RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka JoelF847
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Verdant...berries...wow. ;)
Side note shoved to the side - I like this item. I don't think there are enough items that expand upon the more "outdoorsy" traits of rangers or druids, and this one does so quite handily and then some. Bringing a little of Nature into a dungeon or other inhospitable environment is always a good thing, IMHO. With that in mind, would powdered rock or mortar found in said dungeon work as soil so you can plant the pouch if needed? Just a thought. :)
Archetypes are finished, and I'm looking forward to seeing yours.
I'd say that if the player was looking to destroy their pouch for the heal effect, I'd be flexible and lenient as the GM. Since it works in sand, I'd also let it work in other poor nutrient conditions, such as deep layers of ground bone (if you're in Irrisen, this could come up). If you're in a typical cave or stone floored dungeon, soften earth and stone should probably do the trick to allow planting, and if you're in the frozen arctic, a variety of fire magic could probably thaw enough ground for planting.
I started with a 3/day lesser restoration effect at 2000*2*3*3/5 = 7200 plus a 'potion' of heal at 50*6*11 = 3300.
In my first post here, my math on both of those counts was completely wrong (one due to mathematical error and the other due to working with the wrong spell level); now I wish I'd shown my work that carefully instead of just spitting out numbers. At least this was only round 1, so I didn't actually hurt you here.
I really like this item, in fact it's one of my favorites.
I think you did a fantastic job with your description, and the elegant mechanics eliminate any worries about SIAC and SAK. The idea of planting the pouch to grow a one-shot "heal tree" is awesome. IMO, this is definitely Superstar material.
Nice job, Joel!
I'm not a big druid player, but I like the flavour of this item. Especially planting it for heal. I agree that the cure light wounds and lesser restoration are not exactly equal, but you do need the former far more frequently than the latter, so it's not that big a deal to me.
Not something I would use, but that's a matter of personal preference, and does not reflect the quality of the item.
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It's awesome to see a druid item, and one that's also a *practical* item, particularly for a member of a class that tends to haul around a grizzly bear, dire lion and / or velociraptor, and doesn't have all day to spend feeding the critter.
We've had them as a house-ruled item since 2e (unimaginitively called 'Goodberry Pouches' and occasionally sharing the same belt with 'Fire Seed Pouches' to hilarious effect), so it's awesome to see such a popular response to such a sensible and down-to-earth item.
Between this and the Verdant Vine, it's kinda cool to see the druid love. Looking through core magic items and their spell requirements, it's easy to get the impression that druids don't make much of anything beyond amulets of natural armor and a few select staves.
As for the specifics of the item, I think maybe it does a little too much. I like the CLW/Lesser Restoration bonus, but that's what that is, a bonus. The 1d6 number for the goodberry spell cast on the pouch also is, IMO, an unecessary difference. Why not just make it 2d4, the same as the usual casting of the spell? Ideally, again, IMO, the user should be able to assume that the pouch will act like the spell, and the 1d6 number is a change that doesn't seem to have any special significance to warrant it's existence.
Still, these are quibbles. Overall, I (and my players) have loved the idea of a 'goodberry pouch' (or a fire seed pouch, or throwable entangle vine-pods, or other one-shot druid items) for years, and it's awesome to see that such an item has popular appeal.
I like this :) There aren't enough toys for druids out there, and this is a nice addition. And goodberry is a cool spell that, at least in my campaigns, gets less play than it should -- this would make it much more likely to be used.
Almost SIAK...except for one important thing. This helps against DMs who try to break the Goodberry spell by claiming there are no berries in the area. Simply chain together a goodberry spell every day and you are good to go!