Rune Caster Options

[Neruda7]

Hello All,
I was wondering if anyone had any experience with an arcane spellcaster that specialize in the casting of runes? If so, what publication did you find it in?

I have looked at the Runethane in Monty's Arcana Evolved, but it is not quite what I am looking for.

Thanks for any help any of you might provide...

Regards,
Scott

 

[Camarath]

The is a prestige class in Races of Stone that deals with arcane runecasting. I am not sure if it is what your looking for but it might be worth a look (though I think it may be dwarf only).

 

[Neruda7]

Thanks for responding Camarath,
I should have been more desciptive. I was actually looking for a base character class not a PrC, but I will check it out and see if there are any useful ideas I can glean from that text.

Anyone else have any ideas?


Regards,
Scott

 

[linnorm]

I'm pretty sure Frost & Fur has a runevikti base class in its norse material.

 

[Andor]

Not DnD but adaptable (just don't publish your adaptation) is the Diabolist from Palladium FRPG. I personally like the original edition over the new one.

 

[Janx]

I haven't looked at any rune classes myself. If I were looking for one or designing one from scratch, I'd consider the following:

There's generaly 2 style concepts of runes.

Traditionally, they were markings you put on things to enhance, curse, or protect something. Luck symbols, wards, that kind of thing. Obviously, you can take a pen and draw all the runes you want in real life. Not very flashy, but you might make rules indicating the ritualistic nature of creating them. You might also consider a limit on how many active runes you can support or some munchkin will put 50 bonus runes on his sword for an obvious +50 benefit.

The other view to consider (which would be a bit flashier in game narrative) would to emulate Full Metal Alchemist's style, wherein the rune caster draws a symbol and shapes energy through the symbol. This could be a descriptive bit describing the casting of all the normal wizard spells, or more restrictive to what kinds of spells can be cast. You could rule that all Somatic components are really "Runic" components (requiring the caster to draw something to cast (which is really a form of somatic hand motion actually)).

Janx

 

[Neruda7]

Linnorm and Andor,
Thanks for the suggestions, you can be sure I will look at both of those options to glean any useful information or ideas.

Janx - thanks for the input. I will probably have to create most of the class myself to make it fit into my homebrew, but I appreciate your take on the two options. I will probably end up mixing 70% of your second choice with 30% of the first. The thought of a Rune Caster drawing a glowing rune in the air with a wand and then having it do something is just too dynamic of a visual to pass up, which is why I think I will go mostly that route.

Regards,
Scott

 

[Herobizkit]

You might wants to check out GURPS Magic. Contained within is the concept of Rune Magic. Essentially, each rune is represented by a descriptor (Fire, Strength, Creation etc). By combining various runes, you had a chance to duplicate any spell listed in the book. The difficulty of using the magic is that you had to tell the DM what kind of effect you were trying to create without actually referencing the book, and the DM would determine what the effect actually was.

Also, GURPS is a skill-based system; each rune had its own separate skill level. Combining runes required multiple checks, and any one failure ruined the spell. You could adapt a similar system to d20, but it'd be rough.

 

[Silveras]

As mentioned, Races of Stone has some material on Rune magic. Not just a class, but also am Item Creation feat for Rune Circles (which I *really* like).

Additionally, Complete Arcane has the Geometer, a Prestige Class for arcane casters that relies on drawing symbols. They are able to prepare "spellglyphs", which enhance the casting of the spell they are prepared for.

The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting has a Runecaster class. It is, if I recall, another Prestige Class. It is also Divine-caster oriented. I believe there is also an Item Creation feat in there for Runes (as in carving a rune into something to store a spell, like a Potion/Scroll).

Wulf Ratbane of these boards has a system for Runic enhancement in Heroes of High Favor: Dwarves.

I believe, if I recall correctly, Path of Magic from Fantasy Flight Games also had "Glyph Eggs", which could easily be adapted to Runes (speciifically).


In general, I do not recall seeing a BASE class that was rune-oriented (although I am sure there is at least one out there). Because of the specialized nature, I think most of them tend to be Prestige Classes.

 

[Neruda7]

Silveras and Herobizkit,
Thanks for all of the great suggestions. I will be sure to check them out.

Regards,
Scott