The mastery of runes is one of the best-kept secrets in the world of magic. A technique for casting from a bygone age, runes channel mana in a specific pattern to achieve the desired effect.

The School of the Way of the Rune Master (S.W.O.R.M.) teaches the lucky wizards that make it in all the intricacies of using runes to cast magic. 

In this school, the Rune Masters learn to read and write the ancient language of the Giants to allow them to do amazing things with a simple script and their magical intent.

Being a graduate of S.W.O.R.M. you can read and write runes fluently, and bend the rules of magic in incredible ways. 

With your Bag of Runestones and your Spellstone by your side, you can achieve incredible feats of magic.

Runes are a magical tool used to cast spells or create spell effects by channeling mana through a script inscribed on a sturdy surface, such as a flat piece of metal or stone.

Runic Expert:

You have spent years studying the history and magic origins of the runic language. At 2nd level, you can read and write runes. As a bonus, you also have proficiency in Arcana and an advantage on checks related to runes.

Runic Tattoos

A Rune Master has a tattoo of a rune on each palm and one on each of the back of their hands.

Lachbor - Produce Flame

Leoma - Shocking Grasp

Ræden - Guidance

Freoric - Ray of Frost

Ator - Poison Spray

Using your skin to shape mana into spells is your way of casting cantrips.

Runestone Carver

As a Rune Master, your primary way of spellcasting is runes.

As such, your spells are kept carved into 'runestones' which are flat, smooth stones 1-3 inches across with a rune carefully carved in the surface. By holding this rune out in front of you, and channeling your mana and magical intent through the runestone to produce the desired spell/effect. 

You can choose how you store your runestones. Some popular ways among your peers were on a long necklace, hanging from a belt, or set into a staff. 

They are your magical focus.

Runestone Bag

As a Rune Master, you have a bag (Runestone Bag) containing 12 different runestones you carved during your time in School of the Way of the Rune Master (S.W.O.R.M.).

These runes all have various effects when you channel mana through them.

Rune of Speed - Doubles target creature's speed for one round
Rune of Slowing - Halves target creature's speed for one round
Rune of Healing - Does healing to target creature for 1d4 + Int
Rune of Damage - Does damage to target creature for 1d4 + Int
Rune of Ice - Creates an ice spike that shoots at target creature and does 1d8 freezing/elemental damage on a successful hit
Rune of Fire - Creates a ball of flame that shoots at target creature and does 1d8 fire/elemental damage on a successful hit
Rune of Earth - Creates a stone sphere that shoots at target creature and does 1d8 bludgeoning damage on a successful hit
Rune of Wind - Creates a bullet of wind that shoots at target creature and does 1d4 bludgeoning damage and knocks back 10 feet
Rune of Protection - Creates a 4' tall, 3' wide, 1' foot thick stone wall to rise from the earth. Crumbles after 15 damage is done to it, it is dismissed, or after 12 seconds
Rune of Intent - Locks on a target creature and gives +1d4 to attack roll next turn against that creature
Rune of Blessing - Target creature adds 1d4 to their next saving throw
Rune of Cursing - Target creature subtracts 1d4 from their next saving throw

To cast using a runestone during combat, you must make a DC 10 Intelligence (Arcana) check to find the right rune.

If you fail, you are instead channeling mana and intent through the wrong shape, so you must roll on a d100 wild magic table. The effect is immediate and originates from the runestone itself. 

If the failed spell was targeted, the effect originates from where the spell was targeted. 

This check requires no action. You don't need to make a check if you are using the same runestone as the last turn.

Runestone Proficiency

You can use a runestone as a spellcasting focus for your wizard spells.

When you cast a wizard spell with a spell slot, you can temporarily replace its damage type with a type that appears in another spell in your spellbook, which magically alters the spell's formula for this casting only. The latter spell must be of the same level or below as the spell slot you expend.

When you cast a wizard spell as a ritual, you can use the spell's normal casting time, rather than adding 10 minutes to it. Once you use this benefit, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

If necessary, you can replace your runestone foci, whatever form they may take (spell book), throughout a short rest by using your knowledge and mastery of runes to carve arcane sigils into blank runestones, recreating your runestone foci (spell book) to which you’re attuned. At the end of the rest, if the previous runestones (spell book) still existed somewhere, they will disintegrate.

Spell Absorbing

Beginning at 14th level, you can craft Rune of Storing runestones that can absorb the power of another caster’s spells and use them as your own.

 When you hold a runestone with a Rune of Storing within the area of effect of a spell or you (holding the runestone) are the target of a spell, you can absorb that spell into the Rune of Storing assuming you, the Rune Master, has access to the same level spells or higher. The effect of the spell is only halved if applicable, however, so be careful.

When you absorb a spell into a Rune of Storing, that spell is not automatically usable. To be able to cast that spell, the spell must be powered, and within your power to cast.

For example, if you absorb a spell that is outside of your class of magic, it can only be used by someone who has access to that class of magic.

To use a stored spell, you must use the appropriate spell slot to charge it, and set the activation trigger.

When a stored spell is triggered, the runestone is consumed. The instability of a one-size-fits-all rune does not hold up to the test of time and strain of use.

You may not change the level of spell absorbed, but you can power it with any higher level spell slot, if you are out of say, first level spell slots for a first level absorbed spell.

To craft a Rune of Storing, you need 1 hour and 10 gp. You can have a number of empty runes equal to your proficiency bonus. When you absorb a spell into a Rune of Storing it becomes full and you can now make another Rune of Storing.

Rune Weaver

Beginning at 6th level, you can use an action to weave a spell rune from mana on a surface you can touch. 

You can do this with up to 3rd-level spells, expending the spell slot as if you cast it normally, and you must set a trigger.

A trigger can be an event such as a creature passing within 5 feet of the rune, something touching the rune, opening an object the rune is created on, seeing the rune, etc.

You can further refine the trigger so the spell activates only under certain circumstances or according to physical characteristics (such as height or weight), creature kind (for example, the rune could be set to affect aberrations or drow), or alignment. You can also set conditions for creatures that don't trigger the rune, such as those who say a certain password. The spell does not activate until the trigger is met after which the rune is destroyed.

The rune's activation does not use any actions and a rune lasts until you take a long rest or use this ability again after which the rune is destroyed without activating.

The rune can cover an area no larger than 10 feet in diameter. If the surface or object is moved more than 10 feet from where you cast this spell, the glyph is broken, and the spell ends without being triggered.

The glyph is nearly invisible and requires a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to be found.

When using this ability on a creature (willing or unwilling) the Rune Master needs to be within melee range. If unwilling, the target creature makes an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save the sigil is placed on the target creature.

Weaving the rune still takes the same duration and components required by the spell being woven.

At 6th level, you may have up to three levels worth of spell slots woven at once.

At 10th level, you may have up to five levels worth of spell slots woven at once.

 

Runestone Conjuring

From 10th level onwards, you gain the ability to create temporary runestones that can be used by you or another creature. 

As an action, you can spend a spell slot of the appropriate level of 4th or below to conjure a spellstone with the spell you wish to imbue from your learned spells.

The spellstone exists until it's used, and is consumed when the spell ends, leaving no traces of its existence. The stone also disappears if it enters an antimagic field, after 1 hour, or the spell dispel magic is cast on it.

You can have temporary stones up to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of one).

A creature holding the spellstone can use its action to release the spell within. The spell uses your spell attack bonus and save DC, and the spell treats the creature who released it as the caster for all other purposes.