Loremaster – Loremaster from the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons and Dragons
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/Creature:Loremaster_(The_Atheneum)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bard_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Loremaster
Thank you to Brenda J. G. for finding this one.
The Loremaster has collected powerful spells from across the Spiral. Originally defeating her in comabt gave your wizard a chance to learn one of her spells. Most of Loremaster’s Spell and Spellement drops have been removed in the Summer 2022 Update.
The Loremaster is a minor cheating Boss in Dragonspyre. With her Font of Life, Font of Strength, and Font of Weakness she is a challenge for at level wizards. While she used to drop multiple permanent Spells, she now only drops the Headless Horseman Spell during the Hallowe’en event.
From lore + master, from Middle English lore maistir (“teacher of knowledge”).
The bard is a standard playable character class in many editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The bard class is versatile, capable of combat and of magic (divine magic in earlier editions, arcane magic in later editions). Bards use their artistic talents to induce magical effects. The class is loosely based on the special magic that music holds in stories such as the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and in earlier versions was much more akin to being a Celtic Fili or a Norse Skald, although these elements have largely been removed in later editions. Listed inspirations for bards include Taliesin, Homer, Will Scarlet and Alan-a-Dale.
The class name itself “is originally of Celtic origin, descended from the Old Celtic ‘bardo’ which in turn produced the Scottish and Irish Gaelic ‘bard.’ This reference means ‘poet-singer,’ which introduced the word into English as a ‘strolling minstrel’. It is possible that the Celtic ‘bardo’ was formed from the Proto-Indo-European word ‘gwredho’ which means ‘he who praises.’ The Dungeons & Dragons bard is a hodgepodge of at least three different kinds of musical singers: the Norse skald, the Celtic bard, and the southern European minstrel”. Historically, the title of ‘bard’ was initially considered “a term of great respect among the Welsh, but one of contempt among the Scots (who considered them itinerant troublemakers)” until later in history, when the term then became “idealized by Scott in the more ancient sense of ‘lyric poet, singer.'” Throughout history, the bard has existed in a multitude of different forms, and “bardic traditions span many variations of personal approach, public conception, and historical context.”
With the release of Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition (and the Forgotten Realms expansion in particular) in 1987, the Loremaster was introduced as playable PC variation of the Bard with these abilities.
As a loremaster became experienced in gathering and using the knowledge obtained, they gained the ability to speak additional languages, remember tiny tidbits of helpful information, and enhance their own abilities.
A loremaster learned information that they could apply to themself. The result was an improvement in the body’s capabilities, additional skill in magic, or a new talent that they could use to their own benefit.
A loremaster learned multiple additional languages, using them to gain more access to knowledge.
A loremaster could use their knowledge to recall stories and histories. Later on, the loremaster could cast spells to aid in uncovering information about magical items and artifacts.
The current list of all the (known) Dragonspyre references are located here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Loremaster image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.
D&D Loremaster image is borrowed from the Forgotten Realms wiki and is copyright Wizards of the Coast
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
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