Runic

In Brogue, armors and weapons are not always as they seem. Many are imbued with mysterious powers called runics, which change the behavior of the equipment in strange ways.

Sometimes you will find a piece of runic equipment in a treasure room, already identified as runic, but usually they will come to you on an unassuming dagger or suit of chain mail lying on the dungeon floor. A runic will be identified when its effect triggers. A scroll of identify will also reveal the runic on an item if it has one. The chance of finding a runic is given on the pages for weapons and armor.

Most runics trigger more often or their effects last longer (or both) when enchanted, but there are a few exceptions, especially among armor runics. For weapons, the chance of a beneficial runic triggering often depends on the type of the weapon as well as its enchantment. Weapons with higher base damage typically have a lower chance of their runic triggering. Runics on rapiers have a lower chance of triggering due to the rapier's quick attack speed and runics on maces have a higher chance of triggering due to the mace's slow attack speed. Runics on whips and daggers will trigger most often.

Harmful runics on weapons have a 15% chance of triggering regardless of enchantment level.

Beneficial runics on armors sometimes depend on the enchantment level of the armor. These runics will be most effective on a leather armor since it has the lowest strength requirement. Whether or not the runic effect is worth the lower protection is up to you.