Introduction

You've begun your path to learning!

As you begin your training and enter the world of scholarship as an apprentice crafter, even at this early level, you'll find you will be able to make some very useful items that can help you and others in your adventuring and crafting endeavors, as well as be able to make items eagerly sought after for their aesthetic benefits. In all cases, you have begun a profession that will eventually grow to be one of the most prestigious and renown in Middle-Earth.

What You Can Make at this Tier

Battle Lore
Scroll		Effect	Minimum Level
	Minor Battle Lore	+2% Combat Offense	Level 7
	Minor Warding Lore	+2% Combat Defense	Level 7

Crafting Lore
Scroll		Effect	Minimum Level
	Minor Cooking Lore	+1% Crit Chance	Level 7
	Minor Jeweller Lore	+1% Crit Chance	Level 7
	Minor Metalworking Lore	+1% Crit Chance	Level 7
	Minor Scholar Lore	+1% Crit Chance	Level 7
	Minor Tailoring Lore	+1% Crit Chance	Level 7
	Minor Weaponsmithing Lore	+1% Crit Chance	Level 7
	Minor Woodworking Lore	+1% Crit Chance	Level 7

Potions
Item		Effect	Minimum Level
	Lesser Celebrant Salve	Restores 120-140 Power	Level 1
	Lesser Essence of Athelas	Restores 120-140 Morale	Level 1

Dyes
Item		Effect	Minimum Level
	Gold Dye	Dyes armor or clothing gold	Level 1
	Sienna Dye	Dyes armor or clothing sienna	Level 1

Paints
Item		Effect	Minimum Level
	Pea-green Wall Paint	Dyes housing walls Pea-green	Level 1

What You Will Need to Begin

• Scholar’s Glass

  Once you have spoken to the Master or Mistress of Apprentices and taken the Historian Vocation, you will notice you have been given a set of beginners tools, including an Inferior Scholar's glass, which can be used in collecting and researching Relics.

  You may however wish to invest in a vendor-purchased Scholar's Glass, or better yet, player-crafted version of the Scholar's Glass, for extra durability, toughness, and extra stats to your crit chance. The extra stats will become especially useful as you gain Mastery in Apprentice and acquire the ability to score critical successes in crafting items.

  Tier 1 Scholar's Glass
  Item		Stats	Source
  	Inferior Scholar's Glass	30/30 Durability (Brittle)	Beginner item given by Master of Apprentices
  	Scholar's Glass	45/45 Durability (Normal)	Purchased from the Novice Scholar
  	Bronze Scholar's Glass	45/45 Durability (Normal), +1% Crit Chance	Standard crafted version (Metalsmith)
  	Superior Bronze Scholar's Glass	60/60 Durability (Tough), +2% Crit Chance	Crit crafted version (Metalsmith)

• Scholar’s Materials
  

  You will also need the raw materials (Relics and/or Dye Components) with which to make your scrolls or dye.

  Tier 1 Relics
  Item		Source
  	Aged Scrap of Text	Tier 1 Scholar Node (Shattered Pitcher)
  	Early Third Age Relic	Tier 1 Scholar Node (Shattered Pitcher)
  	Worn Tablet Fragment	Tier 1 Scholar Node (Shattered Pitcher)

  Tier 1 Dye Components
  Item		Source
  	Yarrow Root	Random spawns
  	Sienna	Mining byproduct of Tin Ore nodes

  Tier 1 Paint Components
  Item		Source
  	Lilly-of-the-Valley Leaf	Farming byproduct of Lilly-of-the-Valley Field

• Work Station
  

  At this early stage in your Scholar career, you do not need to use a work station, and you may process your materials where you see fit, considering only that for some recipes, such as Potions or Dyes, you may need a Novice Scholar Trainer on hand to have access to supplementary materials. Trainers can be found in or near the crafting halls of the major cities.

Finding the Materials

• Tier 1 Relic Nodes: Shattered Pitchers

  

  One of the most important things you'll need as a Scholar is the ability to track and collect Relics. You can begin this by first toggling on your Artifact tracking skill, which you receive when taking the Historian Vocation, and then keeping a close eye on your mini map when you are near node locations. Tier 1 Scholar nodes--Shattered Pitchers—can be found among the many lower level ruins scattered about Eriador. When you find a Shattered Pitcher, make sure your Scholar’s Glass is equipped; then right-click it, so that you can extract the lost lore (Relics) from it.

  Below is a partial list of the many lower level ruins where you may begin your search for Tier 1 nodes, along with the mobs found in and about the area. (Note that Relics can also be looted from humanoid mobs.)

  Tier 1 Relic Node Locations
  Area		Ruins	Mobs/ Levels
  	Bree-land	Blackwold Headquarters   Ost Baranor* Goblinhole Ruins Marshwater Fort Woodsedge Ruins Hillshire Ruins	6-10 Brigands, Wolves, 6-8 Spiders 8-10 Brigands 9-11 Goblins, Insects 7-9 Spiders 7-9 Spiders, Insects 10-12 Bears
  	Shire	Ruins in Bindbole Wood Old Odo's Leaf Farm Bridgefields Wall	9 Bears 8-9 Brigands 9 Wolves, 11 Signature
  	Ered Luin	Tham Gelair Limael's Vineyard Ringdale Dol Ringwest Orodost*	7 Insects, 5-6 Wolves 6-8 Goblins 9-10 Dourhands 6-8 Goblins 6-8 Goblins, Dourhands

  *I have included one or two maps showing some of the common node spawns of the ruins where I found gathering resources to be especially quick or convenient. You might wish to try them for yourself. On the other hand, you may find another location where you prefer excavating and doing your research.

• Tier 1 Dye and Paint Components: Plants and Mining Byproducts
  

  For making Dyes and Paints, you will need to collect other resources than Relics. These can be plants that grow wild and can be harvested by anyone. See graph below for the various spawn locations for Tier 1. Resources can also come from loot drops or appear as byproducts of Farming and Mining. While you won’t be able to mine for Sienna as a Historian/Scholar, you may be able to buy or trade it from other players who can. You do however, have the option to Farm for Lilly-of-the-Valley Leaf, if you choose to pursue Farming as a Historian.

  Tier 1 Dye Component Sources
  Item		Product	Source
  	Yarrow Root	Gold Dye	Bree-land: Nen Harn, Bree-Fields Shire: Greenfields Ered Luin: Duillond
  	Sienna	Sienna Dye	Mined as a byproduct of tin ore

  Tier 1 Paint Component Sources
  Item		Product	Source
  	Lilly-of-the-Valley Leaf	Pea-green Wall Paint	Farmed as a Byproduct of Lilly-of-the-Valley Field

Processing the Materials

Once you have collected a good number of Relics or Dye/Paint components, you can begin processing them into valuable resources.

• Using Recipes

  Though you will be able to automatically craft the Scholar items once you join the Scholar profession, you will find that you may need to purchase some additional recipes from the Novice Scholar or acquire them as drops.

  Recipe Purchases/Drops for Tier I

  • Lesser Celebrant Salve
  • Lesser Essence of Athelas
  • Gold Dye
  • Sienna Dye
  • Pea-green Wall Paint

  For a complete list of Tier I Scholar Recipes (and components) click HERE.

• The Process
  

  Make sure your Scholar’s Glass is equipped. Open your crafting panel and select the item from the list of recipes that you would like to craft. Double-check that you have all the items the recipe calls for. In the case of Dyes and Potions (and later on, Oils), you will need to purchase additional materials from the Novice Scholar. (Novice Scholars can be found in or near the crafting hall of the major cities.)

  Also, if you are using any Scrolls of Scholar Lore to increase your Crit chance (Apprentice Mastery level only--see graph below), you should do so first, and remember its effects are short-lived. Then, with your recipe selected, immediately click the “MAKE” button at the bottom of your crafting log, and don’t move while the status bar is in effect and your item is being crafted.

Below is a graph of Tier I critical success percentages (Apprentice Master Level Only) based on the Tier 1 (Crit) items used.

Critical Success Percent Chance
Inherent	Bronze Scholar's Glass	Clouded Eye	Scroll of Minor Scholar Lore	Total
+5%	+1% - +2%	+44%	1%	+51% - +52%

Yet before you can have have a chance at critical success with Apprentice Mastery, you must reach Apprentice Proficiency first.

Reaching Apprentice Proficiency

• Skill required: 200

  Each Tier, from Tier I: Apprentice, to Tier V: Master, is divided into two sub-tiers, Proficiency and Mastery. Though they may sound more advanced, Proficiency and Mastery are each part of the Apprentice Tier. (Don't confuse the sub-tier "Mastery" with the main Tier, Master!) Here's what it looks like illustrated:

  <--------------Tier 1: Apprentice-------------->
  Apprentice Proficiency <-----200 pts----->	Apprentice Mastery <----------------400 pts---------------->

  You are required to progress through your Apprentice Proficiency so that you can graduate to the next Tier, Journeyman. However, and just as important, completing Apprentice Proficiency also allows you to begin working though your Apprentice Mastery, a higher level of artisanship in your Tier which once completed, allows you to create crafted items in either greater quantity, or of exceptional quality. (Read more about Apprentice Mastery in next section below.)

  To progress through Proficiency, you'll want to regularly collect Relics and craft as often as is practical to continually gain skill. Collecting components and crafting useful scrolls and items for yourself, your kinship, or for selling to other players, will get you through the first Tier well and aptly enough, as long as you stay consistent with it, but a good rule to abide by is to always consider making what you need first and foremost.

  However, if you are looking to mainly gain skill, then you will find crafting Battle lore scrolls (Battle Lore and Warding Lore) will give you the greatest amount of skill (10 pts) per item. Nonetheless, Battle Lore scrolls are not available at every Tier, so they are not a consistent or reliable way to gain skill. They also require all three of the Relics you collect from nodes, so they may be less convenient to craft. On the other hand, you'll find you'll have a lot of leftover of the "odd" Relic (Worn Tablet Fragments in the case of Tier 1) that you have no other use for when you don't create Battle Lore Scrolls, so choosing to make them over other items has its benefits. They also don't require any purchased materials, so they can be economical to craft as well, so long as you have ample supply all three of the Relic types.

  Making Crafting Lore scrolls give the next greatest amount of skill (8 pts) and require two of the three Relics looted from nodes, so they may be more accessible to make than Battle Lore Scrolls. You might find they can be profitable for selling to other players, or for passing among your kinship if you have members who craft.

  Crafting Dyes, Paints, and Potions, will give the next greatest amount of skill (6 pts), though Dye and Paint components must be foraged separately (they won’t be found with Relics) and may be hard to accumulate in greater number. Also, like Potions, they require purchasing additional materials to process, though some of these products sell fairly well among other players, and may turn a profit. In the case of Potions, it’s better to make them for need, or for selling to other players for a profit, as they are often in demand. They are not, however, normally a good choice for leveling up.

  See comparisons of the various item types below.

Note: All items follow the same recipe formula, within their types, with the exception of some, like Dyes and Potions, having one or two variable components. For simplicity, only one example of each variable item is shown below.

Crafting Comparison
Item		Recipe	Crit	Skill
	Minor Battle Lore	x2 x1 x1	x1	10 points
	Minor Crafting Lore	x2 x1	x1	8 points
	Dyes	x1 x1 x1 x1	x1	6 points
	Paints	x1 x1 x1 x1	(no crit)	6 points
	Potions	x1 x1 x1	x1	6 points

Reaching Apprentice Mastery

• Skill Required: 400

  Once you’ve completed Proficiency as an Apprentice Scholar, you will need to speak with the Novice Scholar trainer in order to gain access to Apprentice Mastery, as well as gain access to the next tier, Journeyman Scholar. The novice Scholar trainer will give you a quest which you must complete in order to move on within your Scholar career, so don’t forget to speak to him/her once completing your Apprentice Proficiency.

  Completing Apprentice Mastery requires much of the same process for reaching Proficiency, though the process will take a little longer. If you are trying to get the fastest rate of skill, Battle Lore is still the best option if you have the materials; however, you should always keep in in mind that because most Scholar crafted items have highly useful properties, items that you and/or your kinship can use should probably be considered first for crafting. You will be a more efficient crafter/adventurer for it, with the proper scrolls and potions in tow, and you'll find you will arrive at Apprentice Mastery soon enough, either way.

  Though not required to progress in your leveling to the next Tier, Apprentice Mastery should be pursued, as it will afford you the chance of scoring critical successes with each item you craft, allowing either more of a specific item to be made, or a higher quality version of an item. The exact effect of a critical success is determined by the item.

  Critical Success
  Item		Critical Success Yield
  	Minor Battle Lore	x3 Minor Battle Lore
  	Minor Crafting Lore	x3 Minor Crafting Lore
  	Lesser Potion	x1 Lesser Ointment/ Extract
  	Tier 1 Dye	x3 Tier 1 Dyes
  	Tier 1 Paint	(no crit)

!!Also, it is very important to note that choosing not to pursue Apprentice Mastery will prevent any subsequent opportunity to pursue Mastery skill at higher Tiers. This is a general rule: any Tier in which Mastery is not completed will prevent Mastery from being competed in any proceeding Tier as well. So if you want access to creating the highest quality Scholar items at any Tier, plan on completing your Apprentice Mastery as soon as you can.

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing the first course in this Middle-Earth Scholar series. You’re on your way to becoming a Scholar of great renown! Read on to the next course in the series: Tier 2: Journeyman