Revision [4999]
This is an old revision of RuneCraft made by FalconNomad on 2009-02-28 14:10:40.
Rune Crafting is the mystical art of placing pictographic runes on an object to grant that object abilities exceeding the normal properties of that object. Those who practice this difficult and dangerous art are known as Rune Crafters. The art of Rune Crafting takes decades to master in even its most simple forms and is almost exclusively the practice of metahumans, and some carriers whose unnaturally long lives lend themselves to the study of the art.
Rune Crafting cannot truly be taught. The ability to focus, certain techniques, and to a degree, Rune Sight can be taught but each individual rune must be seen, learned and practiced on their own. It is a path you must walk yourself, regardless of skill. The apprentice Rune Crafter must have patience, a high degree of awareness, and be willful to succeed. Metapower does not aid in this quest, though powers that allow the user to create substrait, or medium can be incredibly helpful in the practical use of Runes. Age does help, as does practice since the more runes the person learns, the easier it is to learn new ones.
In terms of game rules, a character must have awareness 4 or more, 6 or more willpower, and decades of time to learn Rune Craft.
It might be useful to provide a range of time needed to learn a certain amount of runes: 50 years of study usually equals 3 runes if such a ratio is possible
Non Rune Crafters can be taught the basics of how to operate runes. In addition Rune Structures can often be built that allow anyone, aware or not, to activate and use the Runes.
In a practical sense, Rune Craft is the creation and use of Runes Structures that are constructed from several parts:
The Rune Drawing - This is the actual real world representation of the rune on the object. The Rune Drawing is what ties the rune to the particular object. Runes must be drawn on something, and will then affect the thing that they are drawn on. This thing is called the Substrait (see later section). The runes can be carved, or drawn on the object and appear as any number of languages.Examples might be good here: Chinese ; Japanese ; Norse etc
However students of the language will note that runes, while they look similar to the language in which they are written will often have key differences or changes to the base structures of the "letters".Non Rune Crafters can be taught the basics of how to operate runes. In addition Rune Structures can often be built that allow anyone, aware or not, to activate and use the Runes.
In a practical sense, Rune Craft is the creation and use of Runes Structures that are constructed from several parts:
The Rune Drawing - This is the actual real world representation of the rune on the object. The Rune Drawing is what ties the rune to the particular object. Runes must be drawn on something, and will then affect the thing that they are drawn on. This thing is called the Substrait (see later section). The runes can be carved, or drawn on the object and appear as any number of languages.
For example: If the rune was the capital letter A, it might have three crossbars, as well as an accent mark and a flourish on the stems. The "letter" is still recognizable as the letter A, but it is obviously more detailed and "wrong".
The particular flourishes and accents that the runes have on them vary from Rune Crafter to Rune Crafter, so particularly observant and studious learners can identify a Rune Crafter by seeing their Rune Drawing.
The physical writing has little to do with the effect of the rune. For example the rune drawing might be the Chinese character for bakery, but the effect might be sharpness, fire, or something entirely unrelated like darkness. The Rune Drawing is meaningful to the Rune Crafter, and usually represents where the Rune Crafter learned that rune, or particular circumstance in the Rune Crafter's own life that make the link clear. (In the above example, say the Rune Crafter was in a Bakery when they were cut by a sharp knife, thus there is a link between Bakery and Sharpness to the Rune Crafter that would not be clear to anyone else).
The physical creating of the rune drawing however is a important ritual. Creating the Rune Drawing and creating it exactly the same every time, is incredibly important and a huge focusing tool to create the actual difficult part of the Rune, the Rune Structure. Basically the creation of the Rune Drawing allows the Rune Crafter to create the true meat of the Rune, the Rune Structure.
The same focusing technique that is used when creating a Rune drawing is often used for things that have no Rune Structure. For example building a Threshold is aided by the same focusing techniques since the creation of a Threshold requires precision and intense concentration. Rune Crafters will often draw Rune Drawings around their circles when creating them. The Rune Drawings are not needed in this case, but the process of creating them allows the user to clear their mind and focus their will in such a way that the Threshold can be created. (Note however, that thresholds can be strengthened by runes, for more details see the Threshold page).
This focus, and both the mental and physical discipline involved in obtaining such focus, can be taught to a student by a master
Rune Crafter? Pizza maker? Clown?
The Rune Drawing is a focusing and targeting tool, little more. However just as would be difficult to type the word RIGHT while reading the word LEFT, changing the Rune Drawing makes the incredibly difficult job of creating the Rune Structure all the more difficult. Most Rune Crafters will unerringly repeat the same Rune Drawing for any Rune Structure they know.. The Rune Drawing does not need to be exactly the same each time, it is a rote for the much more difficult task of creating the Rune Structure.
This seems to contradict your earlier statement of: Creating the Rune Drawing and creating it exactly the same every time, is incredibly important The Rune Structure - The Rune Structure is what actually gives runes their abilities. As a Rune Crafter is drawing the Rune Drawing, they are creating the Rune Structure that is imperceptible to those without Rune Sight. Rune Drawings are usually incredibly complicated drawings. Rune Structures are the same drawings done in three dimensions, and millions of times more complex. The Rune Structure is built with the Rune Crafters pure will, and is attached to the Rune Drawing. (In game rules, to create a rune, Rune Crafters must expend a willpower) Like an iceberg, on the surface is the Rune Drawing, but below the surface is the huge Rune Structure that is the real driving force behind the abilities generated by this process.
Rune Structures cannot be taught from master to student, and their complex natures prevent them from being written down. To learn a Rune Structure the Rune Crafter must see the Rune in the real world with Rune Sight. Rune Structures must be observed and copied, they cannot be created by guessing or out of the imagination of the Rune Crafter. Creating a Rune Structure is an exacting process. If there is a single mistake the structure, the Rune Structure will collapse and do nothing at all. If there are wild mistakes (or the Rune Crafter tried to build a Rune Structure out of his or her imagination) the Rune Structure will operate wildly, lashing out and potentially draining all of the Rune Crafter's willpower or killing them outright.
Most of the difficulty in Rune Craft is in fashioning a Rune Structure with their will for the first time. Once done correctly once, it becomes much simpler to repeat. After a few years of practice with a Rune Structure it becomes like breathing and is simple to recreate. That is not to stay they can easily be done on the fly. Interrupt the Rune Crafters Casters concentration and it is easy for them to make a small "typo" in the Rune Structure, which will usually deflate the whole structure rendering it useless and wasting any willpower they have invested in it.
Some Rune Structures are so complex that it can take days to create. In these cases it is often necessary for the Rune Crafter to expend multiple willpower to maintain both the structure and themselves enabling their bodies to endure the process. Creating a Rune Structure is an incredibly draining process, and will often put Rune Crafters out of commission for days as they recover their strength after creating the Runes.
Rune Structures are fragile things and on the whole easy to destroy (there are exceptions to this see below). Destroying the Rune Drawing or the object, known as a Substrait, the rune is written on will destroy the Rune Structure. Even drastically altering the Substrait (the object the Runes are written on) will often be enough to break the Rune Structures. For example if runes were written upon metal and that metal were to rust the Rune Structures will often break down and fail.
However knowing this, and knowing the effort they expended to create these Rune Structures, the Rune Crafter will often layer their Runes. First they may start by crafting runes that prevent the object from being destroyed, then runes on those runes that prevent those Rune Drawings from being removed, then runes to prevent rust and decay, and so on. So after time and work, Runed objects can become very difficult to destroy, as the would be destroyer must find the top layer of Runes to pick off, and then work their way down through the Runes to be able to rid themselves of the object. This is ignoring any Rune Structures within these layers designed to punish or damage those that try to damage the object. Layers and layers of protection.
There is an additional wrinkle to the Rune Structure. They are not forever. Over time Rune Structures will slowly decay and vanish. The speed at which they fail is a combination of factors:
- How complex the Rune Structure is (more complex and difficult runes last much longer than simple ones)
- How much will was expended during their creation, (Rune Crafters can spend additional willpower when creating Rune Structures to make them last longer)
- The medium used (the more pure the medium, the longer the structure will last)
- The Substrait (Relics and Artifacts can hold Rune Structures longer, and Cold Steel is an exception all its own).
There are two ways around this inevitable decay of Rune Structures.
The simplest is that the Rune Crafter can refuel his or her Rune Structure with an investment of will before they run out, resetting the clock. Bolstering a Rune Structure in this way is significantly easier than creating a new Rune Structure. Those skilled with Runes can bolster Runes without expending willpower at all, merely concentrating on the object in question periodically. They can even refuel several at once. However the Rune Structures they bolster must be their own, (see the ColdSteel exception).
The second way is simply though use. If Rune Structures are being used for their intended purpose they will not decay, however they take out their "use" on the Substrait, decaying it. But Runes like to be used. Constant use, assuming the objects Substrait holds, will continuously bolster the Rune Structure. There is a caveat here as well though. Rune Structures know their purpose, and each Rune Object will have a "resonance" or feeling, a direction that it likes to be used in, usually based on the Substrait. If the object is used against its purpose that use will not bolster the Rune Structure, and may in fact cause them to decay faster than non use.
However continual use at a new purpose can shift the resonance of items over time, and the Rune Structures can be maintained. So if an evil sword was used for a lifetime by a good person, the Runes would decay quickly at first, but as the resonance shifts to the new "alignment" the Runes would bolster with good use.
For example: You have a Rune Sword with sharpness, deftness, lightness, and strength runes on it. You use the sword to fight your enemies. You will bolster those runes automatically, no expenditure of willpower is required. However if you used the sword as a can opener, or as a pry bar the Rune Structures and/or Substrait will fail all the faster.
Another example would be if you used the Sword of Evil Person A to attack Evil, the Rune Structures on the sword would begin to break down.
In either case though if you used the object enough in its new "state" without the Rune Structures completely failing, and the resonance changes, they will bolster again naturally through use. (Eventually the evil sword would become good, and the sharp sword, a great can opener).
How do you avoid using it for this new purpose and not decaying it as stated in the previous paragraph? It seems like any new purpose would inherently decay the Substrait. Does the user, while 'repurposing' the Substrait then have to maintain the Rune Structures artificially until the resonance has shifted to the new purpose and therefore use via the new purpose can then take over fueling the Rune Structures?
When Rune Structures are built they can be built in one of two ways, either to act immediately or when triggered.
Rune Structures that are designed to act immediately consume the Rune Crafter's will and carry out their purpose on the Substrait then vanish, taking the Rune Drawing with them when they go as well as potentially destroying the Substrait (see below).
Triggered Rune Structures are significantly more difficult to create. Instead of merely creating a Rune Structure, the Rune Crafter also creates a set of conditions that will trigger the Rune Structure, and the Rune Structure remains, fulfilling its purpose again and again as long as the conditions are met until either the Substrait fails, the Rune Structure fails or the Fuel (see below) runs dry. These triggered Rune Structures are the ones usually found on ancient Artifacts and Relics as they last through multiple uses and will continue to operate long after the Rune Crafter that made them has passed on.
I thought I read/heard somewhere that when other people using an Artifact or Relic the Rune Crafter than initially created the Rune Structure is somehow tapped as a source of something. Maybe this is wrong. If not, then how does a Rune Structure continue to operate after the Rune Crafter that created it is no longer available?
When Rune Structures are built they can be built in one of two ways, either to act immediately or when triggered.
Rune Structures that are designed to act immediately consume the Rune Crafter's will and carry out their purpose on the Substrait then vanish, taking the Rune Drawing with them when they go as well as potentially destroying the Substrait (see below).
Triggered Rune Structures are significantly more difficult to create. Instead of merely creating a Rune Structure, the Rune Crafter also creates a set of conditions that will trigger the Rune Structure, and the Rune Structure remains, fulfilling its purpose again and again as long as the conditions are met until either the Substrait fails, the Rune Structure fails or the Fuel (see below) runs dry. These triggered Rune Structures are the ones usually found on ancient Artifacts and Relics as they last through multiple uses and will continue to operate long after the Rune Crafter that made them has passed on.
The Substrait - The Substrait is literally the object that the Rune Drawing is written on and what the Rune Structure acts upon. This Substrait is important in a few ways.
First and foremost the Substrait determines the final Rune objects resonance. As discussed earlier, Rune Objects all have a purpose for which they were made and this determines their Resonance. This purpose comes from the Substrait and the Runes placed on the object must agree with the Resonance of the object or the Rune Structures will fail.
So for example, if you had a sword created for killing people by stabbing and slashing, that you wanted to use as a Substrait, the object limits the Runes you can put on it. Meaning you could place sharpness, cutting, and/or killing runes on the weapon, but healing, life, birth, would most likely not work. Runes with an opposite resonance to a Substrait will fail if placed on an object. So placing a fire rune on an block of ice would fail, as would placing healing rune on an arrow. Bear in mind things are not always cut and dry as to the resonance of a Substrait. If the sword from the example above was the possession of a great healer than perhaps a healing rune could be placed on the sword.
Also keep in mind that decay and natural processes are not opposites. If a Rune Crafter was looking to dull a sword they could place a Rune of dullness on the blade, and the blade would dull, as it is natural for the sword to dull over time just as it is natural to be sharp at the current time. On the same token, while a fire rune could not be placed on ice, it is possible that a melting rune could be placed on the ice.
Only objects with Resonance can be used as Substrait. If Runes are placed on an object with no resonance either the Rune Structure will completely fail, or in some cases the Runes will burn through and destroy the object without Resonance. Objects gain Resonance in one of a few ways.
The first and most simple way to gain Resonance is that when things are crafted, the craftsman places some degree of Resonance into the object. Their blood, sweat and tears that they expend creating the item imbues it with Resonance. In general things made by hand, with love and passion will have a Resonance. Mass produced objects, things we create and throw away, generally do not. So for example a master gunsmiths private gun that they made by hand, would have resonance, but the mass produced weapons from Smith and Wesson created through an assembly line process would not. The more work that went into the objects creation, more powerful and plentiful the Resonance is.
The second way to gain Resonance is through use. When objects are used, especially in labors of love, the act imbues the objects with Resonance. The painters favorite brush, the fencers favorite foil, the blacksmiths hammer. All of these objects gain a Resonance though their repeated use towards a task. The more they are used and the more they are focused on by their user, the more Resonance they gain.
The third way objects gain Resonance is through being in the thoughts and desires of other living beings. The very act of seeking after, dreaming about, and thinking about these objects grants them Resonance. Again the more thought is focused on the object the more powerful the Resonance will become.
As you can see with these first three ways objects gain Resonance, that Resonance will often end up stacking on top of each other.
For example, the master craftsman dreams of a beautiful hammer he can make. He then spends his lifetime crafting this hammer which he then gives to his brother the master blacksmith, who loves and cares for it as it is a gift created by someone close to him, and he uses it every day to create many master objects. In addition people admire the master blacksmiths' skill and his hammer, and his rivals dream of stealing the hammer from him. All these things lead to the hammer having quite a bit of Resonance as an object. Resonance given in this way will never decay and only continues to stack. If the blacksmithcraftsman handed down the hammer from generation to generation it would only gain lifetime after lifetime of Resonance.
Sometimes Resonance can come in great bursts. The True Cross, for example, was simple wood and maybe had a tiny amount of Resonance, if any, when made. But the moment Jesus was placed on it, the simple wooden object gained a massive amount of Resonance that only increased as it became an object that lives in the hearts and prayers of millions of Christians. A gun used at a great battle or to kill a great man, would instantly gain massive amounts of Resonance.
The fourth and final way that objects gain Resonance is being touched by a metahumans power. Every time a meta reaches out with their power and affects the world around them, they leave a small bit of Resonance on everything they effect. This resonance is tiny and usually worthless in terms of Rune Craft, fading minutes after the power stops affecting the object. This "meta" Resonance is only important for creating Sympathy (see below), and it is what allows metas who create objects with their power a slight leg up in learning Rune Crafting. The fact that they can produce, however fleeting, objects with a tiny amount of Resonance allows them to create Runes much more "on the fly" than metas who cannot create objects.
Cold Steel has a notable exception here as a Substrait. All Cold Steel will hold onto this meta resonance forever, never letting it fade like normal objects. This is one of the unique properties of Cold Steel and one of the reasons Rune Objects made of Cold Steel are the most powerful of the bunch, especially if that Cold Steel has been exposed to many meta powers before being forged. Unforged Cold Steel does not even need to be acted upon directly by meta power. Simply being in the area of a meta with the power the unforged Cold Steel will leach some of the Resonance from that meta.
Does the meta have to use his or her power or just the presence of an individual metahuman is enough to enable this leaching?
However, unforged Cold Steel can easily be "tainted". Since it never releases Resonance unforged Cold Steel can often acquire conflicting Resonances that nullify each other. For example, being exposed to a light power and a darkness power would gain the Cold Steel next to nothing where Resonance is concerned. Once forged Cold Steel will no longer simply pick up Resonance by simply being around meta powers in use?. The meta power has to act directly on the Cold Steel for it to pick up the power. The most powerful Cold Steel artifacts will usually have Runes placed on them to prevent Resonance from being added to the object by conflicting powers, to keep the Cold Steel "pure".
Another notable exception as a Substrait is living flesh. Living material is in many ways an ideal Substrait. All living things have Resonance since they are the source of the Resonance that applies to the non living objects in the world. As such they are always valid targets for Rune Structures. In addition they provide the ideal medium or fuel (blood), a link to fuel (the life of the person) as well as strong sympathetic linksto what?
. All in all an ideal combination of elements. However, the art of crafting runes on living flesh is looked upon by Rune Crafters as "black magic, most foul" for, like all other Substraits, the Rune Structures drawn upon a Substrait draw energy and strength from their Substrait. In the case of Rune Structures on flesh, the rune shave years off the life of their target and can literally instantly kill if a complex enough structure is applied. In practical terms if a person would have lived to be 100 and a rune was placed on them, they might die at 50, or 25 depending on the strength of the rune. If they were already 51 when the rune was placed, they would instantly die.However, unforged Cold Steel can easily be "tainted". Since it never releases Resonance unforged Cold Steel can often acquire conflicting Resonances that nullify each other. For example, being exposed to a light power and a darkness power would gain the Cold Steel next to nothing where Resonance is concerned. Once forged Cold Steel will no longer simply pick up Resonance by simply being around meta powers in use?. The meta power has to act directly on the Cold Steel for it to pick up the power. The most powerful Cold Steel artifacts will usually have Runes placed on them to prevent Resonance from being added to the object by conflicting powers, to keep the Cold Steel "pure".
Another notable exception as a Substrait is living flesh. Living material is in many ways an ideal Substrait. All living things have Resonance since they are the source of the Resonance that applies to the non living objects in the world. As such they are always valid targets for Rune Structures. In addition they provide the ideal medium or fuel (blood), a link to fuel (the life of the person) as well as strong sympathetic links
Even more insidious, Rune Structures on flesh can play havoc with the resonance of the person, changing their personality, literally altering their soul. Not all Runes do this, in fact most do not, but the mere existence of this link made the art of "Flesh Crafting", or "Blood Runes", black magic from the start. Evil Rune Crafters such as Zaizen Tamari have used Flesh Crafting to their advantage, using some Runes as a form of mind control. There are no other known practitioners of this black art of Runic mind control, but rumors abound that there are still masters of it alive and well today. This being the case though respectable Rune Crafters will not ever apply runes to flesh, even their own.
The last notable unique Substrait are Thresholds. Thresholds exist as invisible pockets of space (see Threshold for more information), and while they cannot be seen by any of the five senses they are objects as far as Runes are concerned. Because an expenditure of will is needed to create a Threshold, all thresholds, whether naturally occurring or created by a willful individual, carry with them a Resonance, and are therefore valid targets for Runes. Created Thresholds make particularly good targets, particularly as they are creations of pure will. If more Resonance is required, the Rune Crafter can increase the Resonance of the Threshold by investing more will into it, meaning that very powerful Runes can be applied to a Threshold, especially one created by multiple Rune Crafters. The Seal, would be an example of one such Rune Empowered Threshold.
While to the uninitiated observer the Rune Crafter may appear to be working their runes on the air, or on a circle of chalk, they are actually applying the Runes to the Threshold itself, which can in turn effect the things inside the Threshold, outside the Threshold, or things passing though the Threshold.
Back to Resonance in general. The best way a Rune Crafter can stack this Resonance with the others is that if they use their power over and over with the object. Doing so creates layers of more pure Resonance and meta Resonance, and the resulting layered Resonance can create some of the most powerful objects. So for example if the blacksmith from our earlier example was a meta with the power of metal, made the hammer head with his power, and tied it off, and then used the hammer all his life to create more objects he would only add to the resonance of the hammer object.
Now once an object has Resonance, it can be used as a Substrait for Runes. As said earlier, if Runes are placed on something without Resonance, the Rune Structures will either fail, or in some cases consume the object, simply grinding it into dust. Rune Structures place a huge amount of strain on the objects that they are acting on. The amount of Resonance an object has determines how many Runes, and of what strength can be placed on an object. The more Resonance an object has, the more Runes it can take without breaking. Because of this RuneObjects are often built up in stages. The master blacksmith's hammer gets a simple Rune to prevent decay, then after it is used for another ten generations it gets a Rune to make better crafts, and so on, building up over generations of more Resonance over generations. If the Rune Crafter pushes too many Runes on an object too quickly they can create a massive backlash, killing themselves, destroying earlier Rune Structures or other catastrophic effects. However determining which, and how many Runes an object can take is a simple matter of Rune Sight, so accidents like this are rare and usually only involve a very inexperienced Rune Crafter.
There is a way around this restriction. More Runes with specific triggers can be placed on the object than the object could normally contain as long as more Runes than the maximum limit are not active at the same time. If more than the maximum number of Runes are activated at once, all the Rune Structures will fail instantly, rendering the object useless and often destroying it. However, overloading an object like this is dangerous. The overloaded object is taxed whenever any Rune Structure is activated. Activating any of the Runes will break down the Substrait massively with each use. Objects with activated Runes of this type will quickly break down with use, but can often be very flashy and impressive power wise...while they last.
The last point to be made about Resonance is Sympathy and Use. As said previously, Runes that are opposed to the Resonance of the object they are placed upon will fail. Runes that match the Resonance will be stronger and more powerful. Runes that are neither matching nor opposite can be placed on the object, and often will create objects that can move well beyond their original purpose. (Say putting a rune of flight on a hammer). However to place these Runes on an object the object must have Sympathy with the Rune.
So, say you, as a Rune Crafter wanted to create a flaming spear. Now you have a spear made by a master craftsman, that has enough Resonance for all the Runes you want to use. However you cannot simply slap flame runes on the spear. The spear must have "experienced" the effect that you want to recreate, its Resonance must have Sympathy to the Runes you want to place on it. So following this example you would have to bathe the spear in flame to get it to be able to take you flaming Rune. This also means that to get a Rune Object to simulate a metahuman power, you need to have a sympathetic link between the object and the meta. The easiest, and weakest of these links would be to get the meta in question to use their power on the object. Other ways include using an object that meta synchronized with, bled on, cried on, etc. There must be a link between the two, and the stronger the link the easier the Rune Structure is to build, and the more accurately the object can recreate that single use of their power.
Relics and Artifacts
Resonance has one final effect. If enough Resonance is built up in an object it can often start to have "magical" effects all on its own, without the need for any additional Rune Structures. For example, to return to our well loved blacksmith hammer, after centuries of use it would get to the point where it has so much Resonance that it beings to bleed into the world around it. So in this example crafts made with the hammer would simply be better than those made without because they would have been made by a hammer loaded with Resonance that increases is functionality. The hammer would hit harder and last longer, and overall simply be a better hammer.
Rune Crafters use this distinction to separate objects with substantially high amounts of natural Resonance into two basic categories.
A object with some amount of Resonance so that it can take Runes is called a Relic.
Something with so much natural Resonance that it affects the world around it without Runes needed is called an Artifact.
While Relics can be intentionally created, Artifacts are rare, and as such, highly prized since the most powerful and complex Runes can only be realistically placed on Artifacts.
Why are Artifacts rare? Artifacts are rare because they have to survive a considerable length of time and be consistently used for their intended purpose in order to gain such large amounts of natural Resonance.
Medium
The next step to understand Rune Structures is the Medium. The Medium is what the Rune Drawing is made out of, and it acts as the link between the Substrait and the Rune Structure. The Medium carries the message of the Rune Structure to the Substrait. Much like the Substrait, the Medium is battered by the Rune Structure and if it does not stand up to the power being pushed though it, will cause the Rune Structure to falter and fail. If the Medium fails, either in the process of creating the Rune Drawing, or at a later time, the Rune Structure will break down and fail. If this occurs no amount of bolstering can save a Rune Structure whose Medium has failed, so many Rune Crafter's first step will be to create Rune Structures that make the Medium permanent, or unneeded (See Transferring, below).
The simplest Medium is none at all, and is possible by simply carving into the Substrait directly. In this case, the Substrait acts as the Rune Crafter's medium. This has the advantage that once applied, the Rune Structure will not fail because of a failure of the Medium and removes the need for Transferring later. However creating in this way has several negatives.
First of all sometimes it is not practical to carve into the object. If the Rune Crafter is creating a Rune Structure that is very temporary, a tracking Rune for example, it would not be practical to carve into the Substrait to create the tracking ability when something more simple will do. The use of a Medium on the Substrait might be more effective in this instance. In other cases the very nature of the Substrait does not allow for it to be carved into, either by it being very fragile, not holding carvings, or simply being very hard. For example, a piece of paper, wine, a threshold, or a diamond would not be easily carved into and require a Medium to be used in order to place a Rune Drawing on the Substrait in question.
The second negative effect of having no Medium is that there is no inherent linkbetween what? between the Rune Drawing and Substrait? Rune Structure and Rune Drawing?
in the Rune, making fueling impractical, or impossible. The need for Fuel will often drive Rune Crafters who would prefer not to use a Medium to seek one out to use. Medium
The next step to understand Rune Structures is the Medium. The Medium is what the Rune Drawing is made out of, and it acts as the link between the Substrait and the Rune Structure. The Medium carries the message of the Rune Structure to the Substrait. Much like the Substrait, the Medium is battered by the Rune Structure and if it does not stand up to the power being pushed though it, will cause the Rune Structure to falter and fail. If the Medium fails, either in the process of creating the Rune Drawing, or at a later time, the Rune Structure will break down and fail. If this occurs no amount of bolstering can save a Rune Structure whose Medium has failed, so many Rune Crafter's first step will be to create Rune Structures that make the Medium permanent, or unneeded (See Transferring, below).
The simplest Medium is none at all, and is possible by simply carving into the Substrait directly. In this case, the Substrait acts as the Rune Crafter's medium. This has the advantage that once applied, the Rune Structure will not fail because of a failure of the Medium and removes the need for Transferring later. However creating in this way has several negatives.
First of all sometimes it is not practical to carve into the object. If the Rune Crafter is creating a Rune Structure that is very temporary, a tracking Rune for example, it would not be practical to carve into the Substrait to create the tracking ability when something more simple will do. The use of a Medium on the Substrait might be more effective in this instance. In other cases the very nature of the Substrait does not allow for it to be carved into, either by it being very fragile, not holding carvings, or simply being very hard. For example, a piece of paper, wine, a threshold, or a diamond would not be easily carved into and require a Medium to be used in order to place a Rune Drawing on the Substrait in question.
The second negative effect of having no Medium is that there is no inherent link
Lastly, and perhaps most important negative to not using a Medium is that Rune Structures when first created strain both the Medium and the Substrait that is equal to one thousand times the strain of the Rune activating or merely existing on the object. If working close to the limit of an object in terms of what Runes that Substrait can take, and using the object as both the Medium and the Substrait by carving the Rune Drawing directly on the Substrait can result in destroying the object altogether. Using a Medium thus allows for much more powerful Runes to be created that could normally be created by putting the initial strain of the Rune Structure on the Medium, instead of on the Substrait.
Anything that can be used to make a normal drawing can be used as a Medium. However as explained in the Rune Drawing section, doing the Rune Drawing the same way each time helps the Rune Crafter create the Complex Rune Structure and this includes utilizing the same Medium. As such, though valid, mediums like soda cans, yaks, or other non practical drawing materials are usually not used. There is one other thing to think about when selecting a Medium: Purity.
Purity -
The most important thing when selecting a Medium other than choosing whether to carve directly into the Substrait, is the purity of the Medium. The more singular
what do you mean by singular - Simple - less complex?
the Medium is, the stronger the runes that can be drawn with it. So for example, ink, while a great drawing Medium is generally a weaker Medium than chalk or water since ink is a mix of the two substances. If ink is used as a Medium, some of the "message" of the Rune Drawing is transmitted via the water and some via the pigment made to create the ink. In the case of water, all of the message would be transmitted through the water since it is a single element. Though if it was possible to draw in pure hydrogen, or pure oxygen, it would again be a step better than water.
In most cases this is hardly an issue. Doing simple Rune Craft (creating tracking runes for example or instant runes), as long as the Rune Drawing is created in some fashion the Rune Structure is still the most important thing, and the Medium used hardly matters. But in the case where a very powerful Rune Structure, or a Rune Structure in which an error was made is being applied, the Medium will sometimes start to break down. Usually this simply means the Rune will fail, but a skilled Rune Crafter can invest more will at this point and try to save the structure.
(In the case of applying a powerful Rune this "failing" of the Rune Drawing is impossible to avoid and the Rune Crafter has to "save" the structure, sometimes multiple times.)
If a pure Medium is being used, the Rune Drawing breaks down all at the same rate, resulting in a more stable process that the Rune Crafter can control. If an impure Medium is used, the Rune Drawing breaks down at various speeds as the power courses though the different materials in the Medium causing wild deviations and usually destroying the Rune Drawing and the Rune Structure with it.
Blood, is, like Cold Steel, the exception. Blood as a Medium will survive pressures that no other Medium can endure, and breaks down perfectly evenly, making mistakes and powerful runes much easier to create. Blood is roughly 10 times more stable than the next purest Medium, pure filtered water. In various experiments over the centuries, Rune Crafters have learned that the Rune Crafter's own blood will be able to take more abuse than the blood of others, and the younger the persons blood the more pure a Medium it makes.
Other factors can affect the purity of blood. The source of the blood, from a virgin, a metahuman, a carrier, etc, contributes to the bloods purity. Evil Rune Crafters have been known to seek out the blood of innocents, (babies, virigins, etc.) as its purity will be stronger than older peoples blood. Metahuman and carrier blood is another step more pure. Drug use and diseases of the blood (AIDS, Sickle Cell, etc.) make the blood less pure.
Scholarly reports also suggest that the blood of the LifeSpark is of another level of purity all together, roughly 10,000 times more pure than the blood of a new born carrier, making it, by far the most powerful Medium on earth. There are Rune Structures, such as the Seal and the Weapons of the Nine, that can only be crafted with the blood of the LifeSpark as a Medium.
In practical terms, a substance made from a compound of materials makes a weak Medium. Anything on the periodic table would be a more pure medium, with the higher elements on the periodic table being more pure. If it were practical to do, writing in pure hydrogen or helium would be a very pure Medium, however both of these are put to shame by animal blood, which is again put to shame by human blood, then young blood, carrier blood, metahuman blood, with the blood of the LifeSpark being top of the list.
Why is Animal blood less pure than Human blood? I would think since Animals are 'simpler' that their blood would be more pure - making them more like infants.In most cases this is hardly an issue. Doing simple Rune Craft (creating tracking runes for example or instant runes), as long as the Rune Drawing is created in some fashion the Rune Structure is still the most important thing, and the Medium used hardly matters. But in the case where a very powerful Rune Structure, or a Rune Structure in which an error was made is being applied, the Medium will sometimes start to break down. Usually this simply means the Rune will fail, but a skilled Rune Crafter can invest more will at this point and try to save the structure.
(In the case of applying a powerful Rune this "failing" of the Rune Drawing is impossible to avoid and the Rune Crafter has to "save" the structure, sometimes multiple times.)
If a pure Medium is being used, the Rune Drawing breaks down all at the same rate, resulting in a more stable process that the Rune Crafter can control. If an impure Medium is used, the Rune Drawing breaks down at various speeds as the power courses though the different materials in the Medium causing wild deviations and usually destroying the Rune Drawing and the Rune Structure with it.
Blood, is, like Cold Steel, the exception. Blood as a Medium will survive pressures that no other Medium can endure, and breaks down perfectly evenly, making mistakes and powerful runes much easier to create. Blood is roughly 10 times more stable than the next purest Medium, pure filtered water. In various experiments over the centuries, Rune Crafters have learned that the Rune Crafter's own blood will be able to take more abuse than the blood of others, and the younger the persons blood the more pure a Medium it makes.
Other factors can affect the purity of blood. The source of the blood, from a virgin, a metahuman, a carrier, etc, contributes to the bloods purity. Evil Rune Crafters have been known to seek out the blood of innocents, (babies, virigins, etc.) as its purity will be stronger than older peoples blood. Metahuman and carrier blood is another step more pure. Drug use and diseases of the blood (AIDS, Sickle Cell, etc.) make the blood less pure.
Scholarly reports also suggest that the blood of the LifeSpark is of another level of purity all together, roughly 10,000 times more pure than the blood of a new born carrier, making it, by far the most powerful Medium on earth. There are Rune Structures, such as the Seal and the Weapons of the Nine, that can only be crafted with the blood of the LifeSpark as a Medium.
In practical terms, a substance made from a compound of materials makes a weak Medium. Anything on the periodic table would be a more pure medium, with the higher elements on the periodic table being more pure. If it were practical to do, writing in pure hydrogen or helium would be a very pure Medium, however both of these are put to shame by animal blood, which is again put to shame by human blood, then young blood, carrier blood, metahuman blood, with the blood of the LifeSpark being top of the list.
(Compound < Element < Simple Element < Animal Blood < Human Blood < Babies Blood < Carriers Blood < Baby Carriers Blood < Metahuman Blood < Baby Metahuman's Blood < Blood of the Life Spark)
Fuel -
The final part of a Rune Structure is Fuel. A Rune Structure exists without Fuel, but to accomplish anything it must draw power from some source to become active. Like all the other things, the more complex and powerful the Rune Structure is the more Fuel it takes to activate. However unlike the other examples usually if not enough Fuel is provided, the Rune Structure will remain dormant instead of breaking down or failing. Very complex Rune Structures are more sensitive to a lack of Fuel or the wrong kind of fuel and will sometimes disintegrate if fueled improperly.
The key with Fuel is that the Rune must have a link to the Fuel to accept it as a power source. The most basic link any Rune Structure has is between itself and the Crafter who made it. In this common case, the Rune Structure draws the energy it needs to activate from the Rune Crafter. Very passive runes (durability on a piece of cloth, or sharpness on a blade) will take their Fuel in small amounts from the life energy of the Rune Crafter, essentially wearing them out a bit and making them a bit tired as the Rune Structure draws energy away from the Crafter. Active Runes or Runes that preform actions outside of the synchronization of the object (flaming spear for example) require as a Fuel an expenditure of will from the Crafter in order to activate. The more complex the active Rune the more fuel it requires and the more it draws from the Rune Crafter.
(In game terms an active rune can draw any amount of willpower out of the Rune Crafter that it needs to operate. if it draws more than the crafter has they experience backlash. See below)
Rune Structures set up to draw Fuel from the Rune Crafter can be dangerous, especially if containing complex Runes as the Rune Structure will draw power until they are fueled regardless of the state of the Rune Crafter. If the Rune Structure draws more willpower than the Crafter has it will draw directly from their life force, damaging them, and killing them if it cannot get enough power.
(Game Example: So if for example you created an object that needs to draw 5 willpower in order to function and activated it with only 1 willpower, the object would pull you down to -4 willpower in order to satisfy that need for 5 willpower. A person in that situation, at less than 0 willpower, will experience backlash. Backlash deals damage to the person until the object has satisfied its thirst or has killed the person it is drawing from. The lower negative the person goes, the more damage backlash will deal to them before being satisfied.)
A Rune Structure will operate this way if it is created to be Fueled by the Rune Crafter regardless of who activated it, meaning that another person activating your Rune Structure would draw from the Crafter, not the person activating it. So novice crafters be warned about letting your Rune Structures into the wrong hands. Someone wishing to kill you could simply activate the Rune Structure over and over again until the Structure gave out, or the draw of Fuel killed you.
Breaking this basic link between Crafter and Rune is simple to do, and is one of the first skills most Rune Crafters master.
How do you do this?
)) Once this link is broken however the Rune cannot be Fueled without it being directed at another source of power. This new source of power can be almost anything, the Substrait, the current user of the object, heat in the area, and blood, are all popular Fuels for Rune Structures.
Once a new source of power has been chosen the Rune Crafter must establish a link between the Rune Structure and that new source of Fuel. How that link is built varies depending on what they want the new source of Fuel to be. Things that are tied to the object itself (the Substrait, the person activating the Rune, a person touching the object) are simple to establish and just take an expenditure of will by the Rune Crafter. Because these links are so easy to build, they are by far the most common.
The next easiest way to link to a Fuel source is to use that source as the Medium. There is already a natural bond existing between Substrait and Rune Structure through the Medium. So if, for example, a Rune Crafter was building a Runed Object for someone else to use and they wanted only that person to be able to Fuel it, they could accomplish this by using that users blood as the Medium, and then building the link though that Medium.
The third, and one of the reasons why metahumans with a Create skill tend to make very successful Rune Crafters is that if the Medium or the Substrait is made by their power, they can use their power as the Fuel for the Rune. Metahuman power is essentially an unlimited wellspring of power and can infinitely Fuel runes. So while Runes still take will to create, their continued operation can be Fueled forever by tapping into this source of metahuman power. Though more complex, Rune Structures can be set up to draw their Fuel out of any metahuman wielding them, not just the one who created them, but that is more complex, more likely to fail and more difficult, so thus is much less common.
The final, and most complex way is to add an additional Rune Structure to the object that describes the source of the Fuel, and connect the two Rune Structures with an expenditure of will. This is by far the most complex and difficult to do, and only master Rune Crafters are able to link runes together in this way. Very powerful objects can be created with this process allowing Runes to feed off of a predetermined and outside source their surroundings.
The Cold Steel exception.
Cold Steel, once again is the exception to these rules about Fuel. Cold Steel acts as its own Fuel, never drawing off anything but itself, it can infinitely power any Runes applied to it. Thus making the cool gray metal extremely valued by Rune Crafters.
So what?
So what exactly are Runes? Runes share a lot in common with language. They describe the world. Each object that exists in the world is made up of hundreds of thousands of Runes each describing an aspect of that object. So for example if you had a cup that you wanted to describe in Runes, the cup would have Runes for Glass, Container, Cylinder, Water, Sand (and many more) all intertwined and woven together to form the cup. It would also have Runes describing those Runes, (Heft, Transparent, Round, Tall) and still more Runes placing that object in the world, (Time, Weight, Size).
All these Runes, in and of themselves, have varying levels of complexity. The only way to truly know how complex a Rune is, is by studying it with Rune Sight. A general rule of thumb is that Nouns are the least complex, Adjectives a step more complex, Verbs another step more complex, with Proper Nouns being the most complex. (For the most part, Proper Nouns are so complex that they are not even worth studying as it would take several thousand years to master just one.) This complexity is compounded in objects in that they are made up of thousands of runes all interacting with each other to create a cohesive whole.
Also note that the Runes of an object are constantly changing from one moment to the next. The Runes are literally describing that cup, at this time, in this space, and as time moves forward the cup changes and so do the Runes. Overall, themes can be observed but the objects Runes are constantly shifting. This is another reason why Rune Crafters tend to learn Nouns most easily as the other properties tend to shift much more quickly and are much much harder to study and master.
As you can see even a very simple object is made up of hundreds of Runes interacting with each other to create the objects of our world. Because of the immense complexity of objects it is extremely difficult to get Rune Structures to "create" anything. They can alter the properties of the object but it is nearly impossible for a Rune Structure to create the nearly infinite complexity of another object.
Rune Craft at its base level is the art of learning just one of these Runes, then applying that Rune to a different object to fundamentally change that object that the Rune is acting on. Not only is the Rune that is drawn on the object important, but when the Rune Crafter is applying the Rune to the object they can influence the effect it has on the object by what they link to. In this way a single Rune "word" can effect an object in many different ways.
Lets say our Rune Crafter knows the Rune for Strength, and has a Sword that is a Relic. When building the Rune Structure and linking it to the blade they could effect it in various ways:
The more removed purpose of the Rune from the base function of the object and the Rune function the more difficult the Rune is to create and the more complex Runes that have to be built in order to achieve the desired effect.
However since Rune words are very multifunctional, many Rune Crafters will learn a very small vocabulary (1 or 2 Runes) and simply master their use by learning different ways to link them to objects and create different effects. Using the above example the Runecrafter could apply the same Rune, that of Strength, 4 times to the same object and get all the effects. This is assuming the Substrait, here the Relic sword, could take the strain of all four Runes. The Rune Crafter could also reapply the same Rune over and over again, adding to the same aspect and making that stronger. So if, for example, they wanted a truly unbreakable blade, they could apply the Strength Rune over and over again to the blade, making it stronger each time the Rune was applied.
Often, because these links are tricky to master, Rune Crafters will sometimes add additional Rune Drawings that do not have Rune Structures linked to them but serve as points to focus their will in establishing the proper links and connections between the Substrait and the actual Rune Structure. Thus you end up with objects with "phrases" made out of Rune Drawings. While with powerful Artifacts these Rune Drawings might all link to Rune Structures, with most Relics they are simply building the links for the Rune Structure to attach to, to determine the Rune's function.
Learning -
So now understanding all of this, how does one learn a Rune Word to begin with. The first step is mastering the Art of Rune Sight (see RuneSight). With Rune Sight the Rune Crafter observes an object in the world, and then determines a single Rune Word in that object to study. Since Rune Sight is short lived, Rune Crafters wishing to learn a Rune Word will often have to go back to the object over and over again, learning the ins and outs of the structure. There is so much information in a single Rune Word that the Rune Crafter must remember it is nearly impossible to do anything else during this process. Any significant interruption to the study of the object, or the object itself will cause the Rune Crafter to have to start over. This process of observation can take anywhere from six months to a decade.
Once the pattern is mostly memorized the Rune Crafter must focus their will and begin to create the Rune Structure from scratch. This process takes years of rigorous practice and must be learned anew for each new Rune Drawing. Each day while training they spend 8 hours slowly building up the Rune Drawing step by step, burning the process into their mind and will. This is a draining process and even for those with exceptional endurance due to their meta human gifts cannot focus on the task for more than 8 hours at a time. After the study, they must not focus mental activity on other things or they will lose their progress for the day. If interrupted too often, again they must start over, losing any progress that they may have made.
Most people studying Rune Craft in a serious manner will seclude themselves to keep mental distractions at a minimum.
(In game terms, if the Rune Crafter does anything but mediate, light activity, and sleep on a day that they studied, they must roll their willpower + runecraft diff (8+1 for each day since they last studied) failure means losing all progress.
for that day?Once a new source of power has been chosen the Rune Crafter must establish a link between the Rune Structure and that new source of Fuel. How that link is built varies depending on what they want the new source of Fuel to be. Things that are tied to the object itself (the Substrait, the person activating the Rune, a person touching the object) are simple to establish and just take an expenditure of will by the Rune Crafter. Because these links are so easy to build, they are by far the most common.
The next easiest way to link to a Fuel source is to use that source as the Medium. There is already a natural bond existing between Substrait and Rune Structure through the Medium. So if, for example, a Rune Crafter was building a Runed Object for someone else to use and they wanted only that person to be able to Fuel it, they could accomplish this by using that users blood as the Medium, and then building the link though that Medium.
The third, and one of the reasons why metahumans with a Create skill tend to make very successful Rune Crafters is that if the Medium or the Substrait is made by their power, they can use their power as the Fuel for the Rune. Metahuman power is essentially an unlimited wellspring of power and can infinitely Fuel runes. So while Runes still take will to create, their continued operation can be Fueled forever by tapping into this source of metahuman power. Though more complex, Rune Structures can be set up to draw their Fuel out of any metahuman wielding them, not just the one who created them, but that is more complex, more likely to fail and more difficult, so thus is much less common.
The final, and most complex way is to add an additional Rune Structure to the object that describes the source of the Fuel, and connect the two Rune Structures with an expenditure of will. This is by far the most complex and difficult to do, and only master Rune Crafters are able to link runes together in this way. Very powerful objects can be created with this process allowing Runes to feed off of a predetermined and outside source their surroundings.
The Cold Steel exception.
Cold Steel, once again is the exception to these rules about Fuel. Cold Steel acts as its own Fuel, never drawing off anything but itself, it can infinitely power any Runes applied to it. Thus making the cool gray metal extremely valued by Rune Crafters.
So what?
So what exactly are Runes? Runes share a lot in common with language. They describe the world. Each object that exists in the world is made up of hundreds of thousands of Runes each describing an aspect of that object. So for example if you had a cup that you wanted to describe in Runes, the cup would have Runes for Glass, Container, Cylinder, Water, Sand (and many more) all intertwined and woven together to form the cup. It would also have Runes describing those Runes, (Heft, Transparent, Round, Tall) and still more Runes placing that object in the world, (Time, Weight, Size).
All these Runes, in and of themselves, have varying levels of complexity. The only way to truly know how complex a Rune is, is by studying it with Rune Sight. A general rule of thumb is that Nouns are the least complex, Adjectives a step more complex, Verbs another step more complex, with Proper Nouns being the most complex. (For the most part, Proper Nouns are so complex that they are not even worth studying as it would take several thousand years to master just one.) This complexity is compounded in objects in that they are made up of thousands of runes all interacting with each other to create a cohesive whole.
Also note that the Runes of an object are constantly changing from one moment to the next. The Runes are literally describing that cup, at this time, in this space, and as time moves forward the cup changes and so do the Runes. Overall, themes can be observed but the objects Runes are constantly shifting. This is another reason why Rune Crafters tend to learn Nouns most easily as the other properties tend to shift much more quickly and are much much harder to study and master.
As you can see even a very simple object is made up of hundreds of Runes interacting with each other to create the objects of our world. Because of the immense complexity of objects it is extremely difficult to get Rune Structures to "create" anything. They can alter the properties of the object but it is nearly impossible for a Rune Structure to create the nearly infinite complexity of another object.
Rune Craft at its base level is the art of learning just one of these Runes, then applying that Rune to a different object to fundamentally change that object that the Rune is acting on. Not only is the Rune that is drawn on the object important, but when the Rune Crafter is applying the Rune to the object they can influence the effect it has on the object by what they link to. In this way a single Rune "word" can effect an object in many different ways.
Lets say our Rune Crafter knows the Rune for Strength, and has a Sword that is a Relic. When building the Rune Structure and linking it to the blade they could effect it in various ways:
- make the blade itself strong and resistant to breaking
- make the blade make the wielder stronger
- make the blade sharper against strong opponents
- make the blade strikes make their target weaker, and so on.
The more removed purpose of the Rune from the base function of the object and the Rune function the more difficult the Rune is to create and the more complex Runes that have to be built in order to achieve the desired effect.
However since Rune words are very multifunctional, many Rune Crafters will learn a very small vocabulary (1 or 2 Runes) and simply master their use by learning different ways to link them to objects and create different effects. Using the above example the Runecrafter could apply the same Rune, that of Strength, 4 times to the same object and get all the effects. This is assuming the Substrait, here the Relic sword, could take the strain of all four Runes. The Rune Crafter could also reapply the same Rune over and over again, adding to the same aspect and making that stronger. So if, for example, they wanted a truly unbreakable blade, they could apply the Strength Rune over and over again to the blade, making it stronger each time the Rune was applied.
Often, because these links are tricky to master, Rune Crafters will sometimes add additional Rune Drawings that do not have Rune Structures linked to them but serve as points to focus their will in establishing the proper links and connections between the Substrait and the actual Rune Structure. Thus you end up with objects with "phrases" made out of Rune Drawings. While with powerful Artifacts these Rune Drawings might all link to Rune Structures, with most Relics they are simply building the links for the Rune Structure to attach to, to determine the Rune's function.
Learning -
So now understanding all of this, how does one learn a Rune Word to begin with. The first step is mastering the Art of Rune Sight (see RuneSight). With Rune Sight the Rune Crafter observes an object in the world, and then determines a single Rune Word in that object to study. Since Rune Sight is short lived, Rune Crafters wishing to learn a Rune Word will often have to go back to the object over and over again, learning the ins and outs of the structure. There is so much information in a single Rune Word that the Rune Crafter must remember it is nearly impossible to do anything else during this process. Any significant interruption to the study of the object, or the object itself will cause the Rune Crafter to have to start over. This process of observation can take anywhere from six months to a decade.
Once the pattern is mostly memorized the Rune Crafter must focus their will and begin to create the Rune Structure from scratch. This process takes years of rigorous practice and must be learned anew for each new Rune Drawing. Each day while training they spend 8 hours slowly building up the Rune Drawing step by step, burning the process into their mind and will. This is a draining process and even for those with exceptional endurance due to their meta human gifts cannot focus on the task for more than 8 hours at a time. After the study, they must not focus mental activity on other things or they will lose their progress for the day. If interrupted too often, again they must start over, losing any progress that they may have made.
Most people studying Rune Craft in a serious manner will seclude themselves to keep mental distractions at a minimum.
(In game terms, if the Rune Crafter does anything but mediate, light activity, and sleep on a day that they studied, they must roll their willpower + runecraft diff (8+1 for each day since they last studied) failure means losing all progress.
The fastest anyone has ever mastered a single Rune Drawing is after 7 years of continuous study. Most take decades to learn, and some people try, and never succeed at all. If the study is interrupted, for too long a time, and focus is lost, they must begin again from the beginning.
A long life, and patience is required to master even the simplest of these words.
(In game terms, one year of study without time spent observing the object containing the structure with no interruptions allows for a player to roll their Rune Craft diff 10, to learn the Rune Structure. Four or more successes and they are one step closer to mastering the Rune. If this process is successful enough times (depending on the complexity of the Rune Word) they have mastered the Rune Word. )
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