Evil Runes: How to defeat?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by lachimba

No.

Acid was given as a way to remove etched ones. Thats what was given if they meant chisel and hammer they would have written that.

Presumably destruction of the runes works whatever method you use. However, the odds of being able to use hammer and chisel on runes without setting the runes off (possibly many many times) seems low.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by lachimba

No.

Your game your rules, my game my rules.

I chose to make the Thief Template a bit more useful.

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by lachimba

No.

Acid was given as a way to remove etched ones. Thats what was given if they meant chisel and hammer they would have written that. If chisel and hammer makes you happy then thats your game. Not RAW.

True, though the OP did not ask about RAW: "What sorts of methods to pass through Evil Runes do y’all allow?" (Emphasis mine.)

I don't usually include traps that can't be circumvented, though countermeasures may cost more resources than soaking the damage. For runes, I have allowed Shape Earth (at cost × 6 for worked stone) to destroy runes etched on stones. At a minimum cost of 12 FP, this seems like an appropriate sacrifice to deal with a trap. (The only time I've seen it done, the rune had already gone off on the lead delver; they wanted to destroy it so that they wouldn't deal with it again later.) This is not to say that I might not include more powerful runes later that might ignore or resist such magic.

[LokRobster]

As a Somewhat-Less-Than-Evil-GM, I appreciate both the answers of folks interpretations of RAW and ideas for house rules. I do have a Thief character in the party, so I may consider the Traps aspect in the future depending on the particular structure and setup of the Evil Runes.

It’s also good for me to understand the intent or concept of “Wandering Damage”; sometimes you just want the PCs to take some damage and pause to Heal or continue on immediately a bit weakened.

Thanks everyone for the thoughts!

[zuljita]

We made extensive use of shape Earth and Earth to air and just dug a parallel tunnel.

[Bruno]

When I ran I Smell A Rat, my players also decided to Exorcise the runes, which I decided was a workable solution. It takes three hours, so that's a lot of wandering monsters to deal with and lost time if you've got time pressures.

Before, we've dealt with touch-activated Evil Runes all over the floor with the use of Walk On Air (and then were promptly attacked while over the runes - don't fall over!) As a player I've encountered Evil Runes that could be temporarily disarmed with the appropriate "passkey" token or symbol (explaining how dungeon residents deal with them). I've also run into Evil Runes that you just had to be damaged if you wanted to go by - my tendency to play big sacks of HP (aka barbarians) and HT has made this an acceptable solution to me :D

[martinl]

What's wrong with a big ol' bottle of Gnomco Rune Be Gone? Sure it's heavy and expensive, but for convenient removal of Evil Runes (or unwanted skin) it's hard to beat!

[/shill]

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by martinl

What's wrong with a big ol' bottle of Gnomco Rune Be Gone? Sure it's heavy and expensive, but for convenient removal of Evil Runes (or unwanted skin) it's hard to beat!

[/shill]

While Gnomco's Rune Be Gone is great, you can't beat* Gnomco's other great products, for instance Barrel of Gnomes; for the party that's down one Thief, or just doesn't trust one on the payroll, Barrel of Gnomes can be a great way to deal with a Trapped Tomb or a Deceptive Dungeon. Just uncap the barrel and let the Gnomes go to work‡.


† For a full product list just send your next loot haul to: Gnomco Headquarters, Gnometown, Gardenia.

* Not a statement of fact or request for Gnomco products or employees to be tested in this manner.

‡ Gnomco is not liable for any problems or loot disappearances related to Barrel of Gnomes should the barrel be shaken, rolled, dropped, jostled, placed at an improper angle, handled roughly, carried on it's side, carried upright, carried upside down, unmarried, left unattended for more than 12.5 turns, or kept undeployed for more than 3 hours after purchase.

[b-dog]

Evil runes are something I would like there to be hitpoints for. A three hour ritual makes sense but I would think that the more powerful the cleric the more damage he could do in a given period of time. The same is true of a wizard or maybe even a thief. I think of an evil rune as being able to take a certain amount of damage before being dispelled. More powerful clerics and wizards should be able to do more damage more quickly than less powerful ones IMO.

[ajardoor]

A wizard with the right Earth spell or just some spell that makes the ground blow up would get rid of the Rune by disrupting the surface it is put on, right? Break the Rune and the magic will disperse, right?