Aeranos Update - New Spell

Spell Rune (Enchantment 6)
XP Cost: 2d6 + 6
Base Learning Time: 1 Month
Casting Time: 10 hours per spell level of rune (-1 per success) Minimum 1 hour.
Duration: Until activated or destroyed.
Range: Touch
Resistance: None
Reagents: Focus: Specially crafted stylus unique to the caster that requires two weeks and a Craft 20 test to initially prepare. Ingredient: Specially prepared, magical ink that requires a spellcraft 20 test and 1 day to prepare 6 runes worth.

The art of creating a magical scroll is rare, even among the Gifted. The bare bones of the process revolves around this ritual. Although the products are often scrolls, they can also take other forms, like stones, tattoos, coins or bones. The actual magic lies in the powerful symbol scribed onto the object.

This powerful ritual allows the caster to imbue specially inked and prepared runes with all of the magic of one spell, to be released at a later time, as if cast by the rune crafter.

In order to create a rune, the caster must:
• Have a suitably smooth surface on which to scribe the rune.
• Spend the complete duration of the ritual in uninterrupted crafting.
• Know and be able to normally cast the spell.
• Successfully cast the spell during the ritual (separate from this spell test).

Once the ritual is complete, the spell is transferred into the rune.

A Spell Rune has the following features:
• Takes up an area of 3 to 6 inches in diameter.
• Detects as magic equal to the spell inscribed.
• Can be identified by non-gifted readers with an Intelligence and Arcana test equal to the scribed spell level +14.
• Gifted who attempt to identify a rune directly, always activate the rune. For this reason, casters often surround the rune with non-magical "instructions" that include the name and use of the spell. If such instructions are included, gifted readers may attempt to identify the rune as described above, but with a Spellcraft test. Gifted who know the spell get a +5 to this test. Failing this test by 5 or more activates the rune.

For the cost of 5 success, a spell rune can be designed to be triggered by even non-gifted.

Each spell rune created, lowers the Spell Threshold of the caster by 1. This Threshold point cannot be regained until the rune is either activated, or destroyed. This fact, combined with the rarity of high level spellcasters with this particular talent, is the reason Spell Rune scrolls are so uncommon, and expensive. Gifted can only make a limited quantity, and if an active Spell Rune goes missing; lost in a tomb, or hoarded away in a dragon's treasure, the caster is weakened.