This post is a companion post to this post.
Rune-Smithing is one of those pseudo-magical arts that is looked down upon by Wizards despite it's many, many uses. People are all for practicality, but nothing gets in the way of snobbery.
What are Runes?
Runes are symbols that, while not magical in and of themselves, when mana is channeled through them, produce magical effects. This makes them highly useful for a wide variety of purposes, from defense to weapon development to medicine and countless other purposes.
How does it work?
First, decide what runes you want to inscribe onto an object. Runes form a crude alphabet of sorts, so in theory you can do anything with them, but in practice the more complicated an effect, the more likely a Runesmith will get a weakened effect or it will simply not work at all. So general theory is to limit the number of Runes as much as possible to maximize the effect the Runesmith desires.
Then, inscribe the runes onto whatever object you are working with. Runes can take almost any form- they can be pounded into metal or chiseled out of stone, embroidered into cloth, carved out of wax or even written on paper.
Finally, charge the runed item with energy. For small items, the mana of the user is often enough. For larger items, it is much more common to use a Mana Crystal or Mana stone. Mana crystals are small stones that are charged with mana and used by Runesmiths to power their creation. In traditional Rune-Smithing, Mana Crystals are almost always real crystals or gemstones. White quartz and diamonds are the most prized, but many other types of crystals and all gemstones will work too.
In more recent times, some Rune-Smiths have started working with specially prepared glass spheres or cubes which they claim work as well (almost) as well as natural gemstones. Some Rune-Smiths have also found success with 'Mana Stones' made of platinum, gold, silver or other exotic materials. Usually these are designed like jewelry and often take the form of bracelets, bracers, necklaces or torcs. Since they almost always take circular shapes, these are sometimes called 'Mana Circlets' or 'Vita Circuits'.
Wow, that sounds amazing? Why doesn't everyone use Runed items?
Well for one, Runesmiths rarely share their knowledge. Just like the Wizards they envy and the other Sages they scorn, Runesmiths rarely share their secrets. Learning the language of Runes is a product of years of hard labor and is very rarely given away for anything but money and power.
Secondly, Rune-Smithing is very powerful and those with power want to keep it, so most Rune-Smiths serve either powerful organizations, ruling families or the State. Their knowledge is restricted and those caught illegally teaching it can and will be punished for their indiscretions.
Thirdly, Mana Crystals tend to be...reactive. A sharp impact, a sudden burst of magical energy ("I cast Fireball!") or excessive background magic can prematurely trigger either runes or Mana Crystals, causing wild and unpredictable effects. Sometimes this is as minor as some destroyed clothes and a close shave, while in other cases, it ends in the kind of hideous injuries that make industrial accidents look tame.
Common Types of Runes:
Warding: Wards that are designed to keep certain things out.
Protection: Wards that are designed to protect the wearer/user from something, such as from a type of elemental damage or possession.
Enhancement: Wards that improve the item they are on.
Destruction: Wards that channel mana to create a destructive effect.
Concealment: Wards designed to hide something.
Mana Crystals:
Gemstones: Can store up to X Mana Dice, or MD, where X is the number you multiply 100 by to get the value of the stone in silver pieces. For example: A 400 silver piece stone can store 4 MD.
Natural Crystals: Can store up to 10 MD. To determine how much any random Crystal can store, roll 1d10 upon acquisition. Note that the clearer a crystal, the more it can store. Opaque crystals cannot store mana. Examples: White Quartz stores 7-10 MD, depending on quality; Moonstone stores 5-8, depending on quality; Lapis Lazuli stores 4-7, depending on quality; Pink (Himalayan) Salt stores 2-4, depending on quality.
Worked Glass: Depending on craftsmanship, stores 1-4 MD. These, while generally more fragile, can be easily purchased from other Runesmiths, Alchemists or glass-makers.
Worked Gold, Silver or Platinum: Depending on craftsmanship, can store 3-8 MD. These are only made by other Runesmiths but can be purchased, but only for high costs. Price of materials is not included.
How does this actually work?
If your player is playing a Runesmith, he will have a number of Runic items and a number of Mana Crystals to power them. For example, our Runesmith is named Gin. Gin has a Razorsoul Sword and a Suit of Firebane Armor. He also carries three Mana Crystals, which we will assume are charged with power. Think of the amount of Mana he has stored as charges. If he has 3 Mana Crystals that can store 3, 5 and 7 MD each, he has 15 MD available. Each time he wishes to activate one of his Runic items, he must spend at least one of these MD. Once spent, these charges are gone and the Mana Crystals must be recharged in order for him to use his items again.
How do I charge Mana Crystals?
Firstly, you can donate your own Mana. If you have at least 1 level in Wizard, Sage or any other class that gives you access to your Mana, you can infuse a Mana Crystal with your Mana. Unless listed otherwise, you have MD equal to your COG+CON modifier. You can also get other Magi, Sages or friends to donate their Mana to you.
Secondly, you can build Mana by wearing a Mana Crystal while doing something that requires effort. This can be anything you find difficult, from sewing to exercise to struggling through advanced mathematics. 1 hour of effort = 1 MD.
Thirdly, you can tap a source of natural Mana. Sources of natural Mana include the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Storms, the Ocean, the Stars, dimensional rifts and other locations where wild Magic is common. This energy is very volatile and extremely difficult to work with, but it can be harnessed using advanced equipment. This source is most commonly used to power large projects, such as an entire castle covered in Wards, as it's generally not worth the effort for anything smaller. Additionally, if any of the equipment you are using to tap a source of natural Mana breaks down, you can very easily cause the magical equivalent of a nuclear disaster.
Runesmith organizations usually conceal the knowledge of how to build such devices from their members and outsiders, but will be willing to allow members to utilize them to charge Mana Crystals. Outsiders may also be allowed to use such devices, for an appropriate fee.
Fourthly, and though this is (usually) forbidden and hilariously illegal, you can use blood sacrifice. Kill creatures and steal their life-force. This works on all living things, from beetles to people and everything in between. However, doing this tends to attract a lot of attention, especially from the local Witch-Finders and others charged with policing the use of Magic. Additionally, the Runesmith orders have no tolerance for such behavior and when they become aware of it, they will begin working to destroy the "Bloodsmith" or "Soulsmith". Your death will be long and painful if they catch you.
A Note on Safety:
Runes, when not charged with Mana, are just markings on whatever surface that you marked. They can be erased, scratched out or destroyed. Beware of this- if your Runic equipment suffers damage to it's Runic structure, that will quickly lead to problems. At best, this means that the item in question will cease working and will need to be fixed. At worst, it means that charging said item could trigger a new and unexpected magical effect. Hopefully, this is one of those cases where your Runic sword just glows and fizzles, instead of one where it suddenly explodes and takes your hand with it.
Similarly, Runic items are made of normal materials. Unless covered in Runes of Protection and Charged with Mana, your Runic items are no harder than whatever you made them out of. Unlike a Magic Item, which is harder than normal and resists it's own destruction, Runic items are just tools that can do novel things.
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Common Runic Items:
Wands and Staves
Rarity: Common
Crafting DC: 10
Wands or Staves are common weapons used by Sages, Alchemists, Artificers and Runesmiths. Each one produces elemental damage of a specific type. Requires a chunk of that element or something charged with that element's energy in order to work. Damage rules can be found here.
Anti-Scrying Charm
Rarity: Common
Crafting DC: 5+X (X equals the penalty you wish to impose)
A charm, usually a necklace of some kind that when active, makes the user harder to detect via divination magic or through the use of a Scrying Glass or similar device. Depending on quality, grants a +X penalty to anyone attempting to find you with magic, a Scry glass or similar device. Ex: If your Charm grants a +4 penalty to any such attempt, the DC to find you with divination magic increases by +4.
Simple Charms: X = +4 to any DC. Require no special materials.
Advanced Charms: X = +6 to any DC. Require flawless jet or black pearls to craft.
Expert Charms: X = +8 to any DC. Hide the user from precognition or any visions of the future. Requires a body part from an anti-memetic creature or a creature that cannot be detected by Seers to craft.
Master Charms: X = +10 to any DC. Hides the user and anything near them from precognition or any visions of the future. Requires Voidstone to craft.
Trueshot Charms
Rarity: Uncommon
Crafting DC: Varies
Single-use charms, usually drawn on pieces of paper and attached to projectiles. They boost the accuracy of said projectiles by a degree, depending on the level of complexity.
Simple: +2 to Ranged Attack- Crafting DC 5
Advanced: +4 to Ranged Attack- Crafting DC 10
Expert: +6 to Ranged Attack- Crafting DC 13
Healing Charms
Rarity: Uncommon to Very Rare
Crafting DC: Varies
The most prized of all the Runesmith's art, Healing Charms are prized by rulers and the powerful as a means of easing convalensence, guaranteeing health and preventing assassination. Depending on their effectiveness, they can either speed a length hospice stay, drive off diseases or make the wearer all-but immortal.
Anti-Possession Charms
Rarity: Common
Crafting DC: 8+X (X is effectiveness)
Charms that are designed to make the wearer harder, if not impossible, to possess by ghosts, outsiders or other spiritual entities. Can be made of paper, sewn into fabric, pressed into metal or in the most serious cases, tattooed onto the skin.
Common - Resistance to Possession - +2 to Crafting DC. Requires a white feather to craft.
Uncommon - Immunity to Possession - +4 to Crafting DC. Requires either a set of honest merchant's scales, a judge's badge of office or a lady's hankerchief to craft.
Razorsoul Blades
Rarity: Uncommon
Crafting DC: 10
Blades that are enhanced with Runes that when Charged with Mana, they become sharper and harder. Depending on the quality of the blade used, the blade can tolerate only up to a certain amount of MD being used to charge it. Using more MD than the quality of the blade will tolerate causes a chance of a catastrophic failure.
Common Blades - 1 MD - +1d6 damage
Fine Blades - 2 MD - +2d6 damage
Superfine Blades - 3 MD - +3d6 damage
Masterwork Blades - 1d4+2 - +Yd6 damage, where Y is the maximum the blade can tolerate
Furious Heart Charms
Rarity: Common
Crafting DC: 8
Disposable, single-use bombs that when empowered with mana produce explosions. Can be made of ceramic, metal, paper, fabric or any other type of material. Furious Heart Charms can also be modified to do damage depending on what type of Runes they were inscribed with: the most common types are fire, cold, lightning, thunder, radiant or necrotic, but there are other less common types.
Furious Heart Charms - Xd6 damage, where X is the number of MD spent to Charge the Runes.
Enhancement Jewelry
Rarity: Uncommon
Crafting DC: Varies
Enhancement Jewelery or just Enhancement Jewels are pieces of Jewelry engraved with runes that enhance the physical abilities or properties of the creature that wears it when the device is Charged. There are various types- Physical Attribute, Attack and Vitality.
Physical Attribute Jewels enhance the wearer's physical ability scores, such as STR, DEX or CON. Attack Jewels boost the wearer's Attack power and grant bonuses to Attack and Defense rolls. Vitality Jewels increase the wearer's total HP.
Armor
Rarity: Varies
Crafting DC: Varies
Runic Armor is the prize and the obsession of Runesmiths the world over. For generations, the various Runesmith orders have competed to see who can create the ultimate fighting system. This obsession has led to an incredible variety of terrifying suits of armor, one for every occasion, based on a thousand different philosophies. The most common types are Spellbane, for fighting Magi and spell-casters; Elemental Endurance, for resisting powerful elemental effects; Manhunter, for stealth; and Iron Soldier, for the professional warrior.
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Runesmiths vs. Artificers:
The difference between Runesmiths and Artificers is small, thin and largely a matter of perspective. An uneducated person would insist there is none and they would be somewhat correct. The difference is that while Artificers generally investigate the use and building of Mana-based equipment and machinery, Runesmiths seek to study the full implementation of the language of Runes. So while Artificers must have working knowledge of the Runic tongue, they do not delve into it with the same level of depth. They are technicians, while Runesmiths all aspire, if not achieve scholarship.
The other main difference is that while Artificers tend to spend their days plundering ancient tombs and rooting through piles of old scrap looking for useful things, Runesmiths tend to look toward the future. They build new things and unlike their cousins, who are often lone tinkerers or dwell in small collectives of scholars, Runesmiths tend to come from large organizations that either work directly for the State or work in close partnership with it.
And while all Artificers can expect to get their hands dirty, not all Runesmiths do. While many must dirty themselves with the nitty-gritty of maintaining Runic equipment and supporting their patrons, the privileged few get to spend their lives in the ivory tower of academia, studying and learning Without any unpleasant intrusions from the real world and it's unpleasant realities.
Types of Runesmith:
Academic Runesmith- The elevated royals of the Runesmiths, these lucky few spend their time in comfortable halls, studying ancient books and new treatises, studying the implementation of the Runic language, learning grammar and syntax, studying and experimenting to create new Runic technologies. They are the few, mocked by their envious cousins among the lesser branches of the field. Despite this, many of the great ideas of modern and ancient Rune-Smithing first emerged here and gradually trickled down to other types of Smith.
Artisan Runesmith- The most common type, these are Runesmiths who serve in the large guilds or Runesmith organizations. They are most common in places and societies with more Runic technology. It is their job to facilitate, maintain and repair such technology. And while the organizations they serve are often powerful and influential, most of them are little better paid than craftsmen of any other type.
War-Smith- A sub-set of above, these are Runesmiths who are permanently attached to the military or form their own special regiments. These Smiths aid the army through the building of war-machines and other devices that enable soldiers to fight better, harder and more easily. A War-Smith might be tasked to help build an enormous war machine, or to improvise a method of allowing an army to pass over a raging river after the enemy has destroyed the bridges. Unlike many other Runesmiths, War-Smiths are used to working with limited resources, improvising and taking wild gambles in the hope of success. If a Runesmith has abandoned conventional methods of advancement and gone off to become an Adventurer, odds are they got the idea from some time serving with the army.
Artificer- Though most of them wouldn't consider themselves Runesmiths, nor would other Runesmiths, Artificers usually possess a working knowledge of Runes. Most of the ancient technology they study worked on Runic principles, which have remained relatively consistent over the centuries, due to the largely static nature of the Runes. Despite this fact, most Artificers lack any deep knowledge of Runes as a language, thinking of them largely in terms of inputs and outputs.
Rune-Knight- Rune-Knights are elite soldiers who utilize specialized equipment to be terrors on the battle-field. Depending on what their War-Smiths can manufacture and maintain, a Rune-Knight can be anything from a powerful foe to a demigod of blood and iron. Most Rune-Knights are attached to larger forces, acting as Shock Troops or Rapid Attack forces, but in other cases a Rune-Knight might be a noble soldier, fighting alongside his house guard and retainers, maintaining his weapons through his personal wealth.
Wandslinger- The lowest and most common branch, these are soldiers who have a basic knowledge of Runes and use them to effectively utilize Wands, Staves and other basic Runic technologies. While most of these types are drop-outs of more prestigious institutions or self-taught mavericks, some organizations or groups train small groups of elite soldiers to utilize Runic technology and Wizard Weapons to act as commandoes and special forces. And while other Runesmiths might scoff at them, Wandslingers can still be terrible enemies to face, especially when their limited technology is paired with elite soldiers and rigorous training.
Make your Own:
The following are rules for crafting your own Runic creations.
How big is it?
- Small (Base DC 4)
- Medium (Base DC 6)
- Large (Base DC 8)
- Huge (Base DC 10)
How many sentences would it take to describe what you're trying to do with the Runes?
- One or less (+0)
- Two or Three (+2)
- Three to Five (+4)
- Six or more (+5)
How many effects will it cause?
- 1 (+1)
- 2 (+2)
- 3 (+4)
- 4 (+6)
How complex are the effects?
- Simple (+0)
- Slightly complex (+2)
- Complicated (+3)
- Complex (+4)
- Intricate (+5)
How powerful is the effect(s) you are trying to create?
- Weak (+0)
- Not Very (+2)
- Strong (+3)
- Very Strong (+4)
- World-Changing (+6)
A few Examples:
Robert Nimblehands wants to Ward a house against Undead. The house is a small family home (Large- Base DC 8); he only wants to cause one effect, to Ward off Undead (+1); the effect is simple (+0) but the effect has to be strong enough to protect the whole house and all it's entrances (+2). On top of all that, the Runic effect is easily described in one sentence (+0). So the total DC is 11.
Alicia Silverwit wants to build a suit of powered armor to help her fight. It only needs to fit her (Medium- Base DC 6); she wants it to protect her from spells, enhance her strength and protect her (+4); the effects are complex (+4); and the suit has to be strong enough to actually accomplish her goals (+2). That being said, the Runic effects are extensive and not easily explained (+4). So the total DC is 20.
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Tables:
Damaged Rune Charging Table:
Roll on this table if you're attempting to Charge and/or use a Damaged Runic construct.
1d6
1- The item destroys itself violently, self-destructing. The item explodes, doing Xd6 damage, save for half, where X is the number of MD it was Charged with.
2- The item destroys itself, blasting mana everywhere. All Runic items within X*10' are triggered, where X is the number of MD it was Charged with.
3- The item breaks, destroying the Rune-net and rendering itself as scrap.
4- The item emits a stimulus, such as a cloud of smoke, a shower of sparks, a grating sound, but produces no other effect.
5- The item works at 50% effectiveness.
6- The item works as intended.
Mana Crystal Fracture Table:
Roll on this table if a creature is carrying a bunch of Mana Crystals and one or multiple of them suffer a blow that may cause them to crack or break.
1d6
1- 1d6 Crystals immediately shatter. This causes an explosion that does Xd6 damage in an X*10' radius sphere, save for half. If you pass a CHA save, you have one round to throw the shattered Crystals before they explode.
2- 1d4 Crystals immediately begin venting mana. For X rounds, where X is the amount of MD contained in each Crystal, you create an aura of mana around you that automatically Charges and activates all Runic constructs within X*10' of the Crystals. Magi can also tap into this loose mana if they are within the affected area.
3- 1d3 Crystals crack. These Crystals, next time they are tapped for mana, force the user to save. On a failed save, they dump all of their mana at once. This may or may not benefit your Runic constructs, and it could damage them.
4- 1d3 Crystals begin overheating. Overheated Crystals are unstable and if you attempt to put more Mana into them or use them to Charge a Runic construct, they could explode or damage the Runic construct. Roll 1d6 to determine what happens: 1d6 (1-2: The Crystals explode (as "1"); 3-4: The Crystals damage the Runic construct, roll on the above table; 5-6: Nothing happens, the Crystals work, for now).
5- One Crystal begins venting Mana as 1dX [1= Light, the Crystal glows for X rounds; 2= Sound, the Crystal makes an irritating sound for X rounds; 3= Stench, the Crystal fills the air around itself with the stench of discharged Mana for X rounds; 4= Heat, the Crystal does Xd6 fire damage, save for half, to anything it touches.] X is the number of MD in a Crystal.
6- Nothing happens. You escape by the skin of your teeth.
