Rune Saga: Creating Characters

To create a character, draw three cards from the rune deck (making sure to note the order in which they were drawn). Three cards produce a “pentad” consisting of three runes and two glyphs. The first glyph is produced by the first and second runes. The second glyph is produced by the second and third runes. These oracles are read in order, i.e., first rune, second rune, first glyph, third rune, second glyph. You “read” or interpret this “pentad” to create a coherent background.

Example: A player draws Sun of Staves, Moon of Coins, and World of Staves, which produces the following oracles.

• Sun of Staves [ghotmaegas] Discovery (Remediation). A scroll, book, or map. Event: A hero finds something that is needed or has been missing.
• Moon of Coins [feltaenas] Credulity (Unfounded Claims). A beneficent spirit, a guardian angel. Event: A villain pretends to be a hero, and receives acclaim.
• ghot fel: Sacrifice. The one who acts gives up a precious thing.
• World of Staves [hinmaegas] Nature (Transfiguration). A fiery or chaotic place. Event: Someone changes their aspect, or receives a new appearance.
• fel hin: Abundance To him is given great wealth, as a lord his due.

The player uses this sequence of oracles to construct this background for his character:

PRINCE DAEMIEN is the son of a mighty king. He was given the task of charting the land on the frontiers of his father's kingdom [Sun of Staves (Map)]. He set out with local guides through a wild wood, but out of spite they tricked him into taking a cursed path where he wandered for a long time, hungry and alone [Moon of Coins (Credulity)]. Befriended by a cunning she-wolf, he gave up his human ways to live like an animal [Sacrifice] and roamed freely through the forest [World of Staves (Nature)] as a prince among the wolves [Abundance].