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THORNWALL • NEEDLESHOT

Subclasses Designed by HolySrulik

About these subclasses

— THORNWALL —
Overview: The Thornwall turns the Cactus’s territory into a
death zone. Thorn Sentinel nearly doubles the Reactive Volley
uses per rest, Briar Patch Restrains adversaries who try to
pass through your zone, and Vigilant Spines fires volleys even
when enemies try to leave or use abilities nearby. Forest of
Spines at Mastery converts the entire Close range into a
permanent Briar Patch — every adversary in the zone is being
damaged and Restrained simultaneously while the Thornwall fires
unlimited volleys at anything that marks a Hit Point. The
Thornwall is the most defensive, most zone-focused subclass in
the entire roster.

Playstyle: The Thornwall wins by never letting anything escape
its zone cleanly. Bristled Stance on round one — mark a Stress,
enter the stance, and now every Melee approach attempt is gated
behind a Reaction Roll (13) and every volley deals +1d6. Place
Briar Patch at the chokepoint before the horde reaches you so
the first adversary to enter is immediately Restrained. Vigilant
Spines means even retreating zombies take a volley — nothing
leaves your zone for free. Save Forest of Spines for the largest
wave of the encounter; the no-limit volley generation makes
heavy-horde encounters trivially one-sided.

— NEEDLESHOT —
Overview: The Needleshot is a Cactus who has decided that range
is more important than safety. Long Range Volleys removes the
Close/Melee restriction entirely, Blood Spines converts personal
resources (Stress and Hit Points) into damage bonuses, and
Specialty Spines gives every attack a meaningful tactical
option at a cost. The Needleshot is a sustained damage dealer
who punishes themselves to punish adversaries harder — the more
they spend, the more Hone the Pain stacks, the bigger the next
hit lands. At Mastery, Bloodletting is one of the highest
sustained damage outputs in a single scene available to any
class — +1d10 on every volley, advantage at Far range, and a
Stress-paid second attack on every hit.

Playstyle: Hone the Pain is the Needleshot’s core engine. Every
voluntary Stress or Hit Point mark — from Blood Spines, Specialty
Spines, or entering any other feature — stacks +1d4 to the next
damage roll up to Proficiency. Plan your resource spending to
max the stack before the biggest attack of each round. Blood
Spines’ Hit Point version (+2d8 for marking a HP) is a powerful
once-per-long-rest tool — use it when Hone the Pain is at max
stacks and the target is worth the HP.

Designed for class

Homebrew class
Cactus

Subclass details

THORNWALL

Lock down a zone, flood it with volleys, and make it impossible for anything to enter or leave

Foundation
Tier 1

Thorn Sentinel: You gain additional uses of Reactive Volleys per

rest equal to your Proficiency (total per rest = Instinct

modifier + Proficiency). Additionally, when an adversary marks

a Hit Point or becomes Vulnerable or Restrained while within

your Close range, you can immediately fire a Reactive Volley at

them without consuming a use

Bristled Stance: As an action, mark a Stress to enter Bristled

Stance. It lasts until you move or the scene ends. While in

Bristled Stance:

• Your Reactive Volleys deal +1d6 damage

• Adversaries trying to move into your Melee range must succeed

on a Reaction Roll (13) or stop just outside your Melee range

Specialization
Tier 2

Briar Patch: As an action, place a magical briar patch within

Close range. The patch fills an area within Very Close range.

Adversaries within or moving through the patch must make a

Reaction Roll (13) or mark 1 Hit Point and become temporarily

Restrained. The patch lasts until the end of the scene or until

you place another one. You can have one active briar patch at

a time

Vigilant Spines: Your Reactive Volleys can now also trigger when:

• An adversary tries to leave your Close range

• An adversary uses a magical ability within your Close range

When triggered by either of these new conditions, Spine Release

clears 2 Stress instead of 1

Mastery
Tier 3

Forest of Spines: Once per long rest, mark 2 Stress to grow a

forest of massive spines from the ground around you. Until the

end of the scene:

• All adversaries within your Close range count as in a Briar

Patch (per Briar Patch's effects)

• Whenever an adversary marks a Hit Point within your Close

range, you can immediately fire a Reactive Volley at them

without consuming a use

NEEDLESHOT

Spend your own health to fuel devastating ranged spike volleys — the more it hurts you, the harder you hit

Foundation
Tier 1

Long Range Volleys: Your Reactive Volleys and spine attacks can

now target adversaries within Far range (instead of being limited

to Close/Melee). Additionally, when you make a spine attack

against a target at Far range, gain +1 to your attack roll

Blood Spines: When you make a spine attack (Reactive Volley or

your primary spine attack), you can mark a Stress to add +1d8

damage on a successful hit. Once per long rest, you can mark a

Hit Point instead of a Stress to add +2d8 damage on the hit

Specialization
Tier 2

Specialty Spines: When you fire a spine attack, you can choose

one of the following specialty effects. You can only apply one

specialty per attack:

• Piercing Spine — Mark a Stress. Attack ignores resistance and

gains +1 to the attack roll.

• Toxic Spine — Mark a Stress. On a hit, the target also marks

a Stress.

• Heavy Spine — Mark a Hit Point. On a hit, the target must

succeed on a Reaction Roll (13) or be knocked back to Far

range.

Hone the Pain: When you mark a Stress or Hit Point voluntarily

on your action, gain a +1d4 bonus to your next damage roll this

scene. This bonus stacks up to a maximum of your Proficiency and

clears when you make a damage roll or take a rest

Mastery
Tier 3

Bloodletting: Once per long rest, mark 1 Hit Point and 2 Stress

to enter Bloodletting until the end of the scene. While in

Bloodletting:

• All your spine attacks (Reactive Volleys and primary attacks)

deal +1d10 damage

• You gain advantage on attack rolls against targets within Far

range

• When you successfully hit with a spine attack, you can mark a

Stress to immediately fire a second spine attack against the

same or a different target as part of the same action

Printable cards

Foundation / Specialization / Mastery
Cactus

THORNWALL

Foundation

Thorn Sentinel: You gain additional uses of Reactive Volleys per

rest equal to your Proficiency (total per rest = Instinct

modifier + Proficiency). Additionally, when an adversary marks

a Hit Point or becomes Vulnerable or Restrained while within

your Close range, you can immediately fire a Reactive Volley at

them without consuming a use

Bristled Stance: As an action, mark a Stress to enter Bristled

Stance. It lasts until you move or the scene ends. While in

Bristled Stance:

• Your Reactive Volleys deal +1d6 damage

• Adversaries trying to move into your Melee range must succeed

on a Reaction Roll (13) or stop just outside your Melee range

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Cactus

THORNWALL

Specialization

Briar Patch: As an action, place a magical briar patch within

Close range. The patch fills an area within Very Close range.

Adversaries within or moving through the patch must make a

Reaction Roll (13) or mark 1 Hit Point and become temporarily

Restrained. The patch lasts until the end of the scene or until

you place another one. You can have one active briar patch at

a time

Vigilant Spines: Your Reactive Volleys can now also trigger when:

• An adversary tries to leave your Close range

• An adversary uses a magical ability within your Close range

When triggered by either of these new conditions, Spine Release

clears 2 Stress instead of 1

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Cactus

THORNWALL

Mastery

Forest of Spines: Once per long rest, mark 2 Stress to grow a

forest of massive spines from the ground around you. Until the

end of the scene:

• All adversaries within your Close range count as in a Briar

Patch (per Briar Patch's effects)

• Whenever an adversary marks a Hit Point within your Close

range, you can immediately fire a Reactive Volley at them

without consuming a use

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Cactus

NEEDLESHOT

Foundation

Long Range Volleys: Your Reactive Volleys and spine attacks can

now target adversaries within Far range (instead of being limited

to Close/Melee). Additionally, when you make a spine attack

against a target at Far range, gain +1 to your attack roll

Blood Spines: When you make a spine attack (Reactive Volley or

your primary spine attack), you can mark a Stress to add +1d8

damage on a successful hit. Once per long rest, you can mark a

Hit Point instead of a Stress to add +2d8 damage on the hit

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Cactus

NEEDLESHOT

Specialization

Specialty Spines: When you fire a spine attack, you can choose

one of the following specialty effects. You can only apply one

specialty per attack:

• Piercing Spine — Mark a Stress. Attack ignores resistance and

gains +1 to the attack roll.

• Toxic Spine — Mark a Stress. On a hit, the target also marks

a Stress.

• Heavy Spine — Mark a Hit Point. On a hit, the target must

succeed on a Reaction Roll (13) or be knocked back to Far

range.

Hone the Pain: When you mark a Stress or Hit Point voluntarily

on your action, gain a +1d4 bonus to your next damage roll this

scene. This bonus stacks up to a maximum of your Proficiency and

clears when you make a damage roll or take a rest

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Cactus

NEEDLESHOT

Mastery

Bloodletting: Once per long rest, mark 1 Hit Point and 2 Stress

to enter Bloodletting until the end of the scene. While in

Bloodletting:

• All your spine attacks (Reactive Volleys and primary attacks)

deal +1d10 damage

• You gain advantage on attack rolls against targets within Far

range

• When you successfully hit with a spine attack, you can mark a

Stress to immediately fire a second spine attack against the

same or a different target as part of the same action

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