Lore Baldur's Gate
Lore is an ability in Baldur's Gate that allows characters to identify items by simply right-clicking on them. Lore is most often associated with Bards.
To kick things off, let us quote the AD&D 2nd Edition PHB:
However, Lore works differently in the Infinity Engine games. In Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment, there is no percentage chance to identify magical items. Instead, every magical item can be identified providing that the identifier's Lore score is equal to or greater than the magical item's "Lore Requirement value" (the latter of which is unknown to the player).
In addition, once a magical item has been identified, its properties are fully known and documented in its description; not just its history, alignment or whether or not it inflicts a curse, but pretty much every single thing about the magical item is known (e.g, its THAC0, dmg and Armor Class bonuses or penalties). The only exceptions are in cases where the writer forgot to document a feature or deliberately left the feature vague.
Thus, unlike the tabletop game, there is generally not much trial and error to go through in order to understand the capabilities of magical items: what the magical item can and can't do, what it offers to us, is generally as plain as day even before it is worn or wielded (though, of course, through their usage, many tactics, tricks and exploits may be discovered in addition to the documented basics).
In short, Lore is a skill that allows certain characters to identify magical items through knowledge alone; no spells are needed. Of all classes, Bards are the most notable loremasters because they receive 10 Lorepoints per Bard level. In addition, Wisdom and Intelligence scores bestow bonuses (or penalties) to lore, and these are cumulative. Thus, a first level Bard can flaunt an impressive degree of erudition:
Bards have a 5% chance per experience level to identify the general purpose and function of any magical item. The bard need not handle the item but must examine it closely. Even if successful, the exact function of the item is not revealed, only its general nature. Since Cwell the Fine is 2nd level, he has a 10% chance to know something about a magical sword +1. If he succeeds, he knows whether the sword is cursed and whether it has an alignment ... This ability does not enable him to identify the sword's exact properties, only its history and background. He has no idea of its bonuses or penalties or any special magical powers, except as can be inferred from the histories.
However, Lore works differently in the Infinity Engine games. In Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment, there is no percentage chance to identify magical items. Instead, every magical item can be identified providing that the identifier's Lore score is equal to or greater than the magical item's "Lore Requirement value" (the latter of which is unknown to the player).
In addition, once a magical item has been identified, its properties are fully known and documented in its description; not just its history, alignment or whether or not it inflicts a curse, but pretty much every single thing about the magical item is known (e.g, its THAC0, dmg and Armor Class bonuses or penalties). The only exceptions are in cases where the writer forgot to document a feature or deliberately left the feature vague.
Thus, unlike the tabletop game, there is generally not much trial and error to go through in order to understand the capabilities of magical items: what the magical item can and can't do, what it offers to us, is generally as plain as day even before it is worn or wielded (though, of course, through their usage, many tactics, tricks and exploits may be discovered in addition to the documented basics).
In short, Lore is a skill that allows certain characters to identify magical items through knowledge alone; no spells are needed. Of all classes, Bards are the most notable loremasters because they receive 10 Lorepoints per Bard level. In addition, Wisdom and Intelligence scores bestow bonuses (or penalties) to lore, and these are cumulative. Thus, a first level Bard can flaunt an impressive degree of erudition:
- First level/base: 10 (10)
- Wisdom 18: +10 (20)
- Intelligence 18 +10 (30 Lorepoints)
But since Bards with super-high Intelligence and Wisdom scores are unlikely to be rolled, let's just assume no bonuses but also no penalties: a Bard with an Intelligence score of at least 13 and a Wisdom score of at least 10; a Garrick or an Eldoth. That still amounts to 30 Lorepoints at 3rd, which is excellent.
As stated, Bardic lore increases 10 points per Bard level. Under 161,000 XP cap of BG + TotSC, this results in a 10th level Bard flaunting loremastery (100 Lorepoints). This is what Garrick, Eldoth and CHARNAME Bards can achieve.
Again, the Lore score is not a percentage but a flat value that is compared against the target value of the magical item being identified. With maxed Intelligence and Wisdom scores, our Bard would cap out with 120 Lorepoints at 10th.
And if we gave our Bard "the tomes" on top of that then that gives us +12 for a maximum Lore score of 132 (not likely and unneeded, but that would be the theoretical maximum).
In vanilla BG, there exists no item that grants a bonus to Lore when equipped. The Dark Horizons mod for BG itemizes the following, however:
In BG1, a first level Druid can flaunt maximum Lore score of 21, but a 10th level Druid only 30, so that +20 is pretty helpful because it allows us to identify 80% of the magical items in BG1 - with our Druid.
Staff of Nature (quarterstaff, THAC0 +3, 2d3 +3, HPs +15, Lore +20, Druid only).
In BG1, a first level Druid can flaunt maximum Lore score of 21, but a 10th level Druid only 30, so that +20 is pretty helpful because it allows us to identify 80% of the magical items in BG1 - with our Druid.
That brief digression leads us to an important question: How much Lore do we want or need?
Because Bards sport brisk level progression, they can pretty much identify most of the magical items that are found as the campaign progresses (remembering that BG is non-linear, and that first level parties may delve Durlag's Tower, this is not always the case).
No magical item requires greater than Lore 100 to identify. The "stat tomes" and Ring of Wizardry require only Lore 50, Ashideena/Varscona 60, Tamoko's Plate Mail of the Dark 70, Drizzt's Twinkle 80, Shandalar's Wardstone and the wardstone forgeries 90, and the Cloak of Balduran and Helm of Balduran 100.
Moreover, and quite embarrassingly, no magical item in BG2 requires greater than 100 in order to identify it. In BG2, non-Blade Bardic Lore continues to increase 10 points per level, up to 25th, to reach the sage-like erudition of 250 [1], and yet no magical item, not a single epic artifact of Realmslore in Throne of Bhaal requires >100 in Lore in order to identify it. That's 150 points of lore going completely to waste. Does your loremaster feel special now? What a joke!
[1] It's weird: non-Blades have 250 Lorepoints at 25th but have only received 20 more by 40th (should be 400 base).
Bardic lore, which can be utilized with no limit and at no cost, frees up first circle slots that are best loaded with Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Sleep and Blindness, rather than Identify.
Having access to Bardic lore means we don't have to backtrack to town if we don't have a Mage in the party (for vendor-based identification), or if we only have a Conjurer in the party such as Edwin (Conjurers do not have access to Identify because Identify is a Divination spell and Divination is the Conjurer's opposition school, though the spell may be cast from a scroll).
Lore is most useful in BG1. This is due to the party having a limited number of first circle spell slots, pre-Ring of Wizardry. Yes, a RoW can be acquired early on but only the most ardent pixel-hunter would ever find it (Alt-Tab highlighting was introduced in BG2).
I generally have a Bard in my BG1 parties for the Lore-based advantages bestowed, but there is no pressing need for one in BG2 (at least, in regard to ID'ing magical items), because BG2 does not scale magical item Lore requirement values, and also itemizes the Glasses of Identification. Moreover, there is no shortage of first circle spell slots, and resting to replenish spell slots is much easier in BG2 than it is in BG1 (backtracking to a vendor for the purposes of identification is as well).
As it also did for thieves and healers, BG1 did a better job of making Bardic Lore valuable to parties. In BG2, BioWare gave us the Blade, Haer'Dalis. And Blades only receive one half Lorepoints per level (5). Of course, no one complains about that because BG2 devalues the Lore skill, and even that tiefling sports 100 Lorepoints by 19th or 1,980,000 XP, which is enough to ID any magical item in SoA + ToB (he caps out at 205 Lorepoints 105 of which are utterly useless).
Finally, identifying magical items by means of Lore is also faster than ID'ing them by means of spell, scroll, merchant or the glasses; it takes one click. Take for example bundles and bundles of magical arrows. Lore is of great convenience in that respect.
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