Dungeons and Dragons RPG Secret Crafts - Crypt (Runes)

Secret Craft Overview

Secret Crafts - Crit Effects of the Runemasters - Mystara

• Cryptologist Mishap - In addition to the critical failure effect your mind is wracked with pain. You are unable to pronounce words correctly in any language until you finish a long rest and have disadvantage on rolls using the language until the next full moon has passed. Further punishment from your transgression you take an effect based on how many runes you used that day already. Further uses of the craft until you finish a long rest are treated as a critical failure.
• First activation of a Rune that day - a hurricane centred on you covering 24 miles lasting 1d12 hrs with no travel possible during this event.
• Second activation of a Rune that day - a minor earthquake shakes the area covering 16 miles centred on you.
• Third activation of a Rune that day - a violent earthquake shakes the area within a 32 miles radius cause great structural damage.
• More than three runes activated that day - the violent earthquake and the hurricane both occur over a 32 miles radius, with no magic or runes working for 6d4 hours and the rune you used is altered and must be relearned by all runemasters who know it.
• Cryptologist Boon - In addition to the base critical success effect your mind is bolstered by the power of the immortal and you feel invigorated by the effect. As an additional effect your activation count of runes for the day is cleared. Your grasp of your craft language is beyond your normal understanding, until you have a long rest you have inspiration and advantage on any rolls to understanding language. Until the next full moon you have advantage on understanding language checks.

Secret Crafts - Members of the Runemasters - Mystara

• Initiate – Calcyrx – White Dragon (Fri)
• 1st Circle – M'drak – Bard of Valour (Fri), Tydrus – Bard of Valour (Fri), Shofa – Bard of Valour (Fri)

Secret Crafts - Magical Items of the Runemasters - Mystara

• Very Rare – Candle of Invocation – (Energy, Entropy, Matter, Thought, Time)

Secret Crafts - Initiate of Runes - Tier 1 - Mystara

Initiation - To become an initiate, one catch the attention of the Cryptologists (“The Great School of Magic” in Glantri City), or in good standing with the Runemasters society hidden in the Norse culture, and the Master of the Rune (Dwarven culture, Halfling, Giant culture, Alphatian culture or Dragon culture). Some links to the Nithian culture still exist in Ylaruam.

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - Initiate
• Craft Bonus - Profiency + Attr Mod + Circle + 2 (for Dwarven, Dragonkin, Giantkin, Halfling, Human (Heldannic))
• Craft DC - 8 + Craft Bonus.
• Bonus Languages - Learn one of the following Ancient Runic versions of the language: Draconic, Dwarven, Halfling, Jotun (Giant). If you already know all these, you can learn a new language.
• Associated Sphere - Thought, though can be an Immortal from the religions of Dragons, Dwarves, Giants, Halflings, and the Norse.
• Artefacts with Runes - You can use an item marked with a rune from this craft to reduce the cost by the rarity of the item. Common (-1), Uncommon (-2), Rare (-3), Very Rare (-4), Legendary (-5). You must be attuned to the item, and using it in this way will deactivate the item for a day, and you can't use that attument slot for another item until you complete a long rest. An artifact with runes from this craft, or from thought, can spent power points to reduce the cost of this craft.
• Expanded Magic Characters add the spell from this secret craft to their class spell list for spells that they can learn. A prepared caster adds those they learn as spells in their spellbook, a spontaneous caster can swap out the spells with their known spells during craft downtime. Each tier with this craft earns you one spell. Non-spellcasters can learn a cantrip with each tier, each new cantrip replaces the previous one as if you were a spontaneous spellcaster.
• Initiate Powers - Learn one of the initiate powers choosing from the following: Word of Power and one word you can use with it from this craft.

Secret Crafts - 1st Circle Apprentice of Runes - Tier 2 - Mystara

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 1st Circle
• Manifestation - Cryptologist Apprentice (SB 1 DC 16) - When you activate this manifestation, you radiate light 5ft radius and can see any active rune’s within 50ft outside of your light radius from you. As an action you can tell if an unpowered rune is capable of being powered. You can take on one runes initiate power that you touch. You can also power an unpowered rune to the level of Initiate.
• Enhancement - Copy Ability - 1st Circle (SB 1 DC 16) When you activate this enhancement, you upgrade your manifestation to include the initiate ability of a rune you touch.
• Enhancement - Spell Infusion (SB 1 DC 16) You gain a known or prepared spell from the list of spells in this craft for each level you can cast. If you know more than one craft you can only have this available for one. Repeat activations changes the these slots to the activating craft. This loss is permanent while you have access to these spells. Each spell obtained this way causes 1 SB. Replacing the spells known does not incure an aditional cost. Can be done during a short rest.
• Power - Draw Rune of Matter (SB 1 DC 16) You can draw the rune in the air, or a surface, and manipulate it as if its an object. It is treated as a 1st Circle rune. It last for 1 hour or until you expend its power.
• Power - Identify Rune (SB 1 DC 16) Once per rune per day, you can use an action to learn about a active rune you can touch, while also causes it to light up with a white light for 60 ft while you touch it. This does not use up the power in the rune. This takes an action to complete.
• Power - Power Rune - 1st Circle (SB 1 DC 16) When you touch this rune, you grant it the power level of 1st Circle.

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 1st Circle Rituals
• Downtime Ritual - Learn Rune of Matter (DC 16) - When learning this cirlce you gain one rune as part of the training. Spending a week working with one of the craft masters, you learn through research another common rune of matter and learn the rune for non-living material such as gold, steel, lead, granite, sand, crystal, water, glass, leather, silk. wood, tar, etc. Each rune you learn is added to a runebook (spellbook) and if used as a reference it provides you with an inspiration dice on the check. A rune of matter takes up one page.

Secret Crafts - 2nd Circle Journeyman of Runes - Tier 3 - Mystara

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 2nd Circle
• Enhancement - Cryptologist Journeyman - 2nd Circle (SB 2 DC 18) When you activate this enhancement, you upgrade your manifestation radius by 5ft.
• Enhancement - Copy Ability - 2nd Circle (SB 2 DC 18) When you activate this enhancement, you upgrade your manifestation to include the initiate ability of a rune you touch.
• Power - Draw Rune of Life (SB 2 DC 18) You can draw the rune in the air, or a surface, and manipulate it as if its an object. It is treated as a 2nd Circle rune. It last for 1 hour or until you expend its power.
• Power - Power Rune - 2nd Circle (SB 2 DC 18) When you touch this rune, you grant it the power level of 2nd Circle.

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 2nd Circle Rituals
• Downtime Ritual - Learn Rune of Life (DC 18) - When learning this cirlce you gain one rune as part of the training. Spending two weeks working with one of the craft masters, you learn through research another uncommon rune of life and learn the rune for non-intelligent or animal intelligence life forms such as fox, whale, eagle, zombie, grey ooze, spider, worm, iron statue, rust monster, oak, pine, archer bush, etc. (Creatures with less than 5 intelligence). Each rune you learn is added to a runebook (spellbook) and if used as a reference it provides you with an inspiration dice on the check. A rune of life takes up two pages.

Secret Crafts - 3rd Circle Adept of Runes - Tier 4 - Mystara

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 3rd Circle
• Enhancement - Cryptologist Adept - 3rd Circle (SB 3 DC 20) When you activate this enhancement, you upgrade your manifestation radius by 5ft.
• Enhancement - Copy Ability - 3rd Circle (SB 3 DC 20) When you activate this enhancement, you upgrade your manifestation to include the initiate ability of a rune you touch.
• Power - Draw Rune of Power (SB 3 DC 20) You can draw the rune in the air, or a surface, and manipulate it as if its an object. It is treated as a 3rd Circle rune. It last for 1 hour or until you expend its power.
• Power - Power Rune - 3rd Circle (SB 3 DC 20) When you touch this rune, you grant it the power level of 2nd Circle.

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 3rd Circle Rituals
• Downtime Ritual - Learn Word of Power (DC 20) - Spending a week working with one of the craft masters, you learn an additional word of power available to your secret craft of 3rd circle or lower.
• Downtime Ritual - Learn Rune of Power (DC 20) - When learning this cirlce you gain one rune as part of the training. Spending three weeks working with one of the craft masters, you learn through research another rare rune of power and learn the rune for low-intelligent life forms for energy such as fire, cold, electricity, wind, light, gravity, etc. (Creatures of intelligence of 5 to 8). Each rune you learn is added to a runebook (spellbook) and if used as a reference it provides you with an inspiration dice on the check. A rune of power takes up three pages.

Secret Crafts - 4th Circle Master of Runes - Tier 5 - Mystara

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 4th Circle
• Enhancement - Cryptologist Master - 4th Circle (SB 4 DC 22) When you activate this enhancement, you upgrade your manifestation radius by 5ft.
• Enhancement - Copy Ability - 4th Circle (SB 4 DC 22) When you activate this enhancement, you upgrade your manifestation to include the initiate ability of a rune you touch.
• Power - Draw Rune of Magic (SB 4 DC 22) You can draw the rune in the air, or a surface, and manipulate it as if its an object. It is treated as a 4th Circle rune. It last for 1 hour or until you expend its power.
• Power - Power Rune - 4th Circle (SB 4 DC 22) When you touch this rune, you grant it the power level of 4th Circle.

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 4th Circle Rituals
• Downtime Ritual - Circle of Protection (DC 22) - You can put a rune of magic that you have in your book of runes onto a surface as a ritual for the first rune of a creature type and then a number of days for each addition rune required, each requiring you to have to successfully make a craft roll or the rune if flawed and cannot be used. Each rune needs to be powered normally. At least five magic runes place on the same circle makes it permanent and can be made unique to be a target for a teleportation circle.
• Downtime Ritual - Learn Rune of Magic (DC 22) - When learning this cirlce you gain one rune as part of the training. Spending four weeks working with one of the craft masters, you learn through research another very rare rune of magic and learn the rune for intelligent life forms for magic schools. (Creatures of intelligence of 9 to 18). Each rune you learn is added to a runebook (spellbook) and if used as a reference it provides you with an inspiration dice on the check. A rune of magic takes up four pages.
• Downtime Ritual - Petition Runic Guardians (DC 22) - Request ability to train as a Grand Master. This takes 4 weeks to complete.
• Downtime Ritual - Runic Golem (DC 22) - You can put five runes of magic that you have in your book of runes onto a rune golem as a ritual, each requiring you to have to successfully make a craft roll. It costs 1,000 gp per week (including failed weeks) and a roll of 1 destroys the progress and must be restarted.

Secret Crafts - 5th Circle Grand Master of Runes - Tier 6 - Mystara

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 5th Circle
• Enhancement - Cryptologist Grand Master - 5th Circle (SB 5 DC 24) When you activate this enhancement, you upgrade your manifestation radius by 5ft.
• Enhancement - Copy Ability - 5th Circle (SB 5 DC 24) When you activate this enhancement, you upgrade your manifestation to include the initiate ability of a rune you touch.
• Power - Draw Rune of the Spheres (SB 5 DC 24) You can draw the rune in the air, or a surface, and manipulate it as if its an object. It is treated as a 5th Circle rune. It last for 1 hour or until you expend its power.
• Power - Power Rune - 5th Circle (SB 5 DC 24) When you touch this rune, you grant it the power level of 5th Circle.

Secret Craft - Cryptologist - 5th Circle Rituals
• Downtime Ritual - Learn Rune of the Spheres (DC 24) - When learning this cirlce you gain one rune as part of the training. Spending five weeks working with one of the craft masters, you learn through research another legendary rune of the spheres and learn the rune for highly intelligent life forms for the spheres and specific individuals. (Creatures of intelligence of 19+). Each rune you learn is added to a runebook (spellbook) and if used as a reference it provides you with an inspiration dice on the check. A rune of the spheres takes up five pages.

Secret Crafts - Design of Runes - Mystara

Here are some design options still in development.

Associated Classes - These classes can select this secret crafts as part of their level advancement.
• Barbarian – Path of the Juggernaut (td102), Path of the Storm Herald (xge10)
• Bard – College of Lore (ph54), College of Valour (ph55)
• Cleric – Dwarf Pantheon, Dragon Pantheon, Northern Reaches Pantheon
• Druid – Circle of the Stones (mhh67)
• Monk – Way of the Cobalt Soul (tcs104)
• Paladin – Oath of Thunder (mhh1)
• Sorcerer – Mazeborn Bloodline (mhh71), Runechild (td103), Storm Sorcery (xge51)
• Warlock – Pact of the Celestial (xge54), Pact of the Fiend (ph109)
• Wizard – Angelic Scribe (mhh76), Doom Croaker (mhh79)

Available Feats for a Cryptologist
• Rune Knowledge (mhh98, gm)
• Rune Mastery (mhh98)