Rune-Knights

A large part of playing as a Rune-Knight involves the attachment of 
mystical runes of power to various pieces of equipment. Each type of 
rune grants some special thematic abilities; these abilities will vary 
slightly depending on the type of object to which the rune is affixed. 
Generally, runes are more powerful when attached to body armor than 
when attached to helmets, gloves or shields. Since attaching a rune 
generally consumes all of your mana and rune-knights do not regenerate 
mana normally, trying to figure things out by trial and error would be 
time-consuming and lead to suboptimal rune placement. Note that you can 
only attach a single rune to any given object, and cannot remove or 
change that rune once it has been added, although nothing prevents you 
from adding the same rune to multiple objects.

The rune cheat-sheet below is a bit of a spoiler, but most players are 
happy to play with this information handy.

Equipment/Inventory Runes by Type

In this section, each rune is displayed along with each type of object 
to which it may be affixed; thus, you may see what each rune does at a 
glance, and decide where to use it best.

Absorption
Melee Weapons L1  Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Shields       L1  Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Body Armor    L1  Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption

Protection
Shields       L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Body Armor    L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Helmets       L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Cloaks        L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Gloves        L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Boots         L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion

Regeneration
Body Armor    L7  Regeneration
Cloaks        L7  Regeneration

Fire
Melee Weapons L9  Flame Tongue
Shields       L9  Resist Fire
Body Armor    L9  Resist Fire; Fiery Aura
Cloaks        L9  Fiery Aura
Lights        L9  Fiery Aura
Gloves        L45 Flame Tongue

Air
Melee Weapons L40 +0.75 Attacks
Cloaks        L11 Levitation
Boots         L11 Levitation

Water
Melee Weapons L13 Acid Brand
Shields       L13 Resist Acid
Body Armor    L13 Resist Acid and Stunning
Cloaks        L13 Resist Acid
Gloves        L45 Acid Brand

Light
Helmets       L15 Resist Light
Lights        L15 Resist Light

Shadow
Shields       L17 Resist Darkness
Body Armor    L17 Resist Darkness; +5L/50 Stealth
Helmets       L17 Resist Darkness
Cloaks        L17 +5L/50 Stealth

Earth
Melee Weapons L35 Vorpal
Shields       L19 Resist Shards
Body Armor    L19 Resist Shards; Aura of Shards
Cloaks        L19 Aura of Shards

Understanding
Helmets       L21 +2 INT; Easy Identify
Lights        L21 +1 INT

Preservation
If this rune is carried in your pack, the chance of items in your pack 
being destroyed by elemental attacks is cut to half.

Haste
Gloves        L25 +2 DEX
Boots         L25 +3L/50 Speed

Seeing
Helmets       L27 Resist Blindness; See Invisible
Lights        L27 Resist Blindness

Life
Shields       L29 Hold Life
Body Armor    L29 Hold Life; +1 CON
Lights        L29 Hold Life

Stability
Body Armor    L31 Resist Nexus, Chaos and Disenchantment
Helmets       L31 Resist Nexus
Cloaks        L31 Resist Nexus
Boots         L31 Resist Nexus

Reflection
Shields       L33 Reflection

Death
Melee Weapons L35 Vampiric
Shields       L35 Resist Nether
Body Armor    L35 Resist Nether and Poison
Helmets       L35 Resist Nether

Mind
Helmets       L37 +2 INT; Sustain INT; Telepathy
Lights        L37 Telepathy

Might
Body Armor    L39 +2 STR, DEX, CON; Sustain STR, DEX, CON
Helmets       L39 +2 STR, CON

Destruction
Melee Weapons L41 +2 Damage Dice
Gloves        L41 Slaying

Good Fortune
If this rune is carried in your pack, you will be blessed with good 
luck. This grants increased odds of finding excellent and special 
items. The good-luck effect is similar to the White Aura mutation and 
the Lucky personality, and does not stack with them.

Immortality
Shields       L45 Resist Time
Body Armor    L45 Resist Time; Hold Life; Sustain Stats
Helmets       L45 Resist Time
Cloaks        L45 Resist Time

Runes by Equipment Slot

In this section, the various runes are grouped according to equipment 
slot. This will enable you to see at a glance which types of runes may 
be used on which types of objects. Hopefully, this will assist you in 
planning the ultimate allocation of power.

Melee Weapons
Absorption    L1  Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Fire          L9  Flame Tongue
Water         L13 Acid Brand
Earth         L35 Vorpal
Death         L35 Vampiric
Air           L40 +0.75 Attacks
Destruction   L41 +2 Damage Dice

Shields
Absorption    L1  Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Protection    L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Fire          L9  Resist Fire
Water         L13 Resist Acid
Shadow        L17 Resist Darkness
Earth         L19 Resist Shards
Life          L29 Hold Life
Reflection    L33 Reflection
Death         L35 Resist Nether
Immortality   L45 Resist Time

Body Armor
Absorption    L1  Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Protection    L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Regeneration  L7  Regeneration
Fire          L9  Resist Fire; Fiery Aura
Water         L13 Resist Acid and Stunning
Shadow        L17 Resist Darkness; Stealth
Earth         L19 Resist Shards; Aura of Shards
Life          L29 Hold Life; +1 CON
Stability     L31 Resist Nexus, Chaos and Disenchantment
Death         L35 Resist Nether and Poison
Might         L39 +2 STR, DEX, CON; Sustain STR, DEX, CON
Immortality   L45 Resist Time; Hold Life; Sustain All Stats

Helmet
Protection    L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Light         L15 Resist Light
Shadow        L17 Resist Darkness
Understanding L21 +2 INT; Easy Identify
Seeing        L27 Resist Blindness; See Invisible
Stability     L31 Resist Nexus
Death         L35 Resist Nether
Mind          L37 +2 INT; Sustain Int; Telepathy
Might         L39 +2 STR, CON
Immortality   L45 Resist Time

Cloak
Protection    L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Regeneration  L7  Regeneration
Fire          L9  Fiery Aura
Air           L11 Levitation
Water         L13 Resist Acid
Shadow        L17 Stealth
Earth         L19 Aura of Shards
Stability     L31 Resist Nexus
Immortality   L45 Resist Time

Gloves
Protection    L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Haste         L25 +2 DEX
Destruction   L41 Slaying
Fire          L45 Flame Tongue
Water         L45 Acid Brand

Boots
Protection    L5  AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Air           L11 Levitation
Haste         L25 +3L/50 Speed
Stability     L31 Resist Nexus

Lights
Fire          L9  Fiery Aura
Light         L15 Resist Light
Understanding L21 +1 INT
Seeing        L27 Resist Blindness
Life          L29 Hold Life
Mind          L37 Telepathy