New Loremaster looking for some tips

[Havinor]

That's an excellent way to encourage players to take skills and abilities that are not based around wielding weapons etc. Also with the number of songs which are incidental in the books, it's a great way for the players to interact with the world in a different way. Very clever from the game creators, I'm getting more and more impressed by a system I have yet to read!

Aha! So there are item craftable qualities! Love it!! It really seems (from what you guys have said) like the game encourages players to look at their character and their fellows in a 'storied' sense, rather than a 'game/stats' sense. ie it's not about how things affect the numbers on the character sheet, rather it's about how things affect the characters and their progress through the story of their adventures. Previous posts have said that the Rivendell book gives rules for magical items. I'm very intrigued by it. I think Rivendell is 2nd or 3rd on my list of books to get now that I have the corebook and Heart of the Wild on the way. Darkening of Mirkwood and perhaps Laketown with the LM's screen have caught my eye.

[Havinor]

ps... saw your maps on another thread Zedturtle. They look brilliant!!

[Deadmanwalking]

Yep, you twigged exactly to the Heal Corruption Undertaking, where you use Song or Craft to reduce Shadow.

Your example might be a good way to explain a new Quality being applied to a weapon, which is an upgrade that improves the stats of the weapon in some way (the whole way the weapon stats interact with each other is brilliant). High Elves can take a step further and make weapons that are truly magical.

Yeah, you can't use Craft to get weapon qualities or the like for free, but it makes an excellent explanation for acquiring them.

I think about a third of the Qualities of non-magical items in the group I play in were ostensibly done by our Dwarven loremaster/smith. Usually while he reduced Shadow with Crafts. He certainly did all his own improvements since he's never raised Valor while we were anywhere near Erebor. He's also helped with my Beorning's shield.

[Havinor]

It seems like a very sensible way of doing it to be honest. It's one of the things I like about the idea of the Fellowship and Year's End phases, is that the players can have the characters go off and work on something away from the 'live' gaming sessions. So you don't have the 'Dwarf Craftsman' saying mid adventure, I want to try my craft skill to improve my axe, which then means having to work it into adventure/game time.

The core book arrived this morning!!! So this weekend I will be setting aside time to sit down with a tankard of ale and pour over this system.... FINALLY!!!!

I'm sure there will be more questions to follow

[zedturtle]

ps... saw your maps on another thread Zedturtle. They look brilliant!!

Thanks! Update soonish...

It seems like a very sensible way of doing it to be honest. It's one of the things I like about the idea of the Fellowship and Year's End phases, is that the players can have the characters go off and work on something away from the 'live' gaming sessions. So you don't have the 'Dwarf Craftsman' saying mid adventure, I want to try my craft skill to improve my axe, which then means having to work it into adventure/game time.

The core book arrived this morning!!! So this weekend I will be setting aside time to sit down with a tankard of ale and pour over this system.... FINALLY!!!!

I'm sure there will be more questions to follow

Very exciting! Let us have all the questions...

[Havinor]

First stupid question..... weapon skills.
There are weapon groups (e.g. Axes). There are also Cultural weapons (e.g. Long Hafted Axe). If a character gets Long Hafted Axe as a cultural weapon at 1 rank, then decides to buy Axes for 2 points in the Previous Experience section, does this mean that the character has all axes at 1 but Long Hafted Axe at 2?

[Dunkelbrink]

Hi Havinor,

Have a look at page 91 and 76. What you describe as "weapon groups" are in fact the "Cultural Weapon" skill, for example (Axes). You can acquire Cultural Weapon skill only at character creation. You do that when choosing starting Weapon skill set. So (Axes) is the cultural skill, not Long-hafted axe (even though that particular axe is a "cultural" weapon for woodmen)

If you create a character and choose the "favoured weapon" (for example Long-hafted axe 2 for a Woodman) you won't be able to spends points on (Axes), not even at the "previous experience" step. Page 76 states that during that step you may add new individual Weapon skills, but not add a new Cultural weapon skill. You choose between having a broader skill or greater competence for a single weapon.

Cheers
Magnus

[Havinor]

Thanks Magnus... Jeez how did I miss that!!!

[Rich H]

If you create a character and choose the "favoured weapon" (for example Long-hafted axe 2 for a woodman) you won't be able to spends points on (Axes), not even at "previous experience". You choose between having a broader skill or greater competence for a single weapon.

There's an additional bit to mention to this... A character can begin play with (Axes) and split out as a separate skill, for example, Long-hafted Axe to spend experience points to make it Favoured if they so wished. But like you said it doesn't work the other way - ie, the cultural weapon skill (Axes) cannot be purchased at a later date. Also worth noting that a cultural weapon skill such as (Axes) or (Swords) can never be made Favoured.

[Dunkelbrink]

There's an additional bit to mention to this... A character can begin play with (Axes) and split out as a separate skill, for example, Long-hafted Axe to spend experience points to make it Favoured if they so wished.

That's true - i skipped mentioning that trying not to overload Havinor with information. I can't really imagine that someone in actual play would buy (Axes) from start and then instead of raising (Axes) paying the same amount of XP to raise an individual axe skill, then spending a valuable Favour on making in Favoured (the benefit from having a favored weapon skill being very limited). But possible, yeah.