As Threaders grow in mastery, they learn to shape Threadcraft beyond the expression of a single Thread.
Through Stitch, multiple Thread Colors may be held within the same manifestation, allowing their natures to interact and produce effects that no single Thread could accomplish alone. Through Amplify, additional Thread may instead be invested into an existing manifestation, increasing its reach, duration, intensity, or number of targets.
Stitch and Amplify are optional Threadcraft Modifiers that may be applied whenever a Hero successfully uses Threadcraft.
A Hero may use either modifier independently or combine both within the same manifestation if they can pay the additional Thread cost.
STITCH Copy link
Stitch allows a Hero to weave additional Thread Colors into a single Threadcraft.
To Stitch, spend 1 additional Thread for each additional Color added to the manifestation.
The resulting Threadcraft may draw upon the themes, Keywords, and qualities of every Thread contained within the pattern. More importantly, those Threads may interact, creating an expression that would not be possible through either Thread independently.
These combinations are represented through Thread Runes.
Each Thread possesses a Root Rune:
Thread | Root Rune |
|---|---|
Dalo | DA |
Cora | COR |
Jatu | JA |
Sere | SE |
Nari | NA |
When Threads are Stitched, their Root Runes combine to describe the resulting pattern.
Dalo + Cora becomes DACOR.
Jatu + Sere becomes JASE.
Sere + Nari becomes SENA.
These Runes are not additional Threads or fixed spells. They describe the relationship created when their contributing Threads are held together.
Stitch Keywords Copy link
Two-Thread Runes possess their own Stitch Keywords, representing expressions that emerge specifically from the interaction of both Threads.
For example:
Dalo may Erupt, releasing force.
Jatu may Glimpse, anticipating what is about to occur.
When Dalo and Jatu are Stitched as DAJA, the Hero might Intercept—applying force precisely where an anticipated movement will occur.
Likewise:
Cora may Adapt, changing in response to circumstance.
Sere may Resonate, bringing separate things into harmony.
Stitched as CORSE, they may Attune—changing something specifically until it matches or resonates with another state.
A Stitch Keyword should represent something that neither contributing Thread could convincingly accomplish alone.
COMPLEX RUNES Copy link
As Thread Mastery increases, a Hero may Stitch additional Colors into the same manifestation.
Each additional Color increases both the complexity of the Rune and the relationships the Threader must maintain within it.
Mastery | Maximum Colors | Rune Structure |
|---|---|---|
Trained | 2 Colors | Stitch Rune |
Adept | 3 Colors | Braided Rune |
Master | 4 Colors | Woven Rune |
5 Colors | Complete Pattern |
Braided Runes Copy link
Three Threads form a Braided Rune.
Rather than simply adding another collection of Keywords, Braided Runes allow the Hero to manipulate how a complex manifestation behaves.
A Braided Rune might redirect an effect as circumstances change, distribute it between coordinated subjects, continually calibrate toward a desired state, or allow an effect to propagate through an established relationship.
For example:
DACORJA combines Dalo, Cora, and Jatu.
A Threader might use the interaction of force, adaptation, and guidance to Redirect an ongoing force around an obstacle or alter its course as conditions change.
Woven Runes Copy link
Four Threads form a Woven Rune.
At this level, Threadcraft becomes increasingly concerned with the structure and boundaries of the manifestation itself.
A Woven Rune might contain an effect within a precise boundary, diffuse it across several connected subjects, allow it to propagate after its initial manifestation, or unify several subjects into a coordinated whole.
Because only one of the Five Threads is absent from any four-Thread Rune, the nature of the missing Thread may also help define what the manifestation cannot easily accomplish.
The Complete Pattern Copy link
An Exemplar may attempt to Stitch all Five Thread Colors into the single complete Rune:
DACORJASENA Copy link
The Complete Pattern contains Dominion, Adaptation, Guidance, Harmony, and Abundance while maintaining each as a distinct part of the manifestation.
Holding such a pattern is extraordinarily difficult.
If the distinctions between all Five Threads collapse and the strands become tangled, the manifestation ceases to be an ordered Rune.
It becomes a Tangle.
Where all Five Threads Tangle, Wither forms.
DETERMINING A STITCH Copy link
Stitch is intentionally flexible.
The Hero describes the Threadcraft they are attempting, identifies the Threads and Keywords involved, and explains how their interaction produces the intended result.
The WorldKeeper determines whether the proposed manifestation reasonably follows from those Threads.
When determining whether a Stitch is appropriate, consider:
What does each Thread contribute?
What becomes possible because those Threads are interacting?
Could a single Thread already accomplish the same thing?
If the final question is yes, Stitch may not be necessary.
Stitch should create complexity, not simply provide a stronger version of an existing Threadcraft.
AMPLIFY Copy link
Amplify allows a Hero to strengthen a Threadcraft by feeding additional Thread into its existing pattern.
Unlike Stitch, Amplify does not change what the manifestation fundamentally does.
It changes how much it does.
To Amplify, spend 1 additional Thread and increase one appropriate dimension of the manifestation.
Amplify may:
• increase its Area
• extend its Duration
• affect additional Targets
• increase its Severity
A Hero may purchase Amplify multiple times on the same Threadcraft, provided they can pay the required Thread.
Each purchase represents additional power being fed into the manifestation.
Example Copy link
A Hero uses Burn through Dalo.
At its base expression, Burn ignites a single target.
The Hero could Amplify the manifestation to spread the flames across a larger Area, affect additional Targets, sustain the fire for a greater Duration, or increase its Severity.
Regardless of its scale, the manifestation remains Burn.
Nothing about its fundamental nature has changed.
STITCH OR AMPLIFY? Copy link
The distinction between the two Modifiers is simple:
Stitch changes possibility.
Amplify changes scale.
If a Hero wants their flame to become larger, they Amplify Burn.
If they want their flame to adapt, seek, resonate, multiply, or otherwise behave according to another Thread, they Stitch another Color into the manifestation.
This distinction prevents Stitch from becoming a cheaper substitute for Amplify and prevents Amplify from granting capabilities that belong to another Thread.
COMBINING STITCH & AMPLIFY Copy link
Stitch and Amplify may be used together within the same manifestation.
First determine the Threads contained within the Rune and what their interaction allows the Threadcraft to accomplish. Amplify may then increase the scale of that resulting manifestation.
Example Copy link
A Hero begins with Burn through Dalo.
They Stitch Cora into the manifestation, forming DACOR, allowing the force and heat of Dalo to interact with Cora's principle of transformation.
The Hero shapes the manifestation into a violently expanding cloud of scalding steam.
They then spend additional Thread to Amplify its Area, causing the steam to spread across an entire zone.
The Stitch created a new possibility.
The Amplification increased its scale.
QUICK REFERENCE Copy link
Modifier | Cost | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
Stitch | +1 Thread per added Color | Add another Thread to the Rune, allowing their natures to interact and create new possibilities. |
Amplify | +1 Thread per purchase | Increase the Area, Duration, Targets, or Severity of the existing manifestation. |
STITCH LIMITS Copy link
Mastery | Colors | Rune |
|---|---|---|
Trained | 2 | Stitch |
Adept | 3 | Braid |
Master | 4 | Weave |
5 | Complete Pattern |