Bearing a weapon etched with runes, transferring a healing rune onto a fallen companion; invoking the powers of a Rune Manifest; these are all abilities of the rune warrior.  A Rune Warrior is a being who fights with measured skill and consideration; his actions are thoughtful and designed for the best benefit overall.  If diplomacy is a better method of obtaining something, he will act diplomatically rather than bash a door in.  If casting a spell is the better solution, he will allow his companions’ magic to fly. 

Where a runethane seeks ultimate understanding of the runes which underlie the fabric of reality, a rune warrior is the champion of those same forces, which grant him a measure of understanding in order for him to perform his function.  Like a runechild, a rune warrior is almost always in service to the land; unlike a runechild, his powers are obtained through duty, devotion and discipline, rather than awarded in a seemingly random fashion.

Mojh, Verrik and Litorians are the races most likely to become a rune warrior.  Faen, humans and giants sometimes choose this path.  Sibeccai and dracha almost never do. 

A rune warrior gets along best with witches, akashics and runethanes, whom he believes to have a generally practical outlook on life.  Magisters tend to be too aloof, unfettered too flighty, and warmains too stuffy.  He is not as disciplined as a ritual warrior or akashic, but his gifts are not an inborn power; he learns them through study and meditation with the occasional deific insight.

Hit die: d8

Skills:  4+intelligence bonus (x4 at 1rst level)

Class skills:  Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Disable Device (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Ceremony, Geography, Magic, Runes) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Survival (Wis). 

Class Features

Weapons and Armor:  Rune Warriors are proficient with all simple and martial weapons and light, medium and heavy armor, and shields. 

Runes:  A rune warrior, like a runethane, gains the ability to scribe runes with magical meaning.  He knows fewer runes than a Runethane does, and while initially he may have more in existence, the runethane far outstrips him in this capacity at later levels.  He may have in existence a number of runes equal to half his level (round down, minimum 1) plus 2.  Lesser runes have a value of 1. Advanced runes have a value of 2, and greater runes have a value of 3.  A rune warrior never gets access to Runes of Power or the Ultimate Rune.  It is a rull-round action to draw a rune, and no rune may be drawn more than once per hour.  See the Runethane description for details on touch-trigger, applied, and enchanted object runes.

Combat Rites:  A rune warrior’s special affinity for the magical script of the universe makes ritual a powerful thing in his hands.  Like a ritual warrior, a rune warrior gains access to a certain number of combat rites.  A ritual warrior must have a wisdom high enough to make use of the combat rites, equal to 10 plus the level of the combat rite.  A level 3 combat rite thus requires a minimum wisdom of 13 to use.  Combat rites are swift actions that may be used only once per round, unless a rite specifically says otherwise. 

Runic Aura: A rune warrior has a special aura or halo of runes floating around his head or tattooed visibly on his body.  The runic aura must be visible in order to function, though darkness or blindness does not impede its use.  A rune warrior selects one rune he knows per four rune warrior levels (1 rune between levels 1-4, 2 runes between 5-8, etc) to become part of this aura.  Once per day per point of wisdom bonus, as a full-round action, he may touch any rune he has currently scribed, and replace it with a rune from his aura.  The rune from his aura becomes the scribed rune, and the scribed rune becomes a part of the rune warrior’s aura.  The new rune must qualify for the current target, or the ability is wasted.  This swap does not count against the one-hour limit on scribing runes.  At 10^th level, he may do this at Close range as long as the scribed rune is within line of sight.  Thus, the rune warrior’s runic aura changes with every use.  Upon resting 8 hours, the rune warrior may ‘reset’ his aura, picking which of those runes he knows will start off as part of his aura. 

If the rune warrior enters an antimagic field, this aura is suppressed and inaccessible until the antimagic field is gone.  If he is the subject of a targeted dispel magic, the aura is suppressed as though it were a magic item.

Special:  Rune warriors who are also runechildren find their runechild rune becomes an intrinsic part of his Runic Aura.  His runechild abilities no longer function in antimagic or if his runic aura is covered up; however, it is a ‘free’ rune added to his runic aura, and thus can be swapped out like any other rune in his aura.  However, the recipient of a runechild ability gains it for only 1d4 rounds (and the runechild loses the ability for the same amount of time), at which time it returns to the runechild and the original scribed rune is restored to the target. 

Bonus Feats:  The rune warrior gains special access to certain bonus feats.  He must qualify for all the prerequisites save for the truename requirement of any Ceremonial feat.  He may select his bonus feat from the following list: Bloody Strike, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Move (Mobility), Exotic Armor Proficiency, Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Expertise (Defensive Move, Defensive Stance, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Whirlwind Attack), Improved Critical, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot (Far Shot, Precise Shot, Shot on the Run), Power Attack (Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Sunder), Quick Draw, Stunning Blow, Sturdy, Tough Hide, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization. 

Password:  as the runethane ability.

Runic Weapon: a rune warrior gains a special bond with his weapon, which is the extension of his purpose.  A rune warrior with the Weapon Focus feat (or any other special bond, such as an Item Bond or an athame, as adjudicated by the DM) may use any one enchanted object rune he knows on the weapon, and it does not count against the limit of runes he may have in existence. At 15^th level, he may use two enchanted object runes for free.

Runic Armor: a rune warrior gains the ability to strengthen himself or his armor against attack.  He gains the ability to use an enchanted object rune on his body or his armor for free. 

Runic Rite:  a rune warrior gains the ability to mix his combat rites with his runic powers.  He may scribe a rune as a free action instead of as a full-round action.  This use counts as though he used a combat rite.  Scribing lesser runes in this way counts as using a rank 1 combat rite; advanced runes as a rank 2 combat rite; and greater runes as a rank 3 combat rite.  Scribing a rune in this way still counts against the one-rune per hour limit.  He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to his rune warrior level divided by 4 (round down). 

Erase Rune: as the Runethane ability, with rune warrior level acting as caster level and wisdom as the casting stat. 

Inscribe Rune: as the runethane ability.

Ignore Rune:  the runic powers bestow on the rune warrior the ability to ignore any rune he has identified, once per day per point of wisdom bonus.  This functions as if the rune had failed to overcome the rune warrior’s SR.  If a rune affects the rune warrior and he has not identified it, he may attempt to identify it at a -10 penalty as a free action.  If he succeeds at identifying it, he may ignore the rune.  This ability applies to a runechild’s runic powers, runic script, a spell cast with the Runic template, or any other supernatural or spell-like ability that the DM qualifies as ‘runic’ such as a rune manifest’s abilities. 

* The Rune Warrior can use as may rites of this rank per day as he wishes.