Shown here are some of the runes and runic gear I observed in the dwarven outpost. The runes etched into the equipment are emphasized for visibility. In person, the etchings are faint and can only be seen upon close examination. The helmet and weapon are crafted from a silvery metal called Nerestet, which is a bright, reflective, silver steel that is impervious to rust.

A rune is a shape that can draw upon the Arcane Realm to affect the physical world. Will imbued into a matching rune will not dissipate or degrade as quickly as unformed Will would if imbued into an ordinary object. The Will channeled into a rune must be shaped to match the runes form, and must be imbued with intent as to how the power of the Font should be manifested. This formed and intent imbued Will is then used to draw upon an aspect of a Font, and is consumed to bring the power into our world.

Runes are the building blocks that manifest effects. When multiple different runes are used together, it is called a ward. While the items I have sketched could techincally be considered wards, dwarves use the term specifically to refer to large-scale runic constructs that combine runes to create effects of greater power and complexity.

The helm and war pick drawn both utilize Will transmutation wards and reservoir gemstones to convert raw unformed Will into the correct shape and intent to power the runes. Technically this makes “runic weapons” warded weapons, but Dagmar informed me that any weapon with simple runes as the active effects are still called runic weapons—even if they contain a ward to power them. When the reservoir gem and transmutation wards were developed by the gnomes, the dwarves stuck with runic to refer to their gear.

Runes and wards are generally less Will efficient than spells of similar effects. Part of that is due to it taking longer to iterate and optimize the runes, but some of it is inherent to the art. The flip side is that a rune can take a cantrip level effect, and bring it to bear at the tip of a sword. Even though it requires more Will than a cantrip would, it leverages the effect more effectively.

Below is a list of the runes shown. Runes are not a language that can be read, but rather each rune is a shape fundamental to reality—much like the constructs used to cast spells. The possibility of runes was imparted to the dwarves and gnomes directly from Torc after it was discovered that the races of men could harness the Fonts to wield magic using Will. Torc, the architect of this realm, saw no reason that a physical means wouldn't be able to harness the power of the Fonts. Once told of the possibility, the gnomes got to work experimenting and slowly discovered runes through dangerous trial and error.

Transfer runes are unique in that they can hold Will of any intent or form, and pass it along unaltered to another rune. The Will degrades with each transfer based on the quality of the transfer runes. In a weapon, this effect is minor, but on large-scale wards, imperfect runes can prevent their function or lower efficiency.

Light runes are the first runes I encountered in the outpost. They emit white light of varying intensity. The intent imbued with the Will controls the rate the Will is used and adjusts the light strength. Dagmar says there is a variation of the rune that can produce different color light as well.

Piercing runes allow the objects they are on to penetrate more deeply on impact. I have so many questions about how these actually function. Is it friction reduction? What happens when you place them on something not shaped for piercing? When asked, Dagmar repeated his original description verbatim, "You put the rune on something pointy, and the pointy thing pierces deeper. Piercing rune. Leave me alone."

Slicing runes act like piercing runes, but they act on a long surface as opposed to a point. Slicing runes are placed on long-bladed weapons meant for slashing, like most swords. Piercing runes are used for spears, daggers, picks, and the like. They can be combined on the same weapon to allow for improvements in both depending on the strike.

Sound dampening runes are fascinating. They eliminate all sounds that enter or leave the area around them. They can be used with extension runes to project this area further. These wards draw use Will based on the amount of sound they cancel, but the amount required is usually insignificant.

Reinforcement runes increase the “yield strength” of the material they are placed on. It seems the gnomes have developed methods to quantify material strength. The rune amplifies the strength using the Will imbued in it. The intent of the Will determines the strength multiplier. Interestingly enough, it takes the same amount of Wil to double the strength of paper as it does to double the strength of steel, even though doubling the steel results in a much greater practical effect.

Friction runes reduce the friction the object experiences. As an experiment, I rubbed the top of the helm along the wall, and with the rune active it felt as if the wall was coated in wet ice. The runes are great at redirecting glancing hits but are prone to damage if hit square on.