Okay, so I have a question about the supernatural Virtue (Land) Regio Network (p. 45 in RoP:M). This allows you quick access between locations by using a regio that is connected to similar terrains. The Virtue says: "To determine whether the character knows the location of a networked regio in a particular locale an Intelligence + (Area) Lore roll is made against an Ease Factor of 9."
So far, so good. Seems pretty clear to me.
But now Nature Lore (p. 103 in HoH:MC) enters the picture and things get a little less clear.
The desciption of Nature Lore states that "[t]he character’s score in Nature Lore serves many purposes. For one thing, it can be used as Area Lore for the place in which the maga learned it." The description goes on to say "always treat her score in Nature Lore as three less outside of her home region." Does this mean she has Area Lore = Nature Lore -3 for every piece of similar terrain in the entire world?
Consider the following hypothetical: a maga has the Virtue Forest Regio Network, Forest Lore (regios) 7, and an Int of 3.
If her FL Ability is 3 less outside her home area, does that means it's effectively FL (regios) 4 for every forest in the world? Does that further mean that the maga can find a regio entrance to any forest in the world automatically? [4 (modified skill) + 1 (specialty) + 3 (Int) + 1 (minimum roll on die) = 9 (assuming no stress)]
To cut off some potential comments, here ar things I understand:
I know that this requires spending a Virtue and 140 xp on Forest Lore (which gives a lot more benefits than just this, BTW).
I know it could take a long time in a normal game to get to level 7 in Forest Lore.
I know that knowing where regio entrances are does not necessarily mean that there will be one close by where it's needed.
I know that Leap of Homecoming can allow instant transport (though it requires those pesky ACs, making it tough to go where you've never been before).
I know that the Virtue states that "Access to the network may be ultimately controlled by other characters or powers."
I'm not asking about any of that. What I am asking is whether the above description of how the combo of Forest Regio Network and Forest Lore operates is accurate. Does that combo get you quick and certain access to every forest in the entire world?
Note that iirc, the author of this virtue does not read the rule as written, and when it came to vis handwaved the virtue's usefulness largely out of existence.
Hmm. Nature Lore is supposed to be the "generalization" of Forest Lore from GotF. Except that as I read it the author of Nature Lore misread Forest Lore, so Nature Lore has problems that Forest Lore (at least the way I had read it) did not have. Let me be more specific.
Forest Lore, in GotF, is not about generic "Forests" in the way that "Ways of the Forest" is about generic Forests. Forest Lore is about the Forest in the way that Guardians of the Forest is about the Forest. With the Forest, I mean the mighty spirit of the Hercynian Forest -- or more precisely, the lesser "subforest" spirits into which it was fragmented when St. Boniface subdued it by felling the Donar Oak (the Romowe Oak, the Ash of Nortorf etc.).
So, Forest Lore is useless in the forest of Sherwood, in large part because it represents not just "knowledge" of the place, but a working rapport with one, albeit fragmented, powerful spirit. Or, rather, with the family spirits that are the "fragments" of the Hercynian Forest. In fact, the -3 penalty you incur when dealing with "another" Forest, is a penalty which you incur if you build your rapport with one fragment of the Hercynian Forest (say, the Romowe Oak) and now you have to deal with another (say, the Ash of Nortorf).
You could probably have something similar to Forest Lore as, say, Steppe Lore (dealing with the great Tengri of Central Asia and the splinters at its the edge) or Desert Lore (dealing with The Red, in Africa). Neither would help you with every steppe and every desert.
With this interpretation, your issue seems solved.
I would add that not every locale of a given type necessarily has a regio connected to the network. For example, you might have Mountain Regio Network, but this does not mean that by developing Lore, you automatically get a regio entrance into that specific from your network. This is largely left to the Troupe to decide.
The only type of Regio Network I've seen in my sagas was one controlled by magical mice, that opened in many towns and castles and strongholds of men. The access was through mouse lairs, of course.
I have a character that grew up in northern Germany and learned Forest Lore there, up to a level of 3. What happens when he moves to a covenant some hundreds miles south (but still in Germania Magna)? Can he use the score of 3 after some time spent getting in touch with the new situation? Or does he need to re-learn the skill from scratch?
In theory, he can't even re-learn, he has to keep improving the current skill, and use it at a -3 penalty.
What I would allow is this, however. Any time his skill score increases by 1, (so in this case from 3(-3) to 4(-3)), the character has the option of changing his "native" forest to a new one that makes story sense.
