Threadripper
- HP
- 12
- Defense
- 11
- AR
- 1
- Mettle
- 2
Attacks
| Attack | Pool | WR | Tempo | Qualities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase-Mandibles | 7 | 3 | 4 | — | Ignores mundane AR (passes through non-magical material). |
| Current Drain | 6 | 0 | 5 | — | Target takes 2 Erosion; Threadripper heals 4 HP. |
Traits
- Phase-Shift: The Threadripper exists partially outside reality. Mundane physical attacks have a 50% chance of passing through harmlessly (roll 1d8; on 1–4, the attack misses regardless of the roll). Salt, iron, Ghost-Rock, and Psionic attacks always connect normally.
- Current Scent: Detects Channeling within Extreme range. Detects Psionics with Erosion 3+ within Far range. Arrives at the source within 1d6 minutes.
- Feeding Frenzy: When a Threadripper successfully uses Current Drain, it becomes fully material for 1d6 minutes (Phase-Shift temporarily deactivates). It is vulnerable but also more aggressive — +1 die to all attacks while material.
- Pack Hunter: Threadrippers are rarely alone. Where one feeds, others follow. If a Channeling event of Rank 3+ occurs, 1d3 additional Threadrippers arrive over the following hour.
A predator drawn to psionic energy the way a shark is drawn to blood — a lean, insectoid creature that phase-shifts between the material world and the space behind the Veil, existing in both simultaneously. It appears as a shimmer in the air, a distortion like heat haze, resolving briefly into a form of overlapping wings, too many legs, and mandibles that seem to cut the air itself.
Threadrippers feed on the Current — specifically, on the structured Current that flows through a Psionic’s mind during Channeling. To a Threadripper, a Psionic in the Open State is a neon sign advertising a free meal. They are drawn from miles away, arriving within minutes of a high-Rank Channeling event.
The Circle of Ash considers Threadrippers the primary reason that Psionics on the Frontier must be careful about where and when they Channel. They are the ecological consequence of magic — the tax collector of the Current, ensuring that no one uses power without paying a price beyond Strain and Erosion.
Speed 12.
Tactics
The Threadripper targets the Psionic first — always. It phase-shifts into melee range, uses Current Drain to feed, and then uses the vulnerability of materialization to press the attack with Phase-Mandibles. If the party lacks a Psionic, the Threadripper is drawn to whoever has the highest Erosion or whoever used Bleed Dice most recently.
Encounter Design
Threadrippers are the consequence encounter. The party’s Psionic cast something powerful — a Rank 3+ Talent, a desperate Miracle. The Tension Pool spikes. And then, minutes later, something that shouldn’t exist phases into the campsite and heads straight for the caster. Use Threadrippers to reinforce the game’s core theme: power has a price, and the price is never just what you expect.