Tangling Yarn. Creatures grappled by the Cloth-Thing have disadvantage on ability checks made to end the condition.
Cursed Touch. A creature that touches the Cloth-Thing with its bare skin or is grappled by it must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become infected with the Cloth-Thing curse and immediately suffer one level of exhaustion.
While cursed, the infected creature makes a Constitution saving throw at the end of every minute. If it fails a saving throw, it suffers one additional level of exhaustion, and progressively worse signs of its transformation into a Cloth-Thing start to show. If the creature succeeds on two successive saving throws, it recovers one level of exhaustion. If it should recover all levels of exhaustion, the curse immediately ends, all remaining traces of the transformation fall away, and it gains immunity to the curse for 24 hours.
If an infected creature is reduced to the final level of exhaustion, they do not die, but are instead transformed into a Cloth-Thing. Non-magical gear the creature was wearing or carrying is also magically transformed into fabric and yarn versions of the same.
One Thread Mind. Without instructions from a Rag-Doll or a creature to which it is bound (see Knitted Binding), a Cloth-Thing will seek to pass its curse to any living it can find. It has a limited sense of self-preservation, and no desire to cause harm beyond what is required to further the infection. It will not attack a creature that is already infected, even to defend its own existence. The exception to this rule is scarecrows (see Enemy of Fear).
Enemy of Fear. If a Cloth-Thing can see a scarecrow, it must do everything it can to engage and attack the scarecrow. It ignores all other creatures and commands, even from Rag-Dolls, until the scarecrow is destroyed. This hatred is not limited to scarecrow creatures, but extends to any and all mundane scarecrows as well.
Knitted Binding. If the Cloth-Thing is pierced through the torso with a knitting needle carved from wood or ivory, it is immediately paralyzed and remains so until the needle is removed. Intention is the power behind this magic, and the needle must have been created for mundane purposes for the binding to be effective. A needle created specifically to bind a Cloth-Thing will not work.
If a creature speaks their own name to the Cloth-Thing while withdrawing the needle, the Cloth-Thing becomes charmed by the creature for 24 hours and will obey its commands to the best of its ability. While charmed in this way, a Cloth-Thing ignores the commands given to it by a Rag-Doll, but will remember them as soon as the charmed effect ends.
If a creature instead speaks the full and true name that the Cloth-Thing held before it was cursed as the needle is withdrawn, the curse is instead broken for that Cloth-Thing, they return instantly to their former selves, their gear is restored to normal, and they are immune to the curse for 24 hours.
Writhing Regeneration. The Cloth-Thing regains 2 (1d4) hit points at the start of its turn as colourful threads of yarn knit closed its wounds. If the Cloth-Thing takes fire damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the Cloth-Thing's next turn. The Cloth-Thing dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.
Multiattack. Cloth-Thing makes two padded strikes, or one padded strike and one snaring grasp.
Padded Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) bludgeoning damage. If the creature is not wearing armour or protective clothing, they must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be infected by the Cloth-Thing curse as described under 'Cursed Touch'.
Snaring Grasp. The Cloth-Thing attempts to grapple a target within 5 ft. of it that it can see. Tendrilous ropes of coloured yarn snake out from the Cloth-Thing's limbs and body, seeking out gaps in its victim's clothes and armour. It uses it's Dexterity modifier to make the attempt. If the target creature is wearing armour, and its roll to resist the grapple is less than its armour's AC (not including a shield or Dexterity Modifier) it uses its armour's AC in place of the rolled amount.
Description
Some Curses were meant to be broken. Long ago, an archfey and a coven of hags went to war. The specifics are lost to time, but a few details are taken to be true. Firstly, a child favoured by the archfey was caught in the middle of this contest. Secondly, the hags who were bent on… well, whatever it is that hags want, used scarecrows as their chosen soldiers. The archfey sent a champion to face these nightmares, but in the darkest hour, this warrior either failed to uphold their bargain or else turned to side with the hags. The child was lost.
In punishment, the warlock was cursed to become a plaything. Their flesh was turned to soft, padded fabric, their hair wove together into colourful yarn. Their eyes were replaced by unseeing buttons. They were given one chance to redeem themselves and end their suffering. Instead, their twisted heart embraced the spell and warped it into a magical disease, and so they became the first cloth-thing. Scholars of the fey agree that a way to break the curse no doubt remains, but none know what it entails. Or, if they do, they have not chosen to share the discovery.
Today’s cloth-things are more dishevelled in appearance, blending torn patchwork, frayed stitching and tendrils of dirty, spun wool to create an image more nightmarish than cuddly. Imagine a life-sized plush that has been left to rot in the mud for a year, and add a sentient awareness and a spark of malignance, and you have a fairly close approximation of these shambling abominations.
Hatred of Scarecrows. While cloth-things seem mostly devoid of personality or ambition beyond the spread of their curse, one passion remains to them: A consuming hatred of scarecrows. Indeed, so powerful is this loathing that it hardly seems to matter if the scarecrow is a nightmarish construct created by evil magic or the innocent, garden variety employed by farmers. This hatred blinds the cloth-thing to everything outside of its need to eviscerate the offending garden ornament.
Variant: Rag-Doll. The original fey curse that spawned the first cloth-thing was presumably meant as a lesson, and failing that, as a boon to children let down by the offending warlock. While the magic was corrupted, part of that intent apparently still lingers. A child infected by the curse does not become an ordinary cloth-thing, but a far more dangerous variant known as a rag-doll. Rag-dolls differ from their more numerous counterparts in several ways. Firstly, they retain a large portion of their intelligence and personality, corrupted by an evil lack of morality.
Secondly, rag-dolls are less inclined to mindlessly assimilate all other life forms with their curse. Don’t be fooled however. They delight in inventing games and toying with the emotions and fears of other creatures. A Rag-Doll will rarely have the patience to explain the rules of their made-up games, and cheating can prove disastrous.
Should a rag-doll grow bored of a creature, it might still consider infecting them with its curse if only to create a mindless minion to enthral, or use as a pony. They are capable of commanding a small hoard of cloth-things, who will obey the whims of a rag-doll without question or complaint.
Previous Versions
| Name | Date Modified | Views | Adds | Version | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5/25/2023 10:56:16 AM
|
9
|
0
|
1
|
Coming Soon
|
Comments