Lore Requests (Lores)

A Lore request is an opportunity to learn more about a plot taking place or to have some element of the world given a bit more definition. Lore requests are an excellent way of giving Game Masters feedback on what plots you are interested in by asking for follow up information. If you encountered something that you want to know more of the story to, a Lore is an excellent way to find that out.

Lores generally provide context for plots or set up ideas of plots you might pursue next. They can also help you understand why something you encountered happened. It is rare that you'll find a solution to a conflict through Lore, since this game is intended to be entirely focused on how the players handle things in-game. Sometimes it is easy to mistake Lores as a "downtime action" when they are actually a way for you to gather information about the world; the best Lore responses will give you new and interesting things to talk about at the next event you attend.

Players gain the ability to ask a Lore request from the Maven role-playing skill and items like the Library. You can submit a Lore request using this form.

Players must submit Lores by the Sunday following each event and may only submit them if they attended the most recent event. You can only request lores for the character you played that game. If you NPC for an entire event but have an active PC or Alt in game, you can submit a Lore request for one of your characters.

Two or more characters can each coordinate investigating the same topic from different sources at the same time. If characters are coordinating it should be mentioned in the request, that way they are less likely to get the exact same answer (assuming there is enough information available to get different answers). For example, your PC wants to gather information about a strange cabin in the woods and then have your party member follow up on it. You should submit a Lore request stating that you gather information on the strange cabin. Then your party member can submit a request stating that they would like to follow up on any information gleaned from your Lore, or that they are seeking similar information on the cabin from a different source.

Once submitted the Game Masters will determine who is answering each one and if they need any clarifying information, such as when no one recognizes the plot you are asking about, they will reach out to you to get it. Most Lore responses will be sent back to players the week before the next event. Sometimes Game Masters will get inspired by Lores and give you a response in the form of a targeted plot, in which case you will be informed that your Lore will be answered in-game. Rarely, you may even get a surprise Lore from a GM that you didn't ask for!

If you do not hear back from a Game Master with a Lore response by the day before game, please reach out to the GM (if known) or the Plot Marshal or Second for more information. Sometimes real life gets in the way and Lores that slip through the cracks are rare, but they do happen. When this occurs, you will have the option of carrying the question over to the next event (in addition to any new Lore requests) or asking something different.

Please keep in mind that although we will do our best to answer every Lore request submitted, some subjects are simply out of bounds on what we want to define for the game. When a player asks such a question, the Game Masters will steer the response into the realm of something similar that they can answer instead.

Plot Lores 

Each player who attended an event may submit one 'Plot Lore' afterwards for whatever character they played. These Lore requests can ONLY be about a Plot you encountered recently or current world events and should not be about anything of larger scope than that.

Guidelines for Lore Requests 

Sometimes it takes players time to understand what Lores are for and how their character will best use them. Some players will sell them to get information for other players, some parties will all submit the same request with different information sources, and some players will just write "tell me more about this thing". There is no "correct" way to lore something, but there are some general guidelines to follow.

• Lore requests should be on a single topic.
  • Sometimes there might be sub questions to a Lore, but they should all have a very strongly related common theme.
  • If you submit a Lore with multiple unrelated questions, the GM will answer the first question asked and ignore anything unrelated in the request.
• Do not confuse a Lore request with explaining "Downtime Action" (what your character is doing between games).
  • Saying "I use my contacts in the Vleanoan resistance to find the missing faekin" is more than enough to make a lore on, barring a couple details about who you are contacting or if there is any background the GM might not know. If you want to talk about what your PC did before or after the events of the Lore response, you can just say that you do that.
  • Saying "I contact my old resistance friend Harold, who leaves Vlean to meet me on the border. We get in his cart and go north to Gersh where I think the faekin is, we take a pit stop to eat at an inn, we find a snow goblin who tells us they recently saw them and brings us to them, and then I ask the faekin for information about the big bad evil guy and they tell me all about him before I go back to Maplewood" is an example of explaining a downtime action rather than asking for information, and is better suited for a blog post.
• Use sources that you think will be useful for what you are looking for. Your response will be entirely based on your source.
  • Asking your childhood tutor from Civen about something that they specialized in teaching you will net you more information than searching a random library in the Freelands for the same information.
  • It is completely okay to make up a source that isn't established in game, ie "a crazy druid that lives on the town outskirts" or "my contact at the Evenandran Library".
• Don't ask about another character's backstory.
  • If you would like to know more about another PC, ask them in-game via roleplay or message the player outside of game.
• Inquire about details that can be defined in-game without causing issues down the road.
  • Asking "What does Kazvak meat taste like", while it may seem fun, is something that cannot be defined without needing EVERY GM to now know that Kazvak meat tastes like chicken for future lores. "What is the best way to prepare Kazvak meat" leaves more wiggle room for the GM to answer your question without a very random detail getting lost.
• If the Lore doesn't mesh with some other established facts, reaching out to the GM who sent it to you to let them know is helpful.
  • This might be on purpose because different sources don't always agree on information. It could also be an honest mistake because GMs aren't aware of every detail, especially in the case of personal backstories. In the latter case they might rewrite the response to make it more in line with this new (to them) information.
• Talk with the GM and give feedback on your lore, if needed.
  • If you aren't understanding what the Lore is explaining, it is okay to ask the GM for clarification. If you are following up the Lore response with a PIP, giving the GM a heads-up on what you want to do will give them time to plan something.