Rune Pieces (紋章片 Monshou Hen) are items in the Suikoden series. In the original Suikoden game, rune pieces act as a means to add more customization options in regards to upgrading weapons. They are replaced by Weapon Runes in Suikoden II and Suikoden IV, as well as the Sword of Magic Rune in Suikoden III. In Suikoden V, they have a different function.
Suikoden[]
In Suikoden, Rune pieces can be attached to a weapon at a blacksmith's shop. They affect weapon attributes and/or character stats. Up to 9 pieces of the same attribute can be attached to a character's weapon. Once a rune piece is attached to a weapon it can't be removed. If another rune piece of a different attribute is attached on top of a different rune piece(s) it will remove the previous one(s) regardless of the number the player already have. There is a limited amount of rune pieces available, with the exception of Water rune pieces and Earth rune pieces, which can be farmed from enemies.
A coding issue exists regarding the Earth rune piece and Wind rune piece. Earth rune pieces are actually Wind rune pieces, and the Wind rune pieces are really Earth rune pieces. This is evidenced not only by the damage output during combat, but also by viewing the enchantment effects that are displayed in the Tablet of Stars character window.
| Name | Ability | Dropped | Found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth rune piece | Enchant weapon: Wind, SKL +2 |
Wild Boar, Black Wild Boar |
Kalekka, Neclord's Castle |
| Fire rune piece | Enchant weapon: Fire, ATK +5% |
Lepant's Mansion | |
| Thunder rune piece | Enchant weapon: Lightning, Critical Hit Rate +5% |
Mt. Seifu, Dwarves' vault, Pannu Yakuta | |
| Water rune piece | Enchant weapon: Water, +5 HP Regen |
Killer Slime | Kraze's Residence, Moran Forest |
| Wind rune piece | Enchant weapon: Earth, DEF +2 |
Mt. Tigerwolf |
Suikoden IV[]
In Suikoden IV, up to 20 Rune Pieces can be embedded into a weapon by a blacksmith. Once embedded, the pieces can't be removed, but unlike Suikoden, Rune pieces of different attributes can be stocked on a character weapon, meaning the player can have say 20 fire rune pieces and 20 earth rune pieces attached on his weapon.
| Name | Ability | Buy | Dropped | Found |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Rune Piece | Earth Element (Weapon), Damage +1% |
Middleport Shop (Rare Find) 500 Potch |
Fossil Beast, Moss Behemoth, Speckled Ray, Yellow Rodent, Horned Behemoth |
Net Fishing reward (Southern Ocean) |
| Fire Rune Piece | Fire Element (Weapon), Damage +1% |
Obel Shop (Rare Find) 500 Potch |
Ancient Crab, Queen Sprout, Red Ray |
Mice Catching reward (Average/Normal), Net Fishing reward (Na-Nal, Moss Mountain) |
| Lightning Rune Piece | Lightning Element (Weapon), Damage +1% |
Na-Nal Item Shop (Rare Find) 500 Potch |
Golden Wing, Jellyfish Man, Killer Rodent, Stun Lizard |
Give Giant Feather to girl in Middleport, Net Fishing reward (Deserted Island, Limestone Island) |
| Water Rune Piece | Water Element (Weapon), Damage +1% |
Nest of Pirates (Rare Find) 500 Potch |
Blue Rodent, Fish Fiend, Fishman, Ice Bird, Savage Frog, Killer Ray |
Net Fishing reward (Obel) |
| Wind Rune Piece | Wind Element (Weapon, Damage +1% |
Razril Item Shop (Rare Find) 500 Potch |
Dry Fly, Evil Bat, Giant Bat, Killer Fly, Mosquito, Rodent Leader |
Net Fishing reward (Obel and Razril) |
Other : Ocean Rune Pieces are used to customize ships. Tov is the person in charge of that.
| Name | Ability | Buy | Dropped | Found |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Rune Piece | Ship Mobility, Armoring, or Weapon range | Illuya Island, Nest of Pirates, Underground Path Treasure, Net Fishing reward |
Suikoden V[]
In Suikoden V, Rune pieces are pieces of a high level or rare rune like a Flowing Rune or Resurrection Rune. When four of them are obtained, they can be brought to a runemaster who can assemble them into a complete rune that the party can equip.
In general, this is the only way to obtain some of the game's strongest runes. The exception is the Blinking Rune Piece, which is a consumable item that allows the player to summon one party member from their castle while in dungeons or on the world map without speaking to Luserina.
Assembled Rune Pieces:
- Boost Rune
- Boundary Rune
- Cyclone Rune
- Drain Rune
- Equilibrium Rune
- Fortune Rune
- Fire Sealing Rune
- Flowing Rune
- Great Firefly Rune
- Magic Absorb Rune
- Magical Rune
- Mother Earth Rune
- Pale Gate Rune
- Power Rune
- Rage Rune
- Resurrection Rune
- Steel Rune
- Sunbeam Rune
- Thunder Rune
- Violence Rune
- Water Sealing Rune
Appearance[]
This is the list of Rune Pieces that can be found in the series. Something wrong or missing? Please edit this page. All the items are listed alphabetically.
- A - Appear.
- S1 - Suikoden.
- S2 - Suikoden II.
- S3 - Suikoden III.
- S4 - Suikoden IV.
- Ta - Suikoden Tactics.
- S5 - Suikoden V.
Common[]
| Item | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | Ta | S5 |
| Boost Piece | A |
| Boundary Piece | A |
| Cyclone Piece | A |
| Drain Piece | A |
| Earth Rune Piece | A | A |
| Equilibrium Piece | A |
| Fortune Piece | A |
| Fire Rune Piece | A | A |
| Fire Sealing Piece | A |
| Flowing Piece | A |
| Great Firefly Piece | A |
| Lightning Rune Piece | A | A |
| Magic Absorb Piece | A |
| Magical Piece | A |
| Mother Earth Piece | A |
| Pale Gate Piece | A |
| Power Piece | A |
| Prosperity Piece | A |
| Rage Piece | A |
| Resurrection Piece | A |
| Steel Piece | A |
| Sunbeam Piece | A |
| Thunder Piece | A |
| Violence Piece | A |
| Water Rune Piece | A | A |
| Water Sealing Piece | A |
| Wind Rune Piece | A | A |
Special[]
| Item | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | Ta | S5 |
| Blinking Rune Piece | A |
| Ocean Rune Piece | A |