Initiation and the Primer

None may work the runic arts unbidden. The rite of Initiation — a sigil of Tier 1 crowned with fire — opens the way. You hold this Primer because the fire found you worthy.

from A Primer on the Runic Arts

On most servers, Runic's magic only answers players who have been initiated. Until then, a correctly drawn rune stirs and stays cold, and you see:

The pattern stirs beneath your hand, but the magic does not know you. Seek the rite of Initiation.

Initiation is a one-time rite. Once it is done, the magic knows you for good.

The Initiation sigil

The sigil is a seven-by-seven star drawn flat on the ground in Tier 1 blocks, with fire burning at its heart.

7 × 7, one layer. Drawn flat on the ground, facing any compass direction.

NWES

TTTTTTTTTTATTTTTTTTTT

• T
  Tier block × 20 · Tier 1 blocks only

  Every T is the same block, and that block’s Tier sets the rune’s strength.
• Air or a Tier 0 block × 28

  Leave these as air, or fill them with Tier 0 blocks such as dirt or stone.
• Activation block

  The glowing cell is the one to click.
• Spent

  Cells with a corner mark are used up when the rune wakes.

Keys

• A
  Fire × 1

  spent when the rune wakes

Some things to know before you build it:

• Only Tier 1 works. Cobblestone, oak planks, sandstone, netherrack, clay, and cobbled deepslate are all Tier 1. A stronger block, such as stone bricks or iron, leaves the sigil asleep. Block tiers lists every block.
• Every T is the same block. Draw the whole star in one material.
• The empty cells stay empty. Leave them as air, or fill them with Tier 0 blocks like grass, dirt, or stone. Building the star on top of a lawn works well.
• The fire sits on the ground. The centre of the star is open; the fire burns on the block beneath it.

Performing the rite

1. Build the star of Tier 1 blocks on flat ground, leaving the centre open.
2. Light the ground at the centre with flint and steel, so fire burns in the middle of the star.
3. Right-click the block under the fire. Fire itself cannot be clicked, so the rune listens for a click on the block beneath its heart.

Lightning flashes over the sigil (a harmless effect), the star burns away, and you see The fire consumes your doubt. You have been initiated into Runic!

note

Holding a block in your hand while you right-click places that block, as it normally would. An empty hand, or an item such as the flint and steel, lets the rune wake.

The Primer

When Initiation succeeds, A Primer on the Runic Arts settles into your hands. It is a short written book that covers the basics in the magic's own words:

• On Tiers, on Awakening, and on Signatures and Keys
• On Wards, and on Initiation
• The schools of magic, with a line on each
• The Athenaeum, and the emblem block that names each school's Tome

Lost your copy? Draw a fresh Initiation sigil and wake it again. An initiated player receives a new Primer, and the sigil stays standing so you can use it as many times as you need.

Server owners can turn the gift off with give-primer: false in plugins/Runic/runes/initiation.yml.

Runes that work before Initiation

A few runes answer anyone, initiated or not:

• Initiation itself
• Oracle, which tells you the Tier of any block you touch
• Diviner, which reads the magic on you and your held item
• The staff runes of the Admin school

Undoing Initiation

The Conclusion rune is Initiation turned around: still water and blue ice in place of stone and fire. Waking it washes your Initiation away. You can be initiated again afterwards whenever you like.

Server staff have a stronger tool. Absolution strips a player's Initiation and bars them from all Runic magic until a second Absolution with the same player's head lifts the bar.

For server owners

Initiation is on by default. To let everyone use runes straight away, set this in plugins/Runic/config.yml and run /runic reload:

require-initiation: false

Permissions still apply either way. See Installation.