Diablo II: Lord of Destruction/Runes

Runes are small stones inscribed with runic characters which can be placed in any socket of an item to add bonuses to that item. The bonus(es) added can vary depending on whether a rune is placed in a socket in a weapon, helm and body armor, or shield:

Rune	RLvl	Weapon	Helm and body armor	Shield
El	11	+50 Attack Rating +1 Light Radius	+15 Defense +1 Light Radius	+15 Defense +1 Light Radius
Eld	11	+75% Damage to Undead +50 Attack Rating Against Undead	15% Slower Stamina Drain	7% Increased Chance of Blocking
Tir	13	+2 Mana After Each Kill	+2 Mana After Each Kill	+2 Mana After Each Kill
Nef	13	Knockback	+30 Defense vs Missile	+30 Defense vs Missile
Eth	15	-25% Target Defense	Regenerate Mana 15%	Regenerate Mana 15%
Ith	15	+9 Maximum Damage	15% Damage Taken Goes to Mana	15% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
Tal	17	75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds	Poison Resist +30%	Poison Resist +35%
Ral	19	5-30 Fire Damage	Fire Resist +30%	Fire Resist +35%
Ort	21	1-50 Lightning Damage	Lightning Resist +30%	Lightning Resist +35%
Thul	23	3-14 Cold Damage (3 Seconds)	Cold Resist +30%	Cold Resist +35%
Amn	25	7% Life Stolen per hit	Attacker Takes Damage of 14	Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Sol	27	+9 Minimum Damage	Damage Reduced by 7	Damage Reduced by 7
Shael	29	20 Increased Attack Speed	20 Faster Hit Recovery	20 Faster Block Rate
Dol	31	Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25%	Replenish Life +7	Replenish Life +7
Hel	-	Requirements -20%	Requirements -15%	Requirements -15%
Io	35	+10 Vitality	+10 Vitality	+10 Vitality
Lum	37	+10 Energy	+10 Energy	+10 Energy
Ko	39	+10 Dexterity	+10 Dexterity	+10 Dexterity
Fal	41	+10 Strength	+10 Strength	+10 Strength
Lem	43	75% Extra Gold From Monsters	50% Extra Gold From Monsters	50% Extra Gold From Monsters
Pul	45	+75% Damage to Demons +100 Attack Rating Against Demons	30% Enhanced Defense	30% Enhanced Defense
Um	47	25% Chance of Open Wounds	All Resistances +15	All Resistances +22
Mal	49	Prevent Monster Heal	Magic Damage Reduced by 7	Magic Damage Reduced by 7
Ist	51	30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items	25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items	25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Gul	53	20% Bonus to Attack Rating	+5% Maximum Poison Resist	+5% Maximum Poison Resist
Vex	55	7% Mana Stolen per hit	+5% Maximum Fire Resist	+5% Maximum Fire Resist
Ohm	57	50% Enhanced Damage	+5% Maximum Cold Resist	+5% Maximum Cold Resist
Lo	59	20% Deadly Strike	+5% Maximum Lightning Resist	+5% Maximum Lightning Resist
Sur	61	Hit Blinds Target +1	Increase Maximum Mana 5%	+50 Mana
Ber	63	20% Chance of Crushing Blow	Damage Reduced by 8%	Damage Reduced by 8%
Jah	65	Ignore Target's Defense	Increase Maximum Life 5%	+50 Life
Cham	67	Freezes Target +3	Cannot be Frozen	Cannot be Frozen
Zod	69	Indestructible	Indestructible	Indestructible

Once placed in a socket, a rune cannot be removed without destroying it. Runes can also be used in combination to make Rune Words, as well as being required to make crafted items and make or manipulate other items using the Horadric Cube (including upgrading lower runes to higher runes). They can normally only be dropped by monsters, and their required level normally reflects their rarity (becoming rarer as rlvl increases). Monsters spawned in games with more players are normally less likely to have no drop and thus more likely to drop items (including runes), but Better Chance of Getting Magic Items has no effect on the quantity or quality of runes dropped. Each rune fills one inventory space and they cannot be stacked.

The division between runes of low (El-Amn), medium (Sol-Um) and high (Mal-Zod) rarity is convenient rather than exact: for example, the Countess has a much higher chance of dropping runes than similar Unique or Super Unique monsters (up to an Ist Rune in Hell), while the reward for destroying Mephisto's Soulstone on the Hellforge is a much higher chance of a medium or high rune (1/11 chance each of a Mal Rune, Ist Rune or Gul Rune in Hell).

Runes cannot be bought from vendors in town unless another player sells them and at least one player remains in town afterwards to prevent the inventory being reset. If runes are sold to a vendor, they are displayed under the Misc tab of the inventory if there is sufficient space for them. Gold from selling runes to vendors in Hell is as follows:

Rune	El	Eld	Tir	Nef	Eth	Ith	Tal	Ral	Ort	Thul	Amn
Gold	280	280	630	630	1,120	1,120	1,750	2,520	3,430	4,480	5,670

Rune	Sol	Shael	Dol	Hel	Io	Lum	Ko	Fal	Lem	Pul	Um
Gold	7,000	8,470	10,080	857	13,720	15,750	17,920	20,230	22,680	25,270	28,000

Rune	Mal	Ist	Gul	Vex	Ohm	Lo	Sur	Ber	Jah	Cham	Zod
Gold	30,870	33,792	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000

However, selling runes (particularly those rare enough to sell for maximum 35,000 gold in Hell) is not recommended as they are not as plentiful as gold.