Lore
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 |
| Normal information (a king's length of reign; the stories of a common 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; what you had for breakfast on a specific date twenty years ago) | 30 |
| "How do you know that?" (the names of all past owners of a particular non-magical walking stick; the exact distance from a planet to the star it orbits at any given moment; the birth date of every person you've ever met) | 40 |
Identifying
| “ |
Anytime I see something screech across a room |
” |
| —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.
Humanoids have more to identify than 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, or proficiency (e.g. the clothes they wear indicate they practice fire magic and hail from the south).
Forecasting
When you know a little bit about the natural world, you can make an educated guess about natural events. This includes estimating the time until sunrise or sunset, forecasting the weather, predicting the cycle of celestial events, anticipating the tides, and foreseeing animal migrations. Make a Lore check. The higher the result, the more precise your prediction. 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. "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."
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 |
|---|---|
| Recalling the name of the tavern where you ate three days ago | 0 |
| Recalling what you had for dinner | 5 |
| Recalling the name of the waitress | 10 |
| Recalling a verse from a song the minstrel in the corner was singing | 20 |
| Recalling what your friends ordered, how long before it was out, and the total on the check | 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.
