6 years of Runarcana

Or, sit down and here comes the story

On December 6, 2024, Runarcana completed 6 years of publication.

It's not 6 years of existence, because when it was published, Runarcana had already existed as an idea for at least 4 years, since I created the Icathia website (in 2014( which was dedicated to lore and fan content about Runeterra.

Add to that the initial creation time that went through several phases and concepts, almost being made with other systems and even having some experimental tables. So Runarcana is something that has existed for at least 10 years.

Ainda assim, o fato é que foi no dia dia 6 de dezembro de 2018 que eu publiquei no Medium e no X (ainda se chamava Twitter) o download para o PDF do Runeterra RPG 1.0, um suplemento de D&D 5ª edição para jogar aventuras no mundo de Runeterra que foi produzido em pouco menos de um mês

Since then, a lot has happened, it stopped being a supplement and became an autonomous system, it was at risk of disappearing more than once and one of the most important events was in 2020 when it was renamed to Runarcana and was published under version 0.9.

If you check the blog, you won't find a 5-year celebration. During that time, we were working on the new visual identity and we ended up having a problem that seemed terrible at the time and ended up erasing even this celebration. Nowadays, this fact is remembered only as another of the many funny stories of Runarcana.

From the 4-year celebration to the 6-year celebration, what we have is a more robust system, with fewer failures and errors, more content and with a clear direction, something that is done with a proposal and a vision, not just because it is a momentary interest without any foundation.

Runarcana não agrada a todos. Isso é um fato e estou tranquilo com relação a isso, afinal, apenas uma vez o sistema foi “empurrado” para essa direção de querer agradar a todos, o que resultou em uma ruptura após traição e falsidade e posteriormente em um plágio mal feito. 

Delays

A few weeks ago, Runarcana's profile on a social network was questioned in a very calm manner about “when will it be ready”. On another occasion a person in a much less pleasant attitude said something like “It’s been in the works for years and it’s not ready”, with some not so pleasant words.

It's curious that at no point did I give a date, not because I learned from Riot that giving dates without absolute certainty is a terrible thing (when it's ready), but because Runarcana has always been developed in the participants' free time.

It may be strange for some people under 20, but I am not a person who has financial resources, I still need to work to pay my bills like rent, electricity, water, internet and even to put food on my table and, I hope it is not a surprise to anyone, but Runarcana has never provided that.

Runarcana é totalmente gratuito, as únicas formas de rentabilização que existem são os anúncios veiculados no site e na wiki, além dos apoios feitos no apoia.se e no patreon que em sua época mais rentável não passaram de R$700 em um mês. 

Já experimentou pagar aluguel, água, luz, internet e colocar comida na mesa com esse valor? Boa sorte. 

Logo, se nunca teve uma data divulgada, também não existem atrasos, certo? Errado, embora para o público nunca tenha sido apresentada uma data limite, internamente essas datas sempre existiram, como um guia para alcançar cada meta no caminho do 1.0 ainda trilhado. 

Atrasos existiram justamente pela necessidade de resolver problemas do dia a dia, contas a serem pagas, trabalhos a serem feitos para sobreviver mais um mês e diversos acontecimentos da vida de alguém que não é sustentado por mamãe, papai ou pelos dois. 

Todas as pessoas envolvidas atualmente com Runarcana tem que trabalhar ou possuem compromissos do mundo real como faculdade, então Runarcana ainda é feito em tempo livre por essas pessoas. 

Support

More than once I have already disclosed the costs that Runarcana has monthly and annually, during many of those months this cost was not covered by support, while in other months the support was able to cover it for more than a month.

Adding up how much I've spent on Runarcana and how much I've received through support, I can assure you that the account is far from being in the red. Although Runarcana demands a lot of my time, it still almost always ends up demanding my money as well.

The following question has been asked more than once, in different ways and in different corners, whether on social media, discord or even live streams. “Doesn’t Runarcana get anything from Riot?” and the answer to that question has always been, still is and most likely will continue to be: No. 

It wasn't for lack of trying or contact, as I contacted Riot employees or contractors several times, but let's call them all "Rioters" to make things easier. One of my last attempts to do something for Runarcana resulted in me waiting more than 3 months to hear no and, to make matters worse, it was followed by a "suggestion" that I should do vertical content (TikTok) to maybe get something.

A clarification is necessary here: Runarcana is one thing, Arddhu the content creator is another. From my entry into Piltover Academy (League of Legends Partner Program in Brazil) to my expulsion, including events like Anime Friends and BGS that I attended courtesy of Riot, all of this was achieved thanks to my YouTube channel and the videos I've been making for years. None of this was ever achieved thanks to Runarcana.

So my categorical answer is No, with the exception of the 2020 licensing agreement, Runarcana never recebeu qualquer apoio, ajuda, colaboração, renda, verba, convite ou qualquer outra coisa por parte da Riot Games, seja ela no Brasil, seja ela no exterior. 

I will talk more about the contract later, but let it be clear that any action I have taken with Riot, books I have received, skins I have distributed or anything else connected to Riot, have always been a direct result of being a content creator for YouTube (and Twitch at the time) who produced videos, they were never a consequence of the work that is Runarcana.

No passado isso já me corroeu, já causou tristeza e descontentamento por essa falta de atenção e apoio, que poderia fazer Runarcana subir diversos degraus e alcançar inúmeras pessoas a mais com uma simples menção no client ou uma ação publicitária qualquer. 

Atualmente estou em paz com isso também, entendi que infelizmente as pessoas que são responsáveis em lidar com isso na Riot no Brasil ou não possuem poder suficiente para fazer algo, ou são limitadas em seu entendimento do que é um sistema de RPG e do que Runarcana significa. 

The License Agreement

On July 17, 2020, I was contacted by a Rioter to discuss a licensing agreement with Riot Games involving “Runeterra RPG”. After the conversation, this was made official in the email that I reproduce below with the information regarding the identity blurred to keep the Rioter's identity confidential:

This agreement was signed on October 13, 2020 for a duration of 3 years. On October 22, we informed the public about the name change of Runeterra RPG to Runarcana RPG em conformidade com o contrato assinado. 

Na época em que esse contrato foi assinado, pareceu que Runarcana receberia o mínimo de atenção e carinho da Riot Brasil, mas isso se mostrou uma percepção completamente errada, já que nos meses seguintes se iniciou um silêncio por parte da Riot, que se seguiu praticamente até o final do contrato em 2023. 

During this time, the Runarcana project ended up splitting into two, with one part remaining as Runarcana and the other part developing a project that would in theory “use Runarcana” but make its own “adaptations”. In the end, what happened was that the Runarcana system was completely plagiarized by these people.

It is important to mention this plagiarism here because there was a contract that I, Ardhdu, signed with Riot Games, which was what in theory “allowed Runarcana to exist without legal problems” but in practice it only served to give up the name Runeterra RPG, after all, the plagiarized project did not have this contract and other RPG system projects using League of Legends and Runeterra were published without any need for a contract.

So, even in the only moment when Riot paid attention to Runarcana, it was not to add, help, add, support. It is important to expose this here, so that it is understood once and for all that Riot Brazil (and even the international one) never in fact collaborated with anything in Runarcana, all the financial support we received came from the ADs or from the support made by community. But if Riot never supported Runarcana, the same goes for other similar projects, right?

Double standards

Não receber apoio da Riot com um projeto original não é motivo para não levar esse projeto adiante ou se sentir excluído pela Riot. Dessa forma Runarcana se manteve sendo produzido sempre foi adiante, mesmo após o contrato ter sido encerrado com atualizações, melhorias, correções e conteúdo novo. O apoio seria importante e poderia ajudar, mas tudo bem que ele não exista. 

But what happens when the project is plagiarized, Roubado & Copiado, not only receives attention from Riot Brazil, but also starts distributing RP and other game coins from Riot for those who participate in this project?

This is where we discover that there are double standards. While one project is original, has a contract, and reaches thousands of people daily in Brazil and around the world, the other plagiarized project that never signed a licensing contract and barely reaches a few dozen people receives special attention and even benefits for having a Rioter who is friends with the person who maintains this project.

Who could have imagined that having a friend among the Rioters would mean that even if your project is a plagiarism with no reach, it would gain attention while another one with which the company signed a contract, is original and internationally recognized, barely gets any attention?

As I said above, this has bothered me in the past, and made me question whether I should continue with Runarcana even with this neglect on Riot's part. But when I stopped to evaluate the size of Runarcana, its reach and importance, in addition to the affection of the community, this question almost disappeared.

Mas o golpe final nessa dúvida foi quando vi que, mesmo com incentivo “financeiro”, a atenção de pessoas importantes dentro da Riot e com “premiações” seguindo por meses, esse projeto mal saia da bolha dos seus criadores e alguns amigos. 

Not even by “paying” people to play this system could it achieve anything even close to Runarcana. But wait, maybe the people involved in this project never had this intention, never had the goal of doing something big, right?

Pois então… 

Narrow-minded pursuit

O sucesso de Runarcana é inegável. Muitas pessoas tem críticas e opiniões contrárias, mas ainda assim Runarcana é um marco em algo produzido de forma amadora*, sem recursos e distribuído de forma gratuita. Tanto que consegue gerar repercussão de forma orgânica, com conteúdos sendo feitos em redes sociais por criadores de conteúdo de forma espontânea. 

But when checking out this content about Runarcana and reading the comments made on it, something curious happens:

Interestingly, in several contents about Runarcana, comments about the project appear Roubado & Copiado e até aí, tudo bem não é mesmo? São dois projetos que tem propostas similares, sistemas de RPG sobre o mundo de Runeterra. 

But what if I told you that all these “spontaneous” comments are made by members of this project? Yes, all these comments are made by people who are members of the project (not just players) and who comically try to pass themselves off as “engaged players”.

Even the messages are the same, always containing a “the people of…” simulating a disconnection of these people from those who “created and maintain” this project. Interestingly, the messages always attack Runarcana to then bring something “better” and never assume themselves as the creators of this.

These and many other similar messages come to me frequently, because although I always search for “Runarcana” on Tiktok or even on Youtube, when I find a result, I limit myself to watching the content and leaving a comment, identifying myself as the creator of Runarcana.

Before they rush to delete these comments, they are all saved here, without blurred names, and with proof that the people are the same ones who are part of the so-called “teams” that develop the system, manage it and even do “social media”, just see an example below, again blurred so as not to expose the identity and not to do free advertising.

Embora essas mensagens sejam bem infantis e patéticas, elas são até certo ponto inofensivas, já que Runarcana segue com altas históricas em interesse com dezenas de pessoas novas entrando em nosso discord todas as semanas. 

But unfortunately, these people's strategies to make their system "gain relevance" are not limited to these childish messages. The example below also has the name blurred to protect the person, who went through a situation that was quite common, reported by other people:

As you can see, they don't just try to make negative propaganda under a false premise of disinterest, they also lie blatantly, since to this day there are dozens of live broadcasts in which various Runarcana contents were written (even though much of the content from this time has been completely updated due to poor quality).

What about Runarcana?

Enquanto tudo isso acontece, Runarcana segue em crescimento constante, sustentável, com pessoas que tomam contato com o projeto e se encantam com a qualidade do mesmo. Eu poderia colocar aqui as mensagens maravilhosas elogiando Runarcana, mas estenderia isso aqui além do que é necessário. 

To those of you who invest even just a few seconds of your time to leave a positive message, my THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

As we can see, Arcane always renews interest in Runarcana, bringing many people to learn about the system, this has been a constant in the last 3 years as can be seen in the graphs below:

Saber que isso é conquistado de forma totalmente orgânica, sem “pagar” jogadores com RP e moedas de jogo, não tendo nenhum streamer ou influenciador de grandes números nos apoiando e, novamente, sem qualquer apoio por parte da Riot? Isso dá uma sensação maravilhosa de que o que eu produzo realmente alcança as pessoas pelo próprio mérito.

For this reason, I can say that Runarcana is doing very well, thank you. We continue to work whenever we can to make the system more refined, looking for errors and ways to improve the system, making texts clearer and more intuitive, among others.

Finally a date?

And yes, I know I've gone on for a long time in this anniversary post, but let's finally answer a question that has plagued too many people, a question that always brings people to ask the same question: Where can I download the Runarcana pdf?

First, let me summarize our schedule for the next few months:

• 0.96 – Criaturas e PdM

Na atualização 0.96 iremos trazer o novo sistema de criaturas/monstros e Personagens do Mestre (NPCs) já balanceados para o sistema em seu estado atual e final. Essa atualização deve também trazer modificações em algumas classes que tem conexão com criaturas, seja através de invocação, amizade, etc. 

• 0.97 – Magias 

A atualização da Magia traz não apenas a revisão das Magias existentes, mas também novas magias para suprir a necessidade de pelo menos 3 magias por Mistério até o 4º nível de magia, para que existam opções diversificadas nas escolhas. Essa atualização depende da 0.96 pois magias que invocam criaturas precisam do sistema de criaturas finalizado. 

• 0.98 – Itens Mágicos

Following the structure of what was created with the Crafts system, Runarcana's magic items will be presented, each with the formula needed to create them. This gives agency to players who can seek resources in-game to build (or pay for) the items they want and not depend on the GM eventually putting these items into play. This update depends on 0.97 because most magic items require one or more spells to be crafted.

• 0.99 – Pré-lançamento

This is the time to review and prepare. After reviewing the system as much as possible (we will count on your help) we will prepare the PDF versions and consolidate the Wiki for Runarcana, which leads us to:

• 1.0 – Publicação do PDF

Once the review is complete, the wiki will be updated and the PDFs will be published. Yes, they are “the” PDFs because Runarcana will have 2 books with more than 400 pages each at its launch:

Runarcana: Core – Contendo todo o sistema, como criar personagens, jogar, mestrar, criar aventuras, utilizar criaturas, etc. É o livro “básico” de Runarcana e o único realmente necessário para se jogar.

Runarcana: Opus – Contendo conteúdo adicional que não fará parte do “Core” mas ainda assim será oficial. Aqui você encontrará mais subclasses, origens, magias, runas, aprimoramentos, heranças, sutras, etc. Esse livro contém todo conteúdo 

And with that, the question that plagues us so much will be answered.

Ah, já ia me esquecendo, eu falei que finalmente teríamos uma data, não é mesmo? Pois então, o nosso cronograma de lançamento de Runarcana 1.0 está com previsão de ser concluído no primeiro semestre de 2025. 

Sei que não é exatamente uma data, mas vamos lembrar que ainda precisamos trabalhar para pagar as contas e trabalhar no Runarcana para que ele fique à altura do que ele se propõe. Acreditem, não será nada fácil mas não será nem de longe algo difícil. 

Conclusion

I took advantage of this moment of celebration to finally get some events and truths out of my chest. I know that most people won't read this text in its entirety, but there is a therapeutic factor in putting these things out in public.

Runarcana foi, é e sempre será algo gratuito.  

It always was, is and will be done by the community and for the community.

Obrigado por terem lido até aqui, agradeço comentários e principalmente apoio financeiro, usem o apoia.se sem medo, e mesmo que você possa apoiar apenas com R$1, isso já é uma imensa ajuda e a certeza de que mais pessoas querem ver esse lançamento. 

Special thanks to the current Runarcana team: Mizuhiro, Dennys, Angular and vivi!

Thank you for supporting this idea so much and giving so much of yourselves so that we can achieve this goal and an even bigger thank you for embarking on the crazy things that arise along the way.

This way, in less than 1 year, we will have a new publication celebrating Runarcana's 7th anniversary and who knows, the financial scenario we find ourselves in will be a little more pleasant, kind, fun and provide greater dedication to the system.

See you then!