Black Forest Runestones
The 13 runestones the Black Forest holds, about 715 words of them, in the order the game numbers them. Read together rather than one at a time in the dark, they stop being flavour and start being an account.
Runestone 1
Beware the deep trees, beware the true dark. When the night comes, keep close to your fire.
Runestone 2
Beneath the ground, the roots of the forest twine together on a great loom. Pluck one thread and the whole weave will move. Chop down one tree and all the wood will know. Make yourself known to the One Who Walks, and he will seek you out.
Runestone 3
I was Harald, a man from the coast. I remember nothing more of my life in Midgard except that I was a warrior. In my dreams I see the faces of those I killed. I leave this stone that at least my name will remain.
Runestone 4
Rest awhile and remember Ulf, who carved this stone with his own hand but could think of nothing to say.
Runestone 5
Beware the Old One. The ravens say that in ages past he was a shoot of great Yggdrasil itself and a force of wisdom in the days when men and trees were friends. Now he scorns the axe and sets himself against the works of the Gods themselves. Oden banished him here for his pride but his roots are deep.
Runestone 6
We who were carried here by the Valkyrie are not the first men in this land. I have seen with my own eyes the halls they made beneath the ground and the ruins of their towers. Will the same fate await us?
Runestone 7
Eight were the creatures banished to this world by mighty Oden in the first days of his kingship. Eight Gods and monsters too proud to bear his yoke. I have heard the tread of the Old Ones in the forest and have crouched in the shadow of the Mountain Mother when she flies. Of the others I know little. I will add to this stone when I have seen more.
Runestone 8
The trolls of Midgard may be fading from your memory, as indeed they are from all the race of man. Few and forlorn, they crouch in damp caves and gnaw on the bones of the weak and foolhardy. The will of Oden has pushed them back into the dark places.
But in Valheim they have flourished. It has been centuries since any in Midgard saw the great trolls stamp flat the land and bring down the trees for joy. Look upon this great and noble sight, wanderers in a strange land! Then take to your heels and run...
Runestone 9
Raised by the Old Man of the Forest from seeds of sin, the greydwarfs clothe themselves in the human forms they once knew, but there is no longer any warmth in their hearts. They live now only to serve the Elder and to protect the wood. Do not let pity for them stay your hand.
Runestone 10
Which among you was a murderer, a kin-slayer, a renegade? Who turned a blade in their brother's back? Who tore babes from their mothers' arms, set fire to the houses of the plundered? Consider it a blessing that you remember nothing. Each among you is a great warrior, and warriors' souls are never clean.
But Oden has gifted you a second chance... Praise the Allfather!
Runestone 11
Look to the sky where mighty Yggdrasil reaches out, called by the Forsaken Ones to join itself once more with this wayward world. It is a glorious sight but a dreadful one. For as the great tree bends out across the void, its branches strain and crack, felt in the remaining nine worlds as quakings of the earth, great storms and holy fires. The Forsaken must be slain and balance restored.
Runestone 12
Astrid will not look at me twice. I leave this stone to honour great Freya. O goddess, grant me a beard like Bjorn's that I might win her heart!
Runestone 13
I have been reborn many times in this world. I have died again and again only to awaken in my own house. Yet still I wonder how many more times I will return like this. Frida was taken by a serpent and her bed lies empty still. Bjarni was bitten in half by a troll and neither half has been seen since...
All around are the ruins of those who came before us but where are the hands that built them?
Perhaps, when a warrior loses the will to remain here, they can no longer return...
These 13 stones are what Valheim chose to write down about the Black Forest, and reading them in one sitting is not something the game lets you do — they are scattered by the world generator, so your world shows them to you in whatever order you happen to walk. The text is Iron Gate's own, in your language, reproduced in full rather than summarised.
See Also
Your Valheim Reference, On Your PC
Every item, creature, recipe and boss from the game files, plus crafting, meal, comfort and weapon-matchup planners — in a desktop app beside Valheim. Free on your PC.
- Items, creatures & bosses
- Crafting & meal planners
- Desktop-exclusive tools
Help us maintain accuracy! If you notice incorrect stats, missing data, or any issues, your feedback directly improves the quality of our data for the entire community.
Black Forest lore
Where do you find runestones in the Black Forest?
They are placed by the world generator, so there is no fixed spot — but every one of the 13 the Black Forest holds is reproduced above, so you do not have to find them to read them.
Do runestones do anything besides tell a story?
No. Reading one records it in your compendium and nothing else — no buff, no unlock, no map marker. They exist to be read, which is why having them all on one page costs you nothing in the game.
How many runestones are there in the Black Forest?
13 here, running to roughly 715 words of text. That is the whole of what the game says about this place in its own voice, gathered into one page rather than scattered across a map you would have to re-walk to read.
Are the runestones translated?
Yes — Iron Gate wrote them and ships them in 9 languages, and this page reproduces whichever one you are reading in rather than paraphrasing the English. A summary of a runestone would be strictly worse than the runestone, so nothing here is rewritten.
Do runestones have to be read in order?
No, and in play you will not find them in one. They are placed by the world generator, so the 13 in the Black Forest arrive one at a time and usually at a bad moment. Read together they make a continuous account of the people who were here before you, which is the order this page puts them in.