SourceMaterial-Runic Magic

Runic Magic

A single lightning bolt scythed through the air, crackling before it impacted against the approaching mercenaries. Rylan allowed himself a brief flicker of hope as the sparks danced between the armored column, sending a few of their ranks tumbling backward. Drawing a wand from his robe-sleeve, Rylan pointed the fist-sized garnet and spat a word of challenge, a fireball closely following the arc of electricity still visible in the air.

Yet as the flames engulfing the column cleared, Rylan could only stare in mute horror. Every figure on the line had bared arms, upon which was tattooed an intricate pattern of runes, all of them emitting a soft, blue glow. None of the soldiers carrying the mark appeared to have been phased by the magical onslaught, and the Binders, the mercenaries of the Burning Page, continued their inexorable and steady march towards the mage tower. -- Lost Chronicle of Sharistracterian Exploits

Note: This information is not implemented in the game mechanics of Neverwinter Nights

Note: This information is unavailable to all but the most knowledgeable of scholars and researchers.

History

Before The Nine came to Avlis, it was populated and ruled by various spirit races. For the most part, these were nature spirits that did little to promote civilization or societal growth, however, there were a couple of exceptions on the planet. One particular spirit race tied to the earth had its own system of magic. This system of magic was, of course, lost during the time of the The Negerai Prime, but a small number of individuals of this ancient race did manage to teach a few Mikonators their craft before going extinct.

In the time of the spirits, runic magic pulled on the Super Magic Vortex, the one that existed before it was split into the present day Vortices, Wind, and River, and Prime Nature. Instead of being dependent on a deity or person to channel and dilute this Magic, this system used specialized stone and metal implements to channel and change Super Magic Vortex energy within them. The implements would be used to draw runes on surfaces or individuals for magical effects. Later, when the split occurred, this form of magic drew on the Prime Nature. When runic magic slowly disappeared from the general population and became supplanted by Vortex magic, the Mikonators and spirit gods saw fit to let it die, especially since neither the forces of good nor evil were using it.

At some point, a powerful demon lord of the Underdark found a reference to this form of Magic which pointed to the lands of Tyedu. The reference talked about a hammer that was used to forge implements used to make the runes. The hammer itself has a rune inscribed on it, which is theorized to mean “Create”.

Several Years years after the Second Fairy War, when the Demon Lord Sharistracterus got wind of this information and began to send forces into Tyedu to find the hammer and bring it back so he could unlock its secrets and begin using runic magic, a group of adventurers moved to intercept him.

The forces of Mikon and the Tyedu Spirit Gods knew about the hammer and kept it a closely guarded secret, and for eons it had been a central implement in the culture of a group of aligned tribes called the Benteak-Kune. Their yearly games kept peace among the tribes by determining through a contest who would wield the hammer and become the leader of the confederated band. However, upon hearing of the danger a local Mikonator prepped the adventurers for conflict with Lord Sharistracterus by teaching them this magical system and once more unleashing it upon the face of Avlis.

Over the next few years, word and know-how of Runic Magic spread and though it is still rare to encounter proficient users of this system, their numbers are growing.

Runic Magic Basic Concepts

The elven, sylvan, Tyeduan, and Jechranian civilizations of Avlis speak languages that are closest to the spirit language of old, and Magya, the language of magic, is thought to be little changed from the original spirit language. However, all of these civilizations have created their own writing systems for their languages. Elven characters are the oldest and are used for writing the language of Magya, yet no one knows the original characters used to write the language by this ancient race. The true characters used to write Magya seem to have been lost to the centuries.

Scholars on the subject believe that the original characters can carry power, and if they are properly inscribed on surfaces or individuals, the words that are spelled out affect the recipient in specific ways.

How it works:

To start the vicious cycle, that hammer with the Create rune needs to be used to create a Stylus. The Stylus is a stone implement that is used to literally inscribe the rune onto the skin or object. No ink. The special ingredient is Red Obsidian, a rare stone found only in the Underdark. All Styli must be constructed from Red Obsidian.

Basically: 1) Obtain Red Obsidian 2) Use Hammer of Creation and a chisel to carve out a Stylus from the Red Obsidian 3) Use Stylus to write runes on people or objects 4) Hammer can also be used to create other hammers, and Stylus can be used to inscribe the "Create" rune on another hammer to make more of them.

How do runes work?

Any original rune, i.e. from the original language that predates Elven characters, has power. If that rune is written with a properly made Stylus, it will do something.

The trick is to find these runes and learn how to write them.

For example, if you find the rune for "Fire" and the rune for "Protect", and you inscribe them on someone's arm, the subject will be under a fire protection spell of some sort. The exact specifics are not fleshed out.

Eventually a rune inscribed on someone or something will wink out. The duration expires. Some runes, however, might be permanent in rare cases or when inscribed by powerful saemilists. The possibilities of what the runes are and what they do is only limited by the runes that you let the PC's find, and what you decide the runes do when inscribed. Again, I haven't fleshed out that part yet.

For the most part, these runes are going to be defensive in nature, although it's possible to enhance weapons with them. You could also write the rune for "Portal" on a door and make planar travel happen. Probably would be smarter to also write the rune for the plane of destination too.