Khardic Runecasting¶
"Once upon a time this was the go to rune for runeforging. Mithis metals were commonly available to dwarves." — of the Master Rune of Mithis (S246)
Khardic runecasting is the dwarven discipline of Rune Magic, "the original Rune Magic created for and expanded by the dwarves and ... based around Khardas" (S132). "Khardic runes have been the dominant form of Runecasting for most of recorded history. The dwarves have jealously guarded its secrets as they are unable to practice other forms of magic and Khardic Runes are the core to their reputation for finely crafted magical items and objects" (S233). Its runes are written in a terse runic tongue, powered by divine energy, and forged into the weapons, armour and machines of the Dwarves. In the Sancturi age it is the rival of the newer Namakan discipline.
The runic tongue¶
Every Khardic rune has a spoken or written name in the runic tongue of Khardas. The seven Aspects, the secondary forms that colour a whole runeword, are its clearest vocabulary (S232):
| Aspect | Word | Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Anvil | AMBOLT | "creation, shaping and repair" |
| Elements | MENTER | "the four elements and primal energies" |
| Grudge | HAEVN | "grudges and retribution" |
| Honor | AERE | "honor and loyalty" |
| Shield | SKJOLD | "defense and protection" |
| Stone | STEN | "the earth, home and steadfastness" |
| Valor | MOD | "strength and courage" |
The Cap runes at either end of a runeword change how it is triggered or powered: BEDE, the Prayer, lets the runecaster wake or still a rune by touch and prayer; NIV lets a Runeblade switch it "as part of their Bladesong"; RYK draws energy from a power rune on the same object (S232, S246). The forms carry the same tongue: the weapon runes end in RABEK (BRU RABEK, the Rune of Breaking; HANE RABEK, the Master Rune of Taunting), the armour runes in RUSK (SPAER RUSK, the Rune of Blocking; KRAE RUSK, the Master Rune of Might), and the Master Rune of Divinity is GUD T'VAN (S247, S242, S246). How runewords are built from primary forms, master and sovereign runes, aspects and caps is told under Rune Magic.
Gap
No source names the runic tongue itself or relates it to Runik or to the spoken dwarven language.
The classes¶
The Sancturi-era notes divide Khardic runecasters into classes by the forms they learn (S233, S132). Runemage, Runepriest and Runeblade are shared with the Namakan discipline and described there as well.
Runemage¶
The Khardic Runemage writes elemental runes of Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Light and Dark (S233). The refactor notes call these "Fae Runes (Fae schools of magic)", which require "a Fae Ink preparation specific to the Fae Realm" (S132). See Runic Inks.
Runepriest¶
The Runepriest writes the runes of the ancestors, the oath, the earth and healing, in five forms (S235):
- Ancestor Form: runes of the dead and the honoured fathers. Ancestral Guidance lets the priest "ask ancestors for guidance. If you are worthy, you may receive a simple reply"; the Master Rune of Ancestral Oath "allows sharing of Ancestral Oaths or Grudges. These confer extra benefits as they are backed by the power of the ancestors"; the greatest is the Sovereign Rune of the Ancestral Guardian (S235, S240).
- Earth & Stone Form: shaping stone "as if it were clay", shattering "any earth-related material", raising walls of "Earth, Stone or Magma", animating stone and turning flesh to stone (S237, S235).
- Force Form: spite and repulsion, Silver Moonlight that "reveals hidden stonework" and invisible things, the Earthwell that lowers the divine power needed while one stands in it, and the Sovereign Rune of the Earthgate: "two gates can be connected, and as long as they are both on the same 'earth', acts as a portal" (S235).
- Healing Form: blunting, healing, recovery, mending and restoration, a rune that "restores a body to life" if the spirit is still bound to it, and the Sovereign Rune of Tranquility, under which every creature at rest "regains health" and any who breaks the peace is burned for it (S239, S235).
- Oath Form: runes that reveal oaths (Oathseeker, Oathbound), strengthen those who pursue them (Oathkeeper), seal a blood covenant, and bind loyalty (S235, S240).
The Grudge is a rune as well as a custom. "Grudges - you may only ever have 1. It can be an individual (strong), a group/organization (moderate), or a class/race (weak) ... Once you have a Grudge, it cannot simply be changed or removed. The grudge must be fulfilled by exacting justice on the grudge" (S240). The Master Rune of Grudge "enhances the adjacent runes based on whether the user has an active Grudge against its target", and the Sovereign Rune of Loyalty says "my grudges are your grudges and vice versa" to all nearby (S240). Across the weapon and armour forms, runes worked under the Valor aspect grow stronger "vs Grudges" (S247, S242). The dwarven custom of the grudge is told under Law.
Runewarden¶
The Runewarden, also Runewarder, writes runes of protection: abjuration and dispelling, warding and shields, guardian runes that protect and react, banner runes "heraldric, banners, group and area buffs", and the conditional offensive runes of Reckoning, "also known as Slayer Runes?" (S233). The refactor notes call these "Warding Runes (Divine magic, focused on abjuration)", written in "inks specific to the plane (Material, Shadow, Hollow, Astral, Ethereal, Elemental)" (S132).
Runesmith¶
The Runesmith forges. Their forms (S233):
- Weapon Form: "Weapon Runes grant abilities specific to weapons. All Weapon Runes are target runes and do not conflict with other subject runes on the holder of the weapon" (S247); runes of range and return, parrying, cleaving, breaking an enemy's blade, and one "powerful against Grudges and Evil creatures. May only be wielded by Good aligned" (S247).
- Armor Form: runes "normally placed on shields or plated/scaled armor" that strengthen block and absorption against physical, aural, somatic and mystic harm, and the Rune of Preservation that "protects armor, repairs it" (S242).
- Foundry Form: runes of the forge: Heat, which "attracts all heat in an area to the target"; Grounding, "used in spellforging and runeforging", which "attracts all magical effects into the object"; Polishing, Hammering and Runesight; the Master Runes of Forging and of Repair, which "makes mechanical objects self-healing"; and the Sovereign Rune of Runestriking, which "allows runes to be 'struck' into metal (embedded and hidden)" and must be on any anvil that strikes sovereign runes (S243).
- Power Form: runes that keep other runes powered "without a runecaster needing to repeatedly empower them. They are normally used to create runeforged items" (S246).
- Logic Form: see Runeforged machines, below (S244).
- Machine Form: frames for simple biped, quadruped and cart machines (S245).
The refactor notes call these "Earthpower Runes (Material based runes)", written in "material inks prepared specific to the Material Demense (Water, Wood, Earth, Metal, Fire)" (S132).
Runeblade¶
The Runeblade is a warrior who activates blade runes in the rhythm of the Bladesong (S232). Hagrael Wyrmcleaver, general to the exiled king of Dru'Bazan, is a "legendary warrior and Runeblade" who "struck down a raiding Black dragon" (S319).
Runelock¶
The earliest refactor notes add a fourth Khardic sub-discipline, the "Runelock/Runewitch : Hollow Runes (Mithis/Arcana-based runes). Requires mithis/malum inks (Arcane Domains)" (S132). The later class lists drop it; the Runic Inks reference still rates Hollowed and Electrum inks for the Runelock (S230).
Runeforging¶
Runeforged items are runewords made permanent by a power rune. The question is what powers them (S246):
- The Master Rune of Divinity "keeps other runewords on the same object powered using Divine Energy". "Unfortunately permanent divine power sources are extremely rare, and are normally only found in Holy Relics and artifacts (which are most often kept in temples and worshipped). The most common form of Divine energy used by Runecasters is from consecrated objects."
- The Master Rune of Mithis "must be written on a Mithis Energy source. Once upon a time this was the go to rune for runeforging. Mithis metals were commonly available to dwarves. Now that most mithis is corrupted, this rune is very rare as it requires an uncorrupted Mithis source."
- The Master Rune of Fae: "Fae energy tends to be more limited and fickle than other kinds of energy, which is why it has been out of favor with runesmiths. Now that Mithis is no longer available, this is probably the easiest type of power source to locate."
- The Sovereign Rune of Aetheris requires that its source "is bound (dominion) to the rune", which "makes this type of rune quite rare".
The corruption of Mithis therefore struck at the heart of the dwarven craft. The Mithis metals that once fed the forges are described under Materials. The older archive makes the same point from the other side: runemastery "is nearly extinct for two reasons: First, dwarven-born channelers have been declining and second, the lore has been lost for thousands of years and is only now resurfacing" (S391).
At the White Towers, whose queen Melkorka is herself a Runepriest "favored of Khardas", the dwarves still make lavaforged rune weapons (runespear, runeaxe, runesword and arbalest), field Khardic Battle Priests armed with runemauls, and carry "Depleted Mithril Hollowards (5 runes, show Hollowing absorbed)" (S201).
Runeforged machines¶
"Logic Runes are used in constructing complex machinery. Every logic rune form is not listed due to the complexity and minutiae that would entail. Instead, they are arranged into circuits of logic runes called controllers. Each controller has a purpose and is made up of many logic runes. Logic runes generally do not need a power source as they use so little energy that when they are first written and empowered gives them enough energy for a thousand years" (S244). Controllers govern the walking and balance of biped and quadruped frames (S244). Logic runes "can construct complex logic circuits (required for golems and automatons)", but a machine needs "a Namakan Runebinder or Khardic Runepriest for the soul binding to make them autonomous"; they "are also commonly used to create magic items that do not require Runecraft to use" (S233). The golems and automatons are Creatures'.
Clan Runeguilds¶
"Dwarven clans have individual Runeguilds. These can be based on either Namakan or Khardic rune disciplines depending on the loyalties of the clan" (S132). The split follows the "Dwarven Fracture in society. Khardas loyalists, New Pantheon+Namaka (underground)" that the same notes record (S132). The Runeguilds stand among the rune magic orders listed on Rune Magic.
Gap
No Runeguild is named, and no source describes how one is governed, how it trains apprentices or how a clan's guild changes its allegiance.
Earlier accounts¶
The 2014 Runecaster document knows only dwarven runecasters, a Runemaster or Runemage ("the scholars among dwarven runecasters") and a Runepriest named for "dwarven battle priests", with the Runesmith as a skill whose "speciality is to understand the art of powering runes from mithis", requiring one to be "a runecaster (to learn how runes work), a smith (to learn how to forge metal, especially mithis ores) and a runesmith (to learn how to weave mithis lines in molten metal)" (S370). It counts dwarves with the gift as "approx 1 in 1000 now" (S370). The first Sancturi-era brainstorm of runes, marked old, sorts them by element (frost, magma, flame, beast, rot, ruin, wind, moon) and notes that "consecration runes take less maint as they are in constant contact with the earth" (S234).
Rune lists and tier tables: Khardic Runecasting.