Getting Lore
How long should a level of the Lore Ability take to learn? Who should have access to the higher levels? How should it be taught?
A character can attain a single level of Lore in just a few months of diligent study. Learning that second level is more substantial task that requires at least a year of study and training. It is effectively the highest level that one can learn in the course of a live-action chronicle unless the Storyteller does not follow a real-time timeline, and he allows years to pass in the game world between sessions. One attains the third level in a Lore through in-depth study for a decade or more. The fourth level is available only to those who have made it a lifelong study, as at least a lifetime is required to attain such a level of scholarly understanding. It is effectively the highest level that non-immortal characters can achieve without some means of greatly extending their life span. Attaining the fifth level in a Lore is extremely difficult. Those who have achieved this level of expertise have spent several lifetimes or more in pursuit of knowledge pertaining to the subject. Therefore, the fifth level is only truly available to immortal or undead creatures.
For the Storyteller, laying down restrictions on the types of Lore available to characters becomes more important the larger her game gets. She may wish to restrict the number of characters that have access to high levels, or she may restrict out-of-setting Lores. (For instance, a Storyteller in a Shining Host chronicle might not allow her players to buy Wraith Lore.) Talk to your Storyteller to see what levels and types of Lores she will let you start with.
After character creation, characters must be taught Lore in order to gain more levels in it. Simple observation of the subject can hardly justify learning levels of the Ability. Since it is difficult for one person to teach someone the entirety of her knowledge on a subject (especially in an unbiased manner), a character must learn Lore levels beyond the first from multiple teachers. The number of teachers required is equal to the level of Lore being learned, and each teacher must have that level of Lore to be able to teach it. For example, in a game where the Storyteller advances the story line by 50 years or so between games, a character could learn Brujah Lore to level four in "downtime" if he had four teachers that each had four levels of that Lore. At your Storyteller's discretion, Lore can be learned from tomes and texts, but such a source should never count as being more than a single level, regardless of how many ancient libaries the character sifts through.
-- Dark Epics, p52

Lore
Lore Abilities are similar to Academics or Science Abilities in that they represent accumulated knowledge and training. The difference is that Lore pertains to less mundane topics in the World of Darkness. It covers a diverse set of subjects, but most are specific to the history and politics of the supernatural type of creature or organization of supernatural creatures.
Lore is rated at levels one through five. A player can purchase Lore with Experience Traits as with other Abilities, but doing so usually requires special approval from the Storyteller. Consult your Storyteller to discover what kind of limitations she wishes to impose on each type (or level) of the Lore Ability. Each type of Lore is considered to be a separate Ability, so a character could have Camarilla Lore x4 and Sabbat Lore x4 without exceeding the maximum level.
Lore is not meant to restrict what information a character can remember about what he is told in a game. A few bits of information hardly constitutes as lore of the subject (or a valid reason to learn the Lore Ability), even if the information passed includes secrets known only to those with high levels in the Ability. Lore is meant to allow characters to know certain important pieces of information from the World of Darkness sourcebooks, such as the history of the Silver Fangs or the natural weaknesses of changelings.
One level of Lore represents a more-than-passing knowledge of the subject, and it is the lowest level of understanding that requires Lore to back it up. The character can cite basic, widely known concepts within the lore's area, such as the Escheat (for Changeling Lore) or the Litany (for Garou Lore).
A second level of Lore represents a higher-than-basic understanding of the subject in question. At this level, the character has heard of a few bloodlines, special societies or other low-level secrets from within, but he has no expansive knowledge of them.
Having three levels of Lore represents a specialized study in the particular subject. This level is generally more common to the leaders and powerful political figures within the subject lore's area. The character becomes more familiar with the workings of many secret societies, and can probably name a few members. The character understands higher-level politics better at this level, as well as some of the truth behind the whispered secrets.
Those who attain four levels in a Lore are aware of the goals and the movements of most of the secret factions within the Lore's area. Their knowledge of the subject's secrets lays bare the truths to which the elders and ancient texts only allude. Lore at this level and higher represents many elements specific to your chronicle, so work closely with your Storyteller to get the information.
Having five levels of Lore represents the pinnacle of understanding. You can often expound upon ancient historical texts as though you'd been present at the time in question. This level goes beyond the books and delves almost entirely into chronicle-specific information.
--Dark Epics, p50-51

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