Lores are bits of obscure knowledge that have taken time and/or effort to learn. Lores, with Plot approval on the topics covered, can be purchased at character creation but most often are found in-play. All Lores must be taught by another character or learned from a plot approved resource such as a volume of esoteric texts that the character has found.
Lores may be used to help evaluate or discern the basics of a specific in play item by use of the Investigation mechanic, each Lore grants Investigation per game only geared towards that Lore skills topic, and may be used in IBGA for a more detailed study.
New Lores can also be created through investigation, research, and the collection of Research Theory tags (see below). Theory tags represent the unfounded and unsupported concepts of what a lore might actually cover. As theories are collected they lead to a much more comprehensive idea which ultimately solidifies as the new lore.
Lores provide additional information in the course of in-play Investigations and for research IBGAs. Most Lores are considered Basic and only cover very wide or general topics such as World History, Smithing, Alchemy, Mythological Races, or any other general broad topic. Lores may be specialized into more specific topics through the Academia skill.
All Lores are effectively equal and do not have levels to represent competency. Instead, Lores develop “Specialties” which are additional branches of related study that may provide a more in-depth understanding of a topic.
All basic Lores may be bought at 4 XP. Lores cost an additional 4 XP per level of specialization.
| Lore | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier Cost | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 |
Example: Lore: Altera History 4 XP –> Lore: Altera Ancient History 8 XP –> Lore: Altera Founding History 12 XP –> Lore: Altera Hector Eventide the First 16 XP. At any time a player may go back and split of a previous tier to go another direction. Lore skills grant one Investigation per day, per topic or object being investigated the deeper a Lore skill the more detailed the knowledge.
Generally accepted basic Lores that do not require initial Plot approval:
- World History
- Mythological Races
- Any specific Production Skill
- Appraisal
Specialized Lores always require Plot approval and must have a supporting foundation Lore.
- World History could easily specialize into pre-exile myths, history of [insert nation here], or Current World Politics.
- Mythological Races might specialize into a focus on a specific race such as Fey or Celestials.
- Appraisal could easily specialize into things like Alteran Economy, Antiquities, or Trade Routes.
Research Theories
No player can start with Research Theories and they do not require character points to receive in-play. Research Theories are loot for your mind. Players are awarded theories for module success or for IBGA research and can use this in their appropriate research as if they were are lore but most importantly theories can be used in the creation of new items/spells, patterns, and more structured permanent Lores. Players can use a theory to greatly expedite any line of ongoing research if it is appropriate to the theory. With an appropriate level of teaching can share this theoretical knowledge with others.
To see how Lores can be used during in-play Investigations see the Academia Rules.
Investigations
Investigations are very short and focused periods of study were characters can examine a specific object using their in play knowledge during a game. Investigations must be Marshaled at all times. Investigations are either Academic or General. Every character regardless of Academic ability may participate in one investigation General investigation per day. All Investigations are limited by the following restrictions:
- No more than three people may participate in a single Investigation.
- Investigations must declare the specific question and goal of the Investigation at the start.
- Bad Investigation question: “Tell me about this statue”
- Good Investigation question: “What are the magical attributes or abilities of this statue?”
- No player may Investigate the same object more than once per game.
- Investigations must be of specific effects or objects. Investigations may not be used to examine the larger cosmos, philosophical ideas, or broad reaching metaphysics of the game world. That is what IBGAs are for.
General Investigations
- Are limited as a per day ability which can only be increased with the basic Academia skill Wealth of Knowledge.
- So long as one person involved in an Investigation is using a per day General Investigation ability all participants may use their total level of Academia, applicable Lores, Crafts, Production skills, magics, or any other appropriate skills. All levels of Academia always apply and stack with all investigators however only the highest tier of other skills (tracking, production, magic, etc) apply. Those non-academic skills do not stack.
Academic Investigations
- Only characters with the Academia Skill can perform Academic Investigations an unlimited number of times so long as the above rules are still met.
- Are based strictly on the single highest Academia tier and all appropriate Lores. In Academic Investigations levels of Academia do not stack.
- These Investigations are in addition to a General Investigation but are still limited to no more than 3 people, cannot investigate the same object a second time in the same game, and cannot investigate broad concepts.
The effectiveness of Lores and Investigations are both impacted by the Academia skill.