grep wrote:
the problem with canonizing "runes" in-character is that we have no evidence that there are any. If there were, it stands to reason we could all easily discern the difference between a +2 and a +3 bonus, and that even the unlearned could figure out how to see and read them. Magic isn't, as far as the game has suggested to us, a written language in that sense.
I must say that I completely agree with Grep on this point. From what I've seen, only the magical folk who can use a particularly useful spell/prayer or a similar scroll or wand are able to discern any enhancements on a piece. So it can't be something that's written but instead a supernatural energy of some type. So calling them 'runes' would be completely out of place.
Nevertheless, the word is easy to use in order to refer to a number of times to apply the necessary prayer/spell to the item and in a text-based game, having an easy word that all can understand and follow makes sense as well. I'm not against the word because of that usage but I do wish there were a more appropriate term to use that was equally all-encompassing.