Topic: Questions about Rune Mastery

[providence13]

Under Rune Mastery, it states the spell to be enscribed, must be cast within 1 minute of the Rune N spell.
  Does this mean that the actual writing of the rune is handled by the spell; ie, the magic of this casting makes a mark and then he casts the spell to be incribed; within 1 minute. The caster doesn't have to write or mark on anything himself.

Or perhaps the spell caster writes it quickly (in the 75%Act) and then casts the spell to be enruned (with in 1 minute).

So you want to cast Sign of Shock. You must touch the spot you want to place the sign and it may affect a triggering being- sometimes with in 20ft. But it is essentially permanent until triggered.
This is a standard spell, requiring 75%Act and no spell has to be cast after it, as Runes  above. Can you make the Sign of Shock within the 75%Act time? That is super fast! Like carving a Z for Zoro...

IMHO, Signs require time to 'write'. They can't be used in combat. The Mage was a bit upset that he couldn't use this in combat. Maybe I'm interpreting the spell incorrectly. Does anyone have experience with this?

[rdanhenry]

It is a bit difficult to use Signs in combat, given that the enemy might not trigger them and your own sign might trigger them. I could see requiring (as a house rule) having something to actually write the Sign with (or ink a Rune), but you can make a mark in a ten-second round easily enough. The term "rune" implies that these are fairly simple symbols. But the Sign or Rune will disappear magically when it releases its magic, why should it not likewise appear magically when the spell is cast?

[providence13]

Good points. It just sounds pretty powerful.

Let's say the one of the Fighters has gone berserk and can't shake it off. Our friendly Mage is within 20ft of the berserker and casts a Sign of Shock. If the trigger is movement-guy with 2 swords running, then the range is 20ft and it affects the berserker. He does get an RR, but stunned 10 minutes/10 failure is pretty big.

Since the Mage is within the 20ft range, he could put the Sign on the floor in front of himself, or the wall next to him. The range is touch, so any "non-mobile" surface available would do.

This example is benign and helps the party, but what if the situation were different? The Mage has another offensive spell that easily makes a mark to affect someone who will likely satisfy the exact trigger for the spell with in 20ft. At least it isn't instant; unless it is Spell Stored...

[DangerMan]

I've always thought the spell inscribes the rune / sign. I tend to try hard not to read too much into things, as I have mye friends for that

Sign of shock is lvl 11 and should be powerful - at least in our low level games. Any player capable of using this in combat should be awarded, not discouraged, IMHO. You'd have to spend the better part of a round touching the wall / floor and forget about your Qu bonus / parry. Then there's the chance of the foe making his RR, which leaves a terrible rune any one of your friends might stumble upon etc etc.

[Ynglaur]

I interpret Runes, Symbols, Signs, and Circles as requiring a physical writing of the arcana.  The Rune/Symbol/Circle list just infuses it with the magic required to hold a subsequent spell.
1. Create Rune/Symbol/Sign/Circle
2. Cast Rune/Symbol/Sign/Circle
3. Cast spell to be stored

Glyphs seem to be "written" on the fly in the air, on a water surface, etc., so I skip #1 for Glyphs.
Finally, Spell Mastery roles using Runes/Symbols/Signs/Circles get bonuses if the Rune/Symbol/Sign/Circle uses more potent materials.  E.g. Circle designed to summon a horse might be more potent if made of grain; Circle to protect against the Fey might be more potent if done in salt; etc.

[rdanhenry]

I have a piece of chalk. I have half a minute (two prep rounds, one casting round) in which to scribe a fundamental part of the spell I am working on. I don't think I need extra time. What I do have is my back to the foes I want to use my spell on.

I'm not signaling "Hey, kill me!" quite as blatantly as the Flying mage, but intelligent foes will probably figure I'm up to no good.