Base Class: Ranger
Hunters who stride the soul‑threads of the Seidr Nexus
Among the Hiddenfolk, there are those whose spirits resonate so strongly with the Seidr Nexus that they learn to walk its unseen pathways as easily as others walk forest trails. These rare individuals are known as Web Walkers — rangers who weave between the physical world and the shimmering soul‑threads that bind all living things.
To outsiders, a Web Walker seems to flicker in and out of existence, striking from impossible angles, vanishing into thin air, or calling forth ancestral shades to fight at their side. To the Hiddenfolk, they are guardians, scouts, and spirit‑hunters — protectors of the Grottos and interpreters of the Nexus’s will.
A Web Walker does not simply cast spells. They pull on the strands of the world’s spiritual web, shaping soul‑light into weapons, limbs, runes, and echoes of those who came before. Every step they take is guided by the faint hum of ancestral resonance. Every strike is reinforced by the weight of countless generations.
But their power comes with danger. The Seidr Nexus is alive, and it watches those who draw upon it too deeply. A Web Walker must learn to balance instinct with discipline, or risk being consumed by the very soul‑threads they command.
Those who master this path become living conduits of the Nexus — hunters who can slip between worlds, summon spirits from memory, and bind their foes with runes of living light. Those who fail become tangled in the web forever.
The Hiddenfolk Perspective on Web Walkers
To the Hiddenfolk, the Seidr Nexus is not merely a source of magic — it is the living memory of their people, the woven tapestry of every ancestor who ever breathed, fought, loved, or died. Those who can touch it safely are rare. Those who can walk its soul‑threads are rarer still.
Among the Grottos, Web Walkers are spoken of with a mixture of reverence and caution.
“They walk where we dream.”
This is the most common saying about Web Walkers. Hiddenfolk believe that the Nexus is a place of memory and possibility, a realm where the past and future brush against the present. To walk its threads is to step into the dreams of ancestors — and to risk becoming lost in them.
Web Walkers are seen as:
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Guides between the physical world and the soul‑realm
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Interpreters of ancestral will
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Hunters who track threats across both worlds
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Mediators between Grottos
But also as:
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Those who stand too close to the edge
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Those watched by the Nexus
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Those who may one day vanish into the web
Respected, but never envied
Hiddenfolk respect Web Walkers deeply, but they do not envy them. The path is dangerous, and the Nexus is not gentle with those who overreach.
A common proverb:
“The web gives, and the web takes.”
Every Grotto knows stories of Web Walkers who pushed too far — who tugged on a soul‑thread that snapped back, or who followed an ancestral echo into a place no living mind should go.
Children are taught:
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Never to mimic a Web Walker’s gestures
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Never to stare too long at their runes
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Never to ask what they see when their eyes glaze with soul‑light
It is considered rude — even dangerous — to interrupt a Web Walker when they are listening to the Nexus.
Symbols of Unity Between Grottos
Because Web Walkers can traverse the soul‑threads that connect all Hiddenfolk, they often serve as:
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Messengers between isolated Grottos
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Witnesses to inter‑Grotto pacts
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Neutral arbiters in disputes
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Guides for Rune‑Bound Outsiders
Their presence at a gathering is seen as a sign that the Nexus itself is watching.
Some Grottos even believe:
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A Web Walker’s arrival is an omen
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Their footsteps echo ancestral warnings
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Their shadows carry messages from the Nexus
Feared by the Branded
The Branded — those cut off from the Nexus — despise Web Walkers.
To them, Web Walkers are:
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Living reminders of what they lost
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Proof that the Nexus still judges them
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Symbols of the ancestral voices they can no longer hear
Blood‑Tree in particular teaches its young to avoid Web Walkers, claiming their presence “tightens the chains of the Brand.”
The Nexus’s Chosen
Some Hiddenfolk believe Web Walkers are not trained — they are chosen.
Signs a child may become a Web Walker:
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They speak of dreams filled with glowing threads
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They see spirits others cannot
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Their shadow flickers when they are frightened
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Runes appear faintly on their skin during moments of emotion
Such children are watched closely, guided gently, and taught humility above all else.
A Sacred Burden
To the Hiddenfolk, being a Web Walker is not a privilege — it is a burden carried for the sake of the people.
A Web Walker is expected to:
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Protect the Grottos
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Interpret the Nexus’s warnings
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Hunt threats that cross between worlds
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Maintain balance between clans
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Respect the ancestors
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Never abuse their connection
Those who fail these duties risk not only their own soul, but the stability of the Nexus itself.
How the Hiddenfolk Summarize Them
If you asked a Hiddenfolk elder to describe a Web Walker in one line, they would say:
“A Web Walker is one who walks the threads between us — and keeps them from breaking.”
Level 3: Seidr Initiate
3rd Level — Seidr Initiation
You learn two Web Walker cantrip
| Spell Level | Web Walker Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrips | Flicker Rune, Spirit Bound Weapon, Spirit Blaze, Whisper Thread |
| 1st | Runic Ward, Seidr Sight, Soul‑Thread Tether |
| 2nd | Ancestral Murmur, Ethereal Limbs, Runic Snare, Soul-Echo Weapon |
| 3rd | Ancestral Shade, Runic Burst, Soul-Thread Binding, Web Walk |
| 4th | Ancestral Guardian, Nexus Veil, Runes of Living Light, Soul-Thread Sever |
| 5th | Ancestral Host, Nexus Projection, Seidr Convergence, Web of Souls |
Level 3: Soul Thread Reading
3rd Level — Soul‑Thread Reading
You attune to the faint spiritual threads that connect living beings to the world around them.
• Passive Thread Sense You gain a +2 bonus to Perception and Survival checks made to detect, track, or identify creatures.
• Moment of Focus Once per short rest, you may gain advantage on one Perception, Survival, or Insight check.
Level 7: Thread Stepper
Your mastery of soul‑threads deepens.
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When you cast Soul‑Thread Binding, Soul‑Thread Sever, or Web of Souls, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier + your ranger level.
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You have advantage on concentration checks to maintain any spell with “Soul‑Thread” or “Web” in its name.
Level 11: Veil-Thread Saboteur
You learn to hide your presence not just in shadow, but in the gaps between soul‑threads. Your Seidr magic becomes a cloak, a distraction, and a weapon — all at once.
Spell‑Veil Step
Whenever you cast Web‑Walk, Nexus Veil, or Whisper Thread, you become invisible until the start of your next turn or until you attack or cast another spell.
This invisibility is a flickering distortion of your soul‑thread, not a full vanish.
Silent Unraveling
While invisible from this feature, your movement is unnervingly quiet:
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You gain advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks
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Creatures have disadvantage on Perception checks to detect you
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You ignore nonmagical difficult terrain
Ambush Unbinding
The first time each turn you hit a creature while invisible or immediately after casting one of the spells above, your attack deals an extra 1d8 psychic damage, and the target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on its next attack roll.
Ambush Unbinding
A well‑timed strike can tug a soul‑thread loose before a foe even realizes they’re under attack. Web Walkers who wield this technique unravel their enemies with a single, unseen pull.
Silent Unraveling
Those who master Silent Unraveling move like a whisper through the threads. Their steps make no mark, their presence barely stirs the air — as if the Nexus itself muffles their passage.
Spell-Veil Step
Some Web Walkers learn to let their magic blur their presence, slipping into the Nexus the moment a spell leaves their hand. For a heartbeat, they become little more than a ripple of soul‑light, unseen and unfelt.
Level 15: Executioner's Weave
Your soul‑threads coil into a lethal pattern within the Seidr Nexus — a weave designed not to restrain, but to execute. Any hostile movement or aggression near you triggers a violent tightening of the weave, crushing soul‑threads and halting escape.
Crushing Weave Aura
You emanate a lethal immobilizing field in a 10‑foot radius.
Hostile creatures that enter this area or start their turn in it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 2d10 psychic damage and become Restrained until the start of their next turn.
A creature that succeeds takes half damage and is not restrained. A creature that succeeds is immune to this aura until the end of your next turn.
Execution Lash
When a creature you can see hits you with an attack, you may use your reaction to violently constrict its soul‑thread.
The creature takes 3d8 psychic damage. If it is Restrained, it instead takes 5d8 psychic damage.
Weave‑Lock Bind
When a creature within 10 feet of you attempts to move, you may use your reaction to snap the weave tight around it.
The creature must succeed on a Strength or Wisdom saving throw (its choice) or take 3d6 psychic damage and have its speed reduced to 0 until the end of its turn.
If the creature is already Restrained, it takes 4d6 psychic damage instead.
Crushing Weave Aura
You emanate a lethal immobilizing field in a 10‑foot radius.
Hostile creatures that enter this area or start their turn in it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 2d10 psychic damage and become Restrained until the start of their next turn.
A creature that succeeds takes half damage and is not restrained. A creature that succeeds is immune to this aura until the end of your next turn.
Execution lash
When a creature you can see hits you with an attack, you may use your reaction to violently constrict its soul‑thread.
The creature takes 3d8 psychic damage. If it is Restrained, it instead takes 5d8 psychic damage.
Weave Lock Bind
When a creature within 10 feet of you attempts to move, you may use your reaction to snap the weave tight around it.
The creature must succeed on a Strength or Wisdom saving throw (its choice) or take 3d6 psychic damage and have its speed reduced to 0 until the end of its turn.
If the creature is already Restrained, it takes 4d6 psychic damage instead.
Sovereign Weaver
Your mastery of the Seidr Nexus approaches its zenith. You no longer slip between threads — you bend them. Your spells distort perception, your steps rewrite positioning, and your strikes carry the authority of one who stands just shy of true thread‑sovereignty.
Sovereign’s Spell‑Veil
When you cast a Seidr spell of 1st level or higher, you gain the following benefits until the end of your next turn:
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You become invisible.
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Your movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
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Your next weapon attack deals an additional 2d8 psychic damage, or 4d8 if the target is Surprised, Restrained, or unaware of you.
A creature damaged by this feature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on attack rolls against you until the start of your next turn.
This bonus damage applies once per turn.
Weaver’s Execution Step
When you teleport using a Seidr spell or class feature, choose one creature within 30 feet that you can see. It must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or suffer one of the following effects (your choice):
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Restrained until the end of your next turn
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Takes 3d8 psychic damage
If the creature is already Restrained, it instead makes a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it is Stunned until the end of your next turn.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once), regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Thread‑Dominion
Once per turn, when you hit a creature affected by one of your Seidr spells, you may force it to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature:
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Takes 2d8 psychic damage, and
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Becomes Vulnerable to psychic damage until the end of your next turn.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier, regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
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