Old Lore
| The Colleges of the Old Lore | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Bardic tradition |
| Members: | Humans and half-elves of noble birth |
| Allies: | Old Faith |
The Old Lore is an organization of bards connected to the druidic order of the Old Faith. Each member combines the roles of warrior, thief, spy, poet, and champion of nature. They may be assassins, diplomats, or the tutors of great kings.
History
The traditions of the Old Lore date back to the ancient Flan, long before the Great Migrations changed the face of the land. They were entrusted by the druids with the memory of their history, laws, and lore, which they have kept down to the present day. Due to their specifically Flan origin and their stringent entrance requirements, there are few bards of the Old Lore left in modern times.[1]
Members
Membership within the Old Lore is limited to humans of noble birth, though some half-elves are accepted due to their partial human ancestry. Each candidate must prove mastery of weapons, stealth, musical talent, and druidic training.[2] They must belong to some alignment with a neutral component: neutral, lawful neutral, chaotic neutral, neutral good, or neutral evil.[3]
There are a small number of magical stringed instruments created specifically for the colleges of the Old Lore. These come to life only in the hands of a bard of the Old Lore and recovering them is the first priority of that society.[4]
Headquarters
The Old Lore is based in seven colleges.[4] In order from least to greatest, these are: Fochlucan, MacFuirmidh, Doss, Canaith, Cli, Anstruth, Ollamh, and Magna Alumnae.[5] Bards do not associate with members of "lesser colleges," except for the Magna Alumnae who have graduated from all seven.
Of the seven, the Fochlucan college is the only one to be described, gaining non-Greyhawk-specific details in Complete Adventurer and its web enhancement, Secrets of the Foclucan College. The Fochlucan College is described as a rambling old manor house on the shores of a misty lake called Loch Firrnen near a town called Oakenway. It is governed by a council of five master bards known as the Yew Circle. When making decisions, ties are broken by the Eldest of the Circle, who is a half-elf known as Yew Master Hurlich Stennarden in 591 CY.
Publishing History
The "Old Lore" moniker is one related to game mechanics. The names of "colleges" of Fochlucan, etc. have been in use since AD&D was first published. But in early AD&D (1e), bards were a very difficult class to play. It required a character to multiclass first as a fighter, then thief (rogue), and finally have magical training as a druid.[6] In AD&D 2e, the class became what was later known as a "base class" and began as a straight class bard at first level without need of multiclassing to learn the skills. This new version used wizard (arcane) spells and kept a spellbook. So, when a version of the bard was published in the 2e The Complete Bard's Handbook which included the older "druidic" method in an appendix,[7] it was sometimes known as the "old bard" referring to the 1e version of the bard rules. The names of the colleges remained the same from 1e to 2e.
Even later, in 3e, when the names of those colleges (specifically the Fochlucan college) were associated with a new prestige class and adventure location,[3][8] the "Old Lore" moniker (based on the "old bard" term) was used to describe bards who followed this druidic tradition rather than a wizardly or arcane one.
Though druidic bards certainly exist in the World of Greyhawk as part of the core rules from 1e to 3e, there isn't lore specifically tying the use of the name "Fochlucan" to the World of Greyhawk other than its use in core rules.
References
Notes
Citations
- ↑ Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000), p.161.
- ↑ Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000), p.161-162.
- ↑ a b Complete Adventurer (2005), p.47.
- ↑ a b Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000), p.162.
- ↑ PHBR7 The Complete Bard's Handbook (1992), p.121.
- ↑ Player's Handbook (1978), p.117-119, Appendix II: Bards.
- ↑ PHBR7 The Complete Bard's Handbook (1992), p.121, Appendix: Original AD&D Game Bards.
- ↑ Secrets of the Fochlucan College (2005).
Bibliography
- Davis, Graeme. Celts Campaign Sourcebook. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
- Decker, Jesse. Complete Adventurer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Excerpt: [1]
- Gygax, Gary. Player's Handbook. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1978.
- Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
- Mobley, Blake. The Complete Bard's Handbook. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
- Williams, Skip. "Secrets of the Fochlucan College." Available online: [2] Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005.
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Lore | Verbal communication | Philosophy/Belief, | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 161, 163 |
| Old Lore | Verbal communication | Philosophy/Belief, | Living Greyhawk Journal #3 | 12 |
| Old Lore, Colleges of | People Group | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 161, 162 |