Session 10: The Weaver's Die (Fate-themed)#103
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A self-balancing fate encounter where cheating luck arms the enemy. The Fate Die lets players bend any d20, but every spent value feeds the Crone, who replays them against the party — so the real threat is whatever the party hands her, not a fixed CR.
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Code Review
This pull request introduces 'The Weaver's Die,' a comprehensive encounter for Session 10 featuring a 'Fate Die' mechanic where players can manipulate luck at a future cost. The submission includes encounter design, enemy stat blocks, GM preparation guides, and player handouts. Feedback identifies a potential stall in the encounter due to the chunk threshold, mathematical inconsistencies in the wrap-around logic, and ambiguous wording regarding boss save DCs. Suggestions were also provided to clarify enemy action economy.
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| ### Environmental Rules | ||
| - **Tapestry unravel:** when a PC spends a [[fate_die|Fate Die]], the 10 ft square beneath them unravels into **difficult terrain** for the rest of the encounter. Drop a token. | ||
| - **Hourglass fill:** every Fate Die used (by anyone) drops one **numbered sand-chunk** into the Hourglass. At **6 chunks** (3 PCs), the Hourglass empties and the **Crone's Hand** acts (see below). |
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The encounter trigger requires 6 chunks, but the party is only provided with 3 Fate Dice total (one per PC). While the rules mention re-gifting, the encounter document doesn't specify when or how the Fates provide the additional dice needed to reach the 6-chunk threshold. Without a clear re-gifting mechanic (e.g., "The Maiden re-gifts a spent die whenever a Spinner is defeated"), the session may stall before the Crone reveal.
| **Effect:** Roll the d8 and **add or subtract** the result from that **raw d20 result** (before other modifiers). You choose add or subtract after rolling the d8. | ||
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| **Wrap-around:** | ||
| - A modified result **over 20** wraps back to **0** (then keep counting up if the die is large — e.g., 19 + 5 = 24 → 4). |
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The wrap-around logic is mathematically inconsistent. The text states it "wraps back to 0", but the example 19 + 5 = 24 → 4 implies that 21 maps to 1 (making 24 four steps past 20). If 21 mapped to 0, then 24 would be 3. Additionally, a result of 0 is non-standard for d20 systems and contradicts the "1–20" range mentioned in line 32. It is clearer to state that it wraps to 1.
| - A modified result **over 20** wraps back to **0** (then keep counting up if the die is large — e.g., 19 + 5 = 24 → 4). | |
| - A modified result **over 20** wraps back to **1** (then keep counting up — e.g., 19 + 2 = 21 → 1; 19 + 5 = 24 → 4). |
| Whirl weighted spindle-stones on cords. Reflavor **Cultist / Tribal Warrior**. | ||
| - AC 13, HP 22, Speed 30 ft. | ||
| - Multiattack option: 2× spindle-sling, +4 to hit, range 30 ft, 1d6+2 bludgeoning. | ||
| - *Drawing Thread:* on a hit, the target's next d20 this round can be forced to reroll by a Spinner (drains the temptation to "fix" it with a die). Use sparingly. |
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The Drawing Thread ability lacks a clear action economy. Specifying it as a reaction or defining its duration (e.g., "until the start of the Spinner's next turn") would prevent confusion during combat, especially regarding whether multiple Spinners can stack this effect on one target.
| - *Drawing Thread:* on a hit, the target's next d20 this round can be forced to reroll by a Spinner (drains the temptation to "fix" it with a die). Use sparingly. | |
| - *Drawing Thread:* on a hit, the target's next d20 roll before the start of the Spinner's next turn can be forced to reroll by that Spinner. Use sparingly. |
| **The Crone's Hand (×1) — climax, the turnabout made flesh** | ||
| Appears when the Hourglass empties. Reflavor **a robed effigy of woven thread and bone** (use **Mage / Death Knight-lite** chassis, ~CR 5). | ||
| - AC 15, HP 90, Speed 30 ft. | ||
| - **She does not roll d20s.** Instead, on each of her actions she **takes the top numbered chunk off the Hourglass** and uses that number as her result — an attack roll, or as the save DC the party must beat (DC = the chunk number, capped sensibly), or as the Echo's attack. The party's cleverest spent saves become her blades. |
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The phrase "capped sensibly" for the Crone's save DCs is ambiguous and conflicts with the "don't fudge" advice in the GM Tips (line 163). Since the mechanic is designed to punish greed, a high DC is a valid consequence. It is better to either define a hard cap (e.g., "max DC 22") or remove the qualifier to maintain the "self-balancing" design.
| **Reaction.** After you see the **raw result** of *any* d20 roll — yours, an ally's, or an enemy's (attack, save, check) — you may roll your **d8** and **add or subtract** it from that raw number. Decide add/subtract *after* you roll the d8. | ||
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| ### The wrap (this is the gamble) | ||
| - Go **over 20** → it wraps back to **0**, then keeps counting. *(19 + 5 = 24 → **4**)* |
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This line contains the same mathematical inconsistency as the main mechanics file. The example 24 → 4 implies that 21 maps to 1, not 0.
| - Go **over 20** → it wraps back to **0**, then keeps counting. *(19 + 5 = 24 → **4**)* | |
| - Go **over 20** → it wraps back to **1**, then keeps counting. *(19 + 5 = 24 → **4**)* |
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Summary
A new Fate-themed session built around a self-balancing twist: players are gifted a Fate Die that lets them cheat any d20, but every value they spend is banked and replayed against them by the Crone. The real difficulty is whatever luck the party hands her — greed arms the boss, patience starves it.
What's here
ideas/the_weavers_die.md— the concept (Three Fates, Tapestry Floor, Hourglass Heart, spin/weave/measure enemy trio, the fate-proof Unwoven, the Crone's Hand, the "refuse the die" climax).mechanics/fate_die.md— the d8 reaction die: add/subtract from any raw d20, wrap over-20→0 and under-1→20, spent values banked in the Hourglass and used back against the party.sessions/session_10/— full session for 3 level-5 PCs:.pages.Design notes
visibility: privateand intentionally not linked from the publicsessions/index.md/mechanics/index.mduntil marked ready.Stray
Untitled*.mdfiles in the working tree were left untouched.