Magic runes

[glectin]

I've been DMing a campaign in 4e recently and have been trying to create a rune magic system for different magic users and item augments and such, and I've been attempting to base it off the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. THe idea was for different combinations of runes to have different effects and such, and so I am after a bit of help to figuring out what each of the runes should do. I had tied looking at the meaning of the runes, but all I got was crazy peoples runemagic voodoo stuff from IRL which doesn't convert well to D&D 4e... So would anyone have any good ideas?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Somehow I doubt there's a good source for that, and you have to create your own.

Younger futhark has 16 characters, so 16 base effects, which is a lot. In fact, if you have more than about 7 the cognitive loads gets to be too much. IMO, runes could act as parts of rituals, specifically the scroll. Combining these two runes might create the Remove Affliction ritual, and so forth. Characters who can read the runes can perform rituals without mastering them or having the feat, so any warchief or the like could do so.

 

[Jhaelen]

Well, if you use some of the Runes as 'verbs' and some as 'nouns', 16 isn't that much. Combine a 'verb' rune with a 'noun' rune to create a magic effect.

This is basically Ars Magica's magic system. It has the following five 'verbs':
- Creo - I create
- Intellego - I perceive
- Muto - I change
- Perdo - I destroy
- Rego - I control

And the following ten 'nouns':
- Animal - animals
- Herbam - plants
- Corpus - humans
- Mentem - minds
- Aquam - water
- Auram - air
- Ignem - fire
- Terram - earth
- Imaginem - images
- Vim - magic

There is also a supplement with rules for rune magic which might be useful to you as a resource if nothing else: Ultima Thule

 

[Yaarel]

Runes were used for magic on occasion. But they were simply used to ‘imprint’ some specific intention into an object.

The runes are a normal alphabet.

No two magical runic inscriptions are identical. The one doing magic invented some memorable statement or song that was made up on the spot, and wrote it on the object.

Often, the inscriber abbreviated the words by just writing down the first letter of each word.

The ritual uses the same format as for writing normally. First sketch it out. Then carve it. Then wet it, to polish it, usually with ale.

In D&D terms, something like this is a ritual to create a magic item. Often it is a temporary item meant for one specific purpose. Examples include transferring a sickness onto a bone, checking to see if a drink has been poisoned, but almost anything that could relate to an object seems plausible.

 

[pemerton]

Perhaps a naïve suggestion/question: have you found anything helpful in the Runepriest class?

 

[Zaukrie]

The new deep magic book from kobold press has some ideas on this.....

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Perhaps a naïve suggestion/question: have you found anything helpful in the Runepriest class?

Sadly no. I'm a bit disappointed in the runepriest class. It has great auras, but poor healing and the powers are sort of all over the place. They tend to be controller-y, but single target and melee. They're tough enough to take it, but the (PH1) warpriest minored in defender instead, and its powers tend to be the kind that knock opponents prone next to you (just like a defender) or even occasionally mark enemies.

The runepriest doesn't even have Ritual Caster (and I believe psions in PH3 do, so I don't think it's because WotC had given up on rituals at that point).

The runepriest just gets two rune states (which are basically modifying runes), or a third at paragon.

For the OP, I'm thinking of the same short-term magic item idea mentioned earlier, but making a rune might reduce the cost of the item. However that would force PCs to search for individual runes, and futhark is an entire alphabet that any literate PC would know. (PCs are far more likely to be literate than regular people. I don't even know if it's possible to be illiterate in D&D 4e.)

The item idea:

In D&D terms, something like this is a ritual to create a magic item. Often it is a temporary item meant for one specific purpose. Examples include transferring a sickness onto a bone, checking to see if a drink has been poisoned, but almost anything that could relate to an object seems plausible.

Since I don't know how to "mention".

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I guess the question is "what is it that magicians normally do when they write down magic?" and I'd assume the answer is they use runes (and possibly other things, but runes of some sort would make sense, they are after all just letters). So, is there a need for something beyond existing 4e mechanics, or is it really just a matter of making some items that have the flavor you want, and maybe a feat or two that adds some mechanical hook if one is needed?

For instance a ritual could exist that empowers a 'scroll' which is a consumable item that invokes the power of the rune. This is all well within the existing mechanics. Likewise there is already an explosive rune ritual, but there could be other similar rituals. A 'runemaster' feat might key off of 'rune' keyed rituals and allow some advantage (faster, cheaper, added effect, etc), the effects can be described in the rituals, so it need not even use a keyword.