Crossovers that Should Be: The Write Stuff

[DHBirr]

I had a anarchist wizard who would cast explosive runes on a piece of parchment, fold it into a paper airplane, and toss it out a high window. It kept people off his property. Of course, there is the question: does someone need to be literate to trigger explosive runes?

It does note the runes need to be read IIRC, and someone who is not literate cannot read, so...

A better question would be whether or not one needs to be literate in the language the runes are written in.

The description in the 2nd Ed. Player's Handbook gives me the impression that the Explosive Runes themselves are invisible, and are triggered not by someone reading them but by reading the comparatively mundane text they've been inscribed over.  It states how difficult it is to detect the runes' presence — no thief has more than a 5% chance, and  magic users get only 5% chance per their own level.  And then, "The wizard who cast the spell, as well as any he instructs, can read the protected writing without triggering the runes."