Author: Arddhu

  • The Techmaturge is dead…

    The Techmaturge is dead…

    …long live Techmaturgy!!!

    Yes, the Techmaturge class has been removed from Runarcana, but don’t despair, follow the reasons here and understand how this doesn’t have much of a real impact and how easy it is to convert your character from the Techmaturge class to any other class and maintain not only the same characteristics, but better mechanical functioning.

    Benefits:

    Below are the benefits of this change:

    • Devices are no longer exclusive and artificially locked to a class;

    The Techmaturge was originally created to fill a space for “equipment creators” to reflect the Runeterran aspect of this, which is very common in Piltover and Zaun. Since every class needs to have at least one resource that is unique, or that sets it apart from the others, devices were this “unique characteristic”.

    In this way, every “Invention” had to be classified as a Device or another category, meaning that only the Techmaturge could use devices through the “Energy” characteristic, which ended up being a forced limitation on the interaction with these items.

    • One less class to balance;

    During its development, Runarcana sought to balance classes so that any of them could be functional within a campaign. Over time, even if indirectly, the system was modeled to understand classes not as professions, but rather “how you fight”.

    An additional class considerably increases the work of balancing for combat, in many cases doing exactly what other classes do without it being interesting to use it because it has other resources that make this balance make sense.

    • The Inventor idea or “Theme” can be applied to any class;

    Since the class primarily reflects “how someone fights”, the space for their professional activities beyond interests opens up to several possibilities. A soldier may be interested in cartography while a student of the Arcane may very well practice forging.

    The inventor is the one who uses the resources at his disposal and creates creations to solve problems by combining techniques from different disciplines, such as techmaturgy, which is the union of magical technology with other technology such as gears, gunpowder, or even forging.

    • Tecmaturgy becomes part of the scenario in a non-exclusive way, and can be explored by other classes;

    No longer tied to a single class, a techmaturge can be an Arcane, a Marksman, a Hunter, or a Mercurial, as long as this character is interested in and has developed activities in the field of techmaturgy, which includes but is not limited to hextech.

    Instead of locking up inventions and separating them into devices, gadgets, and other names that help with this artificial separation, all classes can use this equipment. Typically, what differentiates a techmaturgic item from a “magic item” is the need for energy sources for techmaturgic items.

    • Given the latest Lore updates, it makes more sense within the magical landscape of Runeterra.

    There are many ways to combine technology with magic, with hextech being just one form of techmaturgy that we see in the Runeterra setting. As such, the expansion of what exactly techmaturgy is and how it relates to a class is not something that is limited to an artificial resource.

    Techmaturgy can emerge in any region, using existing magical resources to create new solutions, with hextech being just one among many other possibilities.

    Techmaturgy

    Chapter 11: Techmaturgy appears, which contains texts on general techmaturgy, an explanation of the techmaturgies of each region (from the current Techmaturgist) + examples from the series of articles on the Runarcana blog. See the Variant Heritage Technological Progression, which already presents important aspects of this development.

    Although techmaturgy seems at first glance to be something exclusive to Piltover and Zaun, only Hextech techmaturgy is in some way exclusive, with it existing in all regions through different thematic forms. In Piltover and Zaun, the difference is only how transformative they were in society.

    Techmaturgy = Technology + Thaumaturgy, or even the creation of “miraculous” effects through the combination of technology and magic.

    It is important to understand that, for an RPG table, the canonical and consolidated lore is just a basis for a new world to be created, where events are different and players can truly influence the world.

    Always remember that the mechanical structure serves to enable characterizations, so although in some cases (such as in Techmaturgy) it seems that giving a greater scope is “taking away exclusivity”, it is worth remembering that the rules present how things can be done, and not whether they should be done or not.

    Each RPG table has its own fantasy and its own way of interpreting the world of Runeterra or even a new world based on the premises of Runarcana. If a Freljord character at your table will not have access to techmaturgy, this does not mean that this resource should be removed from the system.

    Class Features

    1. Reactor:
      1. Arcane – Can be replaced by any spellcasting class or subclass
      2. Crystalline – Combatant Guardian
      3. Metallic – Already a Combatant
      4. Liquid Metal -Marksman/Hunter
    2. Energy: Unnecessary resource, only creates more complications to give exclusivity to devices
    3. Devices: Become Techmaturge formulas
    4. Specialist: Possible to acquire via Heritages and/or Enhancements
    5. Apparitioner: Unnecessary and existed only to fill space
    6. Combat Style: Works better on other classes
    7. Techmaturgical Aptitude: Again Heritages and/or Enhancements
    8. Reactor Emanation: The same as Reactors, class and subclass automatically supply
    9. Entropy: Energy Mechanics
    10. Indomitable Mind: Can become an enhancement or heritage
    11. Energy Conduction: Only exists to increase the artificial limit of Devices
    12. Vital Energy: Energy Mechanics
    13. Understanding Schemes: Classes already have similar resources
    14. Deus Ex Machina: Again reactor

    Devices

    All are converted to formulas and cease to be exclusive to a class, becoming “Techmaturgical devices” aligned with the techmaturgy of each region in question, aesthetically and mechanically, which can be acquired, built, etc.

    The Device improvements will be converted into modifications of the formulas in question. Since the number of formulas received is already substantial, this does not entail any loss.

    • Needler: A “firearm” with modifications and enhancements
    • Elixir Gun: A firearm with modifications and enhancements
    • Technomancer Staff: An arcane focus
    • Owl Drone: A utility weapon similar to a familiar
    • Pneumatic Aegis: A shield
    • Electromagnetic Propulsion Rod: Hammer Bayonet + Firearm
    • Ignium: An “improved” flamethrower
    • Projectile Radiator: A quiver
    • Mecha: Armor
    • Magnetic Harbinger: Heimer’s Turrets, bad mechanics for RPG
    • Synaptic Reading Bracelet: Oriana’s Ball
    • Explosive Transducer: Grenades + explosion control
    • Vibrum: An “improved” melee weapon

    Conclusion

    As you can see, the Techmaturge had an interesting theme and had a lot of synergy with Runeterra, but as a class, it became completely redundant, especially after the new Craft rules, which made the old Inventor the new Techmaturge. The class may have been disbanded, but as a craft it remains even greater than before.

    Everything the old Techmaturge did can be done better by other classes, keeping the technological theme but expanding it so that it works in all regions with the most different visions and sources of magic that exist.

    Check out the Techmaturge chapter, in Runarcana, to see the immense possibilities that open up with this system change!

  • Minor Voidborn

    Minor Voidborn

    Hello Summoners!

    Estamos trazendo um material experimental para vocês com algumas criaturas vastinatas e apresentando um pouco do nosso novo sistema de criaturas e bestiário no qual estamos trabalhando já há algum tempo.

    This idea came as inspiration from a tweet from a monthly Brazilian RPG magazine called “A Passagem”:

    Interestingly, the first RPG system based on Runeterra didn't have these creatures yet, right? So we remedied this by presenting you with a test version for these creatures, as well as bringing you a little about this new system.

    Minor Voidborn Download

    If you want to give your opinion, join our Discord. Enjoy!

  • The Techmaturgy

    The Techmaturgy

    TL;DR: the link to the docs and PDF is at the end of the article. Feedbacks must be made only via the official Discord.

    It’s finally “done”!

    After months of work, I can present to you “The Techmaturgy”, a kind of supplement/modification of Runarcana before reaching version 1.0.

    The main objective of this document is to bring the necessary complement to the Runarcana system, referring to Techmaturgy, which was necessary after the removal of the Techmaturgy class.

    Regarding Techmaturgy, the document contains:

    • Detailed rules for Techmaturgy and technology inventions/apparatus/devices;
      • Lore for the use of Techmaturgy
      • Dozens of formulas for techmaturgical items
      • Rules for “hacking” techmaturgical items
    • Update of the Inventor Techmaturge Craft
    • Update of Heritages regarding Techmaturgy and the Energy characteristic

    And although the name of the document is “The Techmaturgy” in it you can also find:

    • New rules for Rare Materials such as:
      • True Ice
      • Petricite
        • Runic Steel
      • Reliquary Stone
    • New Elemental Mystery
      • New spells
      • Magic Update
    • Update of firearms with
      • Review of current firearms
      • Addition of new firearms
      • Flamethrower Update

    In total, the document has 73 pages of original and authorial material shared with the public for evaluation and adaptation so that it can be integrated into the system. Many errors must have been reviewed, in addition, due to the amount of material presented, many things may still be unbalanced.

    The document is being presented in its 1.0 version, to leave your opinions about it and help with feedback, join our Discord, in the “Techmaturgy” forum so that these opinions can be organized and considered for updates to this content before it is integrated into the system.

    Now, for those who like to read stories, let’s go to the history of this document:

    The Techmaturge class was removed for several reasons already explained, but this created a gap in how to deal with techmaturgical inventions, apparatus and devices, since they were the centerpiece of this class.

    When I started the Techmaturgy document, the objective was just to create some additional formulas to bring these items to Runarcana players and masters, however during the development process I noticed that I was making a mistake again.

    There were many items with similar functioning, created without much logic and in consistency with a better designed system. Realizing this, I found myself between publishing something that I knew I didn’t like, was poorly done and would need to be updated in a short time, or taking a step back and organizing it so that it became cohesive and functional.

    During this process, many things happened, such as the game Song of Nunu, which brought new information about the Freljord, the True Ice, the Yetis, among other elements that could significantly modify some of the existing rules of Runarcana.

    One of these rules was the answer to a question that plagued the minds of both this one who writes to you and many of you: What the hell is the “Yeti” element? The answer to this came precisely with a better understanding of Yeti magic, its origin and how it works.

    These changes alone caused the rules for True Ice to be revised and expanded, a new element for elemental magic (Arctic) was finally created and inserted, completing the magic structure of Runarcana and new spells had to be created to flesh it out this Mystery of magic.

    As you can imagine, this takes time and what was supposed to be a document with just over 10 pages ended up turning into this monster of 73 pages of pure text and tables, something that, if it had received some images and a more elaborate layout, could easily be published as a supplement.

    If this is good for you, you knew that not everything was rosy, the amount of work that this required meant that during this time the Magitek Repository was delayed to the point of being temporarily suspended (for which I thank th supporters for your attention and patience), in addition to having delayed the entire published schedule for Runarcana updates.

    I finally finished the document and bring it to you, both in a PDF version for download, and in a version to read in Google Docs itself.

    I sincerely hope you like what is presented here, it was created with a lot of passion and completely from the heart, although I know that many flaws will still be found and we will work together to make it even better.

    For those who don’t speak Portuguese, a translation into English is currently being prepared and as soon as it is ready, it will also be published, although you can already use Google Translator to get a good idea of what lies ahead with this document.

    Once again, thank you to everyone who supports this work, it is only thanks to you that I can dedicate a little more time to bring this to you.

    The Techmaturgy: PDF – Docs

  • Creation for Runarcana

    Creation for Runarcana

    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.

    -

    -

    -

    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.

  • Augment 0.94a

    Augment 0.94a

    We have update, but this time is different!

    In other updates (especially those with numbers followed by letters as was the case with 0.93a, 0.93b, etc.) corrections, modifications and even additions were made.

    But as mentioned in the 0.94 update, the system is currently on its way to its endpoints, with the need for updates and corrections becoming less and less, with these being normally small and occasional and being made directly on the wiki.

    For this reason, this update, 0.94a only brings content that was designed already for 0.94, with Inventor's Craft recipes, Runes for higher levels in addition to Runesssences that already existed and were updated for 0.94.

    After this 0.94a, we will possibly have 0.94b, structured in the same way, bringing content designed for 0.94 but which were chosen to be kept in test for a longer time, some possibilities are:

    1. Gunsmith Formulas (old modifications updated for the new system)
    2. Vesani (yes, Ahri's tribe that was already published for 0.93 in the Magitek Repository)
    3. Origin and Region Heritages (additions for character creation and development)
    4. Other possibilities…

    Each of these contents is already designed and being tested, so they may appear at any time, with the necessary corrections, in the same format as this 0.94a, for community evaluation and subsequent official inclusion.

    Patch Notes 0.94a

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