Runescribing is the art of inscribing magical runes onto weapons and armour to grant them bonusses and effects. To runescribe, you need to have a <abbr title="A Runescriber's Kit contains a small etching needle, a pouch for Tymirite powder, and guide stones for the runes and costs 80 gp.">Runescriber's Kit</abbr> and magical runes to inlay. A newly bought Runescriber's kit contains enough Tymirite powder to enchant 3 runes. The amount of Tymirite powder needed for one inscribement costs 20 gp. ### Rune Types Magical runes consist of two categories: *damage* runes and *condition* runes. **Damage Runes.** There are two types of damage runes, elemental damage runes(acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, thunder) and ethereal damage runes(force, necrotic, psychic, radiant), the latter being more rare. When inscribed on a weapon, a damage rune grants a 1d4, 1d6, or 1d8 additional damage of the runes damage type depending on the runes *tier*. When inscribed on armour, a damage rune grants either resistance or immunity to the runes damage type depending on the runes *tier*. You must use at least a tier II rune to inscribe them on armour. | | Tier I | Tier II | Tier III | | --------- | ----------------- | ------------------------- | ----------------------- | | On Weapon | + 1d4 rune damage | + 1d6 rune damage | + 1d8 rune damage | | On Armour | - | resistance to rune damage | immunity to rune damage | **Condition Runes.** These runes represent the different conditions that a creature can suffer (<abbr title="A blinded creature can’t see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage.">blinded</abbr>, <abbr title="A charmed creature can’t attack the charmer or target the charmer with harmful abilities or magical effects. The charmer has advantage on any ability check to interact socially with the creature.">charmed</abbr>, <abbr title="A deafened creature can’t hear and automatically fails any ability check that requires hearing.">deafened</abbr>, <abbr title="A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of its fear is within line of sight. The creature can’t willingly move closer to the source of its fear.">frightened</abbr>, <abbr title="A paralyzed creature is incapacitated (see the condition) and can’t move or speak. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage. Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature.">paralyzed</abbr>, <abbr title="A petrified creature is transformed, along with any nonmagical object it is wearing or carrying, into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone). Its weight increases by a factor of ten, and it ceases aging. The creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. The creature has resistance to all damage. The creature is immune to poison and disease, although a poison or disease already in its system is suspended, not neutralized.">petrified</abbr>, <abbr title="A poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.">poisoned</abbr>, <abbr title="A prone creature’s only movement option is to crawl unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition. The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls. An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage.">prone</abbr>, <abbr title="A restrained creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage. The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.">restrained</abbr>, <abbr title="A stunned creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t move, and can speak only falteringly. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.">stunned</abbr>). In general, condition runes are rarer to find than damage runes. When inscribed on a weapon, a condition rune subjects the target of a successful attack to the condition. Each of the conditions last until the end of your next turn. The ability used for the saving throw is determined by which condition rune you have (see table below) and the DC of the saving throw is determined by the runes *tier*. When inscribed on armour, a condition rune grants advantage or *tripled advantage* (rolling with three dice) on saving throws made to resist that condition depending on the runes *tier*. You must use at least a tier II rune to inscribe them on armour. | | Tier I | Tier II | Tier III | | --------- | ------------------ | ------------------ | ------------------ | | On Weapon | DC 10 saving throw | DC 12 saving throw | DC 15 saving throw | | On Armour | - | Advantage | Tripled advantage | | Ability | Runes | | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | Strength | prone, restrained | | Constitution | blinded, deafened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, stunned | | Wisdom | frightened | | Charisma | charmed | ### Rune Capacity Each piece of weapon or armour, magical or non-magical, can hold a rune. However, the amount of runes they can hold and the amount of maximum charges they can have is determined by the items *rune capacity*. This capacity is based on the items rarity. Most standard weapons and armour count as a common item. However, some non-magical items can be uncommon or rare based on the specific materials (e.g. Bluesteel weapons are impervious to acidic corrosion, but aren't magical). The amount of runes and charges can be seen in the *rune capacity* table below. | Rarity | Capacity | Charges | | --------- | :------: | :-----: | | Common | 1 | 2 | | Uncommon | 2 | 2 | | Rare | 3 | 3 | | Very Rare | 3 | 4 | | Legendary | 4 | 5 | | Artifact | 4 | 5 | ### Inscribing Runes During a long rest, the player can choose to spend their time inscribing a rune onto an item as long as they have a Runescriber's kit with at least 1 charge of Tymirite powder, a magical rune, and an item that isn't at *rune capacity*. To inscribe a rune, the player must make a check with their Runescriber's kit similarly to any other toolkit check (using Intelligence plus proficiency if applicable). The DC of the check is determined by how many runes are already applied to the item on which the rune will be inscribed. The base DC for a Runescribing check is 15. For each additional rune already on the item, the DC increases by +3. Depending on the roll, there are multiple different outcomes for the inscribement. These are *Masterful*, *Charged*, *Fragile*, *Null*, and *Shattered*. ***Masterful.*** If the player succeeds the Runescribing check by 10 or greater (e.g. They had a 25 or higher on a base check), the rune is inscribed in the utmost perfect way, consuming the rune in the process. The effect of the rune is always active and does not rely on any charges to be activated. Masterful enchantments are highly sought after and raises the selling price of any item by a great amount. ***Charged.*** If the player succeeds the Runescribing check, but didn't roll higher than 10 above the DC, the rune is successfully inscribed, consuming the rune in the process. The item has charges based on its *rune capacity*. As a bonus action, the player can expend one charge to activate the runes effect for 1 minute. The item regains all charges after a long rest. ***Fragile.*** If the player succeeds the Runescribing check by rolling the DC exactly (e.g. They had a 15 on a base check), the rune is inscribed in a very unstable way, consuming the rune in the process. The item has charges based on its *rune capacity*. As a bonus action, the player can expend one charge to activate the runes effect for 1 minute. However, due to the fragility of the inscribement, each time the effect is activated there is a *10%* chance of the item breaking. If the item breaks, follow the rules as described in the *Shattered* section. The item regains all charges after a long rest. ***Null.*** If the player fails the Runescribing check, but didn't roll lower than 10 below the DC, the inscribing fails. The item reverts back to its original state and the rune is saved for later use. However, the charge of Tymirite dust is consumed. ***Shattered.*** If the player fails the Runescribing check by 10 or greater (e.g. They had a 5 or lower on a base check), the inscribement fails catastrophically. The rune used in the inscribing is damaged and becomes a *broken rune*. The item on which the rune was being put cannot handle the unstable magical force placed upon it. If the item is non-magical, it shatters completely into miniscule shards. If the item was magical, it loses all magical properties for 1d3 days. In addition to the item and rune being damaged, the force which is unleashed by the faulty inscribement causes the player to take 4d6 force damage. Whatever the outcome of the inscribement, the process consumes 1 charge of the Tymirite dust in the Runescriber's kit. > **Example.** A player tries to inscribe a prone condition rune on a weapon. The weapon is uncommon and has capacity for 2 runes, but it already contains a cold damage rune. The DC for the inscribing is the base DC 15 + 3 for the rune already inscribed for a total of 18. With a roll of 19 and a modifier of +3, the player succeeds the roll and creates a charged inscribement. The weapon has 2 charges available, which it shares between both runes. An expenditure of the charge can activate either the cold rune or the prone rune, but not both with a single charge. ### Combining Runes Outside of finding higher tier runes during adventuring, a player can create a higher tier rune by combining lower tier runes together. During a long rest, a player can combine runes as long as they have a Runescriber's kit with at least 1 charge of Tymirite dust and two runes of the same category (either damage or condition runes). To combine runes, the player must make a Runescribing check similar to inscribing runes. To elevate a rune to a higher tier, the player must have 2 runes of a tier below (so 2 tier I runes for 1 tier II rune). The runes must both match their category, being both either a damage rune or a condition rune. The specific type of the rune are allowed to be different (e.g. a fire damage rune and a lightning damage rune can combine to make a higher tier lightning damage rune or fire damage rune). However, if the types do not match, the player makes the Runescribing check with disadvantage. Three *broken runes* can be combined together to create a random rune of the same category. | Tier | DC | | ---- | --- | | I | 12 | | II | 14 | | III | 18 | If the player succeeds, both of the lower tier runes are used up in the process of creating the higher tier rune, as well as the Tymirite charge. If the player used two differing types of runes, they can choose which of the two types the higher tier rune will have. If the player fails, the runes remain as they were. Only the Tymirite charge is lost. ### Removing Runes A player can choose to remove a rune from an already inscribed item to make room for different runes. During a long rest, a player can remove a rune as long as they have a Runescriber's kit and an item containing a rune. Though the kit is necessary, no Tymirite dust is used or needed in the process. To remove a rune, the player must make a Runescriber check with a DC of 15. If the player succeeds, the rune is removed and recovered as a *broken rune*. If the player fails the check, but didn't roll lower than 10 below the DC, the rune is not removed. If the player fails the check by 10 or greater, the item suffers the same effects as described in the *shattered* outcome.