Skein: Threadbare

What is Skein: Threadbare?

Skein: Threadbare is a new ruleset and complete core rulebook that is designed to satisfy old-school desires of cutthroat dungeon delving and rewards for the brave or foolish.

An OSR-inspired game that doesn’t sacrifice depth for clean, evocative rules and gameplay. D10s, categorical successes, and deep gameplay that's easy to execute.

From Classes to Skills to Combat Maneuvers to a Spell system limited only by your imagination.

You will make layered characters in a new system, a new world, and with a newfound appreciation for the dangers and stresses of a dungeon, ancient ruin, or roadway robbery.

The rules are complete. The layout has been made. The samples printed, tested, and reviewed.

• A standalone system. (D10s, Roll Under, if you're curious!)
• 6 Bloodlines
• 3 Classes with 10 levels
• 100 Shames and Acclaims
• Pantheon of gods to Bond with for power (or deny and keep Fate your own!)
• Plethora of Skills
• Combat Maneuver system to flex those martial muscles.
• Dangerous Spell Casting using runic combinations (imagine at your own risk)
• A horde of monsters with a Role system that makes customization quick and deadly

Why Kickstarter?

The goal of the Kickstarter is to make the game Print Ready for its final version. The primary goal: Hire an artist. Get high quality illustrations, cover to cover, with darkness and grit. 

Then, cover the substantial costs that go into the production, additional marketing, and fulfillment of high-quality physical games. In short: get the game into people's hands.

Limitless Spellcasting, expansive combat, and dark consequences (and so much more) are all within the full, complete Core Rules.

Sample Copy by Livonia Print!

AFO Playtest - June 2026

Who am I?

As an independent game creator, I have put over 10 years into creating Skein and other games to share my passion for what I love in great games. 

A love of rules and systems that are clean and evocative. Design that puts player decision at the heart of gameplay. And stakes. Real consequences for those decisions that make the stories we all retell feel as real as the first time we threw the dice. 

Stretch Goals

A first level adventure designed to drop players quickly into danger. From their first rolls, characters are truly tested. Quick wit and brutal efficiency will be greatly rewarded. But, then again... iniquity will be severely punished.

 Enter the Cauldron; leave if you can.

A follow-up low level adventure designed to be standalone or take over from The Cauldron. The players find out the ramifications of the events occurring in Halstadt. 

You have escaped the Cauldron; now the real fight begins.

A low level adventure designed to be standalone or act as the culmination of the events of The Cauldron. 

You have witnessed what happened in Halstadt; you must act or die.

A full book of Skein: Threadbare's setting, Asylium. Major locations, Major Players, Heroes, Villains, Gods, and Fiends. Each location with needs, wants, and goals.

Create stories and arcs in a new world.

A full book dedicated to expanding the dangers of Asylium. Unseal access to a horde of enemies, a plethora of poisons, new toxins, diseases, corruptions, encounters, and so much more. 

Delve as deep as you dare.

Shipping Estimates

This is an estimate. Please see the Risks and Challenges section below. 

The Core Rule Book is currently estimated to begin fulfilment July 2027. Each stretch-goal reward requires additional development, production, and manufacturing. Thus, they might ship separately. Tiers containing these items will have later estimated delivery dates, which are listed on their individual reward tiers. All dates are estimates and may change as production progresses.