Flow Filament

Description

Flow FIlament is the name given to a type of thread that is produced by extracting the Flow from a creature's body -- their very life essence. It has a variety of highly desirable applications. The process is quite simple and requires only some intermediate magical knowledge to perform the ritual, but the process severely drains the person it is extracted from. The process is catalyzed by an enchanted spindle that is used to wind the filament up as it is extracted from the donor's body.

Each spool of filament extracted from a person will exhaust them, and the Flow extracted from their bodies can take about a week to recover. Because it is extracted from a creature, the filament contains a connection to the identity of the donor. It is possible to extract filament from any creature, but given how long the process takes, it is rarely done to any but willing participants.

This may sound bad, but many, especially those who practice magic, undergo the process willingly due to how useful the material can be. Flow Filament can be woven just like normal thread into a fabric. This fabric can then be used to create garments that hold the identity of the donor, allowing special enchantments to be placed on these garments that are keyed to the donor.

Additionally, any enchanted items crafted from the donor's thread are automatically attuned to the donor, cannot be unattuned, and cannot be attuned by another creature. This attunement does not interefere with the donor's attunement to their other enchanted objects. However, if at any point the donor dies, any enchanted items containing their filament lose their magic permanently and the filament disintegrates.

However, there is a dark side to Flow Filament, in that if someone who doesn't like you were to obtain your filament somehow, or forcibly extracts it from you, it could be used as a spell component to allow the caster to target you from any distance with spells and rituals, or even to control you -- by using the filament like "puppet strings". It can be used as a binding agent to target the donor of the thread for summoning rituals, binding rituals, curses, etc.

D&D 5e Terms

A spool of Flow Filament is roughly 100 meters long, and extracting it incurs one level of exhaustion, and the Flow in the creature's body takes one week to recover. You can extract up to five spools in a single week, but doing so would leave the donor so drained that they would be on Estrea's proverbial doorstep.

Various garments can be created from the fabric that is woven from Flow Filament, but it can take a very long time to extract enough of it to create the item. Some garments may require an extraction that would take well over a year to gather the filament for them. The process of extracting one spool of filament from a creature takes approximately 2 hours. Then, once you have the spools, the time required to create the fabric takes a number of hours equal to twice the number of spools to weave.

Here is a list of garments that could be created from the filament, how much filament is required (expressed in meters / spools), and how long the process would take in full.

• Shirt - 3,200 meters / 32 spools (32 weeks for extraction, 64 hours to weave fabric, 1-2 days to craft)
• Pants - 4,000 meters / 40 spools (40 weeks for extraction, 80 hours to weave, 1-2 days to craft)
• Robe - 5,500 meters / 55 spools (55 weeks for extraction, 110 hours to weave, 2-3 days to craft)
• Dress - 4,800 meters / 48 spools (48 weeks for extraction, 96 hours to weave, 2-3 days to craft)
• Cloak - 3,500 meters / 35 spools (35 weeks for extraction, 70 hours to weave, 2 days to craft)
• Skirt - 3,000 meters / 30 spools (30 weeks for extraction, 60 hours to weave, 1-2 days to craft)
• Gloves - 500 meters / 5 spools (1-5 weeks for extraction, 10 hours to weave, 1-2 days to craft)
• Socks - 400 meters / 4 spools (1-4 weeks for extraction, 8 hours to weave, 1-2 days to craft)
• Hat - 600 meters / 6 spools (6 weeks for extraction, 12 hours to weave, 1-2 days to craft)

The donor is automatically attuned to any enchanted items created from the fabric without expending an attunement slot, and can never unattune to the item, nor can any other creature ever attune the item. If the donor ever dies, the enchanted item loses its magic permanently and the filament contained within disintegrates.

Flow Filament can be used in some other enchanted items besides just those made with fabric, but the applications are limited, as the strength of the enchantment is determined by the amount of filament within.

The filament could be used as the core of a wand, for example, which would amplify the spell save DC and spell attack roll of spells cast by the donor, and also could act as a spell focus.

Example Enchantments

There are a variety of unique enchantments that could be applied to items created from Flow Filament that would incorporate the donor's identity into the item. Some ideas for enchantments could be:

• Enhancing the spell save DC and spell attack rolls of the donor.
• Storing a favored spell in the item to allow the donor to have an extra spell slot or two for that spell specifically.
• Provide a bonus to certain ability scores based on the garment type, such as:
  • Shirt - Charisma
  • Hat - Intelligence / Wisdom
  • Gloves - Strength
  • Boots - Dexterity
  • Cloak - Constitution
• Adding the 'Returning' property to an existing enchanted item to allow it to be summoned back to the donor's hands regardless of its location.
• Weave the filament into the binding of a spellbook to give it the following effects:
  • Returning Property - Allow the donor to summon the spellbook back to their hands regardless of its location.
  • Preparation - Allow the donor to cast any spell from their spellbook, regardless of whether or not it is prepared, once per day.
  • Security - Allow only the donor to open the book, and make the contents undecipherable to all but the donor.
  • Telepathy - Allow the donor to telepathically communicate with any creature holding the spellbook as long as they are willing.