The Gifted Ones

The Gifted
Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." -Gildor

Alas the affair of Wizards..., wisewomen, loremasters and magicians lie closest of all these to the heart and soul of Middle-earth. It is the business of these, the learned orders, to comprehend the rich layers of tradition, custom, and history that characterise Middle-earth. They understand most fully what lore the ides of time and calamity have left untouched, and they feel the keenest pangs over what has been lost to those tides. They know better than anyone else what it means to live in Middle-earth.

Standard of Living:
The gifted character, recives the standard of living fitting to the culture or regional upbringing.

Cultural Blessing:
"Songs we have that tell of these things. And now the songs have come down out of strange places,and walk under the Sun" -Theoden

All the characters discard their starting cultural blessing of their native culture or regional upbringing. Instead they recive the gifted trait.

Prefered Skill:
Lore

Skills
This is the initial distribution of the skills, after selecting a background if a skill overlaps with another, the background skill replaces the number set here.

Exclusive Virtues:
Pick two of the following virtues, Beast Lore, Elven Lore, Herb Lore, Old Lore, Rhymes of Lore, Star Knowledge, Shadow Lore, Enemy Lore

Keeper of Ancient Lore

 * Long is indeed the account of years in Middle Earth, and long the lore that Men Elves and Dwarfs have toiled to compile in that time. Though much has been lost to ruin, savagery and fire, you have erected yourself as a warder of what remains. Learned and wise you have devoted your life to gather the flame of knowledge and fuel its light.
 * Body -4 Heart -5, Wits -5
 * Favored skill : Song
 * Skills : Song 3, Riddle 3, Lore 3, Craft 2, Explore 2
 * Traits pick 2 of the following traits, Secretive, Wary, Determined, Honest, True Hearted, Keen eyed, Energetic, Patient

Seer of the Stars

 * The Council of Seers follows the sacred numeronean tradition of interpret the visions and prophecies written in the stars and guide on behalf of the vacant Tar, the Supreme Collegium decissions, for sixteen years you have been sponsored by a teaching Seer filling your live with books and lore. Favoured Skill,, Skills
 * Body 2, Heart 6, Wits 6,
 * Favored skill : Riddle
 * Skills : Courtesy 2, Riddle 3, Lore 3, Persuade 2, Insight 2
 * Distinctive Traits (choose two Traits from those listed) Secretive, Elusive,Grim, Patient,Wary, Wilful, Lordly Fair-Speaker

Magician's Aprentice

 * Yours has been a long path having served years of toiling initiation on the Tower of Barad Angol, having sworn to commit your knowledge to the service of the land against the Shadow of the South you have left The Magician's shadow to start your own path.
 * Body -2, Heart -6, Wits -6
 * Favored skill : Inspire
 * Skills : Travel 2, Courtesy 2, Inspire 3, Riddle 2, Craft 2, Persuade 2
 * Traits pick 2 of the following traits, Bold, Cunning, Proud, Patient, Secretive,Wary, Fair spoken, Stern

Scholarly Lineage

 * Yours has been a family of students of knowledge having served as scholars in the most famous courts in the principalities, You have been prepared to serve as councilor, healer and private tutor to nobles families imparting the wisdom learnt from your apprentienship at the Collegium's sponsored universities.
 * Body 3, Heart 5, Wits 6
 * Favored skill : Insight.
 * Skills :Courtesy 3, persuade 3, inspire 2, Battle 1, Riddle 2, Travel 1, awareness 1.
 * Traits pick 2 of the following traits, Clever, Cunning, Keen eyed, Quck of Hearing, Suspicious, Wary, Fair Spoken, Proud

Child from the Old World

 * Blessed are the spirits of the earth and all who serve them, you have been awakened under the flood of an ancient and complex land. You have been keeping the old pacts and revering the spirits of the old world, as your mentor does, being their voice to keep them for being lost in the fleeting memory of mankind.
 * Body -2, Heart -7, Wits -5
 * Favored skill : Heal
 * Skills : Riddle 3, Song 3, Craft 1,Heal 2, Inspire 2
 * Traits pick 2 of the following traits, Cautious, Determined ,Fair Spoken ,Secretive ,Patient,Proud ,Stern, Vengeful

Traveller of Wisdom

 * A traveller’s staff, the marvels of the land, and the open road beyond all other things. Your quest for learning and lore has led you to most if not every corner of the principalities that is fit for travel,and even some that are not. You are known in many different land, and in return your travels have blessed you wth a breadth of knowledge.
 * Body 3, Heart 5, Wits -6
 * Favored skill : Travel
 * Skills : Travel 3, Explore 2 ,Riddle 2, Athletics 1, Awareness 2, Courtesy 2
 * Traits pick 2 of the following traits, Adventurous, Curious, Determined, Energetic, Patient, Clever, Reckless, Keen of eyes

Trinket of past ages

 * , somehow by heirloom, chance or luck you are on possession of a. minor piece of ancient and sadly lost past. Define with the Loremaster the origin and how it looks like. When casting a spell, when the fate roll is a Gandalf rune immediately you can ignore the endurance cost of the spell.

Token of appreciation,

 * a past intervention has been regarded by some powerful member of your culture, displaying this time immediately counts as a success for requesting audience to a friendly member of this personality. This reward can be taken more than once each time a different target may be picked.

Scroll Hoard,

 * Through long years of careful searching and purchasing, or perhaps an ihertance of your master, you have adquired an extensive library of books and scrolls. When you purchase this reward select one speciality Lore, you could use the trait for any Lore Check involving the topic of the library. You may add aditional lores selecting another Scroll Hoard reward.

Friend of the ravens,

 * You have befriended an old raven. Long-lived and able to speak the common tongue, these birds are often wise companions, bound to you by ties of old friendship. Many times in the past they have provided invaluable help by gathering news or sending messages for you. Usually, the raven is eager to please you, but an unusual or less than reasonable request might put their faithfulness to the test and require a Courtesy roll against a TN of 14. The raven does not ask for anything in return, but repeated requests over a short time might sooner or later lead him to feel entitled to compensation (his precise terms are up to the Loremaster). A raven flies at an average speed of thirty miles per hour. The following list shows some of the possible errands you can assign to your winged ally, but should in no way limit your inventiveness.
 * Bring tidings: a raven is always well informed about the latest events concerning the Wild, and is eager to report them.
 * Carry messages: the raven can deliver messages anywhere in the region, passing its content to others of his kin. Investigate: the raven can be sent to gather information on a specific subject. It must be something naturally accessible to one of its kind.
 * Harass Enemy: When you are fighting alongside the raven, test your courtesy roll against a TN of 14, if successful the raven will start to harass your immediate adversary in close combat and will be considered to be Weary.

Servant of the flame of Anor

 * You are a servant of the flame of hope that burns in all living creatures. When you are confronting creatures bound to the shadow, spend 1 hope point and roll an Awe test TN 10 plus the Attribute of the greatest enemy your fellowship is facing. On a success the enemy will lose as many Hate points as your score in wisdom. On a great success, the enemy will lose Hate points and stop their attack glaring menacingly until is attacked or decides to flee. An enemy may burn a hate point to shake up this effect.

Herbal Remedies

 * You are learning the ancient craft of concocting salves and herbal remedies You learn to recognize which herbs qualify as Fragrant Weeds when you first select this Virtue, and can master the secrets of Poison Remedies as your undertaking during a Fellowship phase, and spending one Experience point.
 * Fragrant Weeds You have developed the habit of finding some herbs and roots that are said to bring vigor back into a man’s limbs. As long as you are in a wild area, you can collect enough herbs for their effect to be noticeable: When your Endurance rating drops to equal or below your Fatigue score for the first time, you are not yet considered Weary. You become Weary only when your Endurance drops again.
 * Poison Remedies You can find the necessary ingredients to concoct a drink that, when ingested, will help a victim shake off the effects of spider-poison, or to prepare a salve that when applied to a wound or a bruise will neutralize the action of Orc-poison. Spend a point of Hope and roll Craft against a TN of 16 to neutralize the effects of a single poison type on all members of your Company.

The Speakers

 * To use this gift you must make an appropriate skill roll. Which skill you use depends on what you are trying to do and is at the Loremaster’s discretion, but here are a few examples: to interpret the words of the stones in a path requires a roll of Riddle; to restrain a scared horse requires a roll of Song; to listen to the voice of a river requires a roll of Insight.

Malbeth's Foresight:

 * Raise your maximum Hope score by 1 point. Additionally, once every Adventuring phase, you may invoke your power of foresight. When this happens, the Loremaster should give you a relevant piece of information regarding negative events likely to occur during your current adventure. If no such information is available – or the Loremaster prefers not to divulge it – at the start of the next Fellowship phase, he must award you one experience point instead (your foresight contained a more intimate message, leading to a sudden bout of insight or deeper understanding). Your foresight manifests in many forms: it can be a hazy vision, a recurring and enigmatic dream, or a cryptic message borne by a talking bird.