Difference between revisions of "Lore"

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Typically used with: '''Insight'''.
 
Typically used with: '''Insight'''.
  
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In short: know the answer. Knowledge is power to those who know.  Those with ranks in Lore are learned scholars, poring over books to glean even the smallest scrap of information. Characters with many ranks are unquestionable fountainheads of knowledge, and the people you always want on your team in trivia games.
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In short: know the answer. Knowledge is power to those who know.  Those with ranks in Lore are learned scholars, unquestionable fountainheads of knowledge, and the people you always want on your team for trivia night. Lore is used any time a character wants knowledge on a subject. Often heard around the game table is "do I know about that?"
  
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Lore is used any time a character wants knowledge on a subject. Often heard around the game table is "do I know about that?" Lore is also used when a character wants to make something from raw materials (e.g. ammunition, medicines, weapons, meals, suits of armor, works of art). In order to make an object, you'll usually require a set of tools, perhaps even a specialized workshop, in addition to the materials. The ability to find the tools of the trade and a place suitable for making the item is sometimes as difficult as acquiring the knowledge to construct the thing in the first place.
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Attaining ranks in this skill could mean your character has learned memory improvement and concentration techniques, or maybe they had an all-night cram session with intravenous caffeine and piles of books. You can most certainly add any Occupation ranks to Lore checks when the knowledge is related to your profession.
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Lore checks take no time at all; your character either instantaneously knows about a topic or not. If you fail a Lore check, you don't know the answer. If you roll a [[Critical Failure]], you come up with an incorrect answer that you believe wholeheartedly. You can't retry failed Lore checks, nor can you ''Take the Best'' on Lore checks.
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{{section|Recalling Facts|}}
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You can make a Lore check to recall historical facts, scientific properties, and theoretical analysis of a person, place, or thing. The higher the DL, the more obscure or ancient the information is.
  
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{{section|Difficulty|When Lore is used for recalling knowledge, the higher the DL, the more obscure or ancient the information is.}}
 
 
{| width="100%"
 
{| width="100%"
 
! Example !! DL
 
! Example !! DL
Line 12: Line 16:
 
|align="center"| 5
 
|align="center"| 5
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Normal information (a king's length of reign; the stories of a common place of mystery)
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| Common information (a king's length of reign; the rumors surrounding a notorious place of mystery)
 
|align="center"| 10
 
|align="center"| 10
 
|-
 
|-
Line 18: Line 22:
 
|align="center"| 15
 
|align="center"| 15
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Fairly uncommon information (the family tree of a noble; the cure for a rare disease; the vulnerabilities of a giant slime)
+
| Fairly uncommon or professional information (the family tree of a noble; the cure for a rare disease; the vulnerabilities of a giant slime; the names of all blood vessels in a reptile)
 
|align="center"| 20
 
|align="center"| 20
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Extremely specific or forgotten information (the names of all blood vessels in a reptile; the secret password to open a long abandoned fortress; the sum of the number of protons in the atoms of the noble gases)
+
| Extremely specific or forgotten information (the secret password to open a long abandoned fortress; an ancient queen's tea preferences; the requirements of any single [[Ritual]])
 
|align="center"| 30
 
|align="center"| 30
 
|-
 
|-
−
| "How do you know that?" (the names of all past owners of a particular non-magical walking stick; an ancient queen's tea preferences; the exact distance from a planet to the star it orbits at any given moment)
+
| "How do you know that?" (the names of all past owners of a particular non-magical walking stick; the tenets and laws of a minor secret society you've never joined; the resting place of a purposefully-hidden relic)
 
|align="center"| 40
 
|align="center"| 40
 
|}
 
|}
  
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When Lore is used for creating something, the higher the DL, the more valuable or complicated the item is. See the [[Book:Adventures|Adventures]] chapter for details on how to create all kinds of objects.  
+
{{section|Identifying|}}
 +
<noinclude>{{cquote|
 +
Anytime I see something screech across a room<br/>
 +
and latch onto someone’s neck,<br/>
 +
and the guy screams and tries to get it off,<br/>
 +
I have to laugh,<br/>
 +
because what is that thing?|||Jack Handey}}</noinclude>
 +
Leveraging your vast memory, you can roll a Lore check to identify objects, creatures, and phenomena you encounter (or even those described to you). This skill check comes in handy when you're foraging in the wilderness, stalking celebrities, or taking inventory of all the nifty gizmos you just hauled out of that haunted mine.  The more obscure, secretive, or foreign the thing to identify, the higher the DL.
 +
 
 +
There's more to identify about a humanoid than just a proper name. By recognizing the weapons, armor, clothes, or equipment carried by someone, as well as the appearance of these items, you can infer someone's occupation, nationality, affluence, or proficiency (e.g. the expensive clothes they wear indicate they practice [[Fire School|fire magic]] and hail from the south).
 +
 
 +
You can also analyze an organism's symptoms to produce a medical diagnosis. This could range from simple observation to chemical tests of samples, and it works just as well for discovering what ails the sick as it does for spotting botanical diseases. Even if you correctly diagnose the illness in question, it may or may not have a treatment. If you're too late, you can use the [[Healing]] skill to perform an autopsy to determine a cause of death.
 +
 
 +
{{section|Estimating|}}
 +
You can roll a Lore check to formulate professional opinions about a topic by using any available data. The higher the result, the more precise your estimation. A roll of 5 means you're not close ''at all'', a roll of 15 means you're pretty close, a roll of 30 means you've got it ''exactly'' down to the last detail.
 +
 
 +
You don't need any ranks in an [[Occupation]] to make these kind of estimations, but they certainly help. Below are some ideas for types of estimations you might encounter.
 +
 
 +
;Appraisals
 +
:If you watch the market, you get a sense when the price is right. You can determine the quality of an object and project its monetary worth simply by inspecting it. You can also put a fair market price on any given item or service you might need to locate.
 +
;Evaluations
 +
:You can determine suitability or efficiency of an object, such as the speed of a sailboat, the structural safety of a building, or the disrepair of a suit of armor. You can also size up a creature, such as estimating its proximity to death, its skillfulness at a given task, or its natural talents and weaknesses.
 +
;Forecasts
 +
:Based on the current conditions, you can estimate the time until sunrise or sunset, forecast the weather, predict the cycle of celestial events, and anticipate the tides. You can ascertain the best times to hike, sail, fish, and hunt, as well as the best days to plant and harvest.
 +
;Requirements
 +
:You can estimate the resources necessary for something, like the length of time it would take six laborers to harvest an acre of corn, or the volume of black powder necessary to safely blow the dungeon door.
  
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Any character can try to make something, but it's only the extremely lucky or the very experienced who can make something truly remarkable. The bonus from ranks in an Occupation relevant to the item being made are what separate the amateurs from the masters. For every 5 points away from the DL to create the item (either up or down), the quality of the item is affected. Unlike most skill checks, a failed Lore check during item creation still results in an item being created — it just sucks. This table demonstrates how the difference between the roll and the DL affect the quality.
+
{{section|Remembering Events|}}
 +
A Lore check can also be used to remember details about past events you experienced. The DL for a Lore check to recall past events depends on the length of time since the event and how noticeable the detail you wish to recall was. At the GM's discretion, your character may remember something important without a check.
  
 
{| width="100%"
 
{| width="100%"
−
! Difference !! Quality
+
! Example !! DL
 
|-
 
|-
−
| −10 || Awful (easily ruined, unbearable, sickening)
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| Your name
 +
|align="center"| 0
 
|-
 
|-
−
| −5  || Not great (sub-par, bland, boring)
+
| The name of the tavern where you ate three days ago
 +
|align="center"| 5
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 0  || Normal (completely average and functional)
+
| The birthdays of loved ones
 +
|align="center"| 10
 
|-
 
|-
−
| +5  || Good (above-average, attractive, memorable)
+
| The lyrics to a song you haven't heard in ten years
 +
|align="center"| 20
 
|-
 
|-
−
| +10 || Outstanding (desirable, durable, well-performing)
+
| What you had for breakfast on a specific date twenty years ago
−
|-
+
|align="center"| 30
−
| +15 || Perfect (flawless, highly valued, coveted, powerful)
 
−
|-
 
−
| +20 || Legendary (rumored far and wide, actively sought after, priceless, nearly impossible to copy)
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
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{{section|Time|Lore checks to recall knowledge take no time at all; your character either instantaneously knows about a topic or not. Lore checks to create objects take a varied amount of time, depending on the complexity and size of the object.}}
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If your character didn't perceive the event when it occurred, she won't have a memory of it. For instance, if everyone in your party succeeded on a [[Perception]] check to notice the mayor had red eyes, but you failed the check and nobody told you, you wouldn't know about it in the first place.
−
 
 
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{{section|Retry|Lore checks to create objects can be retried, but any materials used in the process of creating the failure are ruined. Critical Failures are usually pretty comical when creating items (you've dumped the entire pepper shaker into the stew, you've sewn the sleeve on inside-out, or your wooden spoon has a hole in it). Lore checks to recall knowledge cannot be retried without the expenditure of a [[Fate]] point.}}
 
  
 
[[Category:Skills]]
 
[[Category:Skills]]

Latest revision as of 13:01, 30 September 2019

Typically used with: Insight.

In short: know the answer. Knowledge is power to those who know. Those with ranks in Lore are learned scholars, unquestionable fountainheads of knowledge, and the people you always want on your team for trivia night. Lore is used any time a character wants knowledge on a subject. Often heard around the game table is "do I know about that?"

Attaining ranks in this skill could mean your character has learned memory improvement and concentration techniques, or maybe they had an all-night cram session with intravenous caffeine and piles of books. You can most certainly add any Occupation ranks to Lore checks when the knowledge is related to your profession.

Lore checks take no time at all; your character either instantaneously knows about a topic or not. If you fail a Lore check, you don't know the answer. If you roll a Critical Failure, you come up with an incorrect answer that you believe wholeheartedly. You can't retry failed Lore checks, nor can you Take the Best on Lore checks.

Recalling Facts

You can make a Lore check to recall historical facts, scientific properties, and theoretical analysis of a person, place, or thing. The higher the DL, the more obscure or ancient the information is.

Example DL
Something trite (fish don't have hair; deserts are dry) 5
Common information (a king's length of reign; the rumors surrounding a notorious place of mystery) 10
Somewhat uncommon information (vampires cannot see their reflections; the traditions on a major holiday in a distant country) 15
Fairly uncommon or professional information (the family tree of a noble; the cure for a rare disease; the vulnerabilities of a giant slime; the names of all blood vessels in a reptile) 20
Extremely specific or forgotten information (the secret password to open a long abandoned fortress; an ancient queen's tea preferences; the requirements of any single Ritual) 30
"How do you know that?" (the names of all past owners of a particular non-magical walking stick; the tenets and laws of a minor secret society you've never joined; the resting place of a purposefully-hidden relic) 40

Identifying

“

Anytime I see something screech across a room
and latch onto someone’s neck,
and the guy screams and tries to get it off,
I have to laugh,
because what is that thing?

”

—Jack Handey

Leveraging your vast memory, you can roll a Lore check to identify objects, creatures, and phenomena you encounter (or even those described to you). This skill check comes in handy when you're foraging in the wilderness, stalking celebrities, or taking inventory of all the nifty gizmos you just hauled out of that haunted mine. The more obscure, secretive, or foreign the thing to identify, the higher the DL.

There's more to identify about a humanoid than just a proper name. By recognizing the weapons, armor, clothes, or equipment carried by someone, as well as the appearance of these items, you can infer someone's occupation, nationality, affluence, or proficiency (e.g. the expensive clothes they wear indicate they practice fire magic and hail from the south).

You can also analyze an organism's symptoms to produce a medical diagnosis. This could range from simple observation to chemical tests of samples, and it works just as well for discovering what ails the sick as it does for spotting botanical diseases. Even if you correctly diagnose the illness in question, it may or may not have a treatment. If you're too late, you can use the Healing skill to perform an autopsy to determine a cause of death.

Estimating

You can roll a Lore check to formulate professional opinions about a topic by using any available data. The higher the result, the more precise your estimation. A roll of 5 means you're not close at all, a roll of 15 means you're pretty close, a roll of 30 means you've got it exactly down to the last detail.

You don't need any ranks in an Occupation to make these kind of estimations, but they certainly help. Below are some ideas for types of estimations you might encounter.

Appraisals
If you watch the market, you get a sense when the price is right. You can determine the quality of an object and project its monetary worth simply by inspecting it. You can also put a fair market price on any given item or service you might need to locate.
Evaluations
You can determine suitability or efficiency of an object, such as the speed of a sailboat, the structural safety of a building, or the disrepair of a suit of armor. You can also size up a creature, such as estimating its proximity to death, its skillfulness at a given task, or its natural talents and weaknesses.
Forecasts
Based on the current conditions, you can estimate the time until sunrise or sunset, forecast the weather, predict the cycle of celestial events, and anticipate the tides. You can ascertain the best times to hike, sail, fish, and hunt, as well as the best days to plant and harvest.
Requirements
You can estimate the resources necessary for something, like the length of time it would take six laborers to harvest an acre of corn, or the volume of black powder necessary to safely blow the dungeon door.

Remembering Events

A Lore check can also be used to remember details about past events you experienced. The DL for a Lore check to recall past events depends on the length of time since the event and how noticeable the detail you wish to recall was. At the GM's discretion, your character may remember something important without a check.

Example DL
Your name 0
The name of the tavern where you ate three days ago 5
The birthdays of loved ones 10
The lyrics to a song you haven't heard in ten years 20
What you had for breakfast on a specific date twenty years ago 30

If your character didn't perceive the event when it occurred, she won't have a memory of it. For instance, if everyone in your party succeeded on a Perception check to notice the mayor had red eyes, but you failed the check and nobody told you, you wouldn't know about it in the first place.

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