The basis of this article was written in 2020, with an update in 2021 and now, in 2023, I rewrite this article after several changes and consolidations in Runarcana, things that have happened since the article was originally written. 

During this time, some classes were removed, or absorbed by other classes, some subsystems were rewritten, while new ones emerged, as a result of a project that seeks to follow its premises to reach an objective.

The environment for which I write is precisely the Runarcana environment, although much of what is said here can serve as a basis for other environments, the particularities here are many so use this information responsibly.

Runarcana

For Runarcana RPG, we can say that there are two layers of content, the Official content layer, which is included in the wiki and the book, then the “experimental” layer, which is published in the Magitek Repository, a publication sent to supporters.

For the first layer, the official content, rules and requirements are quite considerable, the content presented must be in accordance with the official lore of Runeterra, entirely new creations are not allowed and all official content is subject to change if the lore so indicates.

As for the second layer, the experimental layer, the requirement is below the official content, I only seek to create new experiences, without an excessive focus on balance, these ideas can be totally original or even deviations and new explorations of the official content, which seek not to affect the official lore so much.

Creating

But what about the community? First of all, it's worth remembering that the community is free to create whatever they want, without the slightest need for validation or even to provide explanations regarding their creation. If you want to create content for your table, the players and the GM have to come to an agreement.

This “homebrew” is usually where the journey of someone who eventually becomes a recognized creator begins. It is necessary to make mistakes in order to learn. It is important to understand that every journey has a beginning and it is usually not at all glamorous.

Since the creation is intended not only for a specific table, but for the community itself, public or even paid sharing, some rules arise for each case, although it is important to analyze each one carefully, it is possible to work with some generalizations.

Homebrew

Homebrew is a category without pretensions and without great demands, in it it is possible to create from powerful things that will not be accepted at any table, to even creations so weak that they are chosen only for fun and entertainment.

When this is the objective, taking care with narrative consistency is not mandatory, especially if this creation is so localized to a specific table and story, that all the basis that gives it structure is in this story, and is known by the participants. 

Just talk to the GM, or if you are the GM, with the players, so that these creations don't ruin everyone's fun, and know how to update and adapt as needs or perceptions arise that something isn't working well. 

Community Creation

Although it may be born as a Homebrew, this is not a rule for a Community Creation. While in a homebrew creation house rules count a lot, for a community creation the community is expected to have a minimum balance, consistent with the official material.

These creations often work best when they are made available to the public before a final release, so that they can receive feedback and feedback that can help balance the material they produce. Trusting in the community’s capabilities is often rewarding, as well as meeting new ideas and people.

On our Discord there is an exclusive forum for this, #Community, where several people share their creations and receive opinions from several members of the community itself, improving these creations, making them more accessible or fun.

Commercial Creation

A commercial creation is in a category beyond Community Creation. It is imperative that when heading down this path, you seek sufficient clarification of copyright laws and take great care not to use the Intellectual Property of others, be it companies or creators. 

Creating commercially requires a very different set of skills and perceptions than creating for the community, one of which is the sense of opportunity to be able to take advantage of trends at the right time, while building an appropriate reputation.

For commercial creation, although I can talk a lot about it in the theoretical part, certainly the words of someone successful in this field carry more weight, so don't expect great elaborations in this article about this type of breeding.

Creating for Runarcana

At first glance, it seems that the requirements are not that complicated, including some content from Runarcana RPG in its official version that does not fully respect this rule: After all, Bodhisattva and Mercurial are classes that do not exist in the official lore, being creations for Runarcana that are extrapolations made so that the lore can coexist with the system.

But then you might ask yourself: If you've already bent the lore rules in some creations, what's the problem with someone else's new creation bending them a little bit more? It's important to note that, although some creations in Runarcana RPG are not canon, they rely on gaps that exist in that canon.

It's like making a patchwork quilt with only the scraps from one manufacturer (or one color), but as they end up being out of stock, we try to make new scraps that are as close as possible to those that have already been used, sometimes clashing a little, but managing to integrate into the whole.

Basically the biggest limiter is the people involved and how much thought they put into these creations, how deep they went into developing these ideas, and how they affect the entire established ruleset and canon.

Ursine

One example I'll take here is something that came up frequently on the Discord server, the Ursine. Almost every week, people would come up wanting to create the Ursine, make them available as an origin or playable class. 

I still see that this premise starts out flawed, because what was said in official and canonical lore is that the Ursine follow Volibear and have a collective mentality, therefore, they cannot be fully “individuals”. Therefore, unless sufficient abstractions are made, this creation would not work for the community, but it could work very well for a specific table.

A person who wants to create the Ursine will inevitably not be able to create a creation that is accepted for the official book (and yes, this is a challenge, if you can, congratulations, bring this idea to us) because the initial premise already violates the lore itself. An individual who is “Ursine” is a contradiction according to the established lore.

Before you cite the Legends of Runeterra card as an exception to this, let me paraphrase a Rioter who said the following: “The name of the game is LEGENDS of Runeterra, not Stories of Runeterra.” This makes it very clear to anyone that the Legends in question are possibilities from the past, the present, and perhaps even the future. But that doesn’t make them official.

Does this mean that Ursine will never exist as something “playable”? Absolutely not, after all, we don’t know what Riot has in store for them, we don’t know if tomorrow or the day after, an update will bring the information that they can indeed be individuals and that with that they have the necessary level of socialization and individuality to be able to be part of a group that is not just Ursine.

Perhaps Volibear himself at some point considers it important or interesting to send agents from his collective to deal with “civilization” for reasons known only to him. Still, I find this very difficult and, since it is not the current reality, it makes it impossible for the creation of “Ursine” to become something that enters the official content.

Again, this does not invalidate the possibility of Ursine being created for a table where the GM agrees to it or for the community. Creations in this field are not subject to the rules of the official Runarcana material, whether it is canon in Runeterra or not.

The question

I mentioned this main example because the first question that someone who wants to create content for Runarcana has to ask themselves is the following: Is the goal of my content to become part of the official system or just a homemade creation, a “homebrew”, totally optional and unofficial?

If the answer to this question is yes, the goal is for this content to be official, so this person must be as faithful as possible to the canonical lore. To do this, it is necessary to read a lot, especially the official content that is on the Universe website, but not only that, currently Riot Forge games have expanded the reality of Runeterra, books such as Garen First Shield, Ruination or even the comics Zed, Lux, Ashe and Katarina, bring very important information.

As for wikis, some of them are focused on only compiling official and canonical information, while others mix canonical and non-canonical information and some even create their own content based on interpretations, without signaling this. Therefore, it is necessary to be careful to filter what is official and has a basis and what is speculation or interpretation.

If the answer to the question is no, the goal of the content is not to become part of the official system, so many ties are lost, the creation needs to be well done obviously, because if the goal is to share with the community, this is necessary. It is also important that it is balanced, making sense in the Runeterra universe.

The path to authoritative content is a tough and potentially thankless one, as you may put in a lot of time and effort only to come across new information that contradicts what you’ve created. Believe me, it’s sad to waste hours (or even days) of work because you didn’t do your research well enough.

Another common mistake that happens with some content creators is that they end up thinking about things that are too big or complex instead of starting work with smaller, simpler things that will give them the skills and knowledge necessary so that bigger challenges don't destroy their dreams.

One example is this document that was published internally at Runarcana called “Class Creation”, updated especially after the changes in Runarcana regarding existing classes.

Class Creation

All classes in Runarcana RPG were created with a specific function in mind. Initially, they were created using the standard 5e classes as a base and tweaking some concepts to make them closer to Runeterra and a little more generic.

After 4 years of existence, many things have changed, as the system itself has become autonomous, no longer conditioned by another system, even these classes have had to undergo changes, with some even being removed, some being absorbed by others and even a new class emerging.

Currently, all Runarcana classes start from a concept, something that connects it not only to a champion or more champions, but also to a specific fantasy that can often be presented on a Legends of Runeterra card or as a character in one of the Riot Forge games.

When thinking about creating a class, first ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the concept of this class? 

Every class needs to have a concept, the combatgant for example is someone who strives to become increasingly skilled in combat, with a weapon or combat style, while the Bodhisattva is someone who seeks to improve his body in harmony with his spirit or even the Arcane, who is someone who has magic and develops it through study or self-strengthening.

2. What gap did I find that creating this class fills? 

Classes are huge pieces in the construction of a system's logical block, they can affect the entire balance if they are not properly designed. Why was it necessary to create the Acolytes? In Runeterra, “divine” magic emanates not from deities, but from the collective power of beliefs, a different reality from arcane magic.

3. Am I actually creating a class?

What makes your creation need to be a class exactly? Does it have some internal system that makes it impossible to be a subclass? Does it do something very specific that is not yet covered by any class regardless of its level of specialization in this? Does it have some resource that, in order to be properly presented and worked on, requires the following: 

4. Wouldn't this fit more as a craft or a Runessence?

Classes can be roughly seen as a set of skills and characteristics common to how a person solves their problems. It is not a profession, as a Combatant can be a Glassmaker, or even a Wizard can be a Cutler, the professions are classified as Crafts. A Hunter capable of using electrical powers can either be a Conjurer, or have a Runessence for it. 

5. How generic is it that it can exist in more than one place at the same time? 

Although the Bodhisattva originates mainly from Ionia, there is nothing to prevent a monastery from being built in Shurima or Bilgewater. All classes are viable anywhere in the world because they are “answers” ​​to needs that are common to all regions, regardless of the level of that need. The Shaman, for example, although he is a figure presented exclusively in Freljord in canonical lore, was designed to be able to exist in several regions.

6. Wouldn't my creation be better off as a subclass or a feature?

If your class is made up of someone who fights with a weapon and casts specific spells, wouldn't it fit better as a Fighter with the Arcane Combat technique? Or, wouldn't a Brute capable of casting spells be a Runic Scars subclass?

7. What is the unique feature of this class that sets it apart from others?

The Acolyte has divine magic and his liturgy, the Shaman has his relationship with his Spiritual Allies and Great Spirits, all classes have some essential resource for their existence that makes them truly different from each other. 

Most likely the answers to these questions will not be satisfactory, which should lead you to realize that the best thing to do is perhaps create a new Subclass. Subclasses are excellent spaces to develop new ideas because they have small spaces (slots) where new skills and characteristics can be inserted, respecting the general concept of the class and differences in power concerning the respective levels.

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I do not wish to discourage new creations in any way, but just like those who came before you, ultimately, if you have the desire to create something, create it! Just keep these tips in mind because content created without care would certainly be a waste of time for the audience and for those who read it, realizing that it was not created with a real desire to create something incredible.