Namakan Chaos and Dark Forms¶
Rules system: homebrew Sancturi system (2016-2019 documents; these forms 2018-2019).
Lore: the practice is on Namakan Runecasting.
Contested
This page is named in the open question Namakan class form lists. S251 makes Dark a full Runebinder form; S249 and S250 make it a Runemage form ("Darkness"), shared with the binder only in S249's short list and in the document code (bm). Chaos appears in no class list at all.
Legacy design material, not canon for play: how anything works at the table is defined by ARCS. The two forms the document titles mark "bm", shared by the Runebinder and the Runemage: Chaos (primary form CHA), the drawing-in and scattering of magical energy, from Runes (bm) Chaos (S259, 2019); and Dark (primary form OPS), darkness, concealment and tethers, from Runes (bm) Dark (S260, 2018). How to read a rune card is explained on Namakan Animate Form; the core rules are on Namakan Runecasting. The number after each rune's name is its base complexity.
Chaos¶
The Chaos form's grid (S259):
| Apprentice | Adept | Master | Grandmaster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grounding Rune: when activated, the next magical effect within range will be drawn into the rune. | Chaotic Power: randomly enhances Creatures, Items or other Runes with Chaotic energies. | Storm of Chaos: creates a large area where energies transform and shift, making spellcasting and magic-use unpredictable. | Anti-Magic Zone: negates the use of all magic and energy within a fixed area. Any transfer of energy is immediately lost to the Void. |
| Surge of Chaos: pushes raw chaotic energies at a target, dealing a spectrum of minor damage and interruption. | Chaotic Cloak: creates a bubble of chaotic energy around the target. Synergizes with Storm of Chaos. | Entropic Rift: creates a rift which attracts and drains energy from all nearby creatures. Acts like a black hole that sucks in magical effects and energy. | |
| Sigil: Discord's Call (minor) | Sigil: Deep Entropy (major) |
Only the first three runes have cards.
Grounding Rune (3)¶
MAN CHA DUC: Energy Chaos Pull.
| Rune type | Duration | Activation | Concern | Space & Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject Rune, Empowered | 1 day | Power Word | Defense-Intra | 50% |
"This rune collects the next magical effect matching its criteria in the area of effect and pulls it into the subject, dealing 1 damage per effective level of the magical effect. The type of damage is based on the type of the effect (Thunder for untyped or ambiguous magical energies or forces)" (S259).
| MAN form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| MAN | — | Able to capture up to S/2 level magical effects. |
| MANU | 3 | Able to capture up to S level magical effects. |
| MANUS | 7 | Able to capture up to S×2 level magical effects. |
| Ascend 5 | 1 | Grounded energies are converted back into MP for the caster (if they are within 30') at the rate of ½ of the effect's level. |
| Ascend 8 | 3 | If the object the rune is not written on is not destroyed, then the rune itself is not destroyed and may be re-empowered. |
| Death 5 | 2 | (blank) |
| DUC form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| DUC | — | Pulls an effect within 10 feet. |
| DUCO | 2 | Pulls an effect within 40 feet. |
| DUCOS | 6 | Pulls an effect within 120 feet. |
| Dark 8 | 2 | Blade Rune, Power Word. Used to destroy magical buffs or protections on targets (one at a time). |
Surge of Chaos (5)¶
BES CHA TRA: Creature Chaos Transfer.
| Rune type | Duration | Activation | Range | Concern | Space & Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincture Rune, Empowered | Instant | Power Word | 30' | Offense-Extra | 25% |
"This pushes raw chaotic energies at a target, dealing a spectrum of minor damage and causing Interruption if damage is taken" (S259). The target gets a saving throw for ½ damage. The energy type is rolled at activation:
| 1d12 | Type | 1d12 | Type | 1d12 | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crushing | 5 | Cold | 9 | Thunder |
| 2 | Piercing | 6 | Fire | 10 | Necrotic |
| 3 | Slashing | 7 | Blight | 11 | Psychic |
| 4 | Acid | 8 | Shock | 12 | Radiant |
| BES form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| BES | — | Creature makes a Save vs VIT, DC 10. |
| BEST | 2 | Creature makes a Save vs VIT, DC 14. |
| BESTI | 5 | Creature makes a Save vs VIT, DC 18. |
| Animate 8 | 2 | (blank) |
| Dark 8 | 4 | (blank) |
| TRA form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| TRA | — | Roll 1d4 types of damage. Each deals 1d8+[M] of that type. |
| TRAL | 4 | Roll 1d4+2 types of damage. Each deals 1d8+[M] of that type. |
| TRALA | 6 | Roll 2d4+2 types of damage. Each deals 1d8+[M] of that type. |
| Ascend 8 | 4 | (blank) |
| Ascend 5 | 2 | (blank) |
| Death 5 | 2 | (blank) |
Chaotic Power (8)¶
MAN CHA FLE: Energy Chaos Transform.
| Rune type | Duration | Activation | Concern | Space & Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject Rune, Empowered | 1 day (special) | Empowerment | Defense-Intra | 25% |
"Randomly enhances Creatures, Items or other Runes with Chaotic energies. It changes with each activation" (S259). Damage types are rolled on the 1d12 table under Surge of Chaos.
Defensive enhancements (1d6):
| 1d6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Rune Fails (prematurely ends the Duration). |
| 2 | Nothing Happens. |
| 3, 4 | Random Absorb (stacking) (1d8): 8, absorb the full attack; 7, absorb 75%; 4-6, absorb 50%; 1-3, absorb 25%. |
| 5 | Chaotic Curse (1d8): 7-8, attacker takes +50% damage from next wound; 5-6, attacker has Disadvantage on their next Action; 3-4, next attack against the attacker has Advantage; 1-2, attacker suffers 1 Sundering vs every damage type. |
| 6 | Chaotic Feedback (1d8): 8, deals 150% of the damage taken back to the attacker as a random damage type; 7, 100%; 4-6, 50%; 1-3, 25%. |
Offensive enhancements (1d8):
| 1d8 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Rune Fails (prematurely ends the Duration). |
| 2 | Nothing Happens. |
| 3, 4 | Chaotic Strike: 1d6 damage of a random type to the struck target. |
| 5, 6 | Chaotic Spray: on a successful strike, sprays chaotic energies in a 15', 60 degree cone, dealing 2d6 damage of a random type. DC 10 vs AGI|ING for ½ damage. |
| 7 | Chaotic Burst: a 20' × 20' burst emanates from the target of the attack, dealing 2d6 damage to all in the area. DC 10 vs AGI|ING for ½ damage. |
| 8 | Chaotic Fork: chaotic energy jumps from target to target, up to 2d6 targets. It jumps to a target on a hex grid within 20' (1d6: 1-2 left, 3-4 forward, 5-6 right); the target may be selected but must be within 20' and in the 90 degree arc in the rolled direction. If a target is available it must be chosen; if there are no living targets, the effect ends. Each hit deals 2d6 of a random damage type, DC 12 vs AGI|ING for ½ damage. |
| MAN form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| MAN | — | Defensive Enhancements. |
| MANU | 2 | Offensive Enhancements. |
| MANUS | 6 | Combined Enhancement (both offensive and defensive). |
| Animate 8 | 2 | (blank) |
| Dark 8 | 4 | (blank) |
| FLE form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| FLE | — | (blank) |
| FLEC | 4 | (blank) |
| FLECT | 6 | (blank) |
| Ascend 8 | 4 | (blank) |
| Ascend 5 | 2 | (blank) |
| Death 5 | 2 | (blank) |
Gap
Chaotic Cloak, Storm of Chaos, Entropic Rift and Anti-Magic Zone have no cards, nor do the sigils Discord's Call and Deep Entropy. Several cross-form rows on the three cards have a cost but no effect. The Grounding Rune here is a Namakan Chaos rune, not the Khardic rune of the same name.
Dark¶
The Dark form's grid (S251):
| Apprentice | Adept | Master | Grandmaster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darkness: removes light from an area. | Darkwall: creates a curtain of darkness which light and vision cannot penetrate. | Voidborne: adds extra damage and a chance to break shields and weapons. | Void Beast: summons a beast from the Void. |
| Obscuring: makes the subject difficult to detect with divination spells. | Dark Tether: tethers a creature to another object or creature. | Frigid Dark: steals warmth and light from a large area. | |
| Sigil: Dark Lance (minor) | Exile: exiles a creature to the void. | ||
| Sigil: Dark Helix (major) |
The first four runes are complete; the higher ones are partial or "??? ???".
Darkness (2)¶
MAN OPS EXA: Energy Dark Expel.
| Rune type | Rune duration | Activation | Duration | Area of Effect | Concern | Space & Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincture Rune, Power Word | 1 day | Power Word | 1 day | 30' radius | Offense-Extra | 50% |
"This removes light energy from an area" (S260).
| MAN form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| MAN | — | 30' radius. |
| MANU | 4 | 60' radius. |
| MANUS | 8 | 120' radius. |
| Ascend 8 | 2 | Can toggle the effect on and off with Power Word. |
| Ascend 5 | — | Auto-recharging. Takes energy directly from the writer/energy source to recharge it when needed. |
| EXA form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| EXA | — | Reduces illumination by 50%. |
| EXAT | 3 | Reduces illumination by 75% and extinguishes natural light sources. |
| EXATO | 6 | Reduces illumination by 100% and extinguishes all light sources (contest on magical light). |
| Oblivion 5 | 4 | Subject Rune, Ritual. |
| Oblivion 8 | 4 | Doubles the radius. |
Obscuring (6)¶
UNI OPS REP: Bind Dark Seek.
| Rune type | Duration | Activation | Concern | Space & Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject Rune, Empowered | 1 day | Empowered | Defense-Intra | 50% |
"Makes the subject difficult to detect with scrying, seeking and detection type spells. Affected divination spells require a contest to divine information from the subject" (S260).
| UNI form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| UNI | — | +1 on the contest. |
| UNIS | 2 | +3 on the contest. |
| UNISC | 6 | +5 on the contest. |
| Ascend 8 | 2 | Can toggle the effect on and off with a Power Word. |
| Ascend 5 | — | Auto-recharging. Takes energy directly from the writer/energy source to recharge it when needed. |
| REP form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| REP | — | Obscures aura detection magic. |
| REPE | 4 | Obscures location and seeking type magic. |
| REPER | 8 | Obscures scrying, including mind/psychic magic. |
| Death 8 | 4 | The effect of this rune becomes permanent on the subject if it was living and it dies. |
| Oblivion 8 | 4 | +2 more on the contest. |
Darkwall (8)¶
POS OPS MUR: Place Dark Barrier.
| Rune type | Rune duration | Activation | Duration | Concern | Space & Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincture Rune, Power Word | 1 day | Power Word | 2Q rounds | Offense-Extra | 50% |
"Creates a wall of darkness. The shape and size of the wall must be determined at writing time. No light or vision can penetrate the dark side of the wall. The wall is conjured at the casters present location when the power word is given" (S260).
| POS form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| POS | — | The wall is a perfectly straight square or rectangular plane, 10Q × 10Q. |
| POSI | 2 | The wall is in the shape of a sphere, 5Q radius or 10Q edge size. |
| POSIT | 2 | The wall is in the shape of a cube, 10Q edge. |
| Ascend 5 | 2 | Can toggle the effect on and off with a Power Word. |
| Blood 5 | 2 | Passing through or touching the wall makes the target Afflicted +1. |
| MUR form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| MUR | — | The wall of darkness is two way; no light or vision can penetrate it. |
| MURU | 4 | The wall of darkness is one way; the direction must be determined at writing time. |
| MURUS | 8 | The dark side of the wall can defeat even magical vision such as True Sight. Use a spell contest to determine success or failure at blocking it. |
| Death 8 | 2 | Passing through or touching the darkness deals 1d6+Q Necrotic damage. |
| Oblivion 5 | 2 | Double the radius or edge size. |
| Oblivion 8 | 4 | 4× the duration. |
Dark Tether (10)¶
BES OPS UNI: Creature Dark Bind.
| Rune type | Duration | Activation | Attack | Concern | Space & Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject Rune, Empowered | 1 day | Ritual | Touch | Defense-Intra | 50% |
"Creates a dark rope that connects to another object or creature the caster is touching within 5'" (S260). A dispel magic or similar effect breaks the tether, and it is removed automatically once either creature has suffered 2Q total damage from the tether's distance effects. Its length, set at writing time, is 5' to 60'; when the creatures move that far apart, they take damage.
| BES form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| BES | — | The tether breaks after 2Q total damage has been dealt to a single creature due to the tether distance. |
| BEST | 4 | The tether breaks after 3Q total damage has been dealt to a single creature due to the tether distance. |
| BESTI | 8 | The tether breaks after 4Q total damage has been dealt to a single creature due to the tether distance. |
| Blood 5 | 2 | Any Physical damage taken is split between the tethered creatures. It is applied to the non-receiving creature as Blight damage. |
| Ascend 5 | 2 | The subject does not take damage from the tether distance. |
| Ascend 8 | 4 | A single additional creature can be tethered. |
| UNI form | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| UNI | — | When the creatures are separated by more than the binding distance, they take 1 Necrotic damage each. 3 Necrotic penetration. |
| UNIS | 2 | Also, 2 Necrotic damage. |
| UNISC | 4 | Also, 3 Necrotic damage. |
| Death 5 | 2 | Any creature that takes damage from the tether distance is Dazed. |
| Animate 5 | 2 | Tethered undead can be controlled and commanded as a Bonus Action. |
| Oblivion 5 | 2 | The caster can project casting and invocation runes through any tethered creatures as if they were standing in their shoes. |
| Oblivion 8 | 2 | Any Defense-Intra rune effects are shared across tethered creatures as long as the cap for Defense-Intra runes is not exceeded. |
Higher Dark runes¶
These cards give runeword, type and costs but few or no effects (S260).
| Rune | Runeword | Rune type | Duration | Activation | Concern | Space & Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voidborne (14) | REL OPS DIV, Forsake Dark Divide | Blade Rune, Strike | 1 day | Strike | Offense-Extra | Cost 25%, Space 100% | "Adds necrotic damage to your strikes and can break shields and weapons." |
| Frigid Dark (15) | MAN OPS POS, Energy Dark Place | Cincture Rune, Power Word | 1 day; effect 2Q hours | Power Word | Offense-Extra | 50% | "Steals warmth and light from a large area." |
| Exile (16) | BES OPS EXA, Creature Dark Expel | Cincture Rune, Ritual | 1 day | Blade | Offense-Extra | 50% | "??? ???" |
| Void Beast (20) | DUC OPS BES, Pull Dark Creature | Cincture Rune, Ritual | 1 day | Blade | Offense-Extra | 50% | "??? ???" |
Grade costs, where given:
| Rune | First form grades | Second form grades | Sigil rows (cost) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voidborne | REL —, RELI 2, RELIC 4 | DIV —, DIVI 4, DIVID 8 | Ascend 8 (2), Ascend 5 (—), Death 8 (4), Oblivion 8 (4) |
| Frigid Dark | MAN —, MANU 2, MANUS 6 | POS 100' radius, POSI 2 (200' radius), POSIT 4 (400' radius) | Ascend 8 (1), Ascend 5 (—), Death 8 (2), Oblivion 8 (2) |
| Exile | BES —, BEST 1, BESTI 3 | EXA —, EXAT 2, EXATO 4 | Ascend 8 (1), Ascend 5 (—), Death 8 (2), Oblivion 8 (2) |
| Void Beast | DUC —, DUCO 1, DUCOS 3 | BES —, BEST 2, BESTI 4 | Ascend 8 (1), Ascend 5 (—), Death 8 (2), Oblivion 8 (2) |
Frigid Dark's MAN grade: "Extinguishes all light sources in the area. Magical light sources require a contest. All creatures in the area are Chilled. Illumination is reduced by 50%." MANU: "Also, all creatures in the area take 1d4 Cold damage per turn."
Dark sigils¶
S251 names the minor sigil Dark Lance (Adept) and the major sigil Dark Helix (Master). Earlier, S258 (marked for removal) named them Darkling (minor) and Endless Night (major).
Gap
Voidborne, Frigid Dark, Exile and Void Beast are unfinished, and neither Dark sigil is described. Exile and Void Beast are typed Cincture Rune, Ritual but list Blade activation.