What is Soulweaving?

Soulweaving is another form of spellcasting that can run parallel to arcane spellcasting in D&D 5e. Instead of spellcasters pulling temporary power from the weave, pacts, or deities, Soulweavers use rituals to bind permanent inscriptions into the very souls of their subjects. Soulweavers use rituals to pull the soul from the body of their subjects and powerful incenses to make it visible before using specially enchanted sewing needles to weave runes and sigils from threads of pure gold between the body and the soul. The rituals leave permanent golden tattoo-like Marks on the bodies of those they cast their spells on and the only way to remove the enchantment is to remove the part of the body that bears the Mark. Soulweaving is a dangerous, often taboo, practice, and any error on the part of the Soulweaver can result in permanent damage or even the complete erasure of the soul.

Where would Soulweaving be a good fit?

Soulweaving is best fit into a low magic campaign, specifically one with limited or no access to resurrection magic. The power of Soulweaving is the fact that it can be used to bring people back to life, but with a high cost of failure. But this cost is pointless if arcane spells exist that do the same job with no risk.

Soulweaving can also be used for extremely powerful control spells. There is a good chance you may not want to offer this power freely to your players and limit Soulweaving to simply be a purchased service, if available at all. Soulweaving is more powerful than arcane options since that is its narrative purpose. It is meant for a world in which powerful people shackle the very souls of those less powerful in order to exert complete control over them. Slaves that are Shackled to the orders of their masters. Gladiators that have their souls Anchored and then Bound back into their body after they die so long as they brought in enough prize money to be worth the rituals cost. Enemies who are punished by a life inside a body that no longer works.

And as a warning: most of these spells should absolutely not be used on your players unless you want them to be very sad!

Mechanics of Soulweaving

All Soulweaving spells are cast as rituals. As Soulweaving does not rely on arcane magic, a Soulweaver need not be capable of casting spells and Soulweaving spells do not have levels.

Spellcasting Ability. The spellcasting ability for Soulweaving spells can be either Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma.

Spell Save DC. If the target of a Soulweaving spell must ever make a Saving Throw to resist an effect, it is always made against the Spell Save DC of the Soulweaver at the time that they performed the ritual. When a Soulweaving spell is cast, the DC should be recorded for future use.

The Ritual. The ritual for all Spellweaving spells follows the same basic steps.

• The target or targets of the spell must be unconscious and sedated whether through medicinal or magical means. A creature that wakes up during a ritual risks irreparable damage to their body and soul.
• The Weaver begins by uttering a ritualistic chant that draws the soul out of the body while special incense creates a thick atmosphere that allows the soul to be seen by the caster.
• The caster uses an enchanted Soulweaver's needle (purchasable for 50 gp wherever Soulweaving equipment might be found) that is threaded with a fine thread of pure gold.
• The Soulweaver begins to weave the appropriate sigils into the target by piercing the body and the soul with the needle. As the thread comes off the spool it becomes ethereal and invisible, leaving only a golden mark on the skin, making the process just as much about tracing the proper path as remembering what has already been traced and where each thread lies in space. The resulting sigil on the body of the target is known as a Mark.
• When the Mark is finished, the Weaver repeats the chant to ease the soul back into the body.

Soul Damage. Any wrong move while performing a Soulweaving ritual can cause permanent damage to the soul of the target. At the end of the ritual the Soulweaver must make a spellcasting ability check (spellcasting ability modifier + proficiency bonus) against the DC of the ritual. If the check fails, the spell completes but the target's maximum hitpoints are reduced by an amount equal to the difference between the check and the DC (if the DC was 17 and the spellcaster rolled a 10 on their check, the target's maximum hitpoints would be reduced by 7). This loss of hitpoints cannot be reduced or recovered by any means short of a Wish spell. If a target's hitpoints are reduced to 0 by this damage, the soul is permanently destroyed and cannot be recovered by any means.

Many a poor Soul has met their end at the point of a poor Weavers' needle.

-Folk Song

Soulweaving Ritual DC. The DC of the ritual is based on the location of the Mark.

Soulweaving Spells

Shackles

Soulweaving (ritual)

• Casting Time: 4 hours
• Components: V, S, M (fine gold thread worth at least 200 gp, which the spell consumes)
• Mark Location: Wrists or ankles for Prisoner, Any for Master
• Duration: Until dispelled

This spell binds two creatures, one to be the Prisoner and one to be the Master. The Prisoner becomes permanently under the control of the Master. At any time the Master may use an Action to give a one-word order to the Prisoner, as if using the Command spell, which the prisoner is compelled to follow. However, unlike the Command spell, the Prisoner must follow the command until the Master issues an new one, until the Master calls off the command, or until the magic fades after 1d4 hours. If the Prisoner wishes to fight the command they are wracked with pain. The Prisoner makes a Constitution saving throw against the spell-save DC of the Soulweaver who created the bond, and on a success they take 1d10 psychic damage and can ignore the command on their turn, on a failure they are forced to follow the command. The prisoner must repeat the saving throw at the start of each turn they attempt to resist the command, continuing to take damage on each success until they fail the saving throw at which point they are forced to follow the command and can no longer make saving throws to resist it anymore. The Mark for the Prisoner is two rings around the wrists or ankles. The Mark for the Master is a small rune that can be anywhere. If either one of the Marks on the Prisoner is removed, the spell is broken.

A single Master can be bound to multiple Prisoners, each new prisoner requires a separate Mark however. Likewise, multiple masters can also be bound to a single Prisoner.