Bardic Lore skill
Bardic Lore is the new name of this skill, which will eventually include more than what Music Theory used to. Bardic Lore is a primary skill of the bards used with their unique music based abilities.It is presently not required for circle purposes, although it is used for the same Titles that Music Theory used to be required for. Bardic Lore is now the exclusive domain of the Bard guild, although in the past the Music Theory skill was open to all.
Spells and abilities that boost Bardic Lore
Spells and abilities that decrease Bardic Lore
None
Training strategies
Bardic Screams
Using any scream in combat will train Performance and Bardic Lore. One SCREAM CONCUSSIVE per creature should be enough to mind lock Bardic Lore relatively quickly for most Bards who are hunting at level.
Bardic Whistling
Practice
Practice Assessment provides a fraction of the experience of Practicing Breathing but can be used much more often.
Song Scrolls
Upon successful memorization of a song from a song scroll, a Bard gets a moderately-sized sum of Bardic Lore experience.
Classes
Recall/Evoke
Bluff
Upon completion of the Bluff Amaze ability, a small sum of Bardic Lore experience is received.
Practice
Use of both the Practice Breathing and Practice Stretching commands grants a relatively significant amount of Bardic Lore experience and appear to serve as one of the primary mechanism for gaining experience early in a Bard's career.
GM commentary
"Music theory is basically a direct booster of other skills. Anything that deals with music or sound will probably get a bonus based on your music theory...so the higher your theory, the bigger the bonus you'll get to all your other music/sound-based abilities. This includes both normal playing and enchantes, and other sound/music-based abilities." (Dartenian)