Weave of Arachne
A stealth descent into a temple where fate is woven wrong.
📜 Session Summary
| Style Shadowed temple infiltration — curse pressure, skill challenges, and a fate-unweaving finale |
| Win Condition Steal or sever the rewritten fate-thread and leave Arachne bound to her own pattern |
| Setting Underground loom-temple — drain channels → pattern wells → the great tapestry chamber |
| Atmosphere A place that watches — silk threads vibrate when names are spoken, mirrors reflect futures instead of faces, every alcove smells of old lanolin and concentrated attention |
| Materials Woven silk, bone shuttle, moon-silver thread, stone loom-frames, tallow candles, chalk name-marks |
| Tone Mythic hubris without a villain — Arachne was made this way by divine punishment; she has turned grief into a kingdom and the kingdom into something worse |
| Players 6 × Level 10 · 3–3.5 hrs · 3 encounters |
Description
Nikarete the Unwritten is a poet whose future has disappeared — not from her memory, from every reflective surface in the city. Her shadow shows no tomorrow. A loom-temple beneath the harbor district is rewriting mortal fates in thread, one life at a time, and her name is already on the shuttle. The party must infiltrate through laundry tunnels, navigate the pattern wells where reflected lives are stored, and confront Arachne, Queen of the Wrong Weave at the great loom before Nikarete's thread is fixed beyond unraveling.
The temple punishes true names, pride, and careless cutting. The Moonbone Shuttle is the key — it can carry a name through three crossings without touching it, which is the only way to free a fate-thread from Arachne's weave without triggering the temple's alarm-silk.
Enc. 1: The Shuttle lifts one alarm thread for an automatic success in the infiltration challenge. Speaking any true name aloud without using the Shuttle first gives the Fate-Spider Swarm advantage when it appears.
Enc. 2: The Shuttle can move a curse mark from a PC onto a blank spool — removing a stack of curse pressure. DC 16 Arcana finds Nikarete's name-knot; each failure before it's found adds 1 curse mark to a PC.
Enc. 3 (primary): Three crossings of the Shuttle through Arachne's web carries the true name through without triggering retribution. Each crossing is a contested check (Arcana or Dexterity vs. Arachne's Wis DC 17). Killing Arachne without the three crossings leaves the tapestry thrashing — someone still bears the curse.
Key NPCs
Nikarete the Unwritten
Nikarete · Quest Giver · Neutral Good — A poet in her early thirties, sharp-featured and sleepless, with ink on her hands and the specific expression of someone who has been watching their future disappear one reflection at a time. She has mapped the temple's known access points from the outside and knows more about its architecture than she should. Secret: one stanza of her most celebrated poem contained a veiled insult to Athena's weaving, and the loom-temple's attention found her through that thread. She knows this. She will tell the party if asked directly — she will not volunteer it because she is ashamed. DC 14 Persuasion to earn the full confession; it halves the risk of a PC invoking her name aloud inside the temple.
Melantho
Melantho · Spider-Touched Novice · Neutral — Young and frightened, a weaver-initiate who entered the temple two years ago at her mother's insistence and has not been able to leave since. The spider-touch has given her pattern-sight — she can feel names in thread the way a musician hears a wrong note. She will raise an alarm if the party is discovered in her section of the temple, because her survival depends on it. But she is not a true believer. Secret: she has been moving blank spools between sections for months, quietly disrupting the curse-accumulation for names she recognized. She is already committing small acts of resistance. Showing her Nikarete's original poem is enough to tip her over — she will defect immediately and lower the bell-web that blocks the loom chamber. Recruitment: spare her after alarm, DC 13 Persuasion + show poem; DC 10 if the party also saved a cursed-thread name she marked.
Arachne, Queen of the Wrong Weave
Arachne · Boss · Chaotic Neutral — Eight-limbed, four-eyed, beautiful in the way of things that have passed beyond vanity into pure function. She was the finest mortal weaver before Athena punished her, and the punishment did not cure the skill — it curdled it. She rewrites fates not from malice but from a certainty that she can weave better than the gods did. She is not entirely wrong about that. She can be defeated by combat, by completing the three Shuttle-crossings, or by invoking the pride-knot (DC 18 History to identify, then a correct recitation of the original tapestry that won her the challenge against Athena). Combat is harder but possible; the non-combat routes are thematically resonant and the Shuttle exists specifically for players who find them.
Major Beats
- Misthaven — The Commission. Nikarete arrives with her shadow wrong — it shows no future, just blank grey. She explains the loom-temple, the temple's appetite for names, and the shuttle she found in a sailor's kit. Investigation DC 14: the loom-temple has been operating for at least a decade; most of the city's disappeared debts and vanished promises run through it. DC 16: Arachne was the finest mortal weaver before Athena's punishment — she has had centuries to perfect the craft of rewriting lives.
- Enc. 1 — The Hem of the Temple. Entry through drain channels, laundry tunnels, and a webbed skylight. Six successes before three failures using Stealth, Deception, Arcana, or Weaver's Tools at DC 15. Speaking a true name aloud is a failure. The Shuttle lifts one alarm thread automatically. Non-combat route: a flawless false-prayer copy earns an escort inward.
- Enc. 2 — Pattern Wells. Three circular wells hold reflected lives. Finding Nikarete's name-knot requires Arcana DC 16; failures add curse marks. The Loom-Golem activates if two bell-webs ring or a fate-thread is cut with a mundane blade. Recruiting Melantho by sparing her and showing the poem allows the bell-web to be lowered without triggering the Golem.
- Enc. 3 — Arachne's Unfinished Tapestry (Deadly). The great loom chamber. Arachne weaves a doom line at Initiative 20 each round — 4 doom lines finish the curse. Three Shuttle-crossings sever Nikarete's false fate without killing Arachne; killing her without the three crossings leaves the tapestry thrashing. Win by completing the crossings, binding her loom in the pride-knot, escaping with the true thread, or fighting to 0 HP and accepting the tapestry collapse.
- Resolution. Nikarete's shadow returns. The temple's other curse-threads go slack. Arachne, bound or defeated, is left to her loom with one fewer future to rewrite. Melantho, if recruited, walks out with the party — for the first time in two years.
Session Rewards
Keepable prizes earned by completing (or excelling at) this session. One character claims each reward unless noted. Full cards are under Reward Cards.
| Reward | Description | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Moonbone Shuttle | Moon-silver shuttle that lifts one thread of fate or lie without touching it. | Carry a true name through Arachne's wrong weave and leave mortal fates un-rewritten. |
Creature / Enemy List
| Creature | Easy | Med | Hard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silk-Vowed Adept | — | med | hard | CR 3 · Temple guard |
| Fate-Spider Swarm | — | med | hard | CR 4 · Alarm hazard |
| Loom-Golem | — | med | hard | CR 7 · Pattern enforcer |
| Arachne, Queen of the Wrong Weave | — | med | hard | CR 10 · Boss weaver |
| Melantho, Spider-Touched Novice | — | 1 | 1 | Recruit Enc. 2 |
Act 1 — The Hem of the Temple
The temple's public face is a weaver's workshop — dyed silks hanging to dry in the alley, the sound of shuttle-work through stone walls. The drain channel under the eastern wall smells of lanolin and river silt. The party slips into the underbelly of the complex: narrow passages, guard alcoves, a webbed skylight where silk strands vibrate when names are spoken. Every true name aloud is a gift to the temple.
Encounter 1 — The Hem of the Temple
Overview
Enter through laundry tunnels, copied prayers, and webbed skylights without giving the temple a true name.
🗺 Terrain
Drain channel, hanging dyed silks, guard alcoves, skylight web, and novice dormitory door.
Mechanics
- Infiltration challenge: 6 successes before 3 failures at DC 15 using Stealth, Deception, Arcana, or Weaver's Tools.
- Speaking a true name aloud gives the Fate-Spider Swarm advantage when it appears.
- The Moonbone Shuttle lifts one alarm thread for an automatic success.
- Non-combat route: present a flawless false prayer to make Silk-Vowed Adepts escort the party inward.
Creature Cards
Nikarete the Unwritten
Cursed mortal poet, quest giver
Motivation. She wants her stolen future back before her unborn child is woven into Arachne's service.
Secret. One stanza of her poem insulted Athena and invited the loom-temple's attention.
Hard rule. She will not accept a rescue that simply transfers her curse to another innocent name.
Moonbone Shuttle
Loom tool, fate thief
Appearance: White bone shuttle threaded with a hairline of moon-silver.
Handout. "Pass under, pass over, pass through the lie; the third crossing remembers the true name."
Enc. 1–2. Lets a PC lift one thread without touching it, granting advantage on Stealth or Arcana at a loom.
Enc. 3. Can carry the true name through Arachne's web, severing the rewritten fate without killing her.
Silk-Vowed Adept
Medium Creature · CR 3 · Temple guard
AC 15 | HP 68 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Will accept a perfect weaving sample instead of a fight.
Attack. Spindle blade +6 to hit, 12 slashing and marks a thread.
Fate-Spider Swarm
Medium Creature · CR 4 · Alarm hazard
AC 14 | HP 91 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Tracks names spoken aloud in the temple.
Attack. Biting skein +6 to hit, 18 poison and disadvantage on next save vs curse.
Act 2 — The Pattern Wells
The well-chamber is circular, lit by tallow candles in stone niches. Three black-water wells stand at its center, each one reflecting not the ceiling but a face — a future, a life-thread suspended in dark water. Novices move between worktables at the perimeter, and one of them — young, quick-eyed — notices the party a half-second before she should. Her hand moves toward a hanging bell-web.
Encounter 2 — Novices at the Pattern Wells
Overview
Search wells of reflected lives for Nikarete's stolen future while novices decide whether to betray the party.
🗺 Terrain
Three circular wells, thread bridges, bell-webs, novice worktables, and a sealed loom lift.
Mechanics
- Investigation/Arcana DC 16 finds the true name-knot; each failure adds 1 curse mark to a PC.
- Recruit Melantho by sparing her and showing the poem, which lets her lower a bell-web.
- The Loom-Golem animates if two bell-webs ring or if a fate-thread is cut with a mundane blade.
- The Moonbone Shuttle can move a curse mark from a PC onto a blank spool.
Creature Cards
Melantho, Spider-Touched Novice
Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Temple guide and curse-break witness
AC 14 | HP 62 | Speed 30 ft.
Role: Temple guide and curse-break witness
RECRUITMENT (Enc. 2). Spare her after she raises an alarm, then show her Nikarete's original poem.
Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
Strike. Needle dagger +7 to hit, 10 piercing plus 7 poison; can lower one web alarm.
Loom-Golem
Medium Creature · CR 7 · Pattern enforcer
AC 18 | HP 152 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Repeats the last action used against it unless the pattern is disrupted.
Attack. Warp beam +8 to hit, 22 force and restrains with thread.
Moonbone Shuttle
Loom tool, fate thief
Appearance: White bone shuttle threaded with a hairline of moon-silver.
Handout. "Pass under, pass over, pass through the lie; the third crossing remembers the true name."
Enc. 1–2. Lets a PC lift one thread without touching it, granting advantage on Stealth or Arcana at a loom.
Enc. 3. Can carry the true name through Arachne's web, severing the rewritten fate without killing her.
Fate-Spider Swarm
Medium Creature · CR 4 · Alarm hazard
AC 14 | HP 91 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Tracks names spoken aloud in the temple.
Attack. Biting skein +6 to hit, 18 poison and disadvantage on next save vs curse.
Act 3 — Arachne's Unfinished Tapestry
The great loom chamber rises three stories. The tapestry fills the far wall — a living fabric of ten thousand threads, most of them completed, some still moving. Arachne is at the center of it, eight limbs at work across the shuttle rails, and she does not stop when the party enters. She finishes her sentence in thread first. Then she turns her four eyes toward them and says nothing, because she is already deciding which futures she will have to rewrite.
Encounter 3 — Arachne's Unfinished Tapestry
Overview
Confront the spider-queen at the great loom while the party's futures appear in unfinished thread.
🗺 Terrain
Colossal vertical loom, web balconies, suspended name-spools, shuttle rails, and a moonlit tear in the roof.
Mechanics
- At initiative 20, Arachne weaves a doom line; 4 doom lines finish the curse unless disrupted.
- The Moonbone Shuttle carries Nikarete's true name through three crossings to sever the false fate.
- Win by completing the three crossings, binding Arachne in her own pride-knot, or escaping with the true thread.
- Killing Arachne leaves the tapestry thrashing; someone must still unweave or bear the curse.
Creature Cards
Arachne, Queen of the Wrong Weave
Large Creature · CR 10 · Boss weaver · Boss
AC 17 | HP 188 | Speed 40 ft.
Role: Boss weaver
Note. Preferred victory is unweaving the false fate, binding her loom, or escaping with the true thread.
Hard encounter focus. Win condition may be steal, escape, disable, or drive-off — not always kill.
Multiattack / Assault. Fate thread +9 to hit, 18 psychic plus 10 poison and swaps two creatures' positions.
Advance (1). Move up to half Speed.
Strike (1). One attack from Assault.
Moonbone Shuttle
Loom tool, fate thief
Appearance: White bone shuttle threaded with a hairline of moon-silver.
Handout. "Pass under, pass over, pass through the lie; the third crossing remembers the true name."
Enc. 1–2. Lets a PC lift one thread without touching it, granting advantage on Stealth or Arcana at a loom.
Enc. 3. Can carry the true name through Arachne's web, severing the rewritten fate without killing her.
Melantho, Spider-Touched Novice
Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Temple guide and curse-break witness
AC 14 | HP 62 | Speed 30 ft.
Role: Temple guide and curse-break witness
RECRUITMENT (Enc. 2). Spare her after she raises an alarm, then show her Nikarete's original poem.
Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
Strike. Needle dagger +7 to hit, 10 piercing plus 7 poison; can lower one web alarm.
Loom-Golem
Medium Creature · CR 7 · Pattern enforcer
AC 18 | HP 152 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Repeats the last action used against it unless the pattern is disrupted.
Attack. Warp beam +8 to hit, 22 force and restrains with thread.
⚖️ Difficulty Scaling
As Written ★ — 6 Players, Average Level 10
- Baseline for this guide. Encounter 1–2 are Hard; the final encounter is Deadly for six PCs at average level 10.
- XP budgets (6×L10 thresholds): Hard ≈ 10,800 · Deadly ≈ 16,800. Prefer adding elite pressure, legendary actions, or terrain danger over bloating minion counts past the choke.
Library Standard — 6 Players, Average Level 8
- Dial back: reduce boss HP ~20–25%; cut one legendary action option or recharge breath to 6 only; Favor/track thresholds −1 where present; skill DCs −1; drop one minion wave or −2 CR1–2 creatures from Hard openers.
Easier
- APL 8–9: use the Library Standard (6×L8) box, then shave one more minion wave or remove one recharge ability.
Harder
- APL 11–12: boss HP +20%; +1 legendary; final encounter gains one extra elite or lair pulse; skill DCs +1.
📋 Appendix — Cards
Nikarete the Unwritten
Cursed mortal poet, quest giver
Motivation. She wants her stolen future back before her unborn child is woven into Arachne's service.
Secret. One stanza of her poem insulted Athena and invited the loom-temple's attention.
Hard rule. She will not accept a rescue that simply transfers her curse to another innocent name.
Moonbone Shuttle
Loom tool, fate thief
Appearance: White bone shuttle threaded with a hairline of moon-silver.
Handout. "Pass under, pass over, pass through the lie; the third crossing remembers the true name."
Enc. 1–2. Lets a PC lift one thread without touching it, granting advantage on Stealth or Arcana at a loom.
Enc. 3. Can carry the true name through Arachne's web, severing the rewritten fate without killing her.
Melantho, Spider-Touched Novice
Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Temple guide and curse-break witness
AC 14 | HP 62 | Speed 30 ft.
Role: Temple guide and curse-break witness
RECRUITMENT (Enc. 2). Spare her after she raises an alarm, then show her Nikarete's original poem.
Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
Strike. Needle dagger +7 to hit, 10 piercing plus 7 poison; can lower one web alarm.
Silk-Vowed Adept
Medium Creature · CR 3 · Temple guard
AC 15 | HP 68 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Will accept a perfect weaving sample instead of a fight.
Attack. Spindle blade +6 to hit, 12 slashing and marks a thread.
Fate-Spider Swarm
Medium Creature · CR 4 · Alarm hazard
AC 14 | HP 91 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Tracks names spoken aloud in the temple.
Attack. Biting skein +6 to hit, 18 poison and disadvantage on next save vs curse.
Loom-Golem
Medium Creature · CR 7 · Pattern enforcer
AC 18 | HP 152 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Repeats the last action used against it unless the pattern is disrupted.
Attack. Warp beam +8 to hit, 22 force and restrains with thread.
Arachne, Queen of the Wrong Weave
Large Creature · CR 10 · Boss weaver · Boss
AC 17 | HP 188 | Speed 40 ft.
Role: Boss weaver
Note. Preferred victory is unweaving the false fate, binding her loom, or escaping with the true thread.
Hard encounter focus. Win condition may be steal, escape, disable, or drive-off — not always kill.
Multiattack / Assault. Fate thread +9 to hit, 18 psychic plus 10 poison and swaps two creatures' positions.
Advance (1). Move up to half Speed.
Strike (1). One attack from Assault.
Reward Cards
Post-session keepables. Reward is the first tag. Mechanics below are for ongoing use after this oneshot.
Moonbone Shuttle
Reward · Wondrous · 1/Short Rest
Mechanics. Once per short rest, as an action, you pluck a magical thread within 15 feet: gain advantage on one Dexterity (Stealth) or Intelligence (Arcana) check involving webs, looms, wards, or written bindings. Once per long rest, as an action, end one spell effect of 3rd level or lower that is rewriting, geasing, or magically renaming a creature you can touch (the creature may choose to keep beneficial effects).
Appearance. A white bone shuttle threaded with a hairline of moon-silver that never tangles.
Lore. Arachne's counter-tool, kept by those who passed under, over, and through the lie.
Quote. "The third crossing remembers the true name." — Moonbone Shuttle handout
Earn when: Carry a true name through Arachne's wrong weave and leave mortal fates un-rewritten.