Hi all,
I have some problem with the Shadow-lore trait (Guardian trait).

What does this trait encourage/endeavor/permit?
What does it mean in game terms?
Enemy-lore or Elven-lore are fairly clear, they indicate knowledge of some topic, but this? I don't want to make it an excuse to act paranoid: there are shadow and bout of madness for this!

Ill' report here the relevant text:

-Shadow-lore-
You have recognised that there is a shadowy thread unifying most of what is malicious, dark and terrible in Middle-earth, and that the thread is thickening year after year. A quality shared by the wise of the land, the truth behind this knowledge is getting plainer as the time passes. Wardens, committed to opposing the Shadow at every turn, collect this knowledge wherever they can.

Taking a page from the LM book, I would allow Shadow Lore to be used to represent knowledge and experience with:

1. Area tainted by manifestations of the Shadow.
2. Cursed or tainted item or treasure.
3. Degenerated inidividuals.
4. Certain adversaries.

As for how it affects the game, I would read this skill as a special kind of Insight where the character tends to recognize the taint of Evil in an active and focused manner which is indicative of orchestrated malicious intent.

So when Gandalf is talking to Wormtongue he is using Shadow-lore. Gandalf is listening to the answers Wormtongue provides and recognizes certain phrasing, or the emotion conveyed, perhaps a certain movement of the body. Reading the difference in lies, between those told as a means of protect oneself or loved ones from harm and those told to obscure intent or inflict harm to others.

And recognizing, very vaguely in the results, that there seems to be a commonality underlying the Evil you have seen recently. You don't know what it is, or where it comes from, but you are beginning to suspect that 'Something Is Going On'.

I think Gandalf does the same thing to Sam. When Gandalf tells Frodo about the ring and then pulls Sam through the window and starts asking him questions. Gandalf is listening to the answers that Sam is giving. Not for their conveyed message, but for hints that Sam has been touched by the Enemy and is a spy. Babbling, stumbling over and confusing all the most important bits, makes Gandalf aware Sam is nosey, but not tainted by Evil. (Keep in mind that Gandalf is actually a bit paranoid himself at this point.)

This seems to be right. Shadow Lore would allow a character the insight to know if the Shadow was tainting events.

There are a number of other cases where one or another of the Fellowship remarks on the taint of something beyond ordinary mischief in what is happening.

I also see Shadow Lore concerning things such as the tools and servants of the Enemy, Aragorn's knowledge of the Morgul Knofe that wounded Frodo at Weathertop for example, or the hobbits commenting that Bill Freny looks more than half a goblin. Also Sam's comments on meeting Strider, that a servant of the Enemy would feel fouler but look fairer.

Possibly Ted Sandyman as well. Although I cannot recall more than he was a bit snobbish and pro-mechanism within the stories.

The black darts / arrows that imperil Faramir's life, requiring a stay in the Houses of Healing. As well as Eowyn and Merry's afflictions.

There are going to be points of overlap between various skills. So for Faramir, Eowyn or Merry, Shadow-lore or Healing (maybe at +1 TN for rare knowledge) representing a correct diagnosis & treatment. Elven Lore might have recognized these things as well (from historical examples during past battles with the Enemy).

Thank you all, sirs.

Now I got a better understanding of this trait.

Just want to point out that good old Gandalf clearly lacked this trait: he spoke to Theoden, Denethor and Saruman and still didn't realized there was something going on...

Ultimately yes, you're right. But my guess is...

Saruman: Here, I think, we have a case of familiarity obscuring what is going. Gandalf just cannot imagine that Saruman, a Maia, is being tempted into Evil; something that has not happened for centuries.

Denethor: Obsessed with Boromir (probably his Focus), upon his son's death Denethor suffers enough Corruption to experience a bout of Madness. Sauron did not succeed in tempting Denethor into becoming a Servant of Evil. The skewed visions Denethor was shown weighed on his mind, creating despair, and Boromir's death pushed him over the edge. (But if Denethor had survived Boromir's death, it wouldn't have taken much more to tempt him into Evil.) As for Shadow-lore revealing this... remember that upon arriving in Minas Tirith, at their meeting Gandalf and Denethor are locked in a contest of wills which ends in a draw. So there might not have been any perceptible clues for Gandalf to judge.

Theoden: Yes, this one I think Gandalf totally foo-barrred.

About Gandalf, I was thinking to the time before the War of the Ring break out. Denethor was already suspicious of Mithrandir, as was Theoden. Clearly someone was at work to undermine his reputation in the region. Yet he was caught unaware.
And it makes sense: He's ancient, and many times in his life has seen kings becoming petty, senile and suspicious. No need to see an hidden hand at work behind all these occurrences. Not until the One is discovered.

This trait do exactly this thing: to see a unifying thread in many episodes. To me, at least before Sauron is revealed, it's paranoia. The sort of paranoia players are fond of, and I'm trying to dispel.

So I like the other nuance of the trait proposed in this thread: to be aware of the danger of gold, power and dark places to everyone's soul. Of the hidden weaknesses that lie hidden in the greatest warriors (Boromir was unaware of the Ring's dangerous lure, unlike Aragorn). Of the way of the Shadow's servants, who like to corrupt what they cannot destroy.

Hi all,

• I'd add that it also covers knowledge -- as much as the Free Peoples actually ever have -- of the Sorcery of the Enemy (including Necromancy).
  
  
• I think it would include knowing that there is a distinction between
  -- the baseline inherent imperfection in the world that is Arda Marred,
  -- the more active manifestations it can have like in dragon-gold, or in vicious circles of Misdeed and Degeneration like blood-feuds, and lies that breed further lies
  -- the explicit, almost tangible manifestation of the Shadow that has afflicted Mirkwood.
  
  ...So this means it includes having a sense of proportion about the 'corruption' you come across. Instead of being a cause for player paranoia, I'd say that it allows them to identify when something's just everyday badness and when it represents a clear and present intervention from the minions of the Dark Lord.

But Shadow-lore totally cannot work as an all-or-nothing Trait in the Automatic Action mode. It's a game-killer to be able to automatically detect the source of every effort of the bad guys whenever a Warden player-hero invokes his Shadow-lore on any Awareness, Insight or Lore task.
I would therefore rule that it allows a PC to succeed in Lore rolls to know the possible or likely operations of the Shadow, but still require regular rolls on Insight or Awareness to determine whether the PC can discern the presence or influence of the Shadow in a specific situation.
It would also be appropriate to have these be made as hidden rolls so that the player(s) do not know the outcome with confidence; after all, the Shadow is the work of the most unholy master of obfuscation and deception.

Cheers,
--Os.