Earthdawn 4E: Anatomy of a Thread Item 23 - Bird Harness

This is the twenty-third 4E Anatomy of a Thread Item, an ongoing series about Earthdawn Fourth Edition. Introduction and Index.

Everything contained here is the work of a fan and not associated with FASA Games.

A thread item written for an online game I offered to help with thread items. This was written with the request of crystal ringlet armor with a spell matrix. Apparently, request a matrix in some armor and things gonna get weird. Also, this makes more sense when you know the character's last name is "Vogel."

Bird Harness

Maximum Threads: 2
Mystic Defense: 12

Legend Point Cost: Journeyman

This set of crystal ringlet armor uses additional colors of living crystal for the interlocking rings. The pattern and blue and gray coloration give the impression of a bird. Feathers affixed along the armor serve to enhance this impression.

The armor automatically resizes to the wearer when a thread is woven.

Thread Rank One
Key Knowledge: The owner must learn the armor’s Name.
Effect: The armor contains a Standard Matrix with rank equal to the Thread Rank.

Thread Rank Two
Effect: The wearer gains the Bird Harness ability. As a Free action for 1 Strain, the armor glows and the feathers flutter and move. The wearer gains +2 to Initiative. Bird Harness lasts until the end of the next round. If used after Initiative is determined, this does not change the wearer’s current Initiative.

Thread Rank Three
Key Knowledge: The owner must learn the specific bird the armor is patterned after.
Effect: The Bird Harness ability causes more feathers to appear along the armor and the wearer gains +4 to their Movement Rate while it is active.

Thread Rank Four
Effect: When the wearer uses Bird Harness, their hair turns faintly blue and gray, matching the armor and feathers. Bird Harness now gives +3 to Initiative. If this is activated after Initiative is determined, their Initiative is retroactively increased by +3. This cannot be used to interrupt another character’s turn.

Thread Rank Five
Key Knowledge: The owner must learn about the armor’s creator (including Name and Discipline).
Effect: When the wearer uses Bird Harness, their features sharpen and the feathers along the armor become even more prevalent. The wearer gains a +2 to Action tests when dealing with birds, this includes Action tests dealing with bird spirits (e.g., raptor spirits), weaving threads for and casting bird-related spells (e.g. Beastform or Invoke Crow Tear), or talking to birds (e.g., Animal Talk). If used for Sustained actions (e.g. Summon), this only needs to be used once for the action.

Thread Rank Six
Effect: When the wearer uses Bird Harness, they appear as an anthropomorphic bird, though their identity is still clear. Just as a bird. Bird Harness now gives +4 to Initiative. If this is activated after Initiative is determined, their Initiative is retroactively increased by +4. This cannot be used to interrupt another character’s turn.