I've been revisiting my homebrew for the herbalism kit, and thought I'd put it out here to get a bit more feedback on it. I've been using a simplified version of it for a couple of years, and my players are very happy with it, but what do you guys think?
I've added a list of 8 herbs for each of the relevant environments in the game that a herbalist might find.
Each herb have a special use, which ranges from merely replacing a ration of food or being valuable on the markets, all the way to enhancing the defenses of characters or warding them against certain creatures.
The herbalist can interact with the system by using three features.
They can look for a specific herb in the environment they are in (each herb has a spot DC)
They can generally look for herbs in the environment they are in (they roll for results at the end of a day's journey)
They can brew a tea that grants temporary hit points for their party by using herbs they have no other use for (the potency of the brew increase by adding more herbs)
A few notes on design
Whenever I homebrew something, I try to focus on things that add value to the players or me, things that simplify existing rules or content, or things that reinforce a certain theme or fantasy.
In the case of this homebrew, it was made to reinforce the fantasy of a herbalist, a medicine man, or a witch like fantasy of using plants to create minor magical effects.
The cost of this is adding complexity to the tool, though I have tried to keep the features as simple as possible. I also mention to my players that using the homebrew is of course, optional.
Here's a few points that I really like about this system, and what my players mention that they like as well. These are points I'd like to reinforce, so please give me feedback if you got any ideas!
It adds an additional thing to do on the road. My party consists of 5 players, and if 4 of them (the last being the navigator) want to roll perception checks on the road, it'll be hard to surprise them. This homebrew gives the herbalist the option of doing something else.
It provides options for roleplay. When the herbalist look for specific plants, or take special measures in preparing them, this system gives them a backbone to roleplay off on.
It can replace magic items. If you want to be careful about giving magic items with unpredictable powers, giving out herbs as consumables makes it easier to control the flow of power. You can consider herbs a boon in the line of charms or blessings, though generally weaker than those.
It is simple and (hopefully) balanced. In its most simple form, the herbalist need only focus on the herb list for the environment they are currently in, and declare at the start of a journey that they will be foraging. Then they roll the dice at the end of the journey, and get some results. Every now and then, they can boost their party with a small buff, or look for something specific. Nothing too crazy! You will notice that I haven't included special recipes, because I feel like this would make the system too complicated.
Worldbuilding. Herbs and plants can say a lot about the world we play in. I haven't gone all out crazy on this just yet, but if you adopt the system, here's your opportunity to give the players a little lore about the sailor's weed that widows hang over their windows to attract the spirits of their men that died by sea :)
Drawbacks and effects
I liked the idea of adding drawbacks to some of the herbs, mostly for fun or for balancing. The strongest effect of the herbs is probably the one granting truesight for a few rounds. The drawback for this herb is that it cause blindness for one hour after use. A few of the herbs are also addictive or hazardous, adding an element of danger when the herbalist is looking for something specific.
Let me know what you think about it!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hi folks!
I've been revisiting my homebrew for the herbalism kit, and thought I'd put it out here to get a bit more feedback on it. I've been using a simplified version of it for a couple of years, and my players are very happy with it, but what do you guys think?
You can find it here:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/737660-foraging
TLDR for this homebrew
I've added a list of 8 herbs for each of the relevant environments in the game that a herbalist might find.
Each herb have a special use, which ranges from merely replacing a ration of food or being valuable on the markets, all the way to enhancing the defenses of characters or warding them against certain creatures.
The herbalist can interact with the system by using three features.
They can look for a specific herb in the environment they are in (each herb has a spot DC)
They can generally look for herbs in the environment they are in (they roll for results at the end of a day's journey)
They can brew a tea that grants temporary hit points for their party by using herbs they have no other use for (the potency of the brew increase by adding more herbs)
A few notes on design
Whenever I homebrew something, I try to focus on things that add value to the players or me, things that simplify existing rules or content, or things that reinforce a certain theme or fantasy.
In the case of this homebrew, it was made to reinforce the fantasy of a herbalist, a medicine man, or a witch like fantasy of using plants to create minor magical effects.
The cost of this is adding complexity to the tool, though I have tried to keep the features as simple as possible. I also mention to my players that using the homebrew is of course, optional.
Here's a few points that I really like about this system, and what my players mention that they like as well. These are points I'd like to reinforce, so please give me feedback if you got any ideas!
It adds an additional thing to do on the road. My party consists of 5 players, and if 4 of them (the last being the navigator) want to roll perception checks on the road, it'll be hard to surprise them. This homebrew gives the herbalist the option of doing something else.
It provides options for roleplay. When the herbalist look for specific plants, or take special measures in preparing them, this system gives them a backbone to roleplay off on.
It can replace magic items. If you want to be careful about giving magic items with unpredictable powers, giving out herbs as consumables makes it easier to control the flow of power. You can consider herbs a boon in the line of charms or blessings, though generally weaker than those.
It is simple and (hopefully) balanced. In its most simple form, the herbalist need only focus on the herb list for the environment they are currently in, and declare at the start of a journey that they will be foraging. Then they roll the dice at the end of the journey, and get some results. Every now and then, they can boost their party with a small buff, or look for something specific. Nothing too crazy! You will notice that I haven't included special recipes, because I feel like this would make the system too complicated.
Worldbuilding. Herbs and plants can say a lot about the world we play in. I haven't gone all out crazy on this just yet, but if you adopt the system, here's your opportunity to give the players a little lore about the sailor's weed that widows hang over their windows to attract the spirits of their men that died by sea :)
Drawbacks and effects
I liked the idea of adding drawbacks to some of the herbs, mostly for fun or for balancing. The strongest effect of the herbs is probably the one granting truesight for a few rounds. The drawback for this herb is that it cause blindness for one hour after use. A few of the herbs are also addictive or hazardous, adding an element of danger when the herbalist is looking for something specific.
Let me know what you think about it!