In the Unfinished Tome, players have access to the titular Unfinished Tome, a.k.a. The Archive, which is a library for magical knowledge, known as Lores. These vary in scope and topic, from learning an ancient pact to summon a Naiad to trade with, to being able to sing a song to rouse the spirits of those around you, healing them.
We wrote this guide to be useful for new and returning players alike. Right now, at the end of Event 2, the Archive contains 85 Lores. This will only increase with each passing event, as a core part of the game is the hunt for new Lore. And whilst this means that there will be a greater choice of Lores for your characters to possess, we recognise you might need a little help figuring out which ones work best for you.
We hope this guide will be a decent starting place for anyone confused by the Archive.
We don't expect everyone to read the whole thing in one sitting. Instead, find the sections that will help you and read those. If you want to know what Lores are and how they work, keep reading. If you just want some advice on choosing lores, skip to that section, which breaks down the contents of the Archive into groups sorted by what they do.
Currently those are:
Lores that are good for surviving fights
Lores that heal people
Lores that let you Resist stuff, broken down by individual effects
Lores that let you cast spells or strike for effects, broken down as above
Lores that let you do some information gathering
Lores that are gateways to particular parts of the setting
If you think there’s an obvious category of stuff missing from this guide, send us an email at thetomelarp@gmail.com or ping us a message on Discord or on the Facebook group.
If you just want a pair of Lores that give you some good all-purpose abilities and some Rites that are cheap, useful, and can get you involved with everyone else, you could do worse than taking the following:
One of The Cat That Walks Alone or The Method of Fated Divination.
One of Give Yourself Unto The World or The Riddle of Steel.
This lets you resist Enthral and Entangle so you can go into the woods without being pinned down, lets you Heal 3 yourself so you can keep yourself alive, and has a nice, cheap Rite that essentially gives you a free life and lasts the whole event.
This gives you +2 HP if you dress like a traveller, and gives you strike for Fling and mass Fling. Its Rites do kind of weird stuff, to be honest, but Visionary’s Map is very useful if someone’s trying to do spells involving maps.
If you’re not someone who goes running off into the dark, Fated Divination gives you the Resist Enthral, lets you Heal 4 anybody, and gives you a cool Rite that lets you do divination magic.
Riddle of Steel is simple: it lets you Ward Impale and strike for Impale, which is a nasty call. It’s also got a couple of divination Rites to do with weapons, which should give you some cool roleplay to do if anyone finds a magic sword.
A Lore is a piece of ‘mystic knowledge’ that comes in the form of a page in the Archive that your character can put a copy of in their own Tome. Thanks to the Archive, you can hot-swap the Lores in your Tome and effectively re-spec your character for only a minor cost.
Lores are basically XP, when it comes down to it. Every Lore is made up of two parts: Rites and Powers. The latter are straight power boosts that your character gets while you hold the Lore in your Tome. Some give you more health, some let you Resist specific calls, some let you cast spells or strike for effects, and some do weirder things. A number of them also give you an additional method of doing a Spiritual Renewal, which is a once-per-excursion way of restoring all your Spirit by performing a specific piece of roleplay. This could be anything from singing a song to hiding alone in the darkness.
As well as giving you a stat boost, Lores have one or more Rites attached, which are "rituals" you can cast while you hold the Lore (note: holding the Lore in your Tome is always a prerequisite for performing a Rite. You can write down how to do it, but it won’t work unless performed by someone holding a Lore that gives it to you).
Rites can do basically anything. They cost resources, require specific roleplay, and range from minor flavour effects to cataclysmic world-changing mega spells. Some Rites are logistically difficult to cast in the field, so it’s worth considering whether you’ll actually get any use out of having access to a Rite when you go out of the Tower. Many can be cast at home and provide buffs for a party going out. Some are information gathering Rites that you’ll definitely want to consider taking with you.
The Unfinished Tome is the reason that you have access to Lores in the way that you do. From what has been discovered so far, nobody else in the world seems to have a magic Lore depository. The Tome rests on top of the grave of something called “Dominion”, safe within the hidden tower used as your headquarters. It cannot be moved, and produces magical energy in the form of Ribbons every morning.
The Archive has an infinite storage capacity for Lores. Any player can take a Lore that they’ve discovered out in the world and submit it into the Archive. This is not an automatic process. That is, the Archive doesn’t reach into your brain and extract your Lores without your say-so: you need to actively submit it (one of the Archive’s projections can help with this). Once submitted, that Lore is part of the Archive.
Archived Lores:
Cannot be removed from the Archive, concealed, or restricted. If you find a Rite that makes the skeletons of everyone in a hundred mile radius jump out of their bodies, turn into steel and go moshing, it may be worth a conversation with your colleagues about whether you want it on permanent record.
There is no known method by which the Archive can be made to restrict a Lore from being read or extracted by the awakened linked to it.
Are available in infinite numbers to those awakened connected to the Tome. Any number of players can simultaneously take copies of an archived Lore into their own Tomes without affecting the original.
Add to the power of the Archive and, by extension, the powers of all of its linked awakened. At first, players were only capable of holding one Lore in their Tome at a time. After a dozen or so more Lores were added to the Archive, the link became strong enough that players can now hold two.
It’s unknown what other effects powering up the Archive by adding Lores will have.
Can be freely read in the Tome. The current Archive is available on the Unfinished Tome website. At events, you can read the Tome itself, or ask any of the projections.
For submitting new Lores, there is one notable exception as to whether the process is automatic or not. All Lores discovered using the Akashic Spires/Grand Rite of Knowing are automatically submitted into the Archive, as the two artefacts are intrinsically linked. (This may still take some time, for OOC admin reasons). If you use the Spires to get the hypothetical steel skeleton mosh pit Rite, there is no review process to stop it going into the Archive.
Bringing a new Lore back to the Archive is a worthy accomplishment! You will have forever added to the capabilities of the entire group, and made progress towards permanently increasing your power.
Currently, all player characters have room in their Tomes for three Lores at any one time. Considering that all Lores provide passive power boosts, there is little reason not to ensure all your slots are filled at all times.
At the start of an event, you can choose what Lores are in your Tome. It is assumed you had the opportunity to swap them out from the Archive’s selection in-between events.
Lores stay in your Tome forever until you actively swap them out for another, or if they are removed via another method.
If you find a Lore from a source other than the Archive, such as by using your Third Eye on a magical item or creature, you can instantly put it into a free slot, or can instantly ‘forget’ one of your Lores to put a copy of the new one in your Tome. This is free.
The lammie you’re getting the Lore from may have a specific cost attached. It will say this on the lammie.
If you want to copy a Lore from the Archive into your Tome, you can put it into an open slot for free. This obviously requires access to the Archive.
If you want to replace one of your current Lores with one from the Archive, this costs one ribbon of any colour. The ribbons on the Unfinished Tome itself can only be used for this purpose, and they refresh every dawn, so you might as well use one of them. You can change any and all of your Lores with only one ribbon spend.
Yes, there is value in assembling an arsenal of Lore-holding items to go alongside the Tome. It’s still worth submitting them to the Tome, though, as you can never guarantee that your items aren’t going to walk off or blow up or something.
There’s a big list of Lores and you can have any of them, so it's okay if you're not sure what to pick! You’re not expected to memorise the whole list - that’s why it’s written down.
There’s basically four considerations when deciding what Lores you want to carry around with you:
Flavour: You’re playing a blacksmith and there’s a Lore that lets you do magic blacksmithing. It’s an easy pick. This is a fine reason to pick a Lore, but remember that you can cheaply swap them out and your character’s favourite Lore isn’t going anywhere.
Stats: Choosing a Lore because it gives you the ability to Resist a call that you know you’re about to encounter, or because it lets you strike for something dangerous, is absolutely fine. There’s a few Lores in the Archive that are honestly just good to carry around because they give you more health and some nice resists.
Abilities: Some Lores give you useful abilities in addition to or instead of raw stats. The ability to do surgery, to pick locks, track animals, or other useful things. Some might be good to carry around for everyday use, some might be better when going into specific situations.
Rites: You may want to keep a Lore in your Tome just for the Rites it bestows. This might be because you’re planning on casting it or because you want to make sure someone has it available at all times. It’s potentially worth coordinating with your colleagues so that the group can have a wide spread of useful Rites ready to use.
Tl;dr: More hits and Resist Impale (if you have magic items). A nice general-use fighter’s Lore.
Having this Lore in your Tome gives you +2 HP while you wear armour. This means light armour gives you +6 HP instead of +4, and heavy gives you +8 HP instead of +6. As a bonus, if you manage to Enchant your armour, shield, or weapon by some means, you gain the passive ability to Resist Impale as a Lesser Magic. Impale’s a nasty call and it’s nice to have an answer.
The Rite it lets you do, Maker’s Mark, doesn’t have any combat applications, and it isn’t an Enchantment, so won’t let you name your sword and get the Resist Impale.
Tl;dr: If you’re good at running and/or don’t trust people to heal you, this is a really good choice.
Good for skirmishers or people who want to go off stabbing in the woods. Its passive abilities let you Resist Entangle and Enthral (aka the two calls that stop you skirmishing), and do a Heal 3 on yourself for the ability to sustain through extended fights. The Rite it lets you cast, I Am Me And I Need No Other, is one to cast before you go out stabbing. It enchants you so that the first time you drop to 0 HP, you automatically Heal 3. The enchantment lasts the whole event until used, so this Lore is a pretty good pick for Friday night.
Tl;dr: +2 HP with an easy requirement, plus a reliable Renewal.
It has a bunch of stuff that’s not immediately relevant for Not Dying, but it does give you +2 HP if you wear the “accoutrements of a traveller”, such as pouches, a bag, a hat, that kind of thing. Plus you can cast Fling and Mass Fling, which are calls that might save your life one day. Its Spiritual Renewal requirement is “arrive at a destination or find a new landmark” which is something that very well might happen a lot when you go out on excursions.
+1 HP, and an additional +1 HP if you’re either an Urdannir or Wise in Stone. Plus the ability to strike for Fling twice as a Lesser Magic. If you qualify to get the second HP and wear heavy armour, this is a good alternative to Give Yourself Unto The World.
Tl;dr: Give you and all your friends more HP.
Gives you the ability to strike for Burn, which is pretty good (and the ability to strike for Impale if they’re invading your home). Also gives you flat +1 HP if you’ve eaten today which you obviously should.
The really good bit of this Lore for Not Dying is the Rite: Hearthkeeper’s Hands Create A Feast. If you have a meal with your friends, you all get +1 HP (or +2 for your friends if they share a Hearth with you). The enchantment lasts 3 hours, so if you have group lunch before you go on an excursion, you can all beef up.
Tl;dr: If you made your weapon, you can heal yourself every minute by hitting people. It also lets you strike for Impale, which is very good.
Strike for Impale as a Greater Magic is definitely something that you wouldn’t say no to in any given fight. However good it makes you at killing people, though, the part that makes the Lore good for Not Dying™ is the fact that as a Lesser Magic you can Heal 2 yourself when you hit someone with a weapon you made (or Heal 3 if you kill them). If you’re a weaponsmith of some kind, this is really good.
The Lore also lets you make magic weapons, for what it’s worth.
This one’s straightforward: you can strike for Impale as a Greater Magic and grant yourself a Ward against Impale as a Lesser Magic. This one’s best for frontline fighters, but being able to bounce an unexpected Impale might save your life one day.
Tl;dr: Wear heavy, resist impale
If you wear heavy armour, this is a great source of Resist Impale as a Lesser Magic. It can grant you temporary Immunity to Fling, which if you’re fighting next to a pit of acid will come in handy. However, the real meat of this Lore for Not Dying is its Rite: While The Walls Of Keld Stand, So Will I. It enchants you for an hour so that you have +2 HP while you wear heavy armour (making it +8), and get the ability to cast Ward Impale.
If you’re going into a fight and expecting Impale, this is an excellent choice. Alternatively, cast the Rite beforehand and then swap the Lore out for something else if you don’t need the Resist Impale.
Kind of. Specifically, if you cast the Rite this Lore gives you, 'My Pact Is My Bond', you make an oath that you’re good friends with one or more people and it lets you all heal each other. It’s a Heal 3 once per Renewal, but it’s free. This is more for making sure your friends don’t die in a crisis than anything else.
Does a bunch of other stuff, but the important thing is that it lets you Heal 2 people you consider a friend as a Lesser Magic. If you have friends, this is a reliable source of healing.
The Gold Standard™ of Lores for healers. Does a bunch of useful stuff:
Heal 4 with 10 seconds worth of bandages and/or poultices
Do a chant to stay the end. The chant does Heal 1, but also Cleanses Scourge, so if your friend is bleeding and Scourged, this is your one-stop shop. Also, this is kind of niche, but it stealthily adds 10 seconds to their bleed count, as the target can’t die during the chant as long as the Heal 1 would save them (almost always).
Do Reveal Scourge so you can check to see if a bleeder needs to be your top priority.
The Rite this Lore gives you, 'The Physick Learns Of Maladies', lets you read Lingering Malady pages in your patient’s Tome, including the special sections labelled with the name of the Rite which are usually useful information on how to cure it. If you want to be able to fix Wizard diseases as well as stab wounds, this Rite is essential.
Lets you Heal 3 people as a Lesser Magic with 10 seconds worth of thinking about stars. Simple and reliable. Also lets you cast Ward to a few nasty calls to help the people you heal stay alive.
Lets you cast Heal 3 on people by doing 10 seconds of maintenance on their armour. This does, however, only work on people who are actually wearing armour. It also gives you Ward Impale as a Lesser Magic, which the shield users will be thankful for.
This is also a 10 second Heal 3 Lesser Magic. If you don’t care about stars, or if you’d rather Daze people than cast Ward, this is a good alternative to Gaze That Seeks Heavenly Melody
This one lets you Heal 4 as a Lesser Magic with a 10 second chant. While it doesn’t have Enquiring Mind’s peripheral abilities, this Lore’s raw healing power is just as efficient. If you just want to fix stab wounds and you’d rather have this one’s other abilities (resist Enthral, fortune-telling), it’s a good pick.
As long as you don’t mind singing, this Lore lets you cast Mass Heal 2 as a Greater Magic. This might save the whole party in a pinch, but you can’t keep it up all day.
Another 10 second Heal 3 at touch range as a Lesser Magic. However, this Lore is notable for its Renewal condition being “come to the defence of someone in peril”, so if you’re completely tapped on Spirit and someone needs healing in the next minute, coming to their aid will almost certainly refill your Spirit for the heal you need (once per excursion anyway).
A double feature. You can cast Heal 3 on people with 10 seconds of chanting at touch range as a Lesser Magic. The downside is that it also costs you 1 HP. The other part of this Lore, however, lets you Heal 1 yourself by tasting the blood of an enemy you've just killed. As long as you're not fighting skeletons or other bloodless things, you can probably keep yourself topped up.
Blessing of Running Waters
Resist as a Lesser Magic
Calling On The Pact of Salt And Silver
Cleanse as a Lesser Magic
Delicate Fingers Ward the Spirit
Ward as a Lesser Magic. Also you can make protective amulets which could help.
Eye of the Spirit Sage
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
A Gaze That Seeks Heavenly Melody
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
Selfless Protection Stokes the Flames of Valour
Resist as a Greater Magic.
Warding the Sleeping Mind
Can’t do it just off the Lore, but the Rite it gives you, 'Warding of the Looking Glass', lets you Enchant someone such that they can Resist even long-lasting Curse Pages caused by dream creatures. Situational, but powerful.
Eye of the Spirit Sage
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
A Gaze That Seeks Heavenly Melody
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
Selfless Protection Stokes the Flames of Valour
Can’t do it just off the Lore, but the Rite it gives you, 'Let Inner Fire Become Shining Protection', lets you Enchant someone such that they can do a Mass Ward to Daze once per Renewal.
Walk the Halls Never Seen
Ward as a Lesser Magic. Also, when you complete a Renewal you get a free Warding against Daze. (You can instead pick a free Warding against Silence, but if you do, then you can only do Ward vs Silence instead of Daze).
When All Others Forget, We Remain
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
Wherever You Are, My Arrow Will Find You
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
The Cat That Walks Alone
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
The Heron’s Wing
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
A Language Spoken By Creaking Branches
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
The Opening of Doors
Gives you a weird ability: while you’re under the effect of Silence, you become Immune to Entangle, and being Silenced Cleanses any Entangle effect on you. The Lore also gives you the ability to cast Silence 30, and you are allowed to shoot yourself, so you can de facto Cleanse Entangle with 30 secs of immunity instead of 10, except you’re Silenced.
Walking Rooms Never Built
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
Amity and Cordiality Bound In Oath
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
The Cat That Walks Alone
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
The Method of Fated Divination
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
Warding The Sleeping Mind
Resist and Ward, both as Lesser Magics.
When All Others Forget, We Remain
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
Upon the Walls of Keld
As a Greater Magic, you can become Immune to Fling for 10 minutes as long as you stay within the area you activated it.
The Artisan’s Masterstroke
Resist as a Lesser Magic, but only if you have an Enchanted weapon/shield/armour on you.
A Gift of Tempered Steel
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
The Riddle of Steel
Ward as a Lesser Magic, but only for yourself.
Upon the Walls of Keld
Resist as a Greater Magic. If you’re wearing heavy armour, this becomes Resist as a Lesser Magic.
Also, its Rite, 'While The Walls Of Keld Stand, So Will I', lets you do Ward as a Lesser Magic for an hour.
The Grave Warden’s Edict
Resist as a Greater Magic. Plus, you regain 2 HP when you use it.
Where The Obelisk Watches
Ward as a Greater Magic. You can only cast the Ward on yourself, but upon doing so, you may continue to grant the same Ward to others nearby without spending additional Spirit, as long as they share a home with you.
Calling on the Pact of Salt and Silver
Cleanse as a Lesser Magic.
The Enquiring Mind of the Surgeon
Cleanse as a Lesser Magic. It’s a 10 second chant, but it also Heals them for 1. It also gives you the ability to Reveal Scourge.
Medium
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
Where The Obelisk Stands
Cleanse as a Lesser Magic.
Where The Obelisk Watches
Ward as a Greater Magic. You can only cast the Ward on yourself, but upon doing so, you may continue to grant the same Ward to others nearby without spending additional Spirit, as long as they share a home with you.
Amity and Cordiality Bound In Oath
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
Calling on the Pact of Salt and Silver
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
A Gaze That Seeks Heavenly Melody
Ward as a Lesser Magic. (Only for people who have Heard the Song).
Hodekin’s Call
Resist and Cleanse, both as Lesser Magics. As a bonus, the latter doesn’t have a vocal, so you can Cleanse yourself while Silenced.
A Language Spoken By Creaking Branches
Resist as a Lesser Magic. Also Mass Cleanse as a Lesser Magic, and it can even be cast whilst Silenced.
The Truths That Dance Behind Legend
You can Cleanse yourself by losing 1 HP.
The Voice That Speaks the Stories Told by Bones
While Silenced, you can still speak at a whisper. You’re unable to cast magic, though.
Walk the Halls Never Seen
Ward as a Lesser Magic. Also, when you complete a Renewal you get a free Warding against Silence. (You can instead pick a free Warding against Daze, but if you do, then you can only do Ward vs Daze instead of Silence).
When All Others Forget, We Remain
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
A Burning Spirit of Creation
Resist and Cleanse, both as Lesser Magics.
Eye of the Spirit Sage
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
The Grave Warden’s Edict
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
The Heron’s Wing
Resist as a Lesser Magic.
Medium
Resist and Ward, both as Lesser Magics.
Selfless Protection Stokes the Flame of Valour
Resist as a Lesser Magic. Also, its Rite, 'Let Inner Fire Become Shining Protection', enchants its target (for a day) to be able to do a Mass Ward once per Renewal.
Where the Obelisk Stands
Ward as a Lesser Magic.
Where The Obelisk Watches
Ward as a Greater Magic. You can only cast the Ward on yourself, but upon doing so, you may continue to grant the same Ward to others nearby without spending additional Spirit, as long as they share a home with you.
Flame Fells The Legion Dead
Strike for Burn as a Lesser Magic, and call for Mass Burn Undead as a Greater Magic. Also its Rite, 'A Battle Is A Funeral', enchants a group for an hour to all be able to strike for Burn as a Lesser Magic.
The Magic Within A Simple Meal
Strike for Burn as a Lesser Magic.
Immortality of the Written Word
Cast Daze at range as a Greater Magic.
Lustrous Weaving of Incredible Crafts
Cast Daze at range as a Greater Magic.
Warding The Sleeping Mind
Cast Daze at range as a Lesser Magic, but only against targets that have responded positively to ‘Reveal Shade’.
Wherever You Are, My Arrow Will Find You
Strike for Daze with an arrow against Entangled targets for no cost. (In case they weren’t in enough trouble already).
Amity and Cordiality Bound In Oath
Cast Entangle at range as a Lesser Magic.
The Weaving of Impossible Things
Doesn’t actually give you the ability to do Entangle, but if you have a Bobbin of Golden Thread, you can make Entangle effects you generate last 10 seconds longer.
Wherever You Are, My Arrow Will Find You
Strike for Entangle as a Lesser Magic. (So that you can then shoot them for Daze with your bow.)
The Blessed Bacchanal
Cast Enthral at range as a Lesser Magic.
Medium
Cast Mass Enthral as a Greater Magic.
Music Stirs the Spirit
Cast Enthral at range as a Lesser Magic (by playing or singing a few bars of music). Instead, if cast as a Greater Magic, you can cast ‘Enthral while I continue to play/sing’, and keep going for up to 5 minutes.
The Truths That Dance Behind Legend
Cast Enthral at range as a Lesser Magic.
Blessing of Running Waters
Cast Fling at range twice in a row as a Lesser Magic. Also, the Rite 'Winds Bound In Rope' lets you create a magic rope with three Mass Flings.
Give Yourself Unto the World
Strike for Fling as a Lesser Magic, and call Mass Fling as a Greater Magic.
The Grave Warden’s Edict
Cast Mass Fling as a Greater Magic.
The Heron’s Wing
Strike for Fling twice in a row as a Lesser Magic.
Know The Legacy of Stone
Strike for Fling twice in a row as a Lesser Magic.
The Heron’s Wing
The Rite 'Old Enemies Remember' lets you strike for Impale as a Greater Magic against anything that responds positively to Reveal Eel.
The Magic Within A Simple Meal
Strike for Impale as a Lesser Magic against people invading your home uninvited and unwelcome.
Reverence of Steel
Strike for Impale as a Greater Magic.
The Riddle of Steel
Strike for Impale as a Greater Magic.
Walking Rooms Never Built
Strike for Impale as a Greater Magic.
Wherever You Are, My Arrow Will Find You
Its Rite, 'The Seeking Arrow', lets you fire an arrow into the sky which will fly off and orbital strike anyone on the planet for Impale as long as they’re under the sky and you can accurately describe how to find them. Note: An Impale on a normal unawakened person is likely to instantly kill them if they’re not lucky enough to be wearing armour at the time (imagine walking out of your house and getting heartshot by an English longbow).
The Esoteric Arts of Veiling
Cast Silence at range as a Lesser Magic. Also, if you’re not wearing any armour, Silence effects you generate last 10 seconds longer (so it doubles the duration of the Silence granted by this Lore).
The Opening of Doors
Cast Silence 30 at range as a Lesser Magic. (Imagine stacking this and Esoteric Arts and being able to do Silence 40 as a Lesser Magic!)
The Voice That Speaks the Stories Told By Bones
Cast Silence 30 at range as a Lesser Magic, and cast Mass Silence 30 as a Greater Magic.
A Taste of Draconic Avarice
Strike for Weakness 30 against a target facing directly away from you as a Lesser Magic.
Note: The ability to acquire information and figure out how to use it is a core feature of Tome. Expect to make heavy use of these. That said, spreading these Lores out between group members will likely be more effective than everyone stacking the same one, no matter how good it is.
Tl;dr, become friends with naiads
The Rite ‘The Mariner’s Mark’ lets you bind participants to the Pact of Salt and Silver, which seems to make you friends with naiads (the spirits of rivers). This Rite itself doesn’t directly do anything else, but 1) there’s a decent chance that a naiad will show up to watch and/or talk if you cast it, 2) Being official friends with them is useful for any negotiation with any naiad in the future, and 3) Friends of Salt and Silver are able to survive underwater when in the presence of a naiad.
If you want to know more about water and/or the things at the bottom of bodies of it, this is a decent place to start.
Tl;dr, summon a naiad for a chat and to ask it to retrieve something from the bottom of a river/lake.
The Rite ‘Silver Shines in Deep Waters’ lets you summon a body of water’s naiad and pay it in silver to get something from the riverbed. If you’re nice and/or your offering is a good one, the naiad might actually stop to talk with you. It is allowed to negotiate if you want it to retrieve something really valuable or dangerous.
Tl;dr, be wizard Dr House and investigate supernatural diseases/injuries.
Reveal Scourge is a good baseline ‘disease or poison is involved in this situation’ ability. However, the Rite ‘The Physick Learns of Maladies’ lets you read any Lingering Malady pages from someone’s Tome, which is the equivalent to giving them a magical MRI. Even better, Lingering Malady pages might contain special information that can only be read by someone with this Lore or an equivalent.
Not saying you might have to deal with wizard diseases some day, but here’s the ability to diagnose them.
Tl;dr, read pages in other peoples’ Tomes, willingly or otherwise. Maybe steal their Lore.
Why trust what someone is saying when they tell you about Lores held within their Tome? Well, because tying a target down and forcibly reading their Tome can do permanent damage to it. This Lore lets you do that. Alternatively, the other two Rites it provides let you read one page/all the pages of a willing participant’s Tome, so you can get straight to the source.
Reading the Tome of someone who isn’t linked to the Archive will very probably let you learn any Lore they know. Whether you want to be nice about it or not, Eye of the Spirit Sage has you covered.
Do note, however, that reading someone’s Tome might not be safe! If you were to try reading the Tome of some giant monster then it’s not unreasonable to expect to read pages that say things like "if you read this, get cursed". Fortunately, this Lore lets you cast Wards against stuff on pages you’ve just read, so you can insulate your friends from the same horrible fate that befell you.
Oh, unrelatedly, the Lore also lets you detect the ‘Scar of the Profane’ which is apparently borne by people who have wounded a spirit. Can’t think how you might get that.
Tl;dr, get visions from magic constellations of stars, and find out who else has heard their Song.
The sky has magic stars in it which may or may not be alive, and this seems to be a big deal. There also appears to be a mystical ‘Song of the Stars’, and hearing it is a prerequisite for most of this Lore to function. Odds are, without the Archive, someone who hasn’t heard the Song probably couldn’t learn this Lore in the first place. Woo, shortcuts!
As it is, this Lore lets you Reveal fellow star weirdos, which is good, because fellow star weirdos can join the group chat when you cast the Rite ‘A Place In The Stars’ and receive a mystic vision from a constellation of your choice.
If you want to get into star stuff, there’s a magic observatory accessible via the Arynian Gate that can get you started, and it even comes with a free star weirdo.
This one doesn’t do anything to help you gather information on its own, but the Rite ‘The Visionary’s Map’ lets you use your memories as a valid substitute for a map in any Rite that requires one. If you’re trying to use one of those Rites and don’t have a physical map of a place (maybe because you saw it in a mystic vision or something), then this Lore has the workaround.
Tl;dr, lets you do mystic sonar and locate features, objects, or creatures in bodies of water. Also lets you sense eels.
If you’re at the edge of a pool, at a riverbank, or in a bog, and you don’t want to talk to a naiad but still want some details about interesting things in the area, the Rite ‘Read the Ripples of the Marsh’ does what it says on the tin. It can tell you about notable creatures, structures, or items in your area (larger things = bigger ripples = longer detection range). It continues to work as long as you remain in proximity to the body of water, so you can keep it up and home in on your target.
Also, for no reason whatsoever, it also has a Rite that lets you Mass Detect Eel and then beat up anything that responds positively to it. Probably won’t come up, I dunno.
Tl;dr summon subterranean weirdos for a chat.
Other than ‘creatures of the deep earth’, it’s not immediately clear what a Hodekin is, but the Rite ‘Tunnel Echoes’ lets you ask for a representative of theirs to enter discussions about “matters of building and crafting”. They are, apparently, interested in the surface world.
Tl;dr, do forensics on written documents.
The Rite ‘Seeing the Lost Marks of Scribes’ lets you get visions and feelings from historical documents you examine. It can tell you:
The age of the document (either Old, Ancient or Primordial).
The emotional state of the author at time of writing.
If the writer was sincere in what they wrote.
Also, once a day if you are Wise in Myths you may expand the vision to also learn the name of the author and may compare two documents with this Rite to determine which is older.
Whether any of this information is useful will depend wildly on context. Could be trivia, could be world-changing. Note: something written yesterday probably doesn’t count as a ‘historical document’. This is unlikely to work as a truth-telling spell for interrogations.
Pretty straightforward. The Rite ‘The Architect’s Mind’ lets you get mystic visions from stone buildings that tell you about who built it and may include “other significant events if they are important to the building's story. Magical creatures and events are most likely to appear in the vision. If the building is a ruin, the vision may include the building's destruction.“
Note that this only works on stone. Says it right there in the title. (The tower you use as your headquarters is made of stone, in case you were wondering).
Tl;dr, lets you talk to ancient magic trees.
If you don’t mind talking to trees - actually, scratch that - if you don’t mind being possessed by a tree in order to function as its mouthpiece, this lets a group communicate with Ancient Trees. There’s an Ancient Tree near the Tower, for reference, and it seems to have its own guardians and servants. This Rite is actually perfectly safe, since the tree can’t make you do anything other than talk, and you can end it at any time. It does require you to bring the tree a gift, however.
Tl;dr, talk to ghosts.
Medium has a pair of Rites attached: ‘The Eyes of the Gravedigger’ and ‘Seance’. The former is very simple: you cast it to find out if an object or area is haunted. If it is, you also learn the names of the haunting spirits and roughly how strong they are, so you know whether to run like hell.
Seance is a seance. You invite nearby spirits to manifest and answer your questions, and they may be inclined to. If you learned a particular name from Eyes of the Gravedigger (or from doing your own research), you can give a name to try and call a specific spirit. Otherwise, it’s just nearby ones. Seance doesn’t do anything inherent to keep you safe from rampaging ghosts, so use your discretion, and it doesn’t do anything more than get them to show up and encourage them to be willing to talk.
Tl;dr, contact a council of anonymous, powerful, ancient beings to ask whether your ideas are any good or not.
Disclaimer: as the Lore’s description says: “not all things old are wise and not all things powerful are kind”.
You need a friend to cast this Lore’s Rite, ‘At The Table Of Fate’. You divine (e.g., casting runes, reading tea leaves, using Tarot cards, etc) what a described course of action might result in. The beings of the so-called “Table of Fate” then shift your otherwise mundane divination to indicate “weal”, “woe”, “both”, or “unknown” for the course of action described.
Whether this one is useful or not really depends on whether you trust the Table of Fate, or whether you care about getting a second opinion on your plans.
Tl;dr, tell me the backstory of your father’s sword.
Two Rites attached to this one. ‘Confirmation of Steel’ lets you make a statement about a metal weapon in your possession and hear a ‘voice of ringing steel’ that tells you whether the statement was true or not. ‘Revelations of the Blade’ can only be used on blades (made of any material, though), and lets you learn a few things depending on whether you pay some optional costs or not:
If it was made for a specific task, and what that task was.
A significant moment in the blade’s history, via mystic vision.
How it was created, via mystic vision, including what Rite was used to make it (if any).
A significant moment the blade was used to kill or wound someone capable of bleeding, via mystic vision.
If you think you’re holding an important magic sword, Revelations of the Blade can tell you a lot about it. More importantly, it can probably tell you how to make another.
If you’re holding a club made of bone, this Lore cannot help you.
Tl;dr it’s mainly about stealing things, but does let you do Reveal Magical Items at range if you want to check whether there’s a macguffin in someone’s pocket.
Tl;dr, offer your soul to a creature of your choosing.
Worth noting that the passive abilities on this one reward you for being reckless. This Lore’s namesake Rite, ‘Offering of Spirit’, does what it says on the tin. You offer your spirit - willingly - to a target powerful magical creature. You need to be in their presence, or otherwise have a magical connection to them. It doesn’t work on beings of insufficient power, like other awakened, or house cats.
Offering of Spirit is more than a ‘hello’. It’s a ‘here is my passport, bank account number, a key to my house, and a knife - I’m just going to turn my back now.’ On its own, it does nothing. It is, however, the gold standard of ways to convince a powerful magical being that you’re their friend… assuming they don’t slit your throat and steal your stuff, that is.
Tl;dr, as long as you know enough about a historical tale to tell it to a crowd, you can use ribbons to receive visions of the rest of the story.
This one’s simultaneously incredibly versatile and extremely niche. If you’ve heard only part of a story, or have incomplete pieces describing a historical event, as long as you can piece what you have into a convincing performance for a crowd, the Rite ‘To Seek the Grain of Truth’ can give you the rest. It does sort of cost you your dignity, though, because you consume purple ribbons during the performance, rant about your conspiracy theories, and then have induced hallucinations of historical events.
Worth noting that this only works on notable historical figures, creatures, or events, and you do actually need to know enough about them to tell a coherent (albeit incomplete) tale about them. The more detail you have, the more helpful the Rite will be.
Tl;dr, talk to corpses/skeletons. (The ordinary, not-walking-around kind).
‘Deathrattle’ is cheap at one blue ribbon and commands the corpse of someone who died recently (and still has a head) to repeat the last words it spoke before death. This one could solve a murder all by itself. (Note: if you’re being murdered, make sure to die saying the full name of your killer!) Doesn’t work on smears, or on ancient skeletons.
‘Tale of Ancient Bones’ on the other hand, doesn’t care how long the corpse has been dead or how much is left of it. You can either specify a story that the target may have been involved in, in order to get them to tell their version of it (or confirm whether they had anything to do with it), or just leave it open for the corpse to tell their most important story. You’re limited to things that the corpse actually knew in life, though.
As a bonus, the Lore also lets you Reveal ghosts, in case you think something is haunted.
Tl;dr, go on a blindfolded dream adventure. More importantly, decide where in the House you end up.
One of the Lores dealing with the mysterious House Without Walls, which seems to be some kind of extradimensional dream space. Note that this is not the entry-level Lore for this place: to use its Rite ‘In The House Without Walls’, you need to be able to name one of its rooms, and you need a key to the House.
Also, going to the House can be super-dangerous, but if you already have your own key, then you don’t need me to tell you that.
Tl;dr, go on a blindfolded dream adventure to a random part of the House Without Walls. Also, summon one of the House’s guardians for a chat.
If you don’t have a key (or know what any of the rooms are called), the Rite ‘The Doorway In Nothing’ is your ticket into the House. It takes you somewhere random, though, which could be problematic. Once you’re inside the House, you can cast the second Rite given by this Lore, ‘Summoning the Unreal Ostiary’, to do that thing it says, and hope they want to chat.
Incidentally, a reason why you might want to keep this Lore on you for trips to the House, even if you also know Walking Rooms Never Built, is because this one lets you do Mass Reveal Creature, for those moments where you’re blindfolded but it really seems like they’re sneaking up behind you oh god.
Tl;dr, learn a bit more about a being you know the name of. Additionally, find out what year it is (kinda).
Two Rites here, both relatively simple, both calling upon some kind of ‘Witness to years and ages” to answer your google questions. ‘Numbering of Days’ tells you “the current Age” as well as its name, if it has one. The much more useful ‘The Name Remains’ tells you any additional names or titles a named being was known by, as well as either their most notable achievement or any Mythic Deeds they performed.
If you name your spouse, and it turns out they have a hundred other false names you don’t know about and their most notable achievement is getting away with murdering their last fifty partners, it’s time to pack your bags and leave.
Alternatively, if you find one tantalising mention of someone in a historical document, this Rite can get you started on finding out more.
Tl;dr, summon a sketchy blood thing for a chat.
The Rite attached to this Lore, 'Beseech The Sanguine Throne', allows you to converse with The Bloody Sovereign, a "creature drenched in blood and surrounded in darkness". It does explicitly allow you to ask questions, each of which will be paid for "in blood and life". What exactly The Bloody Sovereign can teach you about and whether you're willing to pay the price it asks are up for debate. Still, if you're interested in *gestures vaguely at all that*, it's a safe bet that a being like this one has some wisdom to share.
Offering of Spirit is of interest to anyone who wants to party up with a powerful magical being. Start your own cult and pick a random entity to sell your soul to today!*
* There are consequences to this, obviously, so please read the Lore in full!
If you like naiads, rivers, or bodies of water, the first two are how you get started poking them. There’s a stream near the Tower that you can try casting Silver Shines in Deep Waters on. Honourable mention to The Heron’s Wing for eel memes.
If the mysterious constellations and the Song of the Stars intrigue you, this Lore is a toolkit that lets you poke them. You do, however, need to hear the Song of the Stars before you can use most of its abilities. There’s a magical telescope accessible using the Arynian Gate that could be useful for that, and its keeper can probably tell you more.
It lets you translate for Ancient Trees, like the one near the Tower. If you want to be a druid-type person, or mess around with nature stuff, taking this Lore and going to talk to the Tree is a good start.
If you like the sound of blindfolding yourself, tying yourself to a tree and exploring some kind of weird dream dimension, these two Lores let you access the House Without Walls and start delving into its depths in search of secrets. It’s best to find some friends to go with you, but technically if you have a rope and a blindfold you can do it solo.
These two are the foundations of hearth magic . One of them lets you bond yourself to a new Hearth Marker, and the other lets you create a Hearth Marker. The players recently created a new Marker for the Tower, and there are more lores with abilities that are useful for buddying up with fellow members of a Hearth, so bonding to the group’s new home may be a good start.
If you like the sound of being a member of something called The Sanguine Court and paying obeisance to someone named The Bloody Sovereign, then you can either find the blood cult that sprang up around the eponymous throne found in the woods near the Tower, or use this Lore to contact the Bloody Sovereign for an audience yourself.