Question on Runes

[RazorDaemon]

So, when you hand paint on your own Runes, do you just do random nonsense like GW, use real Runes, or perhaps made up an alphabet and/or story to try and make sense of GW's "runes"

 

I ask because I personally want to use real runes, granted it will just be English words written in Elder Futhark (Norse Runes), but all GW did was write in English using no curves and fewer corners. I am so close to filling in the "F E N" part on the chest of the model with F E N R I S on his chest because that "F" is actually the Rune for A, the "E" is not a Norse Rune, nor is the "N", but the R I S are correct. Also for the legs that say "R U S" the "U" that looks like a V, that would be how a U is in Latin, but a Runic U is an A with no crossbar and the left leg is vertical. I don't even want to look at that thing on the Power Sword that looks like a malformed K, that isn't even almost a Rune.

 

One though I did have regarding making sense of GW's scribble is making up a new alphabet of "runes" that actually are just the Latin letters is a runic style, and fluff wise it would stand to reason that after ~45 thousand years the languages sort of blended together and had a bastardized son.

 

I suppose option three is how many don't care? I'd be surprised, I would figure a Wolves player would be interested in runes of some sort, historical or not.

 

Edit: Not trying to bash anyone who is just going with what GW has done thus far, it's just a personal detail that bugs me.

[Russ Brother 92]

Whilst I am highly interested in it and if I had the time would fill in or redo 3/4's of the runic script on our models - however I have little time to do it to every single model, for me (at least in playability terms) I'm not bothered - however if I was doing a display piece army, then yes I would be researching and only marking units with suitable, actual runes, either in old Norse or 'new' Norse.

[Wolf Lord Barak Ironwolf]

Trust me, I know your pain.  But since the average gamer wouldn't know the Futhark from Noah's Ark (no offense, guys) I decided to let sleeping wolves lie. I started to use traditional runes on the Chapter Banner I am working on, but in the end, wimped and took the GW route so I wouldn't spend all my game time explaining why the runes on the banner were different from what is on the models.

[Urauloth]

Fuþark or death imho. I have no problem with the odd rune stuck here or there for decoration by itself (after all, they do all have their own significance, and it isn't like I don't do this with my own personal attire, so I can hardly complain) but when it comes to actual words in inscriptions and vehicle nameplates and the like, I'm a stickler. (I'm aware I have a disgraceful th  diphthong in my signature - whoever made this font inexplicably neglected to include thurs)

 

It's always amused me that it says "ahs" on one of the SW boltguns because, like, phonetic pronunciation.

[RazorDaemon]

Fuþark or death imho. I have no problem with the odd rune stuck here or there for decoration by itself (after all, they do all have their own significance, and it isn't like I don't do this with my own personal attire, so I can hardly complain) but when it comes to actual words in inscriptions and vehicle nameplates and the like, I'm a stickler. (I'm aware I have a disgraceful th  diphthong in my signature - whoever made this font inexplicably neglected to include thurs)

 

It's always amused me that it says "ahs" on one of the SW boltguns because, like, phonetic pronunciation.

 

Speaking of, I notice your Sig says "Oath Breaker" in Anglo-Saxon Runes, or Fuþorc I personally think I will go with Elder Fuþark, the currently oldest known runic alphabet. What do you mean by having a disgraceful th diphthong in your sig

[Vash113]

As far as I can tell Fenresian runes aren't used to spell things out, rather each rune has an individual significance and is awarded or worn for a specific purpose, a chain of them does not spell anything. When something is spelled out, like the word Fenris, while the script appears runic it is actually the fenresian equivalent of low gothic used as script instead of representing actual fenresian runes.

 

As for myself, I prefer to simply use a random spread of runes that look aesthetically pleasing. Whenever I've tried to write things out I haven't liked the appearance. Too many of the simpler, less striking runes for e and a and so forth.

[Urauloth]

Speaking of, I notice your Sig says "Oath Breaker" in Anglo-Saxon Runes, or Fuþorc I personally think I will go with Elder Fuþark, the currently oldest known runic alphabet. What do you mean by having a disgraceful th diphthong in your sig

 

Well the "th" diphthong has no place in runic systems really, but this particular runic font has no þ so I had to make do. ;). And yeah, my sig is from a while back, I failed an ETL painting vow and it's just kind of stuck around since. I'll uupdate it to say something else at some point.

 

Fuþorc is the oneI'm most fluent in, but I plan to go with elder Fuþark for my wolves, for the most part. It's a lot more limited,though, of course, so I may let a few bits of Saxon creep in depending on what I need to spell.

[Wulfebane]

Psst.. Space Wolves are Fenrisian, not Nordic. I prefer to think the two alphabets are not the same.... for reasons of sanity.

[Grey Mage]

I use the Elder Futhark, where most fantasy and 40k runes are based on anyways.

[Grimtooth]

I use the Elder Futhark, where most fantasy and 40k runes are based on anyways.

I do as well.

 

The my great company wears the rune of their wolflord on the left shoulder pad and the rune of their pack on the right.

 

So all of them have the rune for Tyr on the left and then a GH pack might have Fehu on the right while another might have Tiwaz.

[Valerian]

I'm with Vash and Wulfebane on this one. You, the OP, are getting all bent out of shape on GW's use of made up Runes for a made up people.  That makes no sense to me.  It would be different if GW were pushing a historically-based tabletop wargame (like Napoleonics) and had tried to apply their version of a runic language and pass is off as legitimate Nordic-based runes, but they haven't.  They've created them for Fenrisians and Space Wolves, instead, and these aren't real populations.

 

Valerian

[RazorDaemon]

I'm with Vash and Wulfebane on this one. You, the OP, are getting all bent out of shape on GW's use of made up Runes for a made up people.  That makes no sense to me.  It would be different if GW were pushing a historically-based tabletop wargame (like Napoleonics) and had tried to apply their version of a runic language and pass is off as legitimate Nordic-based runes, but they haven't.  They've created them for Fenrisians and Space Wolves, instead, and these aren't real populations.

 

Valerian

 

Nobody here is bent, least of all me, the OP. I made a decision to use Elder Fuþark on my Wolves and am wondering what others have done. If you don't wish to contribute to the thread, then don't. If you chose to go with GW's or something then cool, don't get defensive and condescending.

[Vash113]

 

 

Nobody here is bent, least of all me, the OP. I made a decision to use Elder Fuþark on my Wolves and am wondering what others have done. If you don't wish to contribute to the thread, then don't. If you chose to go with GW's or something then cool, don't get defensive and condescending.

 

Actually your original post was fairly negative towards the way GW represents runes on their models. I'll quote you for illustration:

 

So, when you hand paint on your own Runes, do you just do random nonsense like GW, use real Runes, or perhaps made up an alphabet and/or story to try and make sense of GW's "runes"

 

I ask because I personally want to use real runes, granted it will just be English words written in Elder Futhark (Norse Runes), but all GW did was write in English using no curves and fewer corners. I am so close to filling in the "F E N" part on the chest of the model with F E N R I S on his chest because that "F" is actually the Rune for A, the "E" is not a Norse Rune, nor is the "N", but the R I S are correct. Also for the legs that say "R U S" the "U" that looks like a V, that would be how a U is in Latin, but a Runic U is an A with no crossbar and the left leg is vertical. I don't even want to look at that thing on the Power Sword that looks like a malformed K, that isn't even almost a Rune.

 

One though I did have regarding making sense of GW's scribble is making up a new alphabet of "runes" that actually are just the Latin letters is a runic style, and fluff wise it would stand to reason that after ~45 thousand years the languages sort of blended together and had a bastardized son.

 

I suppose option three is how many don't care? I'd be surprised, I would figure a Wolves player would be interested in runes of some sort, historical or not.

 

Edit: Not trying to bash anyone who is just going with what GW has done thus far, it's just a personal detail that bugs me.

 

You make it clear that GW's representations "bug" you, and that's fine. But it is no surprise that Valerian would describe such an aversion as getting "bent out of shape." It is not a defensive or condescending statement. It is simply a response to the OP of a thread that clearly has a slant and is not simply asking a neutral question.

 

If you were looking to simply ask a neutral question you could have said something along the lines of:

 

"I've noticed the runes on GW models aren't actually spelling anything in elder futhark or other similar norse languages. How do you guys choose to represent runes on your models? English alphabetized versions to spell things out like GW, translations into a norse alphabet or simply random characters?"

 

That would be a neutral question asking how others use runes. Your original post however went into a detailed description of how GW's representation irked you. Which I'll say again, is fine, however it does lead to responses like Valerians.

 

Anyway back to the subject of the runes specifically it is important to remember that while the artistic foundation of them might be elder futhark in the fluff Fenresian runes have very different meanings and are a language unto themselves. Unfortunately we don't have an accurate list of all the Fenresian runes and their meanings, but a few mentioned in the fluff so far are as follows: 

 

Fengr - The wolf within.

 

Trysk - Ice

 

Gmorl - Fate

 

Adjarr - Blood

 

Ragnarok - Ending

 

Ymir – Wisdom, knowledge

 

Also unfortunately the names aren't linked to discriptions of the forms the characters take, so who knows that those aforementioned runes actually look like.

[Brother Crazywolf]

I will be using the Eldar set for naming purposes only or for things that I feel should be done that way. I have no problem with the runes that are modeled. I feel that those are more of the runes of warding or blessing as the case may be. As a person who has a cubic boatload on my arms and more than a few bind runes it has become a matter of taste.

 

Crazywolf