Rune Wielder

You have learned to derive power from the language of giants, utilising lesser forms of jotun runes in order to enhance your attacks and abilities. You are capable of transcribing these ancient words of power onto your equipment – the letters blaring like wildfire and harkening back to the rune warriors of old.

Fighter  Level	Inscribed  Runes	Runic  Points
3rd	2	3
4th	2	4
5th	3	5
6th	3	6
7th	4	7
8th	4	8
9th	5	9
10th	5	10
11th	6	11
12th	6	12
13th	7	13
14th	7	14
15th	8	15
16th	8	16
17th	9	17
18th	9	18
19th	10	19
20th	10	20

Arcane Blacksmithing Proficiency

At 3rd level, you gain proficiency with Arcana and Smith’s Tools.

Lesser Rune Crafting

Also at 3rd level, you learn the basic art of turning jotun language into words of power. While they have nowhere near the strength or permanence of their predecessors, you can still use these runes to enhance your weapons and equipment, gaining a suite of new abilities depending on the words you decide to arm yourself with. You learn to use two runic inscriptions of your choice. Your runic inscription options are detailed at the end of the subclass description. When you reach certain fighter levels, you gain additional runic inscriptions of your choice, as shown in the Runes Known column of the Rune Wielder Level table. Additionally, when you gain a fighter level, you can choose one of the inscriptions that you know and replace it with another inscription that you could learn at that level. Whenever you forget an inscription in this manner, it disappears from any equipment or item you
inscribed it upon.

Runic Power, Inscribing Runes, and Runic Saving Throws

Runic Power

As a rune wielder, you have 3 points of runic power, and gain more at certain fighter levels. You regain all expended runic power when you finish a long rest. You must spend at least 30 minutes every rest concentrating in order to regain your runic power. This power is used to activate certain runes, and magnify the effects of others. In addition, whenever you
inscribe a rune that is able to use runic power, you may transfer points of runic power into the item itself, allowing its runic ability to be used by others. Runic power stored in this way still counts towards your maximum.

 

Inscribing Runes

In order to inscribe a rune onto a piece of equipment, you must spend at least an hour carefully etching the word of power onto the item with the use of smith’s tools. The wielder of the item gains access to the ability granted by the inscription. You can only have a number of runes equal to your proficiency modifier active at one time, and once a rune has been inscribed, its power does not fade until a week has passed, the item it is inscribed upon is broken, or it has been forcibly removed through anti-magical means. An item can only have 1 rune inscribed on it at a time.

 

Runic Saving Throws

Wisdom is your ability score for your inscribed runes. The power of your runes comes from your understanding of the jotun language and the cosmic
song its words of power sing. You use your Wisdom whenever a rune refers to your spell casting modifier – including times during which someone else utilises a rune inscribed by you. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a runic spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Rune save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Rune attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom Modifier

Residual Energy

At 7th level, whenever a creature spends runic power to activate a rune that you inscribed, they may add 1d4 to the result of their next attack roll or saving throw. This effect lasts until the end of their next turn.

Wordshaper

At 10th level, you can use an action to immediately rewrite a rune you’ve inscribed that is within reach, spending 1 runic power to replace it with another inscription that you know. This feature cannot be used again until you finish a long rest.

Heir to the Old Kingdoms

At 15th level, you learn to amass your runic knowledge and energy in order to craft a weapon of jotun legend. You spend 24 hours modifying a weapon of choice, permanently inscribing two different runes onto it. You can only craft one weapon of this calibre. If it is ever destroyed, you may begin crafting a new one. This legendary weapon is considered magical, must be attuned to, and gains a +1 bonus to its attack and damage rolls, unless it is a magic weapon that already has a bonus to those rolls. The weapon contains its own point of runic power, and regains this point every day at midnight. In addition, because of your innate bond with the weapon as its creator, you do not need to attune to it, and its runes cannot be used against you unless you willingly allow them to be.

Relentless Runes

At 18th level, You can use a bonus action to regain 1d4+2 rune points. You can't use this ability again till you finish a long rest.

Runic Inscriptions

Alkh, Rune of Strides

Bonds to any item. Your speed increases by 5 feet. On your turn, you can spend 1 runic point to triple this bonus and ignore any magical or poison effect that would decrease your speed until the start of your next turn. Activating this rune does not cost an action.

Fjul, Rune of Force
Bonds to weapons. Whenever you hit a creature with this weapon, you can spend 1 runic point to push them 10 feet away from you in a straight line.

Vajir, Rune of Bloody Joy
Bonds to armour. Whenever you use your action to attack, you can spend 1 runic power, causing each successful attack you make to heal you for 1d4+1 hit points. 

Hadra, Rune of The Songs Tress
Bonds to any item. You can spend 1 runic power and point this item at a creature that can both see and hear you. That creature gains temporary hit points equal to 1d6 + your spell casting modifier for 30 minutes.

Stend Rune of Mystic Vigour
Bonds to weapons. Whenever you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with this weapon, you regain 1 runic power or a 1st -level spell slot. This effect can only occur once per turn.

Uln, Rune of Steady Minds
Bonds to any item. This item becomes an arcane focus. Whenever you cast a spell that asks for a saving throw, you can spend 2 runic power to give a single affected target disadvantage on their saving throw.

Vulk, Rune of Bright Tides
Bonds to weapons. This weapon deals an additional 2 fire damage on hit. Whenever you successfully hit with this weapon, you can spend runic power up to your proficiency modifier to increase its fire damage by 1d6 for each point spent. 

Wex, Rune of Sunless Sky
Bonds to weapons. This weapon deals an additional 2 cold damage on hit. You can spend runic power up to your proficiency modifier to forgo one of your attacks and infect a creature within 30 feet of you with creeping frost, instead. Make a rune attack roll. On a hit, they take cold damage equal to 1d4 + your spell casting modifier, and their speed is reduced by 10 feet for each point of runic power spent until the start of your next turn. This effect cannot reduce a creature’s speed below 5 feet.

Grim, Rune of Nature's Wrath
Bonds to weapons. This weapon deals an additional 2 lightning damage on hit. You can spend runic power up to your proficiency modifier to forgo one of your attacks and arc lightning at a creature within 30 feet of you, instead. The lightning then leaps to an additional target within 10 feet of the first for each point of runic power spent. All targets must make a Dexterity saving throw versus your rune save DC. They take lightning damage equal to 1d8 + your spell casting modifier on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. 

Javni, Rune of Plagues
Bonds to weapons. This weapon deals an additional 2 poison damage on hit. You can spend 1 runic power whenever you successfully hit with this weapon in an attempt to poison your target. They must make a Constitution saving throw versus your rune save DC or be poisoned for 1 minute.

Kros, Rune of Throwing
Bonds to any item. If this is a Thrown weapon, its normal and long range is increased by 30 feet. If this is a ranged weapon, its normal and long range is increased by 100 feet. If this is a weapon or item that does not normally have a throwing range, it gains the Thrown property and a throwing range of 20/60 feet.

Faye, Rune of Returning
Bonds to any item. As a bonus action, whenever this item is within sight yet out of your reach, you can speak a command word ordering it to return to your hands. It does so in the most efficient manner possible. You can spend 1 runic power to greatly increase the speed at which the item returns to you. If it enters the space of a creature or object on its way back to you
while returning at this speed, you can also make a ranged weapon attack against them using this item. You can only make one attack in this way per turn.

Wold, Rune of The War Bringer 
Bonds to weapons. This weapon deals an additional 2 points of its damage type on hit. As an action, you may spend 1 runic power to grant yourself advantage on your next attack roll with this weapon. This effect lasts 1 minute.

Gjund, Rune of Merciful Deaths
Bonds to weapons. When you successfully hit with this weapon and you had advantage on the roll, you can spend 1 runic power, causing this weapon to deal an additional 2d6 damage.

Yite, Rune of Bear’s Ferocity
Bonds to weapons. When you roll to deal damage with this weapon, you can spend 1 runic power to re roll one or all of the damage dice.

Thurl, Rune of Many Faces
Bonds to any item. This item becomes invisible, as per the invisibility spell. If revealed, the item becomes invisible again after being undisturbed for a minute.

Einjar, Rune of Dizzying
Bonds to weapons. Whenever you successfully hit a creature with this weapon and you had advantage on the attack roll, that creature suffers disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks until the end of their next turn.

Valdi, Rune of Warding
Bonds to armour. Whenever a creature or object deals damage to you, you can spend 1 runic power to re roll one of the damage dice. You choose which dice to re roll.

Hede, Rune of Vibrations Prerequisite: 5th level

Bonds to armour. As a reaction to being targeted by an attack roll, you can spend 2 runic power to cast mirror image. The spell’s effects only last until the start of your next turn.

Pjalgard Rune of Iron Blood Prerequisite: 7th level

Bonds to armour. This item gives you resistance to poison damage. You can spend 1 runic power to gain advantage on saving throws made to avoid or resist poison effects for 10 minutes.

Magnir, Rune of Giants Dominion Prerequisite: 7th level

Bonds to any item. This item allows you to ignore difficult terrain caused by natural forests and rocky plains. You can spend 1 runic power to gain advantage on stealth checks for 10 minutes.

Aind, Rune of Spirit Communion Prerequisite: 9th level

Bonds to any item. As a bonus action, you can spend 2 runic power to create a spiritual duplicate of the inscribed object for 10 minutes. This duplicate appears on a space adjacent to the original object, and disappears if its distance from you is greater than 300 feet. You can forgo one of your attacks on your turn in order to command the duplicate. The duplicate has a flying speed of 30 feet and can hover. You can command it to fly anywhere you can see. If the duplicate is a melee weapon and it is within 5 feet of a creature, you can command it to make a single melee attack against them. Attacks rolls made by this spiritual weapon are affected by all the bonuses it would normally have while wielded by you.

Wexnir, Rune of Forbidden Suns Prerequisite: 9th level

Bonds to any item. As an action, you can spend 2 runic power to make any flame that you can see within 60 feet, regardless of size, spontaneously explode with a 3rd -level fireball spell. The fireball can be centred on any space occupied by the flame you are combusting.

Valjal, Rune of Gods Eye Prerequisite: 12th level

Bonds to any item. As an action, you can spend 3 runic power to cast the arcane eye spell on the inscribed item itself, wherever it may be.