The Hunt > Alt. Rules and Systems >
The world is governed by many principles and concepts, tangible and intangible.
These concepts are sometimes placed on opposing axes: good vs evil, lawful vs chaotic.
Most concepts do not have an opposing concept.
Nonetheless, these concepts can be placed onto a diagram and connections drawn between them.
These diagrams, if formed correctly, can describe an effect or event.
Such diagrams can be used to exert an effect or impose an event onto the world.
These are colloquially called runes.
Every creature with an intelligence score can form and use runes.
To use a rune, the rune must be properly formed, drawn on or in an acceptable surface and medium.
Each time a creature activates a rune, their mind becomes more muddled, making it harder to apply logic and reason, follow trains of thought, or learn.
A creature can do this without measurable ill effect a number of times per day equal to half their HD + their Intelligence
modifier (minimum one).
A creature can continue activating runes after this point if they pass an Intelligence check (DC 10 + 2 per extra attempt).
If the check fails, they take 2 Intelligence damage.
To activate a rune, a creature may use anywhere from 0 to all of their available bonus on their Intelligence check.
If the rune was successful and must be maintained, the amount of bonus used to activate the rune is no longer
available for use for subsequent checks until the rune is deactivated.
A character can at most maintain a number of runes equal to their HD plus Intelligence mod (minimum 1).
The DC to activate a rune starts at DC 5.
Runes are made of 9 pillars, often represented in drawn rune with a dot: a central pillar with the other eight positioned relative to the central one.
Each pillar represents a concept depending on the location of the rune.
Pillars do not need to be placed symetically or orderly.
Lines drawn between pillars connect concepts.
Continuous lines form "sentences" or "phrases."
These lines always read from the outside inward and read simultaneously.
There are a few rules regarding the "grammar" of runes that depend on the concept represented by the pillar.
Each word is associated with a location on the plane and the closer to the word, the stronger the effect.
The strength of the effect of the rune is based on and inversely proportional to the total "locality" of the pillars in the rune.
| Locality | Value |
| Near1 | 0 |
| Short | 1 |
| Medium | 3 |
| Long | 7 |
| Plane | 17 |
1This is for if you want to use the full, real globe to make a rune, or when making substitutions.
With advanced concept exertion, the caster can choose any number of pillars to treat as more local than they actually are. Each decrease in step per pillar raises the rune activation DC by 2.
Concepts can be swapped from pillar to pillar and some are always available though they are restricted in which pillars they can be. When a concept is used this way, it is treated as "Near."
| Concept | Restriction |
| Balance | Central pillar |
| Self | A left pillar |
| Other | A right pillar |
| Heavens | A top pillar |
| World | A bottom pillar |