Runecrafting

Rune Essence
Talismans
Tiaras
Altars
Multiple Runes
Combination Runes
Ourania Altar
Abyss

Runecrafting is a skill used to create the building blocks of the Magic skill: Runes.
It is arguably one of the hardest skills to train, but also one of the most profitable skills moneywise.

To begin the runecrafting skills, you must first unlock it by doing the Rune Mysteries quest. You will also receive an air talisman from the quest to start you off.

Rune Essence

If you want to make runes, you'll need rune essence. Regular essence can be mined by anyone if they've done the quest, but only has the capability of being made into air, mind, water, earth, fire, and body runes.

Pure essence can only be mined on a P2P server, and requires 30 mining or higher. Pure essence can be made into any rune.

This is where to mine it:


To access the mine, one of these wizards will teleport you there if you right-click on them:

• Wizard Sedridor - In the Wizard's Tower, south of Draynor Village.
• Aubury - Varrock Rune Shop (also the runecrafting skillcape salesman)
• Wizard Cromperty - North-east of Ardougne's marketplace
• Wizard Distentor - Yanille Magic Guild (66 magic needed)
• Brimstail - Gnome Stronghold, in his cave on the west side

Talismans

After mining your rune essence, you then need to take it to a rune altar of your choice. To access most, you'll need to possess a talisman or tiara. Using a talisman is simple, "use" it on the altar, and you will magically appear inside. Here's where to get them:

Talisman	Obtainment
Air talisman	Reward from Rune Mysteries. Also dropped by goblins and wizards.
Mind talisman	Imps, wizards, Yanillian tower guards.
Water talisman	Wizards, giant frogs.
Earth talisman	Men, wizards, lesser/greater demons, Al Kharid warriors.
Fire talisman	Guards, wizards, skeletons.
Body talisman	Guards, wizards, giants.
Cosmic talisman	Random events, some high level monsters.
Chaos talisman	Giants, demons, ice warriors, hobgoblins, skeletons.
Nature talisman	Hobgoblins, jogres, moss giants, green dragons.
Law talisman	Reward from Troll Stronghold quest.
Death talisman	Obtained during Mourning's Ends Part 2. Dropped by dark beasts. (90 slayer)
Elemental talisman	Abyssal creatures, from inside the Abyss. This talisman is air, water, earth and fire in one!

Tiaras

Tiaras are quite similar to talismans, but they can be worn upon your head, effectively saving an inventory space. Whilst one is on your head, you can go into the corresponding altar by left-clicking it.

To make a rune tiara from a talisman, take the talisman and a silver tiara to the correct rune altar, then use either object on the altar.

Altars

Multiple Runes

As your runecrafting level gets higher and higher, you'll find that you can craft multiple runes from a single piece of essence.
For example, at level 11, you will get 2 air runes from 1 rune essence.

Note: The experience you get is based on the essence you have, rather than how many runes you make.

This is data from RuneScape's Knowledge Base showing how many runes you will craft at your level:

Rune	x2	x3	x4	x5	x6	x7	x8	x9	x10
Air	11	22	33	44	55	66	77	88	99
Mind	14	28	42	56	70	84	98	-	-
Water	19	38	57	76	95	-	-	-	-
Earth	26	52	78	-	-	-	-	-	-
Fire	35	70	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Body	46	92	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Cosmic	59	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chaos	74	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Astral	82	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nature	91	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Law	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Death	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Combination Runes



Each of these runes represents the combination of two elemental runes. These are the runes used to create the combination runes:

• Mist: Air & Water
• Dust: Air & Earth
• Mud: Water & Earth
• Smoke: Air & Fire
• Steam: Water & Fire
• Lava: Earth & Fire

The process of creating these involves going to an elemental rune altar with the talisman and runes of the other element, as well as pure essence.
For example, let's say you wanted to make 10 lava runes at the fire altar, you would need:

• Fire talisman/tiara (to gain access to the fire altar)
• Earth talisman (not a tiara, this talisman will be used up)
• 10 earth runes (the rune type of the other element)
• 10 pure essence

This could also work in reverse at the earth altar by using fire runes and a fire talisman.
Despite the effort needed to create combination runes, there is a 50% chance of failure.
Don't worry though, there are ways to get around this:

The necklace of binding (made by enchanting an emerald necklace) will give the wearer a 100% chance of successfully combining runes. It has 15 charges; one is used up every time you combine a set of runes. Once all 15 charges have been used, the necklace crumbles to dust.

Magic imbue is a lunar magic spell, only capable of being cast by expert magi with over 82 magic. Its effect is that a talisman is not needed to combine runes. It is also rumoured that the spell has the same effect as the necklace of binding above, but this is unconfirmed.

Note: The spell only lasts for 20 seconds or so.

Ourania Altar

Also known as the ZMI altar (Zamorakian Magical Institute), this ancient altar has extremely unique properties, either because it is damaged, or if it was intended to work in the way it does.

The altar will turn a load of pure essence into any kind of rune, even blood and soul! (but not combination runes). There isn't even a required level to use it!

What's the catch? It's COMPLETELY random. Take note that those with higher runecrafting levels are more likely to produce the high-end runes.

This altar is inside a dungeon, located at the Temple of Scorpius. Runes you produce here give double XP, that means air would give 10, mind would give 11, etc. There are two routes from the entrance to the altar, short and long. However, the short route is packed full of Zamorakian foes.

One way of banking is that you run back to the start of the dungeon where there is a travelling banker. 20 of any runes is required as payment for his services though. For this technique, most runecrafters use body runes, because they are cheap to obtain.

Those who have over 71 magic and access to lunar spells have another option of banking. After crafting the runes at the altar, you teleport to Lunar Isle (preferably tele-group if you wield an earth staff), bank and get out more essence, then use Ourania teleport to go back.
Ourania teleport is unlocked by talking to Baba Yaga after the Lunar Diplomacy quest.
Both teleport spells mentioned require 2 astral runes, and 1 law rune.

If several lunar magi are using the Ourania Altar, you might even get a free ride back to Lunar Isle!

When you are using the short route, light armour such as dragonhide is recommended to repel the attacks of the Zamorakian foes within.

Abyss

After doing a short mini-quest for a Mage of Zamorak, you'll unlock one of the fastest ways to runecraft.
At the source of the River Lum, north of Edgeville, in level 5 wilderness, is the entrance to... the Abyss!

En route to the mage that resides there, there may be PKers who try to kill you, so dragonhide is advised.
Wielding a pickaxe or woodcutting axe is advised for what lies inside the Abyss.

Once you right-click the mage and choose to teleport, your prayer will be drained, the curse of the PKing skull will fall upon you, and you will enter the Abyss.
An abyssal bracelet (enchanted from diamond) can be used to prevent the skulling. It has 5 charges.



This is Jagex's official map of the abyss. You can see an outer and inner ring, as well as entry points marked by green circles. We'll discuss those a little later.

When you're teleported in, you'll be in the outer ring, and will be greeted by this:



Many dangerous abyssal creatures roam the outer ring of the abyss, willing to attack anybody that enters.
If you strangely decide to kill them, you'll find that they have a range of runecrafting-related drops, but most notably; pouches!

You will already have a small one as a reward from the mini-quest. They have the ability to hold essence inside.

• Small pouch: 1 runecrafting needed; holds 3 essence.
• Medium pouch: 25 runecrafting needed; holds 6 essence.
• Large pouch: 50 runecrafting needed; holds 9 essence.
• Giant pouch: 75 runecrafting needed; holds 12 essence.

Back on subject, while you're in the outer ring being bashed out by abyssal creatures, there are several methods of reaching safety at the inner ring.
These obstacles are marked as green on the image from earlier.

• Firemaking: Burn the boil, tinderbox needed. This isn't generally used.
• Woodcutting: Chop the tendrils, woodcutting axe needed. Be sure to wield it.
• Mining: Mine the rocks, pickaxe needed. Again, wield the pickaxe.
• Thieving Distract the eyes, no items needed.
• Agility: Squeeze through the gap, no items needed.

At the inner ring, there are one-way rifts to each rune altar, including blood and soul which do not yet exist. (However, there is no astral rift, nor an Ourania one.)
Because the rifts are one-way, a glory amulet is used by the majority of abyss crafters to teleport back to Edgeville.



At the centre of the inner ring is the Dark Mage. Pouches will begin to degrade after frequent use, and he is able to fix them.

Note that you do not have to bring your pouches with you for him to fix them.

Well, that's all there is to know.
Go out there and make some money with runecrafting!
Alternatively, you could research the various essence-running companies on the RuneScape Forums.

Guide made by: Doctor Shemp