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 bent 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.
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.
Hit Dice: d8
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[]
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | AC Bonus | Spells Per Day | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | |||||||
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Bucolic patience, knitsight, spells, thread weaving | +0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Adjustments, cut string, reknit | +1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Fray, red string | +1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Snip | +1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Adjustment, thread weaving | +2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Fray | +2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Snip | +2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Adjustments | +3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Fray | +3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Snip, thread weaving | +3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Adjustments | +4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Fray | +4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | - | - |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Snip | +4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +4 | +4 | +9 | Adjustments | +5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +5 | +5 | +9 | Fray,thread weaving | +5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | - |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Snip | +5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Adjustments | +6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Fray | +6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Snip | +6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | Thread Weaving | +7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
The following are the class features of the thread maiden.
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.
| Sewing pins, sewing needles, sewing shears, seam ripper spears, whips, scorpion whips, spiked chains, slings, bola, and kusarigama. |
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.
Knitsight (Su)[]
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. While the thread maiden might look at a flower and see a knit-looking flower with white thread for the petals and green yarn for the stem, her companions see a realistic depiction.
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 texture (the slight color variations on a stone, the way the sun glints off the water in mid-afternoon, etc).
A thread maiden has a -10 penalty on Perception checks to notice specific details on objects. This does not extend to other sorts of Perception checks – in fact, a thread maiden gains a +4 insight bonus on opposed Perception checks to spot creatures who are attempting to hide via Stealth – 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, the color of the thread that composes a creature might clash more with the simplified background colors pallet of knitsight, etc).
This ability might also have roleplaying consequences – a thread maiden might be unable to accurately describe, in conventional terms, the appearance of an individual ("He was about 8,000 rows tall... he had a unique kind of stitching on his skin- you know, like a dwarf but not exactly like a dwarf, and there were a few loose ends near his pant leg…" rather than "He was a half dwarf who stands about 5’6 dressed like a vagrant…") or other such things.
Spells[]
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.
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 17-2: Thread Maiden Spells per Day. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score.
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.
Thread Weaving (Su)[]
The most fundamental tool in a thread maiden’s arsenal is the ability to tear metaphysical threads from reality and weave them into new subjects to alter their traits. As a standard action a thread maiden can remove a thread from an object (henceforth referred to as a "removed thread"). She may do this as many times per day as she wishes. Once removed that thread, which has specific qualities (see the specializations below), is added to the thread maiden’s possession. It is an intangible resource like a point in a ki pool or spell slot. A thread maiden can hold a number of removed threads equal to 1/2 her thread maiden level at a time (minimum 1). If she goes over this limit, the newest removed thread replaces the oldest.
Removing a thread requires that the thread maiden make a touch attack against her target. If successful she must make a concentration check (the DC varies depending on her specialization). Removed threads deprive a target of a certain quality.
As a standard action, a thread maiden can take a removed thread she possesses and "stitch" them into a new target (the same as it was removed from). This requires the same kind of touch attack and ensuing concentration check as it is to remove a thread. A failed check means the thread was not able to be stitched in and the thread maiden may try again in the future. Successfully stitching a new thread into a creature gives the target the qualities the removed thread has (Example: You removed the hardness from a block of steel and give it to a feather pillow to make it strong and solid). This change is permanent (until removed by another thread maiden). If a thread would rewrite an already changed attribute, the newest thread takes precedence, though the old thread remains in the target.
(Thread Weaving Specializations can be found here)
Adjustments (Su)[]
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. This grants the thread maiden a deflection bonus to AC while she wears the armor. At 2nd level this bonus improves the armor bonus by +1 and this bonus increases by 1 every 3 levels thereafter to a maximum of +7 at 20th level. 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 5th level she can improve the AC bonus of the following medium armors: scale mail and chainmail. In addition, at 5th level all armor improved in this fashion has a 25 chance to negate a critical hit or sneak attack scored against the thread maiden when she wears it (as light fortification).
At 8th level, the chance to negate a critical hit or sneak attack improves to 50 (as moderate fortification) and ethereal/incorporeal attacks (including attacks from a brilliant energy weapon) resolve against her normal AC.
At 11th level, the chance to negate a critical hit or sneak attack improves to 75 (as greater fortification) and she gains DR as if her armor was made of adamantine.
At 14th level, armor improved by this class feature makes her immune to critical hits and sneak attack damage.
Cut String (Su)[]
At 2nd level, a thread maiden may deliver her attacks against the metaphysical threads a creature is comprised of rather than their physical form. This must be done with a slashing weapon or weapon from the sewing weapon group the thread maiden is proficient with. 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. When struck by this attack a creature may feel like part of their body is "unraveling" or has "broken".
Wounds inflicted by this are very distinct as it looks as though the wound is made of broken fibers.
Reknit (Sp)[]
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.
Fray (Su)[]
Starting at 3rd level, a thread maiden can fray and distort the threads of a weapon in the thread maiden weapon group. This grants the weapon an additional 5 feet of reach, even if it had none before. At 6th level and every three levels thereafter this weapon gains an additional 5 feet of reach. When thrown, frayed weapons add twice this amount to each of their range increments. Melee weapons with this ability take a -2 penalty on attack rolls for each five feet that they reach beyond their ordinary range increment.
"Fraying" a weapon takes 1 hour and these benefits only function while used by the thread maiden. When using a frayed weapon all damage is dealt non-lethally and cannot be dealt lethally by any means. 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).
When fraying a weapon a thread maiden may choose to count their effective thread maiden level as being 3 levels higher for the purposes of determining the effectiveness of this class feature. If they do so the weapon gains the fragile weapon quality even if the weapon is masterwork or magically enchanted. As a frayed weapon moves it stretches, distorts, or otherwise seems to "unravel" before the eyes of onlookers.
Red String (Su)[]
At 4th level, a thread maiden can take 1 minute to sort through all the strings before her to find one that, if followed, will lead them to a specific individual, object, or place. They must make an appropriate check to do so however. This requires a DC 20 Spellcraft or Perception check.
Abilities that increase the caster level checks to scry on or locate someone also apply to this class feature. Such spells increase the DC by twice the spell’s level (nondetection cast by a wizard would improve the DC by 6 for example). Spell like detect scrying make the creature under the effect of the spell aware that someone is tracking them via supernatural means. A misdirection spell will cause the string to lead the creature in the wrong, randomly determined, direction until the duration of the spell expires.
If the check is successful, the thread maiden may follow a thread invisible to all those without knitsight to the target of her desire. If followed, the thread will take her along a ground path directly towards it. The path may have some variations and bends to follow the contours of the land (such as going over a mountain) but will always take a straight line to the target. If the creature moves, the thread the thread maiden is following changes its orientation as well.
A thread maiden may only follow a single thread at a time and this requires concentration as well as causes the thread maiden to move at half speed while following it. A thread maiden who loses a thread (due to an interruption such as combat) may pick up the thread again with a DC 15 Perception or Spellcraft check provided she has not picked up another thread, moved more than 100 feet, or more than 8 hours have passed.
A thread maiden can use this ability to locate esoteric, ill-defined, or unknown things such as using it to find "my true love" or "the greatest treasure in the world". As these are literally the strings of fate, a GM has some discretion in his interpretation of it and, if particularly vague or malleable, may change over time (if looking for the richest man in the world, if someone else becomes more wealthy than her previous target the course of the thread may suddenly change). A thread maiden should be very specific as to who or what they are looking for as it may be interpreted literally, though a GM should not intentionally go out of his way to misinterpret it.
Snips (Su)[]
At 4th level, once per round when a thread maiden uses her cut strings class feature, she may expend unused spell slots to "snip" a target's threads, dealing damage to them on a more abstract level. At 4th level she selects one snip from the list below and she gains another snip at 7th level and every 3 levels thereafter. Any saves associated with a thread maiden’s snips have a DC equal to 10 + the level of the spell expended + her Wisdom modifier. 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 any normal method of curing them.
(Thread Maiden Snips can be found here)
String Meister (Sp)[]
At 6th 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.