EDIT: Doh, I started writing this an hour ago, and hadn't seen the post by Soulcake... Then again, I had even more questions about the Spelleater/breaker/etc line of runes anyway so at least there's that. ><
There are Runes to resist elements yes, insulating Runes are derived from that very concept.
I've got several questions.
I've been worrying about finding an armor (or talisman, now) that can work with the king's native ability, can work with lightning; an artifact that would turn the tables on Dragon Ogre Shaggoths, by depriving them of natural lightning bolts from the sky
and any lightning that hangs around a Storm Griffon. (Since I've been assuming that the Griffons have an unfortunate matchup against Shaggoths; the Griffons have lightning generated around them, and I assume might not be able to fully shut it off or totally avoid it, while Shaggoths could feast on it). This would also mean that the King would, neatly, get an additional tactical option in combat; he could use his lightning abilities as he normally does -- to attack, to speed up, or whatever he does -- but he could also optionally target his armor/talisman. Essentially a "Divert power to shields!" ability, heh.
How well would
Iron + Lightning + Warding do what I'm hoping for?
What would make my idea of "Can be fed lightning and absorbs the power" idea work? I've been thinking that just Lightning + Warding would do it. (And that as a result, this would be something that would cover a liability in Griffon vs Dragon Ogre Shaggoth fights, and could always be useful because the Sky King has lightning powers.) I've had hopes of it being able to redirect lightning bolts from the sky to itself rather than to Shaggoths, but that might require a Banner; an armor or talisman would be a more personal-target one.
Next... Hoo boy, now this is a topic. >< Can you tell us more about the Spelleater/binder/breaker line of runes?
For example, the "Runesmiths/Runelords only" thing on the Spelleater/Spellbinder/Spellbreaker line of runes. How much of a hard limit is that? Can you give items with these runes on them to non-Runesmiths, and still have them work?
People are speculating that the Spelleater rune can just... absorb magic from the air passively, and just power up from that. That this is a generic(...ish) "can absorb energy" rune,
and that the "Runesmiths/Runelords-only" requirement are optional or not a hard limit.
What exactly are they? How are they used? Who can they be used by? What purpose do they usually serve, when on armor or talismans or banners? Like... I've sort of been assuming that this is a "Use to screw over enemy wizards" line of runes. That it's like a "dispel scroll" for Dwarfs. It's a rune for the Dwarf's spellcasters to use, in magical combat, to contest enemy wizards. Other people think that it can just absorb magical energy, possibly passively, and just energize the armor/talisman or its bearer with it.
Does it work on supernatural abilities of Monsters -- like a Dragon's flames, a Dragon's lightning breath, or the storm that follows around Kholek? Or would you want an anti-x-elemental (or anti-dragon) thing to do that?
I've looked at the confirmed combos Snorri has, and found that they... don't feel like they support a "yeah this can just take in energy and use it to power stuff however you like." It's always something like "magic
cast at the bearer is transformed into..." and "the spell is broken, the spell is eaten..." Or, it is something that is stationary and in a Runelord's workshop; thus meaning its ability to channel energy probably owes a lot to location and its operator, not just its runes.
Like... You can't pull off "absorbs magic energy passively, from the environment" and "breaks a spell and uses its energy" with just one Rune (unless there are other circumstances too; like it's a Runelord using it; or its a stationary thing like a Waystone; or in a runesmith's workshop; or it's a Master Rune... like the Master Rune of Grungni, which
can do that -- but then it specifies that it uses this power to make an anti-projectile shield, so it's not a "use this rune to channel magical energy as you like" rune). So. If you want something that absorbs energy, you need a rune for that. If you want something that counters spells, you need a rune for that too. If you want to counter a spell, take in its energy and use it for stuff, and just generally absorb magical energy from the environment... you'd probably need a combination of runes for that.
There's also been a lot of debate about lightning, but I'd argue that if KotS can use lightning as a weapon, he's probably pretty strong against it defensively.
Ah, my main worry is the King's own lightning being absorbed by Dragon Ogre Shaggoths, really.
So I wanted to give him an amulet, or armor, that could catch lightning (with a tertiary musing of 'I wonder if I can have it power up for an attack too?') in order to serve several purposes. The first is that when going up against Dragon Ogres, any lightning from stormclouds will not hit the ground or the Dragon Ogre; instead, it will be redirected to hit
him instead. The second is so that the King has
the option to target his talisman/armor with his lightning; in order to power up the talisman/armor.
Thus giving him some tactical options in combat. He can use his lightning to attack, to do his lightning charge, or whatever else that ability of his can do. But now, he can also use it to charge up his equipment! It'll absorb and store the energy, and improve its defensive ward. (Ideally, there'd also be the ability to take that stored energy... and launch himself, with his armor, like a railgun. But he might already be doing that with his native abilities. And it might not be possible to get so many different effects.)
You're just going to have to get past the fact that you're finding it difficult to accept that Magic is literally fucking everywhere up North, and thus Spelleater is applicable for this stuff
Even in the worst case scenario, it'll feed off the Sky King's own reserves too, meaning that its uniquely powerful for him.
But that's not -- It doesn't -- mmgh. I feel like that doesn't really address my concerns, which was that I don't think your idea works like that, because the runes don't work like that, and that if you want something charged off of
the Sky King's energies you'd probably want
Lightning in there somewhere. (The Sky King isn't a freeform wizard spellcaster; rather, he seems to have lightning or storm related powers, which to me sounds like "Lightning + Warding" would be a better way for him to charge up runes, then a Spelleater). And, furthermore, that you'd probably need a rune in there that has a very obvious "this takes in power and uses it for stuff." That's usually the Rune of Warding, I think.
Really, I think the Rune of Warding is key here. I think that some Runes are good choices for a "so the Spelleater/breaker/etc rune just absorbed some energy... now we need somebody to use that energy" effect. I think that's a thing that the Rune of Warding is characteristically good for. You normally have to be choosy if combining other Runes with the SpellX line of runes. But the Rune of Warding will easily slot in there. (Probably because it's
related to the Spellx line of runes, probably.)
Combo, Conversion: [Rune of Spelleating, Rune of Spellbreaking, Rune of Warding.] [Failed enemy magic casts are transformed into a cushion when battle rolls are lost.]
The spell is broken, the spell is eaten, the power is used to shield you. (Talismans)
Failed enemy magic
casts are transformed into shielding power. And the spell fails because one of the runes is a counter-spell rune.
Combo, Ancestral Aegis: [Master Rune of Grungni, Rune of Valaya, Rune of Spellbreaking] [Magic cast at the formation bearing this banner will be diffused, broken down and used to power a swirling field of Runic energy and wind that can withstand even the most ruinous of blows from sources mundane and magical, and burns the daemonic.]
Valaya and Grungni, hearth and armour maker, protectors of Dwarfkind now and forever, gird us now and bring your fury upon the foe! (Banners)
Magic cast at this formatting will be turned into buffs for Dwarfs and debuffs for daemons. And that's because the Master Rune of Grungni specifically says that it takes in energy and transforms it into a shield. Furthermore, this also has the Rune of Spellbreaking in it. That's why it can do these things pretty well. It has 3 runes dedicated to hosing magic, and the Master Runer has a "turns magic energy into a shield" ability, so that makes it possible.
Combo, Adamant Maker: [Master Rune of Purification/Snorri Gift Giver, Rune of Warding, Rune of Spellbreaking] [A Rune array whose sole purpose is meant to channel the titanic energy needed to purify Gromril to the point that it becomes Adamant without destroying the smelter itself. The cost is so exorbitant that the array must spend a decade recharging.]
The bar grows bright as the energy is pumped through it, growing so bright that it becomes near blinding before settling down to a sheen of silver said to bring a tear to the eye. (Talismans again)
Ah, now this one looks like it deals with energy and channels it, right? Except... Think about how it does this, how it works and why. This is a rune array that goes in a Runelord's workshop. And, furthermore, it is a stationary one.
So I think that the main reasons that it works like this is because it has Warding, because it's stationary,
and because it has a Runelord overlooking it. In short, it's probably more like the equivalent of a... not a waystone, but a raincatcher or windmill.
Our only T5 artifact is The Greedy One's Heart, who was a chaos champion. And wouldn't you know it, it's peak Chaos Champion hunting season! Not to mention that the Griffons routinely hunt hearts, so the King of the Skies will know how to get us a real top-quality T5 heart. *Chef's Kiss*
