin -> 20
  
• Kage -> 30
  
  Criminals:
  
• D Rank: 2
  
• C Rank: 6
  
• B Rank: 10
  
• A Rank: 15
  
• S Rank: 22
  

*If a village loses a ninja of one of these ranks, it will lose the equal amount of points.
*Killing/capturing NPCs will get you only half the rep and the village they came from doesn't lose any rep points.
*Defeating but not killing/capturing an enemy PC or NPC ninja (meaning he escaped) doesn't earn or cost anyone any rep points.

Types of Missions
We already scratched this topic in the mission rules, but now we go into more detail. There are 3 types of missions: Requested missions, Counter missions and Staff missions.

1) "Requested" missions are those that the kage or someone else from a ninja village creates their own missions and then asks the admin staff to approve them. As stated before, the staff does this to make sure someone doesn't create unrealistic missions, like with easy objectives but lots of reward. Also, a village with very low reputation might not be able to "request" certain types of missions.

2) Before I explain "Counter" missions I want you to think about this: Usually only powerful individuals or groups can afford to hire ninjas for 'serious' tasks, and such individuals or groups usually have opponents of similar influence. So if someone hires a ninja for a serious job, then it would be logical to assume that the opposing party would do the same, since only a ninja can stop a ninja. When someone "Requests" a B, A or S rank mission the staff (representing the interests of the "opposing party" of the client that hired the ninja) create a mission with the same rank but with the exact opposed objectives than the "Requested" mission (thus guaranteeing that the 2 ninja teams will clash). A mission to "Counter" the "Requested" mission. The admins then make a random dice roll to see who they give the counter mission to (whether another ninja village or a missing nin).

3) Every other week the staff gives the village with the highest reputation an A or S rank mission, a B or A rank mission to the runner up and a C or B rank to the 3rd highest. These are called "Staff" missions and are meant to advance the plot on the forum in case the members grow too complacent.

Since these "staff" and "counter" missions are imposed by the admins rather than requested by the members themselves, the village loses a lot less reputation if they fail them, also they have the right to refuse them if they want to (they still lose some rep points though). If a "counter" mission is refused the staff posts the mission in the public sector where anyone can accept it (first come, first serve). The chart below shows how much Reputation points a village gains/loses when they completed, fail or refuse a mission.

	Any kind of Successful Mission	Failed Requested Mission	Failed Staff/Counter Mission	Refusing Staff/Counter Mission
D rank	+0	-1	0	0
C rank	+1	-2	0	-1
B rank	+2	-4	-1	-2
A rank	+4	-8	-2	-4
S rank	+8	-16	-4	-8

Village Development

If there is surplus of cash in the budget then the Kage and/or the council can use that money to improve the village. Village improvements usually benefit everyone who belongs in that village. The areas one can invest in are listed below:

Research and Manufacturing Branch

This branch of the ninja village is responsible for supplying its ninjas with the arsenal they need to overcome their opponents. Its divided in 2 departments, the "Elemental Chakra Research" and the "Crafting Technology" department. Each time you upgrade the "Research and Manufacturing" branch you get to improve 1 of the above mentioned departments by 1 level.

Spoiler:

The function of this department is to research new elemental jutsus and put scrolls in the shinobi shop so that everyone can learn them. It also makes it cheaper for people inventing custom jutsus.

In the beginning the level of research in each element (Fire, Wind, Water, Earth and Lightning) is 0, meaning there isn't even a D rank ninjutsu of any element available in the shinobi shop. Each time you upgrade this department you gain a few level ups. Now you can ether focus your research on one element and level it up several times or level up multiple different elements simultaneously.

For example, if you have had a Elemental Chakra Research 3 and you had chosen to allocate the level ups on the elements like this:
Level 5 Fire element
Level 4 Lightning element
Level 2 Wind element
Level 2 Earth element
Level 0 Water element

Then that means that in the shinobi shop all Fire ninjutsus will be available, lightning jutsus only up to A rank will be available, up to C rank Wind and Earth ninjutsus, AND NO WATER JUTSUS WHAT-SO-EVER. Which means if someone's primary element is Water he'd be pretty screwed because he'd have nowhere to learn jutsus from (and custom jutsus would be a bitch when it comes to paying for them).

Here is a list on the prices and effects of each upgrade in this department:

Spoiler:

The function of this department is to invent new ninja equipment and mass produce it.

Like jutsus and skills, ninja equipment is also graded based on how advanced it is, based on their "technology" level so to speak. Simple items like shuriken and kunai are tech level 1 items, while more complicated and powerful items such as Chakra armour are level 5. Each upgrade in this branch increases the village's technology level by 1.

Spoiler:

This branch of the ninja village is responsible for the urban planning of the village itself. A bigger village means more people, more people means more taxes and more ninja recruits. Unfortunately a bigger village also means more places for a spy to sneak in from and easier for him to blend in. NOTE: NPCs are controlled by the kage, village council members or if assigned to a ninja team, the team leader. No need for special posting for NPCs, just treat them as you would clones.

Spoiler:

The Military branch has only one purpose. Train ninjas. As such it is divided into 2 departments: The Ninja Academy and The Training Grounds. Each time you upgrade the "Military" branch you get to improve 1 of the above mentioned departments by 1 level. Also, the higher the level in military branch the more seriously minor countries will take your military might (the total of all your ninja's levels) into consideration during negotiations.

Spoiler:

Obviously, the ninja Academy is there to train the next generation of ninja, but its other purpose is the accumulation of knowledge, or rather its practical application...it is a military institution after all.

Just like the Elemental Chakra Research, the Academy also has research areas it focuses is (Genjutsu, High jutsus and Ninpo jutsus). Each time you upgrade the Ninja Academy you gain a few research level ups which you can ether focus in 1 area or level up multiple different areas simultaneously. For example, if you had Ninja Academy level 3 and you chose to allocate the level ups this:
Level 5 Genjutsu
Level 3 High ninjutsu
Level 0 Ninpo ninjutsu

This means genjutsus up to S rank and High ninjutsus up to B rank will be available in the shinobi shop, but there will be no Ninpo jutsu because its research level is 0. NOTE: Ninpo stands for any non elemental ninjutsu that can't be classified into any other group. High jutsus stands for non elemental ninjutsus who are too powerful to be called a simple Ninpo jutsu (such as space-time and sealing jutsus). Here is a list of what you gain with each new level in Ninja Academy:

Spoiler:

The training grounds is where the real power is gained. This is where those who left the academy far behind them come to become stronger. It's also THE place for training your NPC ninjas. A big army needs a big place to maintain its strength. Here is a list of what you gain with each new level in Training grounds:

Spoiler:

Welfare and Management Branch

Just like the Military branch, this branch is divided in 2 sections. With each upgrade in this area you get 1 level up which you can ether use to improve the Hospital (medical research and understanding) or the bureaucracy (improve economy, efficiency and diplomacy, decrease corruption).

Spoiler:

Upgrading the Hospital will allow you to train more medic ninjas, improve your knowledge on medical jutsus and take better care of your citizens (thus show that you "care for the people" and make your village more popular).

Here is a list of what you gain with each new level in Hospital:

Spoiler:

Administration includes public and foreign relations, managing the economy, anti-corruption system etc...

Translated, that means if you want to save money, soften the blow when you commit atrocities, have an easier time wining over other countries without fighting them, make it harder for rival villages of win over and even maintain other places under their control, then you should level up in this sector.

The higher the level of Administration the more seriously minor countries will take your reputation into consideration during negotiations. Here is a list of other benifits you gain with each new level in administration:

Spoiler:

Homeland Security

This branch is for protection from both obvious dangers, such as invasions, and those that lurk in the shadows and even in our hearts. It is divided in 2 sectors and with each upgrade you get to level up 1 sector.

The 2 sectors are:
1) Internal security and espionage: ANBU (short for: Affirmation of Nonincriminating Behavioral Utilization). And

2) External security: PLGBTFNBIEH (short for: Protection from Large Groups of Bad Tempered Foreign Ninja Bent on Inflicting Extreme Hurtiness)...the name still needs a little work.

The higher the level in the Homeland Security branch the more you'll undermine your enemy's authority when they negotiate with minor countries closer to you. Also, minor countries from farther away will take your reputation and military might more seriously.

Spoiler:

Leveling up the ANBU sector will allow you to better, faster and more efficiently train greater numbers of ANBU ninja. That means you'll have an easier time spying on others while making it a lot harder for others to spy on you. It also helps to keep the rest of the ninja in line.

Even if all the ninja are loyal to you and you have such a good defense system that infiltration is nearly impossible, the ANBU are the elite. You are bound to have other uses for them.

Here is a list of what you gain with each new level in ANBU:

Spoiler:

The best way to protect your secrets and your people from spies or invading armies is not to fix the problem after it happens, but to prevent the threat from reaching them in the first place.

The main 3 things that consist Large Scale Defenses is: Village Defenses, Boarder Patrol and Logistics.

Improving this sector will allow you to better detect when someone enters your country or village, make it harder for invading armies to destroy or even get inside your village and will make it easier (and faster) for your ninjas to move around quickly and safely inside your territory.

Here is a list of what you gain with each new level in Large Scale Defenses (See the "Other Improvements" topic for additional improvements on the Village defenses):

Spoiler:

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Here is where you REALLY get to customize your village. Here you will find all kinds of weird and unique improvements to make your village truly one of a kind.

Elemental Chakra Research related improvements (you can buy only 1):

Spoiler:

Crafting Technology related improvements (you can buy only 1):

Spoiler:

Infrastructure related improvements (you can buy only 1):

Spoiler:

Military Branch related improvements (you can buy up to 2):

Spoiler:

Welfare and Management Branch related improvements (you can buy only 1):

Spoiler:

Large Scale Defenses (you can have 1 type of improvement per level in Village defense and upgrade it as much):

Spoiler:

My suggestion for the plot:

In the beginning...
...The 4th Shinobi world war came to an end when Madara was vanquished by the combined might of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, the 2 most powerful ninja of their time.

Naruto united all shinobi nations under one banner, the Uzumaki World Order (UWO). He married Hyuuga Hinata and sired a boy whom he named Jiraiya, in honor of his late sensei. Sasuke married Sakura Haruno who gave him a daughter, who they named Tsunade. Naruto was a just and noble leader and his reign was long and peaceful, but his true wisdom was shown when he married off his son to Sasuke's daughter, reuniting the bloodline of the Great Sage and ensuring that the peace he strived to build would last forever. This became known as the Golden Age.

At first his vision seemed to hold true. For centuries the descendants of Naruto and Sasuke headed the ruling body of the UWO and governed the world by hollowing the teachings of "The Great Naruto". However, human nature must run its course. Greedy people who rose to power didn't like having restrictions placed upon them by someone stronger. Petty warlords could no longer invade or otherwise subvert other countries. "Stagnation!" they cried, "We want power!" they thought. Thus began the era of "The Shadow Wars".

Ambitious people and organizations went to extraordinary lengths to corrupt lesser segments of the UWO so that they would turn a blind eye while they waged "secret wars" on each other. Over time, this took its toll. The corruption spread. Parts of UWO began to identify themselves by their clans of origin. Soon the UWO was no longer a single organization, but a group of ninja clans held in line through the sheer power of the Uzumaki clan (the former governing head of UWO). With each new generation the Uzumaki clan had to take harsher and harsher measures to maintain the peace. Time and unlimited power can corrupt even the noblest of ideas, the teachings of The Great Naruto began to blur, slowly at first, but steadily. Soon, the Uzumaki clan dismissed the authority of civilian governments altogether and became the undisputed tyrant of the world.

Like a pyramid hierarchy, the most powerful ninja whose bloodline was the purest took the throne by force from the previous ruler and controlled the world through vassals who in turn had many lesser members controlling some part of the world, who they in turn commanded the other clans (by force) to do the grunt work.

This could not go on for long.

One day, 3 children of the higher noble Uzumaki families cooked up a plan. Their bloodlines were diluted thus retaining little power from the original Great Sage, meaning their chances of overthrowing the current Uzumaki despot were slim to none, with over 17 other children more eligible than them. Motivated ether by greed or revenge or ideals of justice (some families had not forgotten the original teachings of Naruto), these 3 ninja calling themselves the "Sannin" decided to organize all the subjugated clans and civilian government in a simultaneously coordinated attack against the top Uzumaki brass. The oppressed clans needed very little convincing. The day of the coup came and was successful.

...too successful.

Rather than just weakening the top circle enough for the Sannin themselves to assume power, the Uzumaki clan was completely obliterated.

The Uzumaki's iron fist may have been cruel, but following its fall was utter chaos. Like a shaken champagne bottle, everything came spewing out when the cork was removed. Ninja clans each went their separate ways, countries waged open war, nations rose and fell, the global economy collapsed, crime rose by 3000%. There was no law, just chaos.

From each of their mansions, the Sannin, the last surviving members of the Uzumaki clan, watched the fall of civilization...And it was their fault. "All I wanted was to avenge my father" thought one, "The throne should have been mine!" berated another, "I just wanted to set the world back on track, like in the Golden Age" cried silently the last.

But despair, rage and grief soon turned into determination. Salvaging what was left of the Uzumaki's treasures, connections and political power, calling on favors from the clans they helped, the Sannin set out to fix the world. One way or the other.