Runic Inks¶
A rune is only as good as what it is written in. Every discipline of Rune Magic has its inks, rated from unusable through poor, fair, normal and good to ideal for each kind of runecaster, and a better ink lets the writer work above their skill while a poor one drags them below it (S230). Some inks are simple enough that any runecaster can mix them; others need an alchemist. This page describes the fourteen inks and engraving media of the Sancturi-era reference and how a rune is made to last.
Painting and engraving¶
A rune written in ink is temporary. "Runes can be persistent by applying them to a surface that can support detailed work that does not easily break or decompose" (S230). Engravings "can be made on most hard surfaces including stone, metal, glass, bone and wood", and paintings work "on permeable materials such as cloth, canvas, tattoos and embroidery", or on stone and wood prepared "flattened but permeable"; either needs skill in the material, "additional divine energy and heat" (S230). Each ink is suited to one or the other.
Simple inks¶
"These inks are simple enough that most Runecasters are capable of mixing them as long as they have access to the ingredients" (S230).
- Dyed Ink: "made from most dyes and combined with Holy Water, this is a very cheap and easy ink to produce and obtain", fair for every form of both traditions.
- Bone Ink: "made from crushed bone and mixed with acids to soften and dissolve them. This is an ivory-brown colored ink that lasts without any sort of preservation"; laborious but cheap, and normal for every Namakan form.
- Praestic Ink: made from Praestic Powder, harvested by the Penitus Monks. "It retains its bright red color when used as an ink and in addition it will glow when surrounding Mithis levels are very elevated within a couple of feet of it (Not quite as effective as the powder or incense at detecting Mithis)"; it is "particularly potent for most Runepriest Forms". The same ink tattoos the Marks of the Imperium, described under Social Order.
- Manganese Ink: manganese mixed with holy water, easy to make for anyone who can get the mineral, which "can be extracted from Manganese rich rocks relatively easily by experienced smelters or miners"; an ink of the Khardic tradition.
Complex inks¶
"These inks are complex and require specialized experience and knowledge in order to create" (S230). Two kinds of alchemist prepare them: in the reference the Corporeal Alchemist makes the herb, metal and fae inks, and the Empyrean Alchemist the blood, nightshade and soul inks. Their crafts are described under Alchemy and Witchcraft.
| Ink | Made from | Appearance | Prepared by | Favoured by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollowed Ink | Hollowed herbs, kept in a bottle sealed with a containment rune | Corporeal Alchemist | Runemages, Runelocks | |
| Blood Ink | Fresh blood, its living energy drawn out with reagents | Dries a deep reddish brown | Empyrean Alchemist | Runebinders, Runekeepers |
| Fae Inks | The essence of a fae creature, one ink per Fae realm | Corporeal Alchemist | Runemages of the matching realm | |
| Nightshade Ink | The poisonous nightshade plant | "Completely black, even after used. It appears to absorb all light completely" | Empyrean Alchemist | Namakan |
| Mithric Ink | Depleted Mithril | Metallurgist, then Corporeal Alchemist | Runesmiths, both traditions | |
| Electrum Ink | An alloy of silver, gold and nickel | Corporeal Alchemist | Khardic; Namakan water, air and light forms | |
| Beryllic Ink | An alloy of copper and beryllium | Corporeal Alchemist | Khardic; Namakan fire, earth and darkness forms | |
| Essence Ink | Soul essences | "A pale white or blue glow and appears almost ethereal in nature while in the bottle", applying "as a high contrast bluish-white color" | Empyrean Alchemist | Runebinders |
| Cupric Ink | Purified copper with stabilising reagents | "Dries like a film of bright copper that will oxidize with a blue-green film" | Corporeal Alchemist | Runesmiths, Runewarders |
| Lightveil Ink | Runepriests, Runekeepers |
Hollowed Ink "is effective with arcane and elemental typed magic", Blood Ink is "especially potent for Spirit based Runes", and a Fae Ink aligned with its form is ideal (S230). Mithric Ink is "much more difficult and expensive than it was as the Mithril/Mithis source needs to be depleted by an expert Metallurgist which is difficult and time consuming" (S230); the metal is Argentium. Blood, Hollowed, Mithric, Essence and the Fae inks need special containers, and blood ink "spoil[s], and [is] generally enchanted with preservation magic" (S230).
Gap
Lightveil Ink appears only in the reference's table, with no description of its making or appearance. The reference's table marks Blood, Hollowed, Lightveil, Praestic and Essence inks as painted, while its prose headings call several of them engravings.
Ink in older rune magic¶
In the 2014 class document runes were traced in one of three ways: carved, "difficult to destroy"; drawn in ordinary ink or in the dirt, "very temporary"; or written in mithis ink, which is "quite persistent, but the magic in the ink eventually fades making even permanent runes fade out over time. ... All runemasters learn the ink rune that draws mithis out of an object to create mithis ink" (S370). The Creating Magic Items draft describes runes as containing "a magically altered ink which includes an Alchemical Medium", the Runemaster being "a channeler that empowers their own runes and uses their magic to modify the structure of an ink to produce the effect they desire"; being channelers, runemasters "are able magically alter their ink, which eliminates the need for specific components" that arcane inscribers must use (S391).
Ink ratings by tradition: Runic Inks.