Herbalism is a skill for gathering and preserving herbs, flowers, mushrooms, tree bark, fruits, vegetables -- virtually anything that grows in the ground or on a cave wall is covered under use of this skill. Herbalism also covers the knowledge of how to use these ingredients to prepare salves, unguents, tinctures, and even quasimagical potions. It has a "sister skill" in Alchemy, though the latter is generally used to handle more refined and less naturalistic ingredients.
Herbalism[]
Usage[]
As a Profession[]
As an herbalist, you can make money as if you were practicing a craft. In a given week (during which you must ply your trade for at least 70% of the days for 1/3 of the day [5 out of 7 days, 8 out of 24 hours for Earth]), you may earn half your check result in gp.
Gathering Herbs[]
If you spend four hours in a wild, natural area, you may gather half your check result in gp worth of raw materials. These materials are non-specific, and are used to create basic herbal preparations. If a given herbal recipe calls for a specific kind of herb, then that herb can only be gathered at the DM's discretion.
Horticulture[]
Herbalists may also prepare and keep gardens. An herbalist may keep a 10'x10' garden with one hour of work a day; each 10' square beyond that adds another daily hour's worth of work. Once per week, the herbalist may gather his check result in gp worth of materials from his garden. For each additional 10' square beyond the first, the herbalist gains a +2 bonus to this check.
Herbalists may opt to raise specific herbs. If the herb is native to the herbalist's climate, then no check is needed to do this. If the herb comes from a different climate, then the herbalist must make an Herbalism check once per week or the herb dies. The DC of the check depends on how far removed the herb is from its home environment and the pains to which the herbalist has gone to create a comfortable environment for the herb. Details are up to the DM.
Crafting[]
The main use of the Herbalism skill is in preparing ointments, potions, and other such things. The check DC for a particular item depends on its complexity and the delicacy of the raw materials. The time it takes to create a particular item depends on its cost, its DC, and the results of the check.
To determine crafting success or failure, follow these steps:
- Take the market price of the item in question and convert to cp
- Gather one-third that price in raw materials
- Make an Herbalism check representing one day's work. If the check is successful, multiply the result of the check by the item's DC. The result is how many cp's worth of work you accomplished in that day. When the cp value of the work done exceeds the item's value, you have finished the item.
Failures and Retries[]
If you are attempting to raise an herb outside of its native environment and you fail on your check, the herb dies.
If you are attempting to craft an item and your check fails by four or less, you make no progress that day. If your check fails by five or more, you ruin your progress and have to start over. In addition, 1d4+5 x 10% of the raw materials are lost and you must pay them again.
Action[]
Does not apply. Checks are made by the day or week.
Synergy[]
Five or more ranks in Knowledge (nature) or Survival give you a +2 synergy bonus on Herbalism checks. Five or more ranks in Herbalism gives you a +2 synergy bonus on Alchemy checks and Heal checks.
Herbalism DC Table[]
| Item | DC | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Healing tea | 15 | 20g |
| Sun-protective balm | 20 | 30g |
| Cleansing tea | 20 | 35g |
| Anti-toxin | 25 | 50g |
| Tanglefoot bag | 25 | 50g |
| Wolfsbane preparation | 25 | 75g |
| Potion of cure light wounds | 30 | 50g |
| Potion of barkskin | 35 | 300g |
| Potion of bear's endurance | 35 | 300g |
| Potion of cure serious wounds | 40 | 750g |
| Potion of water breathing | 40 | 750g |
| Potion of cure critical wounds | 45 | 2000g |
Healing Tea: Drinking this tea doubles a creature's natural healing from complete bed rest for one day.
Sun-protective Balm: This ointment grants a +4 alchemical bonus to Fortitude saves to resist the effects of extreme heat in a sunny environment.
Cleansing Tea: This tea, when drunk, gives a creature a +4 alchemical bonus to Fortitude saves to shake off an already-caught disease. Lasts one day.
Wolfsbane Preparation: This oily paste, when applied to a weapon, allows that weapon to overcome a werewolf's damage reduction. Lasts for 1d4+1 rounds. Alternatively, when thrown into a fire, creates a 10' x 10' cloud of noxious smoke. Any werewolf in the presence of that smoke must make a DC 13 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1d6 rounds.
Notes[]
The items listed above are not the only items able to be made using Herbalism. In general, any potion or natural poison may be made, so long as the item involves curing, harming, or protection, and uses a spell castable by a druid or creates an effect appropriate for a druid.
Classes with Knowledge (nature) as a class skill also have Herbalism as a class skill.