Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Suggestions A question about runes

Please do not flame me if this has already been asked, or for what I am about to say...Here goes...I have just recently bought and been playing Arx Fatalis.
In this game they have a rune system where in order to create the magic, your character has to draw the runes in the air. I hate it. Otherwise it is a pretty good game. My question is this...In <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/riftrunner.gif" alt="" /> are we going to be able to collect runes, combine them in multiple combinations and be able to save them as a quick spell? Or just click on the wanted combination to use? I feel that would be much better than Fatalis. Drawing those runes in the air is tedious at best, especially when you are being attacked and need to toss out some fireballs or something...

I think the runes are going to be a learnable language in RiftRunner rather than a magic system. Magic will probably come under the realm of skills, same as Divine Divinity.

I do like the idea of combinable rune magic though. It could be similar to the magic-card system in Septerra Core. Each player could hold one card and a lead character would cast the spell. You could combine cards to produce different effects (with higher energy consumption) such as inversing the effects (Slow + Mirror + All = All allies act faster).

In RiftRunner there could be a Rune Magic skill. Level 1 lets you use runes and each level after that lets you combine more runes (5 runes at level 5). By combining runes, their powers magnify each other and runes can be combined in advance using drag-and-drop. You could have a rune menu, like the potion menu, to quicky cast them. Each extra rune provides a higher effect. Two runes magnify all effects by 1.5, three by 2, four by 2.5, and five by 3. So:

Curse + Lightning + Fire + Fire = Curse (2.5) + Lighning Damage (2.5) + Fire Damage (5)

Heal + Heal + Heal + Heal + Heal = Restoration (15)

So higher levels of skills, which cannot be learned, can be achieved by using runes.

Would runes use mana? Perhaps not because you have to find the runes before you can use them. They'd be more common than charms, though.

That sounds really cool HandE. I think the runes should be hard to find,yet alot more powerfull when you learn the skill. Instead of being able to learn the skill in the begining, you learn it well into the game. Say by special quest or reward for killing those nasty necromancers or demons. My imagination is running wild at the possibility of almost limitless rune combinations! Oh BTW, I am getting used to drawing the runes in Arx, it just takes alot of practice...

Perhaps it should be both a learnable skill and a quest reward, like Restoration. By learning the skill, you essentially open up the ability to use every spell, but only if you find it lying around. So do you risk putting five points into a skill that has random accessability?

Runes shouldn't be too rare. After all, Fire Damage (5) is only about 30 damage (I'm guessing here). You wouldn't kill an Orc with that. They'd be handy with the Know Creature skill as you could judge their resistances, or rather their weaknesses.

Another idea: a rune called Enchant. Combining an Enchant rune with other rues allows you to imbue different magical powers into a charmable weapon.

(Enchant + Fire + Poison) on a Weapon with Charm Quality 3+ = Fire Damage (1.5) + Poison Damage (1.5)

(Enchant + Heal + Heal + Heal + Fire) on Armour with Charm Quality 5 = Survivors Instinct (6) + Resist Fire (2)

By this method, you shouldn't receive any spells by using enchanting equipment. Enchanting an amulet with Elemental Strike (8) would be overkill! Instead, they should give passive benefits from other classes. Or is Survivors Instinct (8) overkill too?

So we are talking Diablo here. Runewords.

I suppose they are similar. I'd forgotten about the rune words in Diablo 2. To be honest, I thing the enchanting of items with them could be a bit overkill.

I don't recall runewords in Diablo 2... I remember jewels and stones...I guess we just have to wait for a sneek peek on the rune and doll items...Maybe our Larians will give us a hint or 2???

There were runes as well as gems and jewels in Lord of Destruction. If you added them to sockets in the correct order, they gave even larger bonuses. All the rune words are in the strategy guide that comes with the BattleChest.

Yes, absolutely right! I had forgotten all about that untill now! I never really placed any runes or jewels in my weapons or armor. I liked the skulls though. As a matter of fact I have 1 saved game that has nothing in the characters inventory but runes! LOL! I really did forget about that! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" />

Rune Words in LOD are great, i always liked to use a lot of runes to give a real good boost to my equipment.

Maybe runes in Riftrunner or Divinity 2 could be charmable, to combine it, like in diablo, but with different words of course, so you can use something like enchant weapon to do it.

Ah yes and could have a way to able some special thing to give charm quality to a weapon or item.

Runes in / on weapons ? Something like "Anyone hit by this Sword is an Idot !" ? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

Idot or idiot?

Could be something like that Alrik, when you combine some runes in the wrong way, they can give bad status for the player, would be nice.


Think - 3 different runes, with luck you can do the rune word: "You broken your weapon". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" />

You mean a kind of curse ? Nice idea. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

And yes, it should've read "Idiot". Sorry.

I think what I meant by the runes was not primarily placing them in weapons. Though to have the option of doing that would be cool. But using them as a weapon themselves. Say for example you have 3 ahnks combined. When you use these as a spell, it rejuvinates life. Or each is worth 10% or 20% or good ones would be worth 30%.So it would restore 30% or 60% or 90%life. You have offensive,defensive,healing,mana,and so on. By combining the different runes you produce different effects. So you could make a combination that would drain the life/mana/and lower the armor of your enemy at the same time. To me that goes way beyond runewords, because it makes the combination possibilities almost endless.
I hope I have explained myself better this time. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ouch.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" /> I guess I am pretty much saying the exact same thing as HandE. I would just like em to be ultimately powerfull! Yes overkill! Exploding multiple enemies! Stuff like that!
Yeppers! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" />

I'll happily go with the overkill as long as there are a lot of them - to make it hard to find the one you want - and they are hard to find - so overkill isn't commonplace.

I understand your point view Mslinx, your idea is good, maybe when you already have the runes combined, you can use it like a "second power" in the midle of the batle, maybe if you have like a bag with these special runes in it.
And when you want to use it you press a function key.
F1, F2, F3....

Maybe to be more hard, after use it, having a kind of delay, to don't cause the spamming use.

Yes my friends! Exactly! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" />