Runestrike

A Ranger Archetype that inscribes runes on weapons and armor each long rest, with a returning weapon, a rune that bursts on a hit, lasting runes, and a master rune.

Identity

The Runestrike is a craft tradition that became attached to Rangers because Rangers go where the supply line does not. The work is small and slow: a rune cut into a blade's tang and a second inside a breastplate where sweat will not lift it, each held with a night's concentration. The formula has been copied by hand for longer than anyone can trace.

Features

• L3 Rune-Cutting

  At the end of each long rest, you can inscribe a number of runes equal to your proficiency bonus into weapons and armor you touch. Each rune lasts until your next long rest, and an item holds one rune at a time. A weapon rune makes the weapon count as magical and adds an extra 1d6 damage once per turn of a type you choose when you inscribe it: fire, cold, or lightning. An armor rune gives the creature wearing it a bonus of 1 to Armor Class.

• L7 Rune of Return

  One weapon you have inscribed gains the thrown property with a range of 30 feet if it lacks one, and it returns to your hand immediately after the attack. You can also summon any weapon you have inscribed to your hand as a bonus action, provided it is within 60 feet of you.

• L11 Trigger Rune

  When you hit a creature with a weapon inscribed with one of your runes, you can spend the rune to set it off. The target and each creature within 10 feet of it make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, taking 4d8 damage of the rune's type on a failure and half as much on a success. You can re-cut a spent rune during a short rest.

• L15 Lasting Runes

  Runes you cut no longer lapse at a long rest and hold until you remove them. You can maintain a number of runes equal to your proficiency bonus plus your Wisdom modifier, and the weapon rune's extra damage increases to 1d8.

• L18 Master Rune Capstone

  Once per long rest, as a bonus action, you can speak the master rune to empower one item you have inscribed for 1 minute. A weapon deals an extra 3d8 damage of its rune's type, scores a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20, and ignores resistance to its rune's damage type. A creature wearing empowered armor has resistance to all damage and immunity to critical hits. When the minute ends, the item is inert until you finish a long rest.