[rdonj]

Well, when I was playing the dwarfs, my most generic sequence of orders for a journeyman runesmith was Summon Earthpower, Legions of Steel, Strength of Giants, X, X.

With a runesmith, my order sequence was Rune of Grungni, Summon Earthpower, Strength of Giants, X, X.

These are pretty similar buff cycles honestly, and while the rune of grungni is slightly superior to legions of steel, it's not really that superior on dwarfs, who have high MR and don't get the weapons of sharpness effect that often. Anyway, once you get construction 7 I think journeyman runesmiths are almost superior to real runesmiths for the majority of your battlefield needs. With boots and summon earthpower they reach four earth, and if you really want it higher and can make one, a crystal shield will bring them to the same spellcasting fatigue as a runesmith with 5 earth magic. Four earth is enough for almost anything you could need, and will allow you to cast all the buffs you want. More cheaply, and for less fatigue than a runesmith due to the lesser spellcasting encumbrance.

Another interesting thing you could do, since dwarfs forge so cheaply, would be to make communion matrixes with your astral random runelords. Then you can make communions with your runesmiths for things like petrify spam, or actually get someone to a decent level of astral magic other than an anvil.