"Razor Wire" builds?

[SangoProduction]

You know the anime deal with puppeteers or spiders or ninjas in general, who can make use of weaponized strands of string. (Think of say the butler in Hellsing, for example)
The key bits are that they can often leave walls of near-invisible wire, that slices enemies who try and escape through them, and that they also swing said slicing-strings around as weapons.

... And sadly, by the time I even got through making this post, I immediately knew that in the trap sphere, you only need literally 2 talents to pull this off, with no reflavor whatsoever. But it's really kinda weak, mechanically speaking.

Is there a better build that is capable of this kinda thing which *isn't* Spheres? Because Spheres can obviously do everything.

[Prime32]

It's hard to do this without creating/animating the threads with magic, but...

A few spider-themed monsters (including ettercaps and entomanthropes) can both throw their webs as nets, and place hard-to-see webs which auto-hit anyone who walks into them. They don't deal damage, but there might be some way to cheese the wording if you can find some way to damage people with nets.
Maybe a Bloodstorm Blade/Master Thrower using maneuvers like Insightful Strike? Trapsmith or Combat Trapsmith levels? You might also be able to get something out of Bloodhound's ability to ready an action in advance.

EDIT: The tangle terror (DotU p142) is a valid entomanthrope target, can web things two sizes larger than itself rather than one, and they create an (Ex) confusion effect for 12 rounds on hit.

Song & Silence has 3.0 rules for garottes, which are updated and expanded in Dragon #355. While grappling a foe you can attempt a touch attack (with special modifiers) to begin strangling them, after which you can make opposed grapple checks to deal a small amount of damage and prevent them from speaking/breathing. You can lock the garotte as a move action (locking mechanisms can attach to a wire, whip, spiked chain, etc.) to make it keep strangling them even after you let go, and removing it requires a hard Disable Device check.

[astrerouge]

in pathfinder 3rd party, there is alternate path martial character 2 from little red goblin games that introduces the razor wire which acts like a whip with some deviations as well as having 2 feats. 1 letting you do some stuff like setting up a mundane protection from arrow effect by spending a move action then a swift each turn to maintain, as well as getting aoo on getting hit. The other letting you attach the wire to surfaces as a trap which deal damage and reducing move speed if people go into it

In addition, there are rule to increasing the length of wire you have which does not increase reach but does allow you to set bigger trap or more of them with rule in regard to special material cost. In addition, being metal, it conduct lightning damage from the weapon to the holder, but not vice versa (so no channeling shocking grasp through it)

It is not the greatest thing but it is neat, especially since alternate path- martial character 3 introduce martial school, including one focusing on whips and chains, letting you increase your reach for delicate actions up to your whip's reach, convert a part of your damage into bleed, bypass whip's restriction against armored opponent

[Ramza00]

Reflavor Patrol as Razor Wire, maybe throw that puppetry stance that increases your reach further.

[Cortillaen]

The November 2021 Studio M— compilation includes the Aether Wire veil for Dreamscarred Press's Akashic Mysteries (their version of Incarnum for Pf1). It's a weapon veil dealing modest damage (1d6 +1d6/essence invested, but no ability score to damage or Power Attack) at a reach that increases with essence invested. It also inflicts stacking bleed, can be used to grapple with a bonus, and affects incorporeal creatures normally. The binds allow greater reach and grappling at reach (and grappling with Dex instead of Str), filling an area with razor wire that damages things moving in it, and hitting grappled enemies with Dimensional Anchor.

Overall, it's a decent weapon veil if the reach and wire-related tricks matter more than raw damage to you.

[astrerouge]

The November 2021 Studio M— compilation includes the Aether Wire veil for Dreamscarred Press's Akashic Mysteries (their version of Incarnum for Pf1). It's a weapon veil dealing modest damage (1d6 +1d6/essence invested, but no ability score to damage or Power Attack) at a reach that increases with essence invested. It also inflicts stacking bleed, can be used to grapple with a bonus, and affects incorporeal creatures normally. The binds allow greater reach and grappling at reach (and grappling with Dex instead of Str), filling an area with razor wire that damages things moving in it, and hitting grappled enemies with Dimensional Anchor.

Overall, it's a decent weapon veil if the reach and wire-related tricks matter more than raw damage to you.

this veil (as well as the rule for akasha) can be found on Library of Metzofitz wiki, not sure if i can link directly to the website but I do know thatt Mairn from studio M sometimes gift his book so that the person can add its content to the wiki so pretty sure it's above board,
Also akasha is a fun subsystem and it has some interaction with spheres too via the veilweaving sphere

[ShurikVch]

The first thing I thought when I read the thread title was: "Razorwire Golem from the Book of Fiends Volume 1: Armies of the Abyss"!
But, apparently, it didn't have anything in the "hard-to-see" part

CR 1 Trap - Razor-Wire across Hallway (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/traps.htm#cr1RazorWireacrossHallway)

The Wurst Of Grimtooth's Traps (by Necromancer Games) includes "Trap #53: Lest You Become Too Complacent Evinrood Pitches A Curve!":

If the tomb robbers push one button at a time, the results will be as follows. Out of the ceiling in the first 10 by 10 foot section will emerge a large hydraulically driven steel framework. This will be driven down to the floor with considerable force. It is in effect like a giant egg slicer, razor sharp, driven by the force of tons of water pressure! The mesh and the driving mechanism, four giant pistons concealed in the corners of the ceiling, will remain extended. The grid is only about a foot thick. Any delvers caught in it should slump over rather easily, or rather long slender parts of them!

Crystal Spider (https://www.enworld.org/threads/creature-catalog-new-3-5-conversions.66577/page-27#post-4058974) makes web which is hard-to-see (DC 20 Spot), but nor "razor-y"

Carrionette (Dragon #339): the Slow Needles it firing remains connected to the carrionette with 15'-long hard-to-see (DC 20 Spot) silver threads

Head Hunter - from Ravenloft (Denizens of Dread) - have "Razor Webs (Ex)" SA. Unfortunately, Head Hunter is neither Vermin, nor Outsider (actually, Aberration) - thus, it may be difficult to acquire their Razor Webs without acquiring the whole Head Hunter (although they are Tiny...)

Also, FWIW, Dragonstar setting has Monofilament Axe (also available in Dwarven Urgrosh variant), the One Thousand and One Science Fiction Weapons (d20 Modern) included Razorwire Bolas and Razorwire Yo-Yo, and the "Rapid Repo" adventure (The MegaTravelier Journal- Number 3, Traveller d20) mentioned "monomolecular garottes" (but without actual stats)

[noce]

Has anyone considered Invisible Spell or Spell Thematics? Or both?
Just cast a wall spell, or blade barrier or whatever, and change its theme to wires.
For using damaging wires as a weapon, cast a weapon summoning spell like Ice Axe.

[Trouvere]

'Shining South' has the Clr 5 and Sor/Wiz 5 spell Streamers, which I think is worded confusingly, but summons 1 to 4 streamers that have no effect until someone takes an action, whereupon they launch a readied touch attack for 5d10. If no one does anything, they have no effect.

[Nihilarian]

Blade Barrier modified with Invisible Spell will portray this mechanically despite differing flavor. Most dms won't care if you just call them webs and there's spell thematics if they do care.

There may be a better spell to modify but Invisible Spell seems like one of the best options for this concept.

[ShurikVch]

Also, Naruto d20 have "Battle Wire" and "Battle Wire, Long" weapons; and Heroes of Battle includes the Razor-Wire battlefield hazard (although it's just CR 1)

[ElderDarren]

The November 2021 Studio M— compilation includes the Aether Wire veil for Dreamscarred Press's Akashic Mysteries (their version of Incarnum for Pf1). It's a weapon veil dealing modest damage (1d6 +1d6/essence invested, but no ability score to damage or Power Attack) at a reach that increases with essence invested. It also inflicts stacking bleed, can be used to grapple with a bonus, and affects incorporeal creatures normally. The binds allow greater reach and grappling at reach (and grappling with Dex instead of Str), filling an area with razor wire that damages things moving in it, and hitting grappled enemies with Dimensional Anchor.

Overall, it's a decent weapon veil if the reach and wire-related tricks matter more than raw damage to you.

You sent me into a delightful exploration with this post. Thank you a bunch for allowing me to replace shoddy homebrew with working text. I may have spent hours reading up on Vizier and Helmsman now.