Inscription

ToME Version:

1.7.6

Summary

Inscriptions are activated abilities available to all characters, which provide general purpose help for the character. They include healing, removal of bad status effects, shielding from damage, increased visibility in dark areas, increased movement speed, teleportation, and elemental damage attacks.

Background

ToME4's inscription system is one of the biggest gameplay changes from traditional roguelike games. First introduced in beta 14, the inscriptions (infusions and runes) replace potions and scrolls. The design goal behind inscriptions is to eliminate the time spent by the player "farming" potions and scrolls in weak zones, in order to make a run at a tougher zone. They are unlimited in use, but have cooldowns attached, so you must carefully time your use of them to survive. Unlike many other RPGs you cannot rely on a large stack of potions to get you through a tough battle. Mastery of the inscription system is a key step towards mastering ToME4.

Using Inscriptions

Inscriptions come in two flavors: runes and infusions. Runes are magical glyphs drawn on the body like temporary tattoos. Infusions are natural substances smeared/attached to the body, like nicotine patches.

Inscriptions work like talents: they have a cooldown period before they can be reactivated. Stunning can put your inscriptions on cooldown just as it does to talents. Some inscriptions have a duration as well as a strength to their effect, such as a rune that activates for 100 shielding over 6 turns. Some attack inscriptions have ranges of effect. Evaluating which infusion to equip can involve careful comparison of effect, cooldown, range and duration.

The character starts with 3 inscription slots. Each slot may hold a single infusion or rune. Infusions and runes are objects that may be found in dungeons or bought in stores. Using one will add the inscription to your body, using up a free slot. If you have no free slots, then you may choose to destroy one of your existing inscriptions in order to make room for the new inscription.

Additional slots may be purchased for the cost of a Category Point, up to a maximum total of 5 slots (6 for Ogres).

You may not have more than 2 of the same type of infusion or rune. E.g. you may have 1 healing infusion and 2 regeneration infusions, but you may not have 3 regeneration infusions.

Activating an infusion gives you an effect called Infusion Saturation. Using another infusion while this effect is still active causes its cooldown period to be longer. Likewise, the Runic Saturation effect increases the cooldown periods of runes. The goal of this is to reduce "healing/regen spam" as a technique for outliving all incoming damage. Before you think But I want to survive forever! keep in mind that monsters use infusions too. If fighting an enemy who frustratingly keeps using a regeneration infusion remember that its cooldown will keep getting worse and worse as it uses it more, eventually allowing you to do sufficient damage to kill it before it heals again.

Race and Class Restrictions

Each character starts with 3 infusions or runes on its body, depending on race and class. Shaloren, ogres, skeletons and ghouls start with runes (Shielding, Blink, and Shatter Afflictions), all others races start with infusions (Regeneration, Healing, Wild(Physical)) and mana-using characters also start with a Manasurge Rune replacing one of their inscriptions

Skeletons and Ghouls and Lichs (Race Evolution) may not use infusions at all. Their undead bodies cannot accept nature's balms. This means they require very carefully timed use of shield runes to survive the early game. Shield runes are essential to prevent taking damage in the first place, so that healing is made unnecessary.

Characters who take the vow of Antimagic may not use runes.

Note that an alchemist's golem also has 3 rune slots (they cannot have infusions) and more can be granted through talents. You must switch control to your golem to attach a rune.

Ego Inscriptions

Like any other item, inscriptions can have an ego. Inscriptions egos give them increased power, based on the value of a specific stat (according to the ego). For example, "... of the sneak" increases the power based on your cunning. Sometimes they can scale much higher than regular inscriptions, making an ego relevant to your class especially desirable.

Infusions

Infusions are natural inscriptions. They only work on living things, so the undead (and hence the Race Evolution Lich) and constructs such as golems cannot use infusions.

Common Infusions

Healing
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	10-15	1-50	15
	Activate the infusion to heal yourself for (40-120 + stat*2) life.

Regeneration
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	12-17	1-50	15
	Activate the infusion to heal yourself for (60-610 + stat*3.4) life over 5 turns.

Wild
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	10-16	1-50	15
	Activate the infusion to cure yourself of one/two random effects (physical, mental, magical) and reduce all damage taken by (15-20 + stat*0.2)% for 2-4 turns. Also removes cross-tier effects of the affected types for free.

Uncommon Infusions

Movement
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	8-18	1-50	20
	Activate the infusion to increase movement speed by (400-500 + stat*3)% for 1 game turn. You gain 100% stun, daze, and pin immunity during the effect. Any actions other than movement will cancel the effect. Note: since you will be moving very fast, game turns will pass very slowly.

Heroism
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	25-35	20-50	30
	Activate the infusion to endure even the most grievous of wounds for 5 turns. While Heroism is active, you will only die when reaching -(100-600 + stat*4.2) life. The duration and life will increase by 1% for every 1% life you have lost, to a maximum of 100% at 0 life or less If your life is below 0 when this effect wears off it will be set to 1.

Special Infusions

Wild Growth
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	15	unique	unique
	Causes thick vines to spring from the ground and entangle all targets within 5 squares for 10 turns, pinning them in place and dealing (MindPower*3.6 + 10)/3 physical damage and (MindPower*3.6 + 10)*(2/3) nature damage. The vines also grow all around you, increasing your armour by 50 and armour hardiness by 30.

Wild Growth infusion is obtained from the alchemist quest.

Primal
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	18	15-50	300 (unique)
	Activate the infusion to gain +10% all damage affinity and reduce the duration of a random debuff by 2 each turn for 4 turns. Each point of willpower improves the damage affinity and debuff reduction effect power by 1% multiplicatively (e.g. at 100 willpower, total effect is +20% affinity and 4 duration reduced each turn)

Runes

Runes are magical inscriptions. You may not use runes if you are Antimagic. Unlike infusions, runes can be used by the undead and constructs such as golems.

Common Runes

Shielding
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	14-18	1-50	15
	Activate the rune to create a protective shield absorbing at most (50-550 + stat*3) damage for 3-5 turns.

Blink
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	10-20	1-50	15
	Activate the rune to teleport up to (3-8 + stat*0.04) spaces within line of sight. Afterwards you stay out of phase for 3 turns. In this state all new negative status effects duration is reduced by (10-30 + stat*0.12)%, your defense is increased by (10-30 + stat*0.12) and all your resistances by (10-30 + stat*0.12)%.

Shatter Afflictions
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	12-22	1-50	15
	Activate the rune to instantly dissipate the energy of your ailments, cleansing all cross tier effects and 1 physical, mental, and magical effect. You use the dissipated energy to create a shield lasting 3 turns and blocking (20-140 + stat) damage per debuff cleansed (not counting cross-tier ones). If there were only cross-tier effects to cleanse, no shield is created and the rune goes on a 75% reduced cooldown.

Uncommon Runes

Ethereal
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	16-22	20-50	25
	Activate the rune to become ethereal for 5 turns. While ethereal all damage you deal is reduced by 50%, you gain (10-40 + stat*0.16)% all resistance, you move (30-70 + stat*0.08)% faster, and you are invisible (power 7-27 + stat*0.16).

Biting Gale
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	15-23	10-50	35
	Activate the rune to direct a cone of chilling stormwind doing (30-230 + stat*2.2) cold damage. The storm will soak enemies hit reducing their resistance to stuns by 50% then attempt to freeze them for 4 turns. These effects can be resisted but not saved against. Note: The stun immunity reduction lasts for 5 turns.

Acid Wave
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	15-23	10-50	35
	Activate the rune to unleash a cone dealing (30-230 + stat*2.2) acid damage. The corrosive acid will also disarm enemies struck for 4 turns. This effect can be resisted but not saved against.

Stormshield
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	12-17	30-50	35
	Activate the rune to summon a protective storm around you for 4 turns. While active the storm will completely block all damage over 1-100 up to (1-6 + stat*0.03) times.

Teleportation
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	10-20	1-50	50
	Activate the rune to teleport randomly in a range of (20-120 + stat) with a minimum range of 15.

Manasurge
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	12-18	1-50	50
	Activate the rune to unleash a manasurge upon yourself, increasing mana regeneration by (600-1800 + stat*6)% over 10 turns and instantly restoring (30-90 + stat*0.3) mana. Also when resting your mana will regenerate at 0.5 per turn.

Special Runes

Rune of the Rift
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	14	unique	unique
	Inflicts (150 + Willpower*4) temporal damage. If your target survives, it will be sent 4 turns into the future. It will also lower your paradox by 25 (if you have any). Note that messing with the spacetime continuum may have unforeseen consequences.

Reflection
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	15	unique	unique
	Activate the rune to create a protective shield absorbing and reflecting at most (100 + Magic*5) damage for 5 turns. The effect will scale with your magic stat.

Prismatic
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	18	unique	unique
	Activate the rune to create a shield for 6 turns blocking several instances of damage. The Prismatic Rune will always block 2-4 Physical hits, as well as 3-5 hits of each of 3-5 other damage types, chosen randomly when the rune is generated. The other damage types can be any of the basic damage types: Fire, Lightning, Cold, Acid, Mind, Arcane, Blight, Nature, Temporal, Light, or Darkness

Mirror Image
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	24	unique	unique
	Activate the rune to create up to 3 images of yourself that taunt nearby enemies each turn for 6 turns and immediately after being summoned. Only one image can be created per enemy in radius 10 with the first being created near the closest enemy. Images inherit all of your life, resistance, armor, defense, and armor hardiness.

Taints

Taints are corrupted versions of runes, magical inscriptions tainted by darkness.

There is only one taint obtainable by the player, from the Brotherhood of Alchemists quest. Note that this is powered by Arcane and so can not be used by player who use Antimagic!

Purging
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	20	Special	Special
	Activate the taint to purge your body of physical afflictions for 5 turns. Each turn the purge will attempt to cleanse 1 physical debuff from you, and if one is removed, increase its duration by 1.

The following Taint is found only on the Weirdling Beast and unable to be acquired by the player.

Devourer
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	10	Special	Special
	Activate the taint on a foe, removing 4 magical or physical effects or sustains from it and healing you for 75 for each effect.

Tinker's Equipment

Steam Generator
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	20-32	1-50	14
	Steam generator that permanently creates (4.0-17.0 + stat*0.06) steam per turn. Can be activated for an instant burst of (20-75 + stat*0.3) steam.

Medical Injector
	Cooldown	Level-range	Rarity
	50-100% of salve cooldown	1-50	14
	Medical injector allows using therapeutics with (80-200% + stat*0.7)% efficiency and cooldown mod of 50-100%. Note: The injector is not used directly but instead the Salves are activated, using the injector's efficiency to multiply their effects. After use, the injector goes on 50-100% of the base cooldown of the salve.