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I created this a few years back for a low-magic campaign. It never occurred, but I've used it in our regular games since then with great effects.
The main document can be find here via this elegantly crafted link. Any updates will be uploaded there, but for the sake of convenience, here's the bulk of it.
All comments/suggestions are welcome.
findel
SEARCHING FOR AN HERB (HERB HUNT)
A character with at least 1 rank in Profession (herbalist) can attempt an herb hunt to find herbs in the wilderness.
Check: An herbalist must succeed a Profession (herbalist) check in order to find 1 dose of a given herb. The base DC to find a single dose of a common herb is 15. The base DC is increased to 17 for uncommon herbs and to 20 for rare specimen. For every 5 points by which the herbalist’s check result exceeds the herb's base DC, an extra dose is also found. Note that the herb may simply not be available in a given area (see below).
Action: An herb hunt is an Overland Move Equivalent Action. Like foraging, an herbalist can hunt for herbs while traveling. Spending a full day hunting for herbs grants a +2 circumstance bonus, in which case it becomes an Overland Full-Day Action. An herbalist can attempt a rushed hunt to find an herb within D6x10 minutes, albeit a -10 penalty on the Profession (herbalist) check. Hunting for an herb this way becomes a Swift Overland Action. The herbalist cannot take 10 on a rushed hunt.
Try Again: Yes. A character may spend another Overland Move Equivalent Action if the first check fails, provided that it is allowed to do so.
Restriction: An herb cannot be found outside its harvesting season(s). Raise the herb’s frequency to rare as the harvesting season begins or ends (or if you are unsure of the season). Add 5 to the skill check DC to find herbs in wintertime, and add 4 if the search goes by nighttime (divide this penalty by half if the herbalist has proper lighting or possess either low-light vision or darkvision). Add 2 to the skill check DC to find an uncommon herb and add 5 to the DC for rare herbs.
Special: Even if the skill check is successful, the herb may simply not be available within a given area. In addition to the Profession (herbalist) check, uncommon and rare herbs also carry a hunt miss chance. An uncommon herb gives the herbalist a 20% chance to fail the hunt by simply not being present in the area. Rare herbs command a 50% miss chance. An herbalist that succeeds the Profession (herbalist) check but fails due to a hunt miss chance is aware that there are no available specimens in the area.
Market prices for herbs average 5 gp for common herbs, 50 gp for uncommon herbs and 300 gp for rare herbs. Herbs that need to be used fresh usually command double price. Berries and herbs stay fresh for 10 days, unless noted otherwise.
All effects are supernatural in nature and cannot be dismissed nor dispelled by magic. All bonuses gained are alchemical bonuses and do not stack with multiple doses, similar herbs or alchemical substances.
APPEARANCE: Low fern
HARVESTING: All year-round. Common (DC 15)
VIRTUES: +2 alchemical bonus on any Heal checks.
NOTES: Inhale vapors or drink infusion from dried leaves boiled in water.
APPEARANCE: Small yellow flower
HARVESTING:Spring and summer. Uncommon (DC 17, 20% miss chance)
VIRTUES: Temporary relief of insanity spells and Int, Wis and Cha ability damage.
NOTES: Inhale vapors from dried leaves infusion. Effect lasts 1d6 hours.
APPEARANCE: Small white flower
HARVESTING: Spring and summer. Rare (DC 20, 50% miss chance)
VIRTUES: Grants eleven immunities to magical sleep and charms.
NOTES: Wear fresh flower next to heart.
APPEARANCE: Yellow-green moss
HARVESTING: Spring, summer and fall. Uncommon (DC 17, 20% miss chance)
VIRTUES: Moss provides light like a candle.
NOTES: Provides shadowy illumination for 5 feet. Illumination lasts for 12 hours after harvest. No penalties dues to lack of illumination when harvested by nighttime.
APPEARANCE: Pale climbing ivy
HARVESTING: Spring and summer. Rare (DC 20, 50% miss chance)
VIRTUES: Wards against divination spells.
NOTES: Wear braided plant around head or neck. User gains the benefits of a Nondetection spell for 24 hours after harvest.
APPEARANCE: Yellow and orange flowers
HARVESTING: Spring and summer. Uncommon (DC 17, 20% miss chance)
VIRTUES: Grants +4 bonus on Fortitude saves to overcome negative levels.
NOTES: Inhale vapors from fresh or dried leaves boiled in water.
APPEARANCE: Fine-bladed grass
HARVESTING:Spring, summer and fall. Rare (DC 20, 50% miss chance)
VIRTUES: Accelerate natural healing of wounds and bruises.
NOTES: Soak bandages in fresh leaf's sap. Doubles natural recovery of hit points and ability damage over a period of rest. Since two doubling equals a tippling, providing long term care (Heal check DC 15) with lurue's horns triples the normal regeneration of hp.
APPEARANCE: Thick-leaved grass
HARVESTING: Spring, summer and fall. Common (DC 15)
VIRTUES: Grants alchemical bonus on Heal checks made to cure diseases.
NOTES: Inhale vapors from leaves infusion. Fresh leaves grant a +4 bonus, dried leaves only confer a +2 bonus.
APPEARANCE: Pollen from a sleep-willow flower
HARVESTING: Spring and summer. Uncommon (DC 17, 20% miss chance)
VIRTUES: Makes target creature drowsy, possibly fall asleep.
NOTES: Inhale or ingest pollen. Affects user as the Lullaby spell. User must succeed a DC 11 Fortitude save (or DC 15 if ingested) or be affected by a Sleep spell instead. Effects last 1d6 hours.
APPEARANCE: Red berries with white star
HARVESTING: Mid summer to mid fall. Uncommon (DC 17, 20% miss chance)
VIRTUES: Gives a +2 bonus on Fortitude and Will saves made to resist a spell.
NOTES: Ingest fresh berries. User must fail saving throw (with bonus) to benefit from harmless spells. Effects last 1d6 hours.
APPEARANCE: Red root
HARVESTING: All year-round. Uncommon (DC 17, 20% miss chance)
VIRTUES: +4 on Heal checks made to neutralize poison.
NOTES: Ingest roots.
APPEARANCE: Short grass-like plant
HARVESTING: Spring, summer and fall. Uncommon (DC 17, 20% miss chance)
VIRTUES: Successful Heal check (DC 15) cures 1d8 hp.
NOTES: Apply milky sap from fresh leaves and stem directly over wounds. A creature may benefit from woundworth only once per period of 24 hours.
Those are some pretty cool herbs you got there. I like Lurue's Horns in particular.
Good job on making Herbalism cool!
Thanks!
The google docs document also have Concoctions, which are basically potions made without the ability to cast spells. It implies the creation (and acquisition) of a new Craft Herbal Concoction feat to balance it out, since their effects are generally more potent.
I would have to argue that this skill would fall under survival for the Pathfinder Skill-Set, Then again, perhaps not.
This will probably see use in my own games, thank you.
Where is that overland movement speed of yours ><
I would have to argue that this skill would fall under survival for the Pathfinder Skill-Set, Then again, perhaps not.
It could. As a matter of fact, it did until recently. The reasons behind the change were twofold:
1) Survival is usable untrained, profession isn't. I didn't want anyone just trying their luck nonchalantly. the Knowledge and use of medicinal and magical herbs should be a trained art.
2) Survival, as a skill, is too good of a skill when you allow it to do everything that doesn't happen in a city or man-made dungeons (or orc-made or dwarf-made etc...) Things like hunting larger games, trapping animal for furs, building a log cabin and finding medicinal herbs should be separate from survival, if only to motivate the existence of profession(hunter), profession(carpenter), profession(trapper) and profession(herbalist). Short of allowing any character to hunt, trap, built a cabin and recreate magical effects with plants, the survival skill allows anyone to find comestible plants and roots, catch small animals, find a shelter, use plants to protect from cold and identify dangers etc...
In this light, I decided to base the use of herbalism solely on the profession skill, but if you allow synergy, survival and knowledge(nature) should definitely contribute. Should you feel that survival is best suited for the herb hunt check, I suggest that a characters can attempt to find common specimen with 1 rank in profession(herbalism), uncommon ones with 3 ranks and rare herbs with 5 ranks in the skill.
Where is that overland movement speed of yours ><
I made a thread a while back about it. I'll see if I can resurrect it. I should also make a google doc of it, as it imply a chart that doesn't convey well on the message board.
'findel
This is great stuff! Well done!
I was thinking how cool it would be if you elaborated on this list and perhaps gave major limitations to individual ingredients yet created a list of ingredients which when matched and converted into a specific type of applicable medicine (be it potion, balm, salve, etc) would create more benefitical results.
I would love to hear more of your ideas. If you have time check out our site at Adventureaweek.com and feel free to pop into the forum. I'm sure the guys would be quite excited to hear your ideas on herbalism.
I own quite a few real world herb books with detailed pictures and information and have long wanted to elaborate on this field in fantasy role playing. I had a campaign years ago focused heavily on herbalism. It was actually quite entertaining for all players involved!
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Like this a lot, but would like to see the list of magical herbs expanded with their uses as power components for spells, as well as prices both to sell these herbs and to buy them in town for those characters who aren't herbalists but want to use them.
Would love to see this done up as an article for Wayfinder or any other magazine.
What Kevin Andrew Murphy said.
I had only just started to haunt these forums around the time this was originally posted, so I'm glad it floated back up. :D This is awesome.
Dotted
eh, I though this rule was dead and buried under 1 and 1/2 years of new posts... Thanks for the support guys!
Actually, turns out there will developments about this rule which has indeed been polished and expanded upon.
more to come soon.
'findel
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I also created a system for herbalism, especially as gatherign source for brew potion (one of my player plays an alchemist)
First of all I started with a system with different plants, etc. with special effects for all plants - like your idea.
The problem was (we playing kingmaker) that this started to become a hell to track.
So I adapted my system to a more... genral way, so here it is:
I split the plants into five groups (Healing, Poison, Enhancment, Magic, Universal).
To gather this plants the player must make a survival or herbalism Check against a DC based on the terrain the're in (on plains there are more plants then in mountains).
If he suceed he get one "dose" of plant. For every 5 points above the DC another "dose".
Which plant type he will find is based on a percentage table for every terrain.
The value of one "dose" herbs is based on the terrain (it's harder to find herbs in mountains, but mos times they are special)
It sounds difficult but it easy as hell.
So example:
After a exploration day the player said he want to look for herbs.
The group is in a swamp, so the DC is 22.
The player rolls and score a 29, so two dose herbs. One "dose" swamp herbs is worth 70 sp, so total 140 sp.
Then the DM then rolls on the "which kind of herb" list, let' say 56, so it's a "enhanchment herb".
The player got "enhancment herbs" worth 140 sp.
He can use this herbs as materials for every potion which "enhance" the character (e.g. bull's strength).
The player can also look only for one category, then the DC is simply adjusted based on the availability of this herb category in this terrain.
So only two rolls and two small tables, and the player can simply track his herbs by category and add the wealth.
Link to the Excel File:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B12P19MbgZOYbnh5QTlnbkJaMjg
Honestly I prefer more of a detailed story approach to herbs. A unique name, flavor text, and multiple uses. Perhaps the Mayganarth Florwer is sweet and provides the gift of protection from poison when combined with Laryana's Hair, but when paired with Devil's Club thorn juice and Toadwort Vine creates a foul brew which causes any poison it is combined with to increase the Fort DC by 6 points. If the poison originates from a swamp like environment this DC may increase as much as 10 points higher than the original when combined with this dangerous concoction.
Something like that, it's just off the top of me head mind ya!
Love this thread!
I found this as I found a cool D&D homebrew Herbalism book which I modded for a homebrew campaign I'm running and I'm looking for feedback on it.
Looked through yours and there's a lot gone into it and well thought out ( and possibly some ideas i will be stealing too)
I'd love to have some feedback on the book I'm planning on giving out and seeing your thoughts?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HmOvtxhoxAmt6BC6bSKMQZrr7mBe-9zuDs2jWGB lsZA/edit?usp=sharing
You're better off making a new thread and asking for opinions than necro'ing a 5-year-old thread made by someone who no longer goes to this forum.
Yeah, I was just getting ready type out a detailed critique. I rarely look at the date on a thread.
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Definitely a thread I wish had a continued following.
For my fellow late-to-the thread herbalism fans (Kmouse, Cyrad, Ciaran):
Mongoose also put out an 'Ultimate Equipment Guide' for D20.
It has a pretty large section on herbal remedies and substances, similar to what the OP had done, with rules for crafting the special effects.
It's a $6 (US Dollar) PDF download at DriveThruRPG.
With minimal tweaking to convert to Pathfinder, it's a pretty good resource. Same goes for the rest of the items in the book.
At over 250 pages, it's pretty beefy.
I recommend.
Good foraging to you all!
Good to see some free herbalism stuff (or even payable) out there- a hefty bonus if necromancy is involved too. ;)
dot
It COULD fall under Survival, but there's nothing wrong with making it a profession skill. Hey, you might even see a profession on a PC for once, which with the exclusion of Profession (Sailor) in very nautical games, is shockingly rare.
Looks nifty, I'll have to save the google docs document for later.
I always play with profession(butcher) to extract useful components from corpses.