Lores represent a deep and mystical understanding of a topic that allows you to wield magic in a particular way. It is so powerful that it often leaves an impression on those who possess it, altering their personality and understanding of the world. Lore is the most important tool for investigating and understanding the world of Solem and growing your power. What is written in a Lore is true unless it explicitly says otherwise.
Lores are a mix of mechanical powers, Rites, Spiritual Renewal conditions, and roleplay effects for your character. Filling your Tome with Lore is the primary way to modify your character’s skills. Lores may stand alone, but many form part of a greater path. As you uncover deeper secrets and gain greater understanding you may gain more powers and abilities.
Lores will always contain the following information:
The name of the Lore.
A short description of the Lore and what the magic is about.
The mechanical effects of the Lore (such as granting powers), including a Spiritual Renewal if the Lore has one.
Rites which the Lore allows you to cast.
There are many ways to discover a Lore, but the main ways are:
Gazing with your Third Eye on magical objects.
Being taught or gifted it by a powerful creature.
Doing specific in character actions e.g. eating a magical creature's heart might teach you a Lore based around that creature.
Resolving a puzzle, clue, or roleplay challenge offered by another Lore.
Using an artefact called the Akashic Spire, which can be found near the Unfinished Tome, through a free form creation and discovery process.
If you discover a Lore, you will be able to exchange it for free, either immediately or when you next visit the Unfinished Tome. If you choose to add a newly discovered Lore to the Unfinished Tome a record will be made of who discovered it.
Some knowledge takes time to acquire and many minds working together to bring it to fruition. This is a mechanic that is a way to learn Lores. This is represented by Scraps of Lore, which will look like cut up pieces of paper that are clearly the same as the Lore Pages in your own Tome or the Unfinished Tome. On one side will be written Scrap of Lore: “Lore Title”.
You can gain scraps of Lores in a number of ways such as:
Certain Wise Cards might contain a scrap
Some lammies might say to take a scrap
Specific actions may grant you a scrap
If 5 or more scraps for the same Lore are brought together to the Unfinished Tome by one or more people, they lose the Scraps of Lore and all gain the Lore named on the Scrap of Lore. All characters who contributed a scrap will be recognised if the new lore is added to the Unfinished Tome. Scraps of Lore cannot be traded between characters and they persist between events. They should be stored within your Tome.
Rites are complex spells that manipulate certain colours of magic to produce a defined effect. They can vary greatly in power from simply creating magical light to blotting the sun from the sky, but they all follow the same template.
Rites can:
Create magical items.
Change the nature of a creature.
Grant special powers.
Scry or gather information.
Communicate with magical beings.
Change the world.
Most commonly Rites will be accessed through a Lore. Some items or special creatures will also grant access to a Rite. Multiple sources might grant you access to the same Rite. This provides no benefit beyond having multiple ways to access it.
Casting a Rite requires a Lore, Page or Lammie to grant you access to that Rite even if you can OOC recall the actions you take to perform the Rite.
All Rites are made up of the following sections:
Name of the Rite: The name of the Rite
Type of Rite: This will be Lesser, Greater or Grand.
Lesser Rites do not require a ref (but you may ask a ref to observe it if you want).
Greater Rites will require a ref in some capacity either to provide a response from the world or notify the game team that it has occurred.
Grand Rites can be world changing and will need a ref, please advise the ref team as soon as possible if you plan to cast a Grand Rite so that we can prepare a suitably impressive response.
A small description for the Rite: This will cover what the themes and purpose of the Rite are.
Cost: The special items and Ribbons needed to fuel the Rite. Sometimes the Rite will have a reduced cost if you have something specific written in your Tome, e.g. you are a specific lineage, a specific Wise etc. Sometimes a Rite will have optional costs to change how the Rite works. Any Ribbons or special items listed in costs are consumed by the Rite. If the Rite is not completed then the Ribbons are not consumed. Any other items might be lost depending on the circumstances.
Actions: The motions and acts you must do in order to activate the Rite. If you do not do the correct actions the Rite WILL FAIL. There is some leniency in this, we do not expect them to be perfect, e.g. saying “I call to the grim harvest” instead of the “I cry to the grim harvest” is not going to cause the Rite to fail. If you cannot perform all the listed actions due to OOC reasons you may modify the Rite to accommodate this, or discuss alternative actions with a ref, as long as the Rite’s theme and tone are maintained.
Effect: What happens when you complete the Rite. Some Rites can have additional hidden effects.
If you have a Rite that specifies a requirement and you are unsure if you meet it you may ask a ref for clarification. They may tell you that the answer is ambiguous in character and you will need to try it, but often they should be able to confirm whether you meet the requirements or not. For example if a Rite requires the caster to be “in a place of darkness” feel free to check with a ref.