He who would read the sacred runes
given by the gods,
that Odin set down
and the sage stained with color,
is well advised to waste no words.Sayings of the High One
Nordic magic can be roughly divided into two different groups. There is the normal type of magic, reflected by the wizards and spells of the AD&D® game system, practiced by or learned from foreigners. The second type is rune magic, peculiar to the Nordic lands. Rune magic is vastly different from the normal AD&D game system of memorization and spells.
What Are Runes?[]
Runes are an ancient form of writing used throughout Scandinavia. The stick-like letters are easily carved with a knife, a tool every man and woman commonly carried. A piece of wood, shaved flat on one side, commonly served as a "tablet." Runes were carved into wood and stone, and used for things such as charms, contracts, boundary markers, and memorial stones.
Thus the Vikings had their own written language and were not illiterate. However, runic script had its limitations. Most important (and what made the Scandinavians seem illiterate) was that only short messages could be written using this method. Paper, parchment, and hides were not used, and boards were just not practical for writing books. Thus, Viking literature was all oral and not written down until after the Viking age. Without a collection of books, it was easy for later historians to assume the Vikings were illiterate.
Magic Runes[]
While runic script was used for messages, the Vikings also believed in special runes that could be used to create potent magical effects and charms. This was, however, a difficult process, since such runes were highly secret and hard to master. Not everyone could use magical runes, only those who had taken the time to master this difficult art. This is because magical runes were ancient secrets that came from Odin. Even Odin suffered trying to learn the secret words, as this ancient text indicates:
I know that I hung on a high windy tree for nine long nights;
I had a spear wound—that was my work—I struck myself. . .
They brought me no bread, no horn to drink from . . .
Crying aloud, I seized the runes; finally I fell. . .
Thus I learned the secret lore, prospered and waxed in wisdom . . .
Sayings of the High One
If the leader of the Aesir had to undergo such suffering, how could mortals expect the runes to come easily to them?
Runes are gained through insight, instruction, and reward. The character who is taught how to form a magical rune most probably learned it from one who already knows, who in turn learned it from another, and another before him, and so on until the beginning of time. Sometimes a character, after much contemplation, suddenly "sees" the pattern needed to create a specific rune.The rarest of all is to acquire a rune as a gift from the gods. A bird may whisper the secret of the rune to the character or he may even hear it in the voice of a waterfall.
Although runes have magical powers, they are not like standard AD&D® game spells. Runes are not memorized daily, to be cast and then lost. There is no limit to the number of times runes can be used in a single day. They do not have varying verbal, material, and somatic components, nor do they have casting times that modify initiative.
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