Suikoden

It isn't easy to get runes. Many are quite expensive, the cheapest being 3000 gold pieces or so. And the only way to get them attached to the person is by use of an expert known as the Runemaster. Only a Runemaster can embed the rune into the person's hand or forehead. And then only a Runemaster can remove them. Caution, though--some runes have been know to bond permanently with the user.

Runes can also be transformed into scrolls, though only one person in existence is known to be able to do that. Raura, a ditzy woman of mysterious origins, has the ability. Last known of her she was in the Greenhill Province, getting lost.

Runes vary in power. Some actually have a more powerful “sister” rune, but a great deal of them do not. And… there are 27 very powerful, hard to find “True” Runes. A legend follows regarding the True Runes:

In the beginning, there was "darkness."
Then, the "darkness" shed a "tear."
From that "tear," the brothers Sword and Shield were born.
Shield claimed it could defend against any attack.
Sword claimed it could slice through anything.
The brothers began a legendary battle.
At the end, both Sword and Shield shattered.
Sword became the sky, Shield became the earth, and the sparks from the battle
became the stars.
As for the jewels, they fell to the ground and became the True Runes--The runes that
all other runes were born from.

Being the backbone of the Suikoden World that allows the existence of the universe, True Runes are the Gods of the suikoden world. Wholly sentient with its own will, each True Rune holds immeasurable power and has been the cause of many wars in the past. True Runes are often sought by those in power due to its power of granting agelessness to its bearer. All bearers of True Runes stop aging and become immune to disease and all other natural causes of death, although they could still die from physical causes, such as accidents or murder.

No one knows for certain where True Runes came from, but legend tells that the 27 True Runes were created when the brothers, "Sword" and "Shield" fought against each other, shattering itself into 27 pieces.

All True Runes represent a certain power, and bring both benefits and curses to its bearer, such as immortality, which could be a great benefit and a great curse. Furthermore, a True Rune's sentience, or ego, could often overwhelm novice bearers who do not know how to dominate True Runes. This often results in the reversal of the "master-servant" relationship, reducing a True Rune's bearer into a mere vessel that the True Rune controls to achieve its own purposes.

All True Runes hold a purpose, and this purpose tends to be pursued with no moral consideration due to the fact that True Runes are forces of nature. True Runes may cause its bearer to save lives, but also may force its bearer to kill thousands of people against the bearer's will if it serves the rune's purpose.

True Runes could be quite fickle, and could abandon its bearer in favor of another, and when its bearer dies, it tends to vanish and remain hidden (within the earth or at the bottom of the ocean) until it feels like reappearing. One person cannot bear more than one True Rune, but it is said that a secret exists that allows one person to bear more than one True Rune.

All the other runes have varying powers—be it supporting the wielder, attack magic, healing magic, and others. Each rune has four levels of spells:

That is all. As one progresses through their levels, they can cast more spells per level. It takes a day to recharge them.

Most of the time, a person can have two runes—one on their left hand and one on their right hand. Time to time, a person can also have a rune on their forehead, but this is quite rare. Some runes can combine their power to create a 5th level spell—truly powerful, but it takes up one of each rune’s 4th level spell.

Levels = Number of Spells per level
Level 1: 2/0/0/0
Level 2: 3/1/0/0
Level 3: 4/1/0/0
Level 4: 4/2/0/0
Level 5: 5/2/1/0
Level 6: 6/3/1/0
Level 7: 7/3/1/0
Level 8: 7/4/2/1
Level 9: 8/4/2/1
Level 10: 8/5/2/1
Level 11: 9/5/2/1
Level 12: 9/5/3/1
Level 13: 9/6/3/1
Level 14: 9/6/3/2
Level 15: 9/7/4/2
Level 16: 9/8/5/3
Level 17: 9/9/6/4
Level 18: 9/9/7/4
Level 19-20: 9/9/7/5

Magic Runes:

Blinking Rune: A teleportation rune
The only known rune to exist is said to be in possession of a young woman named Viki.

Blue Gate Rune: Teleports monsters from a void. Born of the Gate Rune.
1st Level Spell: Open Gate--5d10 vs. 1 enemy.
2nd Level Spell: King's Road--7d8 vs. 8 enemies.
3rd Level Spell: Pale Palace--10d10 vs. 10 enemies.
4th Level Spell: Empty World-- 10d12 vs. 12 enemies; 3d6 vs. all party members.

Cyclone Rune: Healing, Attack, and Effect magic Rune. Upgraded version of the Wind Rune.
1st Level Spell: Healing Wind—Fully heal 1 ally
2nd Level Spell: The Shredding—5d10 dmg vs. 6 enemies
3rd Level Spell: Storm Warning—reflects magic cast on the user for 5 rounds.
4th Level Spell: Shining Wind—8d10 vs. 12 enemies; heals 10d10 hp for all party members.
Attached to weapon: 15% chance to repel magic

Darkness Rune: Death and darkness magic. Born of the Soul Eater Rune.
1st Level Spell: Finger of Death—instant kill vs. 1 enemy
2nd Level Spell: Stealer of Souls—5d10 dmg vs. 1 enemy, heal user.
3rd Level Spell: Final Bell—Instant kill or 5d10 vs. 3 enemies
4th Level Spell: Black Shadow—10d10 vs. 12 enemies

Earth Rune: Attack and Effect Magic.
1st Level Spell: Clay Guardian—defense x1.5 for 1 ally
2nd Level Spell: Revenge Earth—100% Counter attack rate for 1 ally
3rd Level Spell: Canopy Defense—Repel all magic once for all allies for 5 rounds.
4th Level Spell: Earthquake—8d10 dmg vs. all enemies on the ground
Attached to Weapon: Recover 3hp each round

Fire Rune: Attack magic, best vs. groups
1st Level Spell: Flaming Arrows—6d4 vs. 3enemies
2nd Level Spell: Fire Wall—6d6 vs. 6 enemies
3rd Level Spell: Dancing Flames—6d10 vs. 6-12 enemies
4th Level Spell: Explosion—10d10 vs. 20 enemies
Attached to Weapon: Dmg +25% (fire)

Flowing Rune: Healing magic. Upgraded version of the Water rune.
1st Level Spell: Protect Mist—protects all allies from magic for 3 rounds.
2nd Level Spell: Kindness Rain—Heals 35% hp for all party members.
3rd Level Spell: Silent Lake—No magic for 3 turns
4th Level Spell: Mother Ocean—Heals all hp for 1 ally; restores to life if dead
Attached to Weapon: Recover 15 hp every turn

Lightning Rune: Attack magic, good vs. single enemies.
1st Level Spell: Angry Blow—5d8 dmg vs. 1 enemy
2nd Level Spell: Thunder Runner—5d10 dmg vs. 3 enemies
3rd Level Spell: Bolt of Wrath—5d12 dmg vs. 1 enemy
4th Level Spell: Thor Shot—5d20 dmg vs. 1 enemy
Attached to Weapon: dmg +25% (lightning)

Mother Earth Rune: Effect and Attack Magic. Good for support. An upgraded version of the Earth Rune.
1st Level Spell: Revenge Earth—100% counter attack rate for 1 ally.
2nd Level Spell: Canopy Defense—Repel all magic once for all allies for 5 rounds
3rd Level Spell: Earthquake—8d12 dmg vs. all enemies on the ground
4th Level Spell: Guardian Earth—damage upon all allies is halved, defense is x1.5. Lasts for 5 rounds.
Attached to Weapon: heal 10 hp each round.

Rage Rune: Attack magic, best vs. groups. An upgraded version of the Fire Rune.
1st Level Spell: Fire Wall—6d8 vs. 3 enemies.
2nd Level Spell: Dancing Flames—6d10 vs. all enemies
3rd Level Spell: Explosion—10d10 vs. all enemies
4th Level Spell: Final Flame—6d20 dmg vs. all enemies
Attached to Weapon: dmg +50% (fire)

Resurrection Rune: Attack and healing magic. Best vs. undead.
1st Level Spell: Scolding—3d10 vs. 1 enemy; 2x dmg vs. undead.
2nd Level Spell: Yell—restores 1 ally to life, restores 25% of hp.
3rd Level Spell: Charm Arrow—6d12 vs. 6 enemies, 2x vs. undead
4th Level Spell: Scream—heals 10d10 for all allies.

Thunder Rune: Attack magic, good vs. single enemies. An upgraded version of the Lightning rune.
1st Level Spell: Thunder Runner—5d10 dmg vs. 3 enemies.
2nd Level Spell: Bolt of Wrath—5d12 dmg vs. 1 enemy
3rd Level Spell: Thor Shot—5d20 dmg vs. 1 enemy
4th Level Spell: Thunder Storm—6d20 dmg vs. 1 enemy
Attached to Weapon: dmg +50% (lightning)

Water Rune: Healing magic.
1st Level Spell: Kindness Drops—fully heal 1 ally
2nd Level Spell: Protect Mist—protects all allies from magic for 3 rounds
3rd Level Spell: Kindness Rain—heals 35% for all party members
4th Level Spell: Silent Lake—no magic use for 3 turns.
Attached to Weapon: heals 5hp each round

White Saint Rune: Forest magic.
1st Level Spell: Shining Pupil—6d6 dmg vs. 1 enemy
2nd Level Spell: Moonlit Forest—6d6 dmg vs. 3 enemies
3rd Level Spell: White Priestess—6d10 dmg vs. all enemies.

Wind Rune: Healing, attack and effect magic.
1st Level Spell: Wind of Sleep—put a group (12 or less) of enemies to sleep for 6 rounds
2nd Level Spell: Healing Wind—fully heal 1 ally.
3rd Level Spell: The Shredding—5d10 dmg vs. all enemies
4th Level Spell: Storm Warning—reflects magic cast on the user for 5 rounds
Attached to Weapon: 5% chance to repel magic.

Falcon Rune:
A rune given by Roundier Haia to his students. 2x dmg vs. 1 enemy, -10 hit%. 5xday.

Fire Breath Rune: Said to be used by a circus act. 2xdmg vs. 1 enemy. User becomes unbalanced for 2 rounds.

Gozz Rune:
Can only be used with axes. 1xdmg vs. 3 enemies. User is unbalanced for 2 rounds.

Titan Rune:
Can only be used with 2-handed swords. 1.3x dmg vs. 1 enemy. User has the last turn in a round. 5xday.

Viper Rune:
Can only be used with 1-handed swords. 30% chance of an instant kill.

Draining Rune:
Restores hp with each critical hit. Can only be attached to the right hand.