Runes can be inscribed onto any of the following things: weapons, armour, standards, war machines and talismans. Each of these has its own type of runes.
The easiest way to create a runic item is to choose a character from your army - a Dwarf Thane armed with an axe, for example. By inscribing runes onto his axe you will be, in effect, arming him with a magic weapon - a rune axe. You can choose which rune you want from the weapon runes detailed in this section. Each rune has a specific points value; the more powerful the rune, the higher the points cost. You can put up to three runes onto a weapon, paying the appropriate cost each time.
Once you have chosen the runes you want, write down the Thane's name and note that he has a rune axe with the runes you have selected. Note down the total points cost of the runes you have used and add this to the character's points value. You should make a list of all your characters that are using runic items so that you can refer to it during the battle. It is a good idea to make a brief note of what each rune does, as this will save you looking up details during play.
Number of Runic Items
A character may have no more than one runic item from each of the five categories (ie, one runic weapon, one runic armour, one runic talisman, etc). Remember, a character with a magic weapon can't use other mêlée weapons but can be armed with a crossbow, a handgun or a pistol in addition to a runic mêlée weapon. If armed with a pistol, it may not be used along with a runic mêlée weapon to give + 1 Attack.
Choosing Runes
There are many types of rune, all of which bestow a special power or bonus. By combining runes together in different ways, you can create devices of great power. The most powerful runes are very expensive; others are cheaper.
It is up to you to decide how to use runes. It is the ability to tailor your magic items to your foe or to your tactics that makes runic magic items so uniquely useful.
Rules of the Runes
You may inscribe up to three runes on a runic magic item, subject to the following restrictions:
No item can have more than three runes. It is virtually impossible to forge items able to bear the strain of carrying so much power. Runesmiths call this the Rule of Three.
Weapon runes can only be inscribed on weapons, armour runes can only be inscribed on armour, runic standards can only be inscribed on standards, engineering runes can only be inscribed on war machines, and talismanic runes can only be inscribed on talismans (of which more later). This is called the Rule of Form by Runesmiths.
No more than one item may carry the same combination of magic runes. You could not have two rune weapons both engraved with a Rune of Speed and a Rune of Fire, for example. This restriction also applies to the use of single runes, so you could not have two characters in your army wearing armour engraved with a single Rune of Resistance, for example. Creating rune items takes a great deal of effort and Runesmiths don't like repeating themselves. Nor do they copy other Runesmiths' work, except during their apprenticeship. This is known among Runesmiths as the Rule of Pride.
No master rune may be used more than once per army, and no more than one master rune can be inscribed on an item. Master runes are so powerful that they cannot be combined together on the same item or used together on the same battlefield. For this reason, Runesmiths describe these runes as Jealous Runes.
Apart from the master runes (which can only be used once) other runes can be combined as you wish to produce varied or cumulative effects. For example, you might inscribe a weapon with the Master Rune of Swiftness (always strikes first), the Rune of Striking (+1 Weapon Skill) and the Rune of Fury (+1 Attack). With the exception of master runes, runes can be used in multiples, in which case their effects are added together. For example, you could inscribe a weapon with the Rune of Fury (+1 Attack) three times to give you +3 Attacks.