The Weave
Magic in Meridian is the manipulation of the world's Threads. Cast/Channel is an Approach, not a separate system. Roll Spirit + Cast/Channel + Edge dice, same as any other roll.
Pool: Spirit + Cast/Channel + Edge dice
Thread Sight
When uncertain, use Sense + Study + applicable Edge. HT 1 shows basic thread sight, HT 2 detailed local connections, HT 3 deep sight, HT 4 thread reading, HT 5 thread prophecy. Trained weavers (Cast/Channel d8+) see the threads around them without rolling; untrained weavers (d4) must roll to see them at all.
HT1
Basic Thread Sight
Threads in the room
HT2
Detailed Thread Sight
Local connections and what they bind
HT3
Deep Thread Sight
Thread patterns across a region
HT4
Thread Reading
History of a thread, who cut it, what it lost
HT5
Thread Prophecy
Where a thread leads before it is walked
Trained weaver (Cast/Channel d8+): Thread Sight is automatic in the room
Untrained (Cast/Channel d4): Must roll Sense + Study vs HT 1 to see Threads at all
Thread Compass (superior tool): +2d6 Edge on Thread Sight actions
Glass Eye (Legendary item): Automatic Thread Sight at all levels
Hollowborn: +1d6 Edge when tracking invisible or hidden things
Silkborn: +1d6 Edge when seeing connections between things
The Still (Stage 3+): -1d6 Edge; the Still obscures the Threads
THE EIGHT THREADS
Ember
Fire, heat, transformation, passion
Volcanic rifts, forges, lava flows, the Ember Road
Click for bind/sever actions
Tide
Water, flow, adaptability, patience
Rivers, coastlines, rain, the Tide Road
Click for bind/sever actions
Hollow
Void, absence, memory, stillness
Caves, ruins, spaces between things, the Hollow Road
Click for bind/sever actions
Root
Earth, growth, stability, patience
Forests, soil, root-systems, the Root Road
Click for bind/sever actions
Ash
Aftermath, renewal, resilience, recovery
Ash-fields, recovering regions, the Ash Road
Click for bind/sever actions
Dust
Memory, history, story, oral tradition
Deserts, trade routes, the Dust Road
Click for bind/sever actions
Glass
Structure, clarity, precision, fracture
Glass flats, crystal formations, the Glass Road
Click for bind/sever actions
Silk
Connection itself, binding, weaving, links
Leylines, thread-roads, intersections, the Silk Road
Click for bind/sever actions
BINDING TYPES
Simple Bind
HT2Bind a thread to something nearby
Distant Bind
HT3Bind a thread to something across a distance
Dual Bind
HT3Bind two threads together for a compound effect
Lasting Bind
HT4Bind a thread to something for a full session: strengthen a fortress, protect a village from the Still. The binding costs health; it is draining to maintain.
Sever
HT4Sever a thread. The connection breaks. Consequences follow.
Weave New
HT5Weave a new thread into the world's fabric. Weave a new road, a new connection between regions, a new element. Legendary.
COMBAT WEAVES
Bind Thread to Weapon
HT2Cost: 1 Vigor
The weapon gains +2d6 Edge on its attacks for the remainder of the Scene, and a successful attack that deals Damage deals +1 additional Damage of the bound Thread's element. The binding ends at the end of the Scene.
Bind Thread to Armor
HT2Cost: 1 Vigor
Armor gains +1 Defense HT for the remainder of the Scene, to the normal maximum Defense HT of 5.
Bind Thread to Enemy
HT3Cost: 1 Vigor
Ember: set on fire (1 dmg/round). Tide: slow (-1d6 Swift). Hollow: silence (can't speak). Root: root (can't move 1 round).
Thread Shield
HT2Cost: 1 Vigor
Bind a Thread to yourself or ally: +1d6 Edge to resist the Still for 1 scene.
Sever Enemy's Thread
HT4Cost: 2 Vigor + 1 Vitality
Cut the Thread connecting an enemy to their power source. Constructs stop. Hollowed lose the Still's voice. Elementals dissipate.
Dual Bind in Combat
HT3Cost: 2 Vigor
Bind two Threads to a weapon: Ember+Glass (burn through armor), Tide+Root (entangling), Ash+Dust (remembering blade).
HEALING WEAVES
Restore Vitality
HT2Thread: Ash · Cost: 1 Vigor
Restore 1 Vitality. One use per scene per person. This does not itself stabilize a Dying character — use Stabilize Dying instead.
Stabilize Dying
HT2Thread: Ash · Cost: 1 Vigor
Declared instead of first aid: makes a Dying character Stable at their current Vitality and Wounds. Restores no Vitality and removes no Wounds.
Remove Wound
HT3Thread: Ash or Root · Cost: 2 Vigor
Remove 1 ordinary Wound, never a Permanent Wound. A Healer's Kit is not required; if used it grants +1d6 Edge and expends 1 of its 3 uses, and superior tools grant +2d6 Edge.
Restore Hollowed
HT3Thread: Dust or Hollow · Cost: 2 Vigor
Restore a Hollowed person. Requires knowing what they've lost.
Cure Still-Infection
HT3Thread: Any · Cost: 1 Vigor
Remove the Still's creeping effect: every accrued Still Bite Edge penalty from Still Hounds, or a Frost Wraith's lingering chill.
Resurrect
HT5Thread: Ash + Hollow (Dual) · Cost: 3 Vigor + 1 Wound
Restore a dead person to life. Requires the body, something they cared about, and Legendary Cast/Channel. Returns at 1 Vitality and Stable, keeping their Wounds and gaining one Permanent Wound; if that brings the total to three or more, resolve Mortal Danger once immediately. Resurrection may be repeated, but each return adds another Permanent Wound, and only an exceptional effect (a unique artifact or a major story event) can remove one.
DUAL BIND COMBINATIONS
Ember + Glass
Burn through structure. Attacks with the bound weapon reduce the target's Defense HT by 1 (minimum HT 1), and a successful attack that deals Damage deals +1 additional Damage.
Tide + Root
Entangling roots that flow like water. +2d6 Edge to grapple rolls.
Ash + Dust
A weapon that remembers every wound: record one memory each time the bound weapon deals Damage during the Scene, and it grows more potent with each cut.
Dust + Hollow
Preserve a memory in a place so it can't be lost. Persists even under the Still.
Ember + Ash
Fire that regrows. Push the Still back 2 stages instead of 1.
Tide + Hollow
Silence that flows. Zone of silence that moves like water, follows the target.
Root + Glass
Structure that grows: +2 Defense HT to a structure for 1 session. If the structure is already HT 5, the reinforcement changes the fiction rather than raising HT above 5.
Silk + Any
Connect two of the other Thread. Bind two Ember Threads to ignite two forges at once.
THREAD-BOUND ITEMS
Thread-Oiled Weapon
Simple Bind (HT 2) · 1 Vigor+1d6 Edge to the weapon's next attack. A prepared, single-use Thread treatment, distinct from the combat Weave Bind Thread to Weapon, consumed after that attack.
Thread-Bound Weapon
Lasting Bind (HT 4) · 2 Vigor + 1 Vitality+1d6 Edge permanently: the weapon is Thread-forged and the Thread persists in its structure.
Thread-Bound Armor
Lasting Bind (HT 4) · 2 Vigor + 1 Vitality+1 Defense HT permanently, to the normal maximum Defense HT of 5. The armor is Thread-forged.
Dual-Thread Weapon
Dual Bind (HT 3) + Lasting Bind (HT 4) · 4 Vigor + 1 Vitality+2d6 Edge permanently plus a compound effect (Ember+Glass, Ash+Dust, and so on). The weapon is dual-Thread-forged.
Thread-Forged Tool
Lasting Bind (HT 4) · 2 Vigor + 1 VitalityChoose the kind of work the tool was created to perform: +1d6 Edge when used for that purpose and the fiction supports it. A Thread-bound Weaver's Kit or a Thread-forged Forge Kit are examples.
Legendary Thread Item
Weave New (HT 5) · 3 Vigor + 1 Wound+3d6 Edge permanently and a unique property. This is how Legendary items are made, and the cost is a Wound.
THE STILL & THE WEAVE
The Still
- • Severs Threads freely, constantly
- • Freezes regions (Weight, Stillness, Frozen)
- • Hollows people by severing the Hollow Thread
- • Eats memories by severing the Dust Thread
- • Is free, constant, and everywhere
The Weave
- • Binds Threads at a Vigor cost, per use
- • Reverses regions by re-binding the region's Thread
- • Restores the Hollowed by re-binding connection
- • Recovers memory by re-binding the Dust Thread
- • Costs Vigor, Vitality, and sometimes Wounds