I think you always need the Herbalism kit itself to craft potions. The basic potions don't require Arcana proficiency, but higher quality potions do.
EDIT:
A character who has proficiency with the Herbalism Kit can create a Potion of Healing. Doing so requires using this kit and 25 GP of raw material over the course of 1 day (8 hours of work).
You need the kit and proficiency in it to create a basic potion of Healing.
So it seems to me that the kit or supplies are always needed, as well as Arcana, except for the special exception for the basic PoH.
Not exactly.
The basic Potion of Healing can be created using either proficiency in Arcana or proficiency and possession of an Herbalism Kit.
All other potions can only be created with proficiency in Arcana, but no 'kit' is required.
In both cases, supplies (and an amount of time) are required in all cases based on the following table:
Rarity
Cost of Supplies
Time Required
Common (including Potion of Healing)
25 GP
2.5 days using Arcana/1 day using Herbalism Kit
Uncommon
100 GP
5 days
Rare
1,000 GP
25 days
Very Rare
10,000 GP
62.5 days
Legendary
50,000 GP
125 days
As I understand it, this is RAW under the 2024 PHB and the 2024 DMG. A DM may adjust this based on various circumstances, but this is the generic starting point.
So it seems to me that the kit or supplies are always needed, as well as Arcana, except for the special exception for the basic PoH.
Not exactly.
The basic Potion of Healing can be created using either proficiency in Arcana or proficiency and possession of an Herbalism Kit.
All other potions can only be created with proficiency in Arcana, but no 'kit' is required.
This is not accurate. According to the DMG:
Arcana Proficiency
To craft a magic item, you and any assistants must have proficiency in the Arcana skill.
And (emphasis mine):
Tools
The Magic Item Tools table lists which tool is required to make a magic item of each category. You must use the required tool to make an item and have proficiency with that tool. Any assistants must also have proficiency with it. For more information on the tools, see the Player’s Handbook.
Sorry to Necro this thread but looking for a clarification. You need Arcana for all potions except the basic potion of healing, which can be crafted with Herbalist's Kit.
Does this mean you CANNOT craft the Potion of Healing with Arcana if you do not have the Herbalist Kit proficiency?
I want to further necro this thread :D
I want to talk about Alchemist's Supplies...
Let's start off by saying in the 2024 DMG (on page 221) it DOES say you can craft potions with Alchemy Supplies. With that being said, the wording is not explicit about potions of healing. I know I can at least craft a common Potion of Healing with an herbalism kit (PHB 221, 233) BUT because of the overarching statement about Alchemy Supplies crafting "potions", on that DMG page 221 chart, I can also craft the common Potion of Healing with Alchemy Supplies, too, yes yes? In the PHB text it never explicitly excludes alchemy supplies from crafting them, so I'm leaning on the side that we can also do it with Alchemy supplies. To go a step further I would guess (agreed upon by some of the discussions here) that I wouldn't need arcana to do the common potion of healing but would need arcana for the higher potions of healing.
Sorry to Necro this thread but looking for a clarification. You need Arcana for all potions except the basic potion of healing, which can be crafted with Herbalist's Kit.
Does this mean you CANNOT craft the Potion of Healing with Arcana if you do not have the Herbalist Kit proficiency?
I want to further necro this thread :D
I want to talk about Alchemist's Supplies...
Let's start off by saying in the 2024 DMG (on page 221) it DOES say you can craft potions with Alchemy Supplies. With that being said, the wording is not explicit about potions of healing. I know I can at least craft a common Potion of Healing with an herbalism kit (PHB 221, 233) BUT because of the overarching statement about Alchemy Supplies crafting "potions", on that DMG page 221 chart, I can also craft the common Potion of Healing with Alchemy Supplies, too, yes yes? In the PHB text it never explicitly excludes alchemy supplies from crafting them, so I'm leaning on the side that we can also do it with Alchemy supplies. To go a step further I would guess (agreed upon by some of the discussions here) that I wouldn't need arcana to do the common potion of healing but would need arcana for the higher potions of healing.
Yes, that's correct.
The general rule on crafting potions from the Dungeon Master's Guide is that you need both Arcana proficiency and proficiency in either Alchemist's Supplies or the Herbalism Kit.
The more specific rule in the Player's Handbook, which applies only to the Potion of Healing, says that you only need proficiency in the Herbalism Kit for that specific potion, and proficiency in the Arcana skill isn't required if it's created that way.
This more specific rule doesn't say that this is the only way of creating this potion, so the general rule still applies, and they can still be created using Alchemist's Supplies. However, the Arcana skill proficiency is still required in this case.
The higher-tier healing potions are different magic items, and that more specific rule doesn't apply to them.
I think you always need the Herbalism kit itself to craft potions. The basic potions don't require Arcana proficiency, but higher quality potions do.
EDIT:
You need the kit and proficiency in it to create a basic potion of Healing.
I agree Stabbey, and you can also make healing potions with alchemist supplies and arcana
So it seems to me that the kit or supplies are always needed, as well as Arcana, except for the special exception for the basic PoH.
Not exactly.
The basic Potion of Healing can be created using either proficiency in Arcana or proficiency and possession of an Herbalism Kit.
All other potions can only be created with proficiency in Arcana, but no 'kit' is required.
In both cases, supplies (and an amount of time) are required in all cases based on the following table:
As I understand it, this is RAW under the 2024 PHB and the 2024 DMG. A DM may adjust this based on various circumstances, but this is the generic starting point.
This is not accurate. According to the DMG:
And (emphasis mine):
Magic Item Tools
Ah! You are right. I wasn't thinking about that fact.
Yes, a kit is always required.
I want to further necro this thread :D
I want to talk about Alchemist's Supplies...
Let's start off by saying in the 2024 DMG (on page 221) it DOES say you can craft potions with Alchemy Supplies. With that being said, the wording is not explicit about potions of healing. I know I can at least craft a common Potion of Healing with an herbalism kit (PHB 221, 233) BUT because of the overarching statement about Alchemy Supplies crafting "potions", on that DMG page 221 chart, I can also craft the common Potion of Healing with Alchemy Supplies, too, yes yes? In the PHB text it never explicitly excludes alchemy supplies from crafting them, so I'm leaning on the side that we can also do it with Alchemy supplies. To go a step further I would guess (agreed upon by some of the discussions here) that I wouldn't need arcana to do the common potion of healing but would need arcana for the higher potions of healing.
Yes, that's correct.
The general rule on crafting potions from the Dungeon Master's Guide is that you need both Arcana proficiency and proficiency in either Alchemist's Supplies or the Herbalism Kit.
The more specific rule in the Player's Handbook, which applies only to the Potion of Healing, says that you only need proficiency in the Herbalism Kit for that specific potion, and proficiency in the Arcana skill isn't required if it's created that way.
This more specific rule doesn't say that this is the only way of creating this potion, so the general rule still applies, and they can still be created using Alchemist's Supplies. However, the Arcana skill proficiency is still required in this case.
The higher-tier healing potions are different magic items, and that more specific rule doesn't apply to them.
pronouns: he/she/they
Yeah, basically, the exception is the common Potion of Healing described in the PHB.
Arcana would be required for crafting Greater healing, Superior healing or Supreme healing potions, for example.