Thread Maiden Rework v2
Δ Thread Maiden
Class Features Marked with an Δ are changed from the Gonzo version.
Thread Maiden loses a bunch of generic power but gains bonus feats they can use to specialize their character.
Thread Maiden Specializations are getting reworked to have a resource/cost.
Flavor Text
The entire world is made of threads, threads you cannot see or ever perceive without a special vision gained as part of a vision-quest. Once acquired you can never see the world the same again; expansive plains of green grass look like knit blankets that stretch as far as the eye can see, people (king and commoner alike) look like hand-sewn yarn dolls, and even monsters might as well be sporting button eyes. In reality, these are the threads of fate and life is simply a tapestry woven together from them. A thread maiden can tug, cut, and even knit these threads of fate to great magical effect.
Thread maidens (or threadlords if male) are often from rural societies, or at least those with a more pastoral bend to them, as it takes a patient and easy-going mind to serve as the soil for such a power to grow in. Patience is at the root of all a thread maiden’s power. It is said that the first thread maidens were halflings and to this day the very notion of thread maidens are associated with the weefolk.
Thread maidens often ritualistically pierce their ears with sewing needles at jaunty angles to show their trade and find employment as seamstresses and advisors. Most societies hold them in the same regard as the town shaman or other sort of mystic and they are often consulted on matters of fate and infrastructure because of the unique way they view the world.
Hit Dice: d8.
Role: In combat, thread maidens are all about control and setting up their opponents so their allies can take them down. They almost exclusively deal non-lethal damage and can “snip” certain threads on their opponent to cripple them. Some of them inhibit movement, others lower their saves or AC, and that’s just for starters! They need a good Wisdom for a lot of their class features, otherwise they will want to make sure their combat ability scores are up to par.
Alignment: Any Non-Chaotic
Thread maidens require a patient mind to cultivate abilities that those of a chaotic disposition lack. Many are lawful, though most tend towards neutral alignments (on both axis). Good thread maidens are patrons of farm towns - do-gooders who offer their services to the communities on the cheap - and even act as wandering wise women on the frontiers. Evil thread maidens tend to be scorned people taking out their petty retributions over a long period of time. They might snip the object of their ire’s thread of destiny one day, cause them to miss the love of their life the next day, and cackle all the while as they do it.
Starting Wealth: 2d6 × 10 gp (average 70 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
Class Skills: The thread maiden’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Ranks Per Level: 6 + Int Modifier
Class Features
Table: To be added
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
The thread maiden is proficient with all simple weapons and weapons of the thread maiden weapon group. She is also proficient with light armor and medium armor as well as bucklers and light shields. Thread maidens can cast thread maiden spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a thread maiden wearing medium armor, or heavy armor, or a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component. A multiclass thread maiden still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.
Thread Maiden Weapon Group
The following weapons have special interactions with various class features:
Sewing pins, sewing needles, sewing shears, seam ripper spears, whips, scorpion whips, spiked chains, slings, bola, and kusarigama.
[TBA] Table: Thread Maiden Weapon Group
Sewing Pin
These small needles are balanced to be thrown. They deal non-lethal damage. Sewing pins are destroyed when they are thrown.
Sewing Shears
These steel scissor-like weapons resemble thick sewing shears. When wielded in a closed fashion they deal piercing damage and are primarily uses to stab. If opened, a swift action, they may be gripped at the point where the two halves of the shear blades meet. There is a thin cloth cover over the center of this part of the blade and it is dulled. While in this form they deal slashing damage. While open, they can be thrown with a range increment of 10 feet.
Sewing Needle
This finger-thin thrusting sword has no guard and resembles as 3 1/2 foot long sewing needle with a 1/4th inch diameter. The eye of the needle is gripped, one side normally wrapped with cloth to provide some grip on the otherwise slick weapon. A sewing needle is equivalent to a rapier.
Seam Ripper Spear
This spear-like weapon has a lobster-claw like head, like the traditional sewing tool. One head is long and thing, ending in a sharp tip. The other is shorter and thicker, ending in a dulled or ball-capped tip. There is a bladed area in the gap between the two heads- making it ideal for sundering armor. Seam ripper spears grant a +2 bonus on Combat Maneuver Checks to sunder attempts.
Note: Equivalents
You will note the use of the phrase “equivalent” (as in “This weapon is equivalent to a rapier”) in some descriptions. This means that the weapon counts as another weapon for the purpose of feats, class features, prerequisites, etc. A weapon must still qualify on it’s own merit in regards to its weapon profile however (example: if a weapon was equivalent to a rapier but did slashing damage it could not qualify for a feat that only applied to weapons that dealt piercing damage).
Δ Class DC
A thread maiden’s class DC is 10 + 1/2 thread maiden’s level + Wisdom Modifier.
Bucolic Patience (Ex)
The spirit of a thread maiden needs to be as old as time and as calm as an undisturbed summer lake. A thread maiden gains Combat Casting as a bonus feat, and gains a +4 bonus on saves and checks to avoid the fatigued and exhausted conditions. In addition, a thread maiden may use Wisdom in place of Intelligence for Craft and Spellcraft checks. However, she may never reduce the casting time of a thread maiden spell she casts (such as by the Quicken Spell metamagic feat) or reduce the time on a skill check to make an item by increasing the DC.
Bonus Feats
At 6th, level and every 5 levels thereafter, a thread maiden can select a bonus thread maiden feat to gain.
At 9th level, she selects an Adjustment feat to gain as a bonus feat.
At 14th level, she selects a Snip feat to gain as a bonus feat.
Δ Knitsight
Changed mechanical consequences of Knitsight. Instead of penalty to perception, it’s a penalty for describing things in communication between thread maidens and non-thread maidens.
The “small details” line is particularly problematic. So it’s being removed. Can a thread maiden notice her ring has been stolen? Can they recognize tattoos? Can they read text at all?
At 1st level, the thread maiden gains a vision of the world beyond. This impacts her in some very significant ways. The world she sees is something very different (and more simplistic) than the reality others perceive, and the discrepancies often cause confusion.
Many of the tiny details get lost in the translation, and a thread maiden might not always pick up on them, particularly when it comes to the texture. A thread maiden might be unable to accurately describe, in conventional terms, the appearance of an individual. But a more simplistic depiction of the world tends to dispense with the little nuances that often provide creatures with a way to hide (shadows are more simplified, and the color of the thread that composes a creature might clash more with the simplified background colors pallet of knitsight, etc).
Hindrance: A thread maiden has a -4 penalty on recall knowledge checks based on the visual descriptions of another creature without knitsight. Other creatures have the same penalty when recalling knowledge based on the visual descriptions a thread maiden gives. (Eg. If a thread maiden only knows a creature through a wanted poster, she takes the penalty. But if she is trying to explain the sound of a specific bird to an ally, the ally does not take any penalty as this description is not mainly sight-based.)
Benefit: A thread maiden gains a +4 insight bonus on opposed Perception checks to spot creatures who are attempting to hide via Stealth. [TBD] Add blindsense?
Δ Spells
Specializations now give extra spells known.
Some new spells, labelled Δ on the list.
A thread maiden casts arcane spells drawn from the thread maiden spell list. She can cast any spell she knows without preparing it ahead of time. To learn or cast a spell, a thread maiden must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class (DC) for a saving throw against a thread maiden’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the thread maiden’s Wisdom modifier.
Spells Per Day: Like other spellcasters, a thread maiden can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Thread Maiden Spells per Day. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score.
Spells Known: The thread maiden knows all spells that a thread maiden of her level has access to, though this list is extremely limited. A thread maiden need not prepare her spells in advance. She can cast any spell she knows at any time, assuming she has not yet used up her allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level.
Specialization Spells: At 3rd level and every 3 levels thereafter, a Thread Maiden gains an extra spell known based on her specialization.
Δ Thread Maiden Spell List
Locate Creature and Scrying accessed at 3rd level instead of 4th
Status added to 2nd level
0th Level Spells
Dancing lights, detect magic, mage hand, mending, message, open/close
1st Level Spells
Animate rope, anticipate peril UM, charm person, comprehend languages, identify, lock gaze, magic weapon, peacebondUC, sleep, true strike
2nd Level Spells
Arcane lock, knock, levitate, life pactACG, locate object, make whole, masterwork transformationUM, obscure object, resist energy, warding weaponUC, web, whispering wind
3rd Level Spells
Arcane sight, aura sightACG, bestow curse, blood biographyAPG, clairaudience/clairvoyance, dispel magic, hold person, hostile levitationUC, keen edge, locate creature, scrying, magic weapon, remove curse, sepia snake sigil, suggestion, tongues, unadulterated loathingUM, versatile weaponAPG
4th Level Spells
Arcane eye, charm monster, confusion, detect scrying, dimension door, dimensional anchor, enchantment foilACG, minor creation, share sensesAPG, telekinetic chargeUC, true formAPG
5th Level Spells
Break enchantment, dominate person, feeblemind, hold monster, hostile juxtaposition UC, possess object UM, telekinesis, teleport
6th Level Spells
Analyze dweomer, animate objects, battlemind linkUM, enemy hammerAPG, greater dispel magic, legend lore, symbol of sealing, true seeing
Δ Thread Weaving (Su)
See this page
Δ Thread Maiden Specializations
See full list of changes to specializations here [link TBA]
Δ Adjustments (SU)
Bonuses scale slower but stacks with ABP (no longer deflection, but increase in armor bonus).
Most of the free power ups are removed. But you can regain them as feats and Thread Maiden gets bonus feats (see Thread Maiden Feats [link TBA]) and a magic armor ability that amplifies defenses for this class (see end of this class feature).
Beginning at 2nd level, a thread maiden may take 1 hour to examine the stitching in specific kinds of light armor and augment it with her understanding of stitching as it relates to the universe at large. The thread maiden increases her armor bonus to AC from the armor. At 2nd level this is bonus improves the armor bonus by +1. At 9th level, this increases to +2. At 15th level, this increases to +3. A thread maiden never incurs a spell failure chance when casting thread maiden spells while wearing armor improved by this class feature. This improvement is only visible to those with knitsight or truesight, and is immediately apparent under those conditions, but otherwise has no outward appearance.
A thread maiden may improve the base armor bonus of the following kinds of armor at 2nd level: padded armor, quilted cloth, and chain shirts. She may also do this with pieces of equipment that would not normally provide an AC bonus (such as a tunic or dress). They are assumed to initially have a 0 AC bonus. At 8th level she can improve the AC bonus of the following medium armors: scale mail and chainmail.
MetaWeave (New Magic Armor Ability)
Source Lynte Gonzo Thread Maiden Patch
Aura moderate transmutation CL 10th
Slot armor quality; Price +5,000 gp; Weight —
Description
Armor with this property is created with higher quality metaphysical threads than most. Practiced thread maidens adjust them to great effect.
When using this armor for the Adjustment class feature, the thread maiden can count her level as 4 higher its and the bonuses and prerequisites of feats that also require Adjustment.
A creature with knitsight or true seeing can easily determine MetaWeave armor.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Creator must be a thread maiden; Price +2,500 gp
Δ Cut String (Su)
I’m removing Cut String as a “primary” class feature. Instead, I’m using it as a secondary for Snip, dealing extra damage on attack and allowing a snip.
We have a problematic sentence: “Damage dealt by this ability isn’t slashing damage, rather it is a special type of untyped non-lethal damage that affects creatures that are ordinarily immune to physical damage.”
I am going to interpret the “physical” as a typo for “non-lethal.” I don’t think it’s supposed to completely bypass DR or incorporeal.
But either way, I think the intent for this ability is such that a thread maiden can use her Snip class feature on any creature (except maybe swarms).
See Snips class feature below to see the new Cut String sub-feature.
Δ Fray (Su)
Fray
At 3rd level, a thread maiden in melee can deny 5-foot step safety to adjacent creatures. And at 6th level, they can do this at reach. I think these properties are very powerful.
Powerful and cool, deserving of a major class feature. But I feel that it still scales too quickly and has extremely powerful interactions with whirlwhind attack and attacks of opportunity. Thus, I am reducing the range scaling.
The penalty math for melee weapons is messy to calculate mentally:
So maybe we can flatten it to -2 with the nerfs. I’m also removing the 1-hr modification requirement for Fray.
Since a lot of power was removed, additional feats are added for thread maidens who want to lean into the attacking part of their theme. See thread maiden feats [link TBA]. You can still omega whirlwhind, but with significantly less range, and more feat dedication.
A thread maiden fights with a different understanding of the world. This unique fighting style manifests in two primary ways: her attacks can strike against the metaphysical form of her targets (see Snips), and she can modify her weapons to reach further (Fray).
Each round, a thread maiden can modify one of her attacks with the fray, gaining the listed benifit below. She must decide to modify it before taking the attack. She can only use this ability with a weapon in the thread maiden group she is proficient with.
Benefit: For melee weapons, her weapon’s reach is increased by 5 feet for every 6 thread maiden levels. Melee weapon attacks beyond the normal range due to this ability have a -2 penalty. She counts as threatening with the bonus reach for so long as she has the potential to use this ability for the round. For ranged weapons, the range increment is increased by twice the melee value instead.
Removed the ability to “over Fray.” See feats for bonus range instead.
A frayed weapon appears, to a non-thread maiden, as a weapon whose edges look worn and almost transparent. There might be literal patchwork impossibly stitched in (such as a quilted patch on a metal blade, a section of whip stitched back together, etc).
Reknit (Sp)
What is this? Fast Healing vs Sunder? Anti-fanservice mechanic?
Added a cost for using it more than once per day.
At 2nd level, at will, as a swift action, a thread maiden can restore up to twice her thread maiden level in HP to a suit of armor that she has improved via her adjustment class feature.
She can use this once per day without spending resources. But must use raw materials needed to repair the armor for subsequent uses in the same day.
Δ Red String (Su)
This seems to be the biggest offender in terms of hard to DM.
Moving this ability to 5th level, which is 2 levels before Wizards gain access to Scrying.
I am also giving it the limitations of scrying (Material Component, Cast Time, etc.)
I want to bump the vague ability to find anything up to a high level. I feel this ability is so open-ended and sequence breaking like Wish, but one step removed. So I’m locking those abilities behind feats. See Thread Maiden Feats [link TBA]
At 5th level, a thread maiden can perform a ritual to create a metaphysical thread that leads to a target. This ritual takes 1 hour and consumes a silver needle worth 500 gp.
The threadmaiden must have knowledge of or some connection to a creature to target it. A connection can be an image/likeness, or a possession/garmet/piece of the target.
If the target is a creature, it may make a Will save against the thread maiden’s class DC to resist being found. The target gets a bonus to their Will save depending on the thread maiden’s familiarity with the target (see table below). Unintelligent objects worn or attended by creatures save as their the creature wearing or attending to it. Unattended magical objects and magical locations make a Will save take the default bonus (2 + 1/2 its caster level)
| Familiarity & Connection | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Thread Maiden has no knowledge of target & uses an image/likeness | +8 |
| Thread Maiden has no knowledge of target & uses a possession/garment | +6 |
| Thread Maiden has no knowledge of target & uses a piece of the target | +0 |
| Thread Maiden second-hand knowledge with target | +5 |
| Thread Maiden first-hand knowledge with target | +0 |
| Thread Maiden is familiar with target | -5 |
(Use only one modifier from the above table.)
Effects that affect divination (scrying) affect this ability. Treat the ends of the thread created as magical sensors for this purpose. And the ability can be treated as a spell with spell level equal to half the thread maiden’s level for scrying resistance and dispel checks. For example, a target under nondetection would require a caster level check from the thread maiden, and a target inside an air-tight lead prison could not be found. This ability cannot extend beyond planes.
If the target succeeds its Will save, the spell fails, but the thread maiden at least determines if the failure was due to a Will save or not. If the target fails its Will save, she is able to create and follow a metaphysical thread leading to her target. The thread traces a ground path leading towards the target, bending over mountains and terrain, but otherwise takes the straightest path the thread maiden could traverse.
A thread maiden can maintain and follow a single thread at a time, moving at half speed when she does so. The thread is tied to her person upon creation and requires no concentration to maintain. However, the thread is lost if she falls unconscious or rests. A thread maiden can maintain a thread from a single casting up to 1 hour/level.
At 12th level, the thread maiden’s target on a successful use of Red String is a valid target for the Status spell, regardless of distance.
At 15th level, the thread maiden can maintain a thread indefinitely, so long as she remains conscious. Additionally, she only needs 10 minutes to perform the ritual.
Δ String Meister (Sp)
Fun utility ability… Added Animate Rope as bonus to it. What could possibly go wrong?
At 6th level, the thread maiden can use Animate Rope as an at-will spell-like Ability. She uses her Thread Maiden level as caster level, and her Class DC as the ability’s DC.
At the same level, a thread maiden can, as a move action, expend a spell slot to cause a length of rope, chain, or string 4 feet or less in length to stiffen to its full length in a straight line and function as per an immovable rod . An immovable rod created with this class feature requires a Strength check (DC of 10 + twice the level of the spell expended) to move it. This appears as if the length of material has been “switched” into reality to those without knitsight.
Δ Cut Strings & Snips (Su)
Δ Cut Strings
At 2nd level, once per round when a thread maiden’s attack roll surpasses her target’s AC, she may choose spend a spell slot to deal bonus untyped nonlethal damage to the target, even if her weapon would not normally deal damage to the target. The damage is equal to 1d4 per spell level of the spent slot. This special nonlethal damage is not ignored by nonlethal damage immunity. The the creature normally ignores her weapon’s damage, only the special untyped nonlethal damage is dealt. As this is a targetted ability, she still cannot target swarms unless she has a swarm bane clasp or similar effect.
Additionally, once she reaches 4th level, she may select a Snip she has learned to use against the target (see Snips below).
Δ Snips
Snips are some of the more proactive parts of the Thread Maiden. These should be the main combat utility of Thread Maidens, over spells. My general goal is to bring their power levels in line with each other. None of the snips are permanent anymore.
Snips remain strong (arguably stronger), and you can make them even stronger/more reliable with Snip feats.
Once per round when dealing damage with Cut Strings, the thread maiden can “snip” a target’s threads, dealing damage to them on a more abstract level. She applies the effect of a snip she has learned to the attack. The potency of such snips depend on the spell level spent on the Cut Strings ability.
At 4th level she selects one snip from the list below to learn and she gains another snip at 7th level and every 3 levels thereafter. Any saves associated with a thread maiden’s snips use Spell DC (10 + the level of the spell expended + her Wisdom modifier) and the saves do not require an action unless noted. Snips may be undone by a character with at least 4 thread maiden levels as a swift action by touching the afflicted creature, in addition to the normal methods of curing them.
Δ Snip Resilience (Su)
Duration is nerfed to 2 saves at the end of creatures turn (it’s still guaranteed to work for two of the target’s turns). This is really the only permanent duration outlier that needed a nerf.
No more bonus damage. Cut Strings has it.
The thread maiden reduces a specific defense on the target among the following: all damage reduction, all energy resistance, fast healing, or regeneration. The reduction is equal to 4 times the spent spell’s level. The target can take a Will save against the ability at the end of its turn and recovers its defenses after passing twice (they need not be consecutive).
While a creature’s regeneration is reduced to 0 by this effect, it may die normally. However, a creature with DR/magic will retain is magical natural weapons even if its DR/magic is reduced to 0.
Δ Snip Spirit (Su)
Increase negative levels by 1 and damage vs undead to 3d6 (Will Halves). No duration limit but does not stack. Will removes.
A target struck by this snip gains 1 negative level. The number of negative level increases by 1 per two levels of the spell spent to use this ability (minimum 1+0). Negative levels from this ability do not stack. The target may make a Will save at the end of their turn to rid themselves of all negative levels from this ability. Undead creatures who have or are souls instead take 3d6 points of damage per level of spell spent on this ability (Will halves).
Δ Snip Reactions (Su)
2 rounds if 4th or higher slot spent.
A target struck by this snip takes a penalty to its AC, Reflex saves and reduces their initiative score for determining when it acts by an amount equal to 2 + the spell level spent to use this ability for one round. The duration is increased to 2 rounds when using a spell slot at 4th level or higher.
Δ Snip Sight (Su)
2 rounds if 4th or higher slot spent.
A target struck by this snip is struck blind for one round, a Will save reduces this to a 20 percent miss chance for one round. The duration is increased to 2 rounds when spending a 4th level spell slot or higher.
Snip Might (Su)
2 rounds if 4th or higher slot spent.
A target struck by this snip takes a penalty on damage rolls equal to twice the level of the spell expended for one round. The duration is increased to 2 rounds when spending a 4th level spell slot or higher.
Snip Vitality (Su)
A target struck by this snip must make a Will save or take a penalty on Fortitude saves equal to the level of the spell expended for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell expended. Any time that the target fails a Fortitude save during this time they take 2 points of Constitution damage.
Snip Sanity (Su, Sp)
A target struck by this snip must make a Will save or take a penalty on Will saves equal to the level of the spell expended for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell expended. Any time that the target fails a Will save during this time they become confused, as per the confusion spell, for one round.
Δ Snip Existence (Sp)
Will save each turn end instead of on cast. Immediate action dismiss.
A target struck by this snip is shunted out of existence for 1 round per 2 spell levels of the spell expended for this ability (minimum 0 rounds), as per a maze spell. The target can make a Will save at the end of its turn to escape (in addition to the normal Intelligence check provided by Maze).
The thread maiden can dismiss this ability as an immediate action.
Δ Snip Location (Sp)
Saves each time it is shunted instead of 1 round.
Snip Movement is added below as an alternative.
A target struck must make a will save when struck. On a failed save, the target is unable to move more than 0 feet from the space that they started at that round. A successful initial save increases this limit to 5 feet per point over the DC. When it moves or it is moved beyond the prescribed limit, it is teleported back to the space it started their turn at. The creature can save again each time it is teleported and at the end of its turn. Each successful save increases the movement limit by 5 per point over the DC and failed saves do not reduce or reset it. The creature is freed from the snip once its movement limit is raised to 60 ft.
Δ Snip Movement (Su)
If this snip is used on an attack of opportunity provoked by movement, the target is sent back through its last 10 ft. of movement per spell level (up to the location where it began its movement). The distance it is sent back is halved on a successful Will save. This does not end the creature’s movement, nor does it undo effects triggered by the movement.
If used on any other attack, you send the target back through its latest movement in the same manner. However, the movement is must have been within the last round.
Movement from this ability is not stopped by creatures but it is stopped by obstacles that would normally prevent the target creature’s movement.