Rhymes of Lore--quick question

[Captain Curmudgeon]

So, on page 96 of the Core Rules, it says that Rhymes of Lore can be used to "supplement a test of Lore, but is especially used in conjunction with any Custom skill (Courtesy, Song, or Riddle)."

Did the writers here mean that a player with RoL would simply use that Trait for an automatic success, instead of making a roll of their Lore, Courtesy, Song or Riddle skills? Or is there some other way that RoL can be used in conjunction with these skills that I am missing?

Thanks all, and happy Gaming!

[Falenthal]

It refers to the usual uses of a Trait: invoking it to autosuccess (in this case, probably with Lore), to mark a second or third Advancement Point (easily related to Courtesy, Song, Riddle and also Lore), or to ask for the chance to roll a test when none was possible (also easily associated with Courtesy, Song, Ridde or Lore).

For example, a rohir character with Rhymes of Lore rides along a forest during in the morning. In the evening, on his way back, the LM tells him he notices that some of the trees are placed differently.
The players does a Search test to look for any kind of clue, but fails.
There's no way he can have an idea what happened there.
The player then invokes Rhymes of Lore to ask for a Song test, explaining "Maybe I recall a saying or song among my people that says something about the trees of this forest".
He succeeds, and the LM tells him that he remembers his old aunt singing lullabies that warned children not to wander into this particular forest alone, as the "treemen" would catch them and eat them alive.

[Matt Clark]

It refers to the usual uses of a Trait: invoking it to autosuccess (in this case, probably with Lore), to mark a second or third Advancement Point (easily related to Courtesy, Song, Riddle and also Lore), or to ask for the chance to roll a test when none was possible (also easily associated with Courtesy, Song, Ridde or Lore).

For example, a rohir character with Rhymes of Lore rides along a forest during in the morning. In the evening, on his way back, the LM tells him he notices that some of the trees are placed differently.
The players does a Search test to look for any kind of clue, but fails.
There's no way he can have an idea what happened there.
The player then invokes Rhymes of Lore to ask for a Song test, explaining "Maybe I recall a saying or song among my people that says something about the trees of this forest".
He succeeds, and the LM tells him that he remembers his old aunt singing lullabies that warned children not to wander into this particular forest alone, as the "treemen" would catch them and eat them alive.

Thanks for this answer about trait use - specifically about Rhymes of Lore. However the example you gave made me think of an associated query about Trait use and to what ends they are employed mechanically within the game by the Loremaster and/or the Player Characters.

I don't have the rulebook to hand but my understanding is they are used to:

1) Augment Common Skill tests which contribute meaningfully to resolve or progress the main narrative of the adventure specifically (after the PC describes it's use); and that if successful this results in the possible reward of an additional Advancement Point (beyond the first AP check) by the LM only if considered relevant by them.

2) And a trait can be used if considered relevant by the LM (after the PC describes it's use) to make an auto success but does not result in the award of an AP.

3) Whereas a trait might also be employed by a character in a way so as to introduce an interesting element of story telling/Roleplaying by a character but it might not necessarily result in the award of an AP if that trait use is not central to the adventure narrative/goal. And might also be at the LM's discretion as to whether that Trait use can be used in the given situation.

So your example might be the latter - unless the goal of the adventure would be to search out trees that move or establish whether there is any truth to the Rohirrim tales?

At least that's the way it seems to me.