Weave of Arachne
A stealth descent into a temple where fate is woven wrong.
Style: Shadowed temple infiltration for 6 level-8 PCs, with curse pressure and a hard unweaving finale.
Win: Steal or sever the rewritten fate-thread and leave Arachne bound to her own pattern.
Lose: The new tapestry fixes the party's names into obedient futures and spreads the curse to Misthaven.
Maguffin: Moonbone Shuttle · Ally: Melantho, Spider-Touched Novice · QG: Nikarete the Unwritten
"Do not cut the shining thread first. Find the knot that taught it pride, and pull while nobody breathes."
Major Beats
- Nikarete's missing future is visible as a blank space in every reflection.
- The temple punishes names, pride, and careless cutting.
- Melantho proves the cult has victims inside its guards.
- Arachne can be beaten by craft, humility, and escape as much as by blades.
Difficulty
| Tier | Adjust |
|---|
| As Written ★ | 6 PCs · APL 8 |
| Library Standard | 6 PCs · APL 8 — Identical to As Written — this guide’s baseline is already 6 PCs at average level 8. |
| Easier | APL 4–6: reduce minion counts ~30%; DCs −2; boss loses one recharge or legendary option. |
| Harder | APL 10–12: boss HP +25–35%; +1 legendary action; add a lieutenant or extra wave. |
Nikarete the Unwritten hooks the party. Maguffin Moonbone Shuttle pays off in the finale against Arachne, Queen of the Wrong Weave . Recruit Melantho, Spider-Touched Novice along the way. Infiltrate a loom-temple where a spider-queen is rewriting mortal fates in thread.
Creature / Enemy List
| Creature | Counts / 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 |
DM Tips
- As Written ★ — 6 Players, Average Level 8: Baseline for this guide. Numbers, DCs, and win tracks assume six PCs at average level 8.
- Easier: APL 4–6: reduce minion counts ~30%; DCs −2; boss loses one recharge or legendary option.
- Harder: APL 10–12: boss HP +25–35%; +1 legendary action; add a lieutenant or extra wave.
Maguffin reminder: Check Enc. 3 payoff on the item card (page 3/4). Reward players who keep the object in hand.
Ally snapshot
Melantho, Spider-Touched Novice
- 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.
Encounter 1 — The Hem of the Temple
Enter through laundry tunnels, copied prayers, and webbed skylights without giving the temple a true name.
- 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.
Encounter 2 — Novices at the Pattern Wells
Search wells of reflected lives for Nikarete's stolen future while novices decide whether to betray the party.
- 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.
- Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Temple guide and curse-break witness
- Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. 2). Spare her after she raises an alarm, then show her Nikarete's original poem.
- Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
Encounter 3 — Arachne's Unfinished Tapestry
Confront the spider-queen at the great loom while the party's futures appear in unfinished thread.
- 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.
- Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Temple guide and curse-break witness
- Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. 2). Spare her after she raises an alarm, then show her Nikarete's original poem.
- Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
DM Callouts
- Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · 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.
- Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Temple guide and curse-break witness
Extra Encounter Detail (from session guide)
- Tip: Keep page-3 creature AC/HP lines visible while resolving Enc. 3.
- Tip: Favor non-combat paths in Enc. 1–2; Enc. 3 should still feel Hard.
Quick combat reference
- Silk-Vowed Adept — AC 15 | HP 68 | Speed 30 ft. · Medium Creature · CR 3 · Temple guard
- Fate-Spider Swarm — AC 14 | HP 91 | Speed 30 ft. · Medium Creature · CR 4 · Alarm hazard
- Melantho, Spider-Touched Novice — AC 14 | HP 62 | Speed 30 ft. · Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Temple guide a
- Loom-Golem — AC 18 | HP 152 | Speed 30 ft. · Medium Creature · CR 7 · Pattern enforcer
- Arachne, Queen of the Wrong Weave — AC 17 | HP 188 | Speed 40 ft. · Large Creature · CR 10 · Boss weaver · Boss
Additional DM notes
- 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.
- 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.
- 14 (+2)**STR**12 (+1)**DEX**14 (+2)**CON**10 (+0)**INT**11 (+0)**WIS**10 (+0)**CHA
- Note.** Will accept a perfect weaving sample instead of a fight.
- Note.** Tracks names spoken aloud in the temple.
Pacing helpers
- Enc 1: End by ~45–50 min; if stuck, telegraph the non-combat path once.
- Enc 2: Spend recruitment / maguffin early so Enc 3 is not a blank check.
- Enc 3: Keep Hard, not Deadly — drop a minion wave before a TPK spiral.
- Table tip: Restate win condition when HP dips; players often forget the maguffin.
NPC / ALLY
Nikarete the Unwritten
- She wants her stolen future back before her unborn child is woven into Arachne's service.
- She will not accept a rescue that simply transfers her curse to another innocent name.
Melantho, Spider-Touched Novice
- Recruit Enc. 2: Spare her after she raises an alarm, then show her Nikarete's original poem.
- AC 14 · HP 62 · Needle dagger +7 to hit, 10 piercing plus 7 poison; can lower one web alarm.
Remember
- Steal or sever the rewritten fate-thread and leave Arachne bound to her own pattern.
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