Weapon Runes can be applied to certain weapons to provide permanent bonuses to that weapon's effects. Runes can be applied to (or removed from) equipment by Bodahn Feddic's son, Sandal at the party's Camp (DA:O) or Ambassador Cera at Vigil's Keep (DA:A). There is no cost associated with adding or removing runes, and runes can be reused after removal. This makes it easy to tailor equipment to meet particular challenges.
Each weapon has a certain number of rune slots, depending on the material from which it is made. For example, iron weapons have no slots while Dragonbone items offer 3. There are nine types of weapon runes, each of which provides a different effect, such as increased damage. Runes come in one of 5 tiers of power, from Novice to Grandmaster. Two more tiers are available in the Awakening expension, Masterpiece and Paragon.
Runes fire independently. Thus, multiple Runes of Paralysis will increase the Paralysis chance. While an effect like Paralysis or Slow is active, the same kind of effect cannot be triggered again (and the time of the effect is not extended).
Items increasing elemental damage will increase elemental damage from Runes as well.
Pseudo-Armor Runes Bug
Vs. creature type (Cold Iron, Silverite) and passive resistance (Dweomer, Hale) Masterpiece and Paragon tier weapon runes are erroneously flagged as Armor Runes in Dragon Age: Awakening. Cold Iron and Silverite do not trigger either with melee or ranged weapons when inserted into armor slots. However, both Dweomer and Hale grant the resistance bonuses normally.
Rune Listing
Template:RuneItemDisplayHeader
Paragon Cold Iron Rune | Effects:
+14 damage vs. undead |
Paragon Dweomer Rune | Effects:
+14% spell resistance |
Paragon Flame Rune | Effects:
+7 Fire Damage |
Paragon Frost Rune | Effects:
+7 Frost Damage |
Paragon Hale Rune | Effects:
+35 Physical Resistance |
This is an old Tevinter symbol for endurance. |
Paragon Lightning Rune | Effects:
+7 electricity damage |
Paragon Paralyze Rune | Effects:
5% chance of paralysis for 10s |
Paragon Silverite Rune | Effects:
+14 damage vs. darkspawn |
Paragon Slow Rune | Effects:
Chance to reduce movement speed. |
The ancient Tevinter symbol for sloth. |
Template:RuneItemDisplayHeader
Masterpiece Cold Iron Rune | Effects:
+12 damage vs undead |
Masterpiece Dweomer Rune | Effects:
+12% spell resistance |
Masterpiece Flame Rune | Effects:
+6 Fire Damage |
Masterpiece Frost Rune | Effects:
+6 Frost Damage |
Masterpiece Hale Rune | Effects:
+30 Physical Resistance |
This is an old Tevinter symbol for endurance. |
Masterpiece Lightning Rune | Effects:
+6 Electricity Damage |
Masterpiece Paralyze Rune | Effects:
5% chance of paralysis for 9s |
Masterpiece Silverite Rune | Effects:
+12 damage vs. darkspawn |
Masterpiece Slow Rune | Effects:
Chance to reduce movement speed. |
The ancient Tevinter symbol for sloth.. |
Template:RuneItemDisplayHeader
Grandmaster Cold Iron Rune | Effects:
+10 Damage vs. Undead |
Grandmaster Dweomer Rune | Effects:
+10% Spell Resistance |
Grandmaster Flame Rune | Effects:
+5 Fire Damage |
Grandmaster Frost Rune | Effects:
+5 Frost Damage |
Grandmaster Hale Rune | Effects:
+25 Physical Resistance |
This is an old Tevinter symbol for endurance. |
Grandmaster Lightning Rune | Effects:
+5 Electrical Damage |
Grandmaster Paralyze Rune | Effects:
5% chance of paralysis for 8s |
Grandmaster Silverite Rune | Effects:
+10 Damage vs. Darkspawn |
Grandmaster Slow Rune | Effects:
Highest chance to reduce movement speed |
The ancient Tevinter symbol for sloth. |
Template:RuneItemDisplayHeader
Master Cold Iron Rune | Effects:
+8 Damage vs. Undead |
Master Dweomer Rune | Effects:
+8% Spell Resistance |
Master Flame Rune | Effects:
+4 Fire Damage |
Master Frost Rune | Effects:
+4 Frost Damage |
Master Hale Rune | Effects:
+20% physical resistance |
This is an old Tevinter symbol for endurance. |
Master Lightning Rune | Effects:
+4 Electrical Damage |
Master Paralyze Rune | Effects:
5% chance of paralysis for 7s |
Master Silverite Rune | Effects:
+8 Damage vs. Darkspawn |
Master Slow Rune | Effects:
High chance to reduce movement speed |
The ancient Tevinter symbol for sloth. |
Template:RuneItemDisplayHeader
Expert Cold Iron Rune | Effects:
+6 Damage vs. Undead |
Expert Dweomer Rune | Effects:
+6% Spell Resistance |
Expert Flame Rune | Effects:
+3 Fire Damage |
Expert Frost Rune | Effects:
+3 Frost Damage |
Expert Hale Rune | Effects:
+15% Physical Resistance |
This is an old Tevinter symbol for endurance. |
Expert Lightning Rune | Effects:
+3 Electrical Damage |
Expert Paralyze Rune | Effects:
5% chance of paralysis for 6s |
Expert Slow Rune | Effects:
Moderate chance to reduce movement speed |
The ancient Tevinter symbol for sloth. |
Expert Silverite Rune | Effects:
+6 Damage vs. Darkspawn |
Template:RuneItemDisplayHeader
Journeyman Cold Iron Rune | Effects:
+4 Damage vs. Undead |
Journeyman Dweomer Rune | Effects:
+4% Spell Resistance |
Journeyman Flame Rune | Effects:
+2 fire damage |
Journeyman Frost Rune | Effects:
+2 Frost Damage |
Journeyman Hale Rune | Effects:
+10% Physical Resistance |
This is an old Tevinter symbol for endurance. |
Journeyman Lightning Rune | Effects:
+2 Electrical Damage |
Journeyman Paralyze Rune | Effects:
5% chance of paralysis for 5s |
Journeyman Slow Rune | Effects:
Low chance to reduce movement speed |
The ancient Tevinter symbol for sloth. |
Journeyman Silverite Rune | Effects:
+4 Damage vs. Darkspawn |
Template:RuneItemDisplayHeader
Novice Cold Iron Rune | Effects:
+2 damage vs. undead |
Novice Dweomer Rune | Effects:
+2% spell resistance |
Novice Flame Rune | Effects:
+1 Fire Damage |
Novice Frost Rune | Effects:
+1 Frost Damage |
Novice Hale Rune | Effects:
+5% Physical Resistance |
This is an old Tevinter symbol for endurance. |
Novice Lightning Rune | Effects:
+1 Electrical Damage |
Novice Paralyze Rune | Effects:
5% chance of paralysis for 4s |
Novice Slow Rune | Effects:
Low chance to reduce movement speed |
The ancient Tevinter symbol for sloth. |
Novice Silverite Rune | Effects:
+2 damage vs. darkspawn |
Template:RuneItemDisplayHeader
Elemental Rune | Effects:
+2 damage from each element |
Intensifying Rune | Effects:
5% ranged critical chance 5% melee critical chance 20% critical/backstab damage |
No word precisely captures the meaning of this rune, but it is something like "bigger". |
Menacing Rune | Effects:
Increases Hostility |
Momentum Rune | Effects:
Increases Attack Speed |