Bone Runes are an official method to convert the special effects on a item into a rune carved literally onto your bones (ie: item slot) which transfers the power of the item to said location. The runes are till subject to psionic / magic dispel type effects as if items and also may malfunction with various side effects if you fail a massive damage save. Occupies the item slot in question permanently, unless somehow removed or destroyed. But on the plus side, you get the powers of an item transferred into your body.
While I am not a fan of magic at all, I bring this up because this also works with psionic items. Seems like this would be a nice fit with lifeshaping given the need for understanding surgery and biology to a high degree… perhaps a rogue or mentally disturbed individual or group of lifeshapers who somehow didn’t pick up the otherwise seemingly universal Lifeshaper disdain for psionics (or later, magic)?
Kind of off topic but I have a set of Bone looking dice I use for my Darksun games since I think they feel thematically appropriate.
Now onto your actual topic. I believe the current level of Athasian magically knowledge is woefully low compared to other campaign settings. If you follow the Preservers and Defilers book it states quite clearly that finding a single scroll with a 6th level spell should have most sorcerers foaming at the mouth. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with that level of manipulation of magical items in my campaign. Psionic item on the other hand. Go to town. Whenever possible I prefer to use a psionic origin for most items in my campaign.
I try to be fair to those players and DMs that like magic, but I’m very anti-magic/pro-psionics as a player. So I wouldn’t allow these to be used for magic in my games, but I would probably allow them for psionics, assuming the players could even find it in the first place.
Effectively 3rd edition, since all of 3rd edition is a subset of the d20 system and is mutually compatible either way. Bone Runes are found in the book d20 Cyberspace from the d20 modern books, chapter on magical and psionic based cybernetics for magical and or psionic campaigns, with or without modern elements. Right next to Golemtech and Necrotic Implants.
I use all official licensed WotC sources for my D&D campaigns and games, but no third party material. For example, Green Ronin or Dreamscarred Press stuff is out, but SSS Ravenloft, the licensed part of the Kingdoms of Kalamar, Dragon and Dungeon magazines, and so forth, are in since they were officially licensed.
Virtually nothing needs to be done when using d20 and 3.x together, so it’s easy to use. Trivial when compared to building conversion tables for 2e D&D and TMNT and Star Frontiers to all work together, lol.
I like psionic tattoos. I have a system of temporary ones I made up from Raam. Based on the idea of Henna tattoos. They’re must easier to produce than the permanent ones from Gulg.