Rune Rules

Runes can only be found in their natural state the North (to read more about their Lore, and “inscription” process, read The Lore of Runes). However, due to market trade, runes can be bought in any land that is not at war with the North (or the West if the North is still it’s territory).

Every rune will have a memory cost, precision requirement, and cost on its page. However, if you are buying the rune, you don’t need to pay attention to the memory slots, as you are copying the rune, not memorizing it. Once bought, the rune is yours to use, but only once. Once you use the rune, it fades from your skin, and cannot be used again. You also cannot use one purchase of a rune for multiple uses, as you are buying a piece of paper, and the paper is destroyed in the process of inscribing the rune onto your skin (see Lore fore more). To copy a rune also requires a certain word-count of doing so in a topic.
The only other means if acquiring a rune other than buying a copy is to be in the North, beyond the river. Each rune will also have a “depth” level listed. This indicates how far into the wilderness of the North you must travel to find the original source of rune. To go deeper into the wilderness of a certain land, you need to make a topic in the wilderness, and then at the end of the topic, state that you are proceeding deeper. The first topic made this way has a depth level of 1, and so on (more about this in “Land & Travel Rules”). Once you reach the depth level of the rune you are seeking, you have found the rune, and can either copy it onto your body for free, or attempt to memorize it.
To copy a rune from the source is free, though still requires the word count. Once it is copied, it is yours to use for free, once. If you decide to memorize a rune while in its presence, this is a lengthier process. As per the lore, rune magic makes them very difficult to memorize, and therefore, the word count to do this will be significantly longer, meaning you are stuck in a post for a longer period of time, and since this is in the wilderness, more exposed to danger. After you memorize a rune, you can copy it onto yourself as many times as you wish for free, it only requires the word count.
You may also copy a rune onto a friend or companion, whether you have it memorized, or have a copy of it on paper. The same rules apply, though they do not need the precision requirement, as they are not the one copying it. Some runes may also be copied onto mounts or animals.
 
You cannot have infinite runes, as each rune takes up space. However, not every rune is the same size, and generally their power increases with size and complexity. Every rune will have a size number associated with it, ranging from 1-50. Each body part also has a size number associated with it, and you can place as many runes on that body part, so long as the rune size does not exceed the part size. Note, however, that some body parts you do have more than 1 of (10 fingers, 2 arms, ect). The sizes are as follow:
Finger=1
Hand=4
Foot = 4
Face = 8
Arm=12
Leg=14
Full Torso (chest & stomach)=50
Back= 50
 

It should be noted that, like magic, runes may not always be acceptable everywhere, or in the presence of certain people. They are a rare commodity, but because of their appearance, can be thought of as evil.