Seven Spinners... Spinning...

I have spent a lot of time in the staging grounds and encampments that have been so carefully laid around your 'Weirding Wall' and each one is remarkably different depending on those in charge. One element I find to be the same, among the many I've stayed at for a era or two, is the presence of Spinners. Liken them to mortal blacksmiths, they are a useful... flavor of Excrucian, if you will. You have likely witnessed their handiwork firsthand, either in the tools they have crafted with excruciating diligence or in the creatures they inspired into creation.

The myths many of you may have heard or sworn by as mortals are mostly true, as far as I'm told that is. Yet one I am certain of is the story of Arachne; she is one of the few to have visited Earth, and yet her momentary presence and the battle with Minerva, the Power of Handicrafts at the time, brought forth new life; you may thank us later.

Spinners have an interesting relationship with Strategists. I'm not 100% sure, but they do share similar abilities in shaping anti-nature. The Strats I hang out with often use 'sheets' of the stuff while Spinners use a more strand-like approach; it's something that I, a weaver of a net of lies, can appreciate.

Another weird thing about Spinners is that they aren't really preachy like the others. A Spinner is generally driven in a cycle of designing all manners of vicious gadgets and thingamajigs and then sneaking into Creation to test them out; they might also hand them out for others to test, and what a hoot it is. I remember the last one they gave me to test out - it was a twisted little dagger that devoured the last day of February and scared the day before it into hiding! They're rather artsy and bohemian critters, but with a definite mean streak.

If I were to describe one to you, I guess it would look like any old Excrucian, probably more like a Strat if anything. They're difficult to see behind a maze of hand-sown wards that obscures them from sight and Sight. And they move with speed and grace that surprises me again and again, especially when they get all their arms in motion; Arachne had six arms, but many have four with one noteworthy fellow having ten. They don't have shards, but one that makes it to Earth can take Anchors and even maintain that Anchor while it returns to our Lands Beyond with a special thread.

The eyes of a Spinner form loose constellations, foretelling things to be by their hands or of the prophecies they divine.

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Spinners - High Priority Template

"Do I create weapons? Do I create armor? Do I create death, among other things? No, of course not. That would be silly. I do not create a weapon, for instance. That is a mortal deed, a Power's deed. Instead, I create Weapon, all that is and will ever be of that which has one purpose: to destroy... That is the prerogative of the Spinners."
-Elisasor Malikaron

A Spinner is a rarely encountered variety of Excrucian. They generally provide a support role, and are built on 60 points for the wide range of abilities they command.

• Spinners are able to transcend causality through their movements as well as multitask with the mind of a craftsman than exceeds even a spiritual bond to the Art, as they call it. Where others take a mundane and miraculous action each turn, a Spinner can take two (any combination thereof)
• Spinners have an Alchemy rating between 3 and 5.
• Spinners use a twisted variant of the typical Alchemy rules to craft Excrucian relics, poisons, and other vile imaginings from abhorrent tokens taken with them from the Lands Beyond Creation.
• With a bit of additional effort, inspiration, and motivation, they can create Abhorrent Weapons with the greatest of skill.
  
• Spinners have ratings from 0 to 5 in Aspect and Spirit; they have no Domain, unless give one via a focus.
  
• Spinners hold miraculous energy in a pool, rather than spreading it among their attributes; they start with a pool of 20 MP and have no need for the Rite of the Last Trump.
• These Excrucian craftsmen have many more arms than any normal humanoid shape another Excrucian may take on.
• The limbs are part of the shape of the Spinner's being.
  
• Each set of arms can be working on a separate project at once (such as an act of Alchemy or a lengthy ritual); each pair costs 2 cp plus another 1 for every other pair.
  
• Spinners can have gifts, especially ones that affect Powers and miraculous energy.
• Spinners have no shards. They do have 2 + Spirit Anchors.
• All Spinners have the Artisan Virtue and may take Shapeshifting (Comprehensive) for free.

Cant of the Spinners

1. Become entangled in the beauty of the Art.
2. Create that which will remain unparalleled.
   
3. Share.

Spinner Gifts:
Common gifts a Spinner might have from the standard fare include: Immutable, Eternal, Sacrosanct, Gatemaker, Invisibility, and Excrucian gifts like Perfect Planning or Midas Mors Mortis. Previously listed here are several other gifts of value, including Decoy, Excrucian Blessing, and the Goose Chase Invocation. They almost never have Glorious or Immortal, two gifts whose developments are hindered by the powers a Spinner manifests.

Unique gifts are encouraged and should be themed around utility, the rise and fall of miraculous energy, strange twists in miraculous time, and the manipulation of dark energies.

Clockmaker's Envy
2 point
"With a spirit that will never be caught off-guard by the design of anything short of immaculate, Spinners can reduce a mundane or miracle-produced item to collapse into a heap of its component pieces. Screws and bonding agents simple slip away and an entire car could fall in as a pile of perfectly disassembled rubble with a single touch. It's not quite the World Breaker's Touch, but it'll sully a good day in your 'modern' world. It has no effect on a bullet slug or a ton of bricks, clearly."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Destruction of Assembly (5), Penetration 0, Simple -1, Single -2, One Trick -3, Uncommon +1, x2 (Affects several Estates)

Duplicate
15 points
"A Spinner with great power can see an thing within Creation and copy it, having created far more complex works on its own. The time it takes is based on the size and mass of the thing, while creating the proxy of a Power (once adding penetration to the cost is done) would depend on the original's power and prestige. The result is a nearly flawless copy; anything so created cannot be repaired or grow beyond its original status. Gifts of endurance do not agree with the anti-nature threads and the nature of this material does nothing to prevent erosion of the completed work when it is put through its rigors. Copied Powers do not heal and lose the gifts of Durant, Immutable, Eternal, Immortal, and the healing ability of Sacrosanct, nor do they regain MP."
Cost Breakdown: Major Change (9), Hard -2, Single -2, Comprehensive -1, Uncommon +1, x3 (most estates)

Entropic Dilation
6 to 11 points (default 9 points)
"By breaking down the illusion of time and matter around it, they create spheres of entropy and undetectable anti-nature that act as potent defenses. Anything passing through the sphere, even mundane items, and Powers without the ability to overcome the penetration of this gift pass on through to a random point on the outside of the sphere. Throwing a punch at a Spinner may very well end up knocking you out, and a hail of bullets becomes a nasty mess for everyone beyond the entropy spheres. Spheres can be created at a point in space or to surround the creator and move with them (they last for an hour or until the energy it harnesses is exhausted)."
Cost Breakdown: Major Creation of Misdirection (7), Penetration 3, Normal +1, Local -1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Sensory Network
3 points
"Around a Spinner's favored work sites are webs of the unusual invisible threads they utilize. These networks serve as an early warning system and allow the Spinner to see and hear as if it were there on any point along the web. They are generally impractical to use while the Spinner is on the move, but they prove handy as the Spinner might be caught off-guard while focusing on an engrossing project. Any Auctoritas caught in the web as it is made will leave a blind spot that often goes unrealized."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Change of Perspective (6), Simple -1, Local -1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Silver Thread
10 points
"Few are the Spinners that can weave the Silver Thread, but they are the most revered of all. By crafting this strand in seven days time the Spinner can create a highway through the Weirding Wall by which it may travel back and forth. The thread must start within Creation and could lead anywhere beyond it. A single MP spent at the site (or the creator's own will) can forcibly cut the thread; thus it is important to hide the evidence."
Cost Breakdown: Major Change of Location (9), Hard +3, Local -1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Timeless Spinning
5 to 10 points (default 8 points)
"A Spinner can spin forth objects of Excrucian alchemy in mere hours and perform lesser weaving in a minute or two. The result is something that may have taken an eternity to bring about."
Cost Breakdown: Major Change of Time (9), Penetration 3, Automatic +1, Self -3, One Trick -3, Uncommon +1
(A Major Change is used rather than Major Creation to affect the time line of Powers and Excrucians, not the one of mortals.)

Time Thread Trap
3 to 10 points (default 7 points)
"Time Thread is made of elementary energy unraveled from the Spinner to ensnare other beings; anything miraculous that touches these invisible strands of Excrucian anti-nature is held fast until the Spinner leaves the area or several hours pass. Effects and beings trapped are caught up in the same causality crushing effect that follows in the wake of Spinners, thereby preserving the prey or effect in anti-time until the thread disperses. Unused thread may last for eons or be moved by a Spinner with great care. Immortals can be held by the thread, but they burn through their portion of it in less than an hour."
Cost Breakdown: Major Creation of Obstructions (7), Penetration 4, Normal -2, Local -1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Time Thread Trap, Precision
2 to 9 points (default 4 points)
"Precision Time Thread Trap is a cheaper version of the original gift. It allows for the placement of a single strand at a time (or one from each hand). A single strand does as well as a copse of them, but has less of a chance of catching a flock of Nobles. It is easier on their stores of energy as well, and allows a well-paced Spinner to unleash as much as it will ever need."
Cost Breakdown: Major Creation of Obstructions (7), Penetration 2, Simple -1, Single -2, One Trick -3, Uncommon +1

Prophecy
8 points (of Powers) or 10 points (of Imperials)
"When one practices forethought in creating a truly magnificent work of art, they begin to see things in a different way. Spinners carry this sense within them. By reading the strands and looking onto the web of actions leading into the future, they can foresee what will come in the future and have an above average idea of what courses of action might be taken. To them, causality is simply a tapestry, though a gaudy one at that. Even with their abilities to break time, it takes an hour of careful thought to use the gift. Rarely do they act, but rather watch from a distance and a smirk."
Cost Breakdown: Major Divination of Action (5), Penetration 5 or 7, Hard -2, Global +1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Runewrought Spirit
6 points
"Spinners often anoint themselves with dark sigils as a primary defense against enemy miracles. This gift alters the way their Auctoritas functions by allowing them to spend SMP in a reactionary Spirit miracle to increase their Spirit and require a higher Penetration on miracles in order to affect them. A level 5 Spirit miracle, for instance, blocks miracles with less than 5 Penetration (an Inferno need not spend SMP like this anyway); a level 9 Spirit miracle blocks miracles with less than 9 Penetration. This practice has been copied from the Spinners by several Powers, presumably without their permission."
Cost Breakdown: Spirit (9), Automatic +1, Self -3, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Ward Weaving
11 points
"Spinners weave curtains of anti-nature laced with runes and other abhorrent invocations to negate enemy magics. They can leave these anti-magic cloaks over their own spirits, other beings, and anything else. The Spinner can lay this over an enemy and activate it as they go to use a miracle, or allow someone to consciously use their ward to negate a miracle that would come in contact with their Auctoritas or body. Layers of this ward can be worn at a time and triggered independently, each negating a single miracle of level 8 or less. Penetration is used to put the ward on others and activate it when in another's Auctoritas."
Cost Breakdown: Major Destruction of Miraculous Energy (8), Penetration 7, Normal -2, Single -2, Comprehensive -1, Uncommon +1