In this thread, I want to share with you my concerns and thoughts about crafting potions of healing in my party.
The "issue" came up when one of my players announced that he would like to craft potions of healing in the future. I like that he wants to use his ability to do so but I am dissatisfied with the information given in the rulebooks when it comes to crafting potions of healing. To fix the issues I have with the description given I came up with my own recipe to craft a potion of healing.
At the moment my current idea is as follows:
To craft a potion of healing you need a flask of any quality and material which can at least hold 200mL of liquid. Then you need distilled and therefore pure water, a gemstone with a value of 25 GP which has been ground down to a fine powder. Distilling the water and grinding the gemstone both take quite some time. Afterward, you mix the two components and cast "Cure Wounds" on them. If you do as described you will gain a potion of healing. The whole process sums up to one day of work.
With a recipe like that, I hope to make crafting potions of healing a viable and balanced way to prepare for adventures and regaining HP next to the options provided by the general game, many spells and abilities and simply buying them. I want to make crafting potions of healing a thing to do in preparation for adventures or when downtime during an adventure would allow for it. I am aware that this recipe has nothing to do with herbs which is why I would claim you would need alchemist tools to brew such a potion and not a herbalism kit.
What are your thoughts about this? Do you think this is a reasonable and balanced way to craft potions of healing? Or do you see some major issues with this approach?
So your player's character could sit down anytime and spend 8 hours and dig up some random components which are in some way worth 25 GP and make a potion of healing which then also can be used by characters that would not be able to use a scroll if he made one. Also a potion of healing CAN be stronger than cure wounds depending on the casters spellcasting ability.
My player's character might sit around and spend eight hours to assemble the right components--assuming they were available and accessible and make an actual potion of healing, yes.
So your player's character could sit down anytime and spend 8 hours and dig up some random components which are in some way worth 25 GP and make a potion of healing which then also can be used by characters that would not be able to use a scroll if he made one. Also a potion of healing CAN be stronger than cure wounds depending on the casters spellcasting ability.
The materials for a potion of healing should be hard to obtain and not just hand-waved. As with any materials for magic item crafting. Make it an adventure to obtain.
The materials for a potion of healing should be hard to obtain and not just hand-waved. As with any materials for magic item crafting. Make it an adventure to obtain.
Are we talking about the bog standard potion of healing? You know a common and consumable magic item? Seems to me a common magic item ought to be made of common ingredients.
Going on a grand adventure to make a single use consumable item seems like a ridiculous amount of effort for very little reward. It's the kind of thing that seems likely needed to be used perhaps multiple times on the adventure to obtain it.
Now an adventure to learn how to make potions of healing on a regular basis? That seems fair. Maybe an adventure to acquire a reusable catalyst for the creation of healing potions could also be fair. But requiring an adventure for each potion made seems ludicrous to me.
My player's character might sit around and spend eight hours to assemble the right components--assuming they were available and accessible and make an actual potion of healing, yes.
How do you determine if the right components are available to them?
So your player's character could sit down anytime and spend 8 hours and dig up some random components which are in some way worth 25 GP and make a potion of healing which then also can be used by characters that would not be able to use a scroll if he made one. Also a potion of healing CAN be stronger than cure wounds depending on the casters spellcasting ability.
The materials for a potion of healing should be hard to obtain and not just hand-waved. As with any materials for magic item crafting. Make it an adventure to obtain.
But how hard? Also, in my opinion, the components for a common magical item like a healing potion should not require an adventure to obtain since they can also buy them somewhat easily. I want to make sure the effort that is required is consistent.
My player's character might sit around and spend eight hours to assemble the right components--assuming they were available and accessible and make an actual potion of healing, yes.
How do you determine if the right components are available to them?
I would just tell your DM what you want to do and see if it's viable for your situation.
My player's character might sit around and spend eight hours to assemble the right components--assuming they were available and accessible and make an actual potion of healing, yes.
How do you determine if the right components are available to them?
I would just tell your DM what you want to do and see if it's viable for your situation.
Whoops! Even easier then. A potion of healing. The ingredients are eye of newt and tongue of bat. or maybe a honeycomb and a pinch of medicinal tincture purchased form the local apothecary. Or maybe it's a patch of moss from the wall of the dungeon over there and some water from that underground pool that we then bless in the name of the cleric's deity.
My player's character might sit around and spend eight hours to assemble the right components--assuming they were available and accessible and make an actual potion of healing, yes.
How do you determine if the right components are available to them?
So your player's character could sit down anytime and spend 8 hours and dig up some random components which are in some way worth 25 GP and make a potion of healing which then also can be used by characters that would not be able to use a scroll if he made one. Also a potion of healing CAN be stronger than cure wounds depending on the casters spellcasting ability.
The materials for a potion of healing should be hard to obtain and not just hand-waved. As with any materials for magic item crafting. Make it an adventure to obtain.
But how hard? Also, in my opinion, the components for a common magical item like a healing potion should not require an adventure to obtain since they can also buy them somewhat easily. I want to make sure the effort that is required is consistent.
I think the issue that’s catching you up is the idea that there is 1 and only one viable recipe for a Potion of Healing. There could be thousands of recipes. Some might involve Willow bark (what aspirine is made from) others might involve ginseng, echinacea, ginkgo, poppy, coca, gogi berries, honey, yarrow, bread molds... the list goes on. Other ingredients might be alcohol or oil for tinctures, water for brewing, various yeasts, gelatins or other thickeners like extract from the marsh mallow plant (yes, it’s a real thing that the candy used to be made out of), salts or other preservatives, etc. It really all comes down to how appropriate you as the DM feel it is for them to have the required materials at hand in any given situation.
Whoops! Even easier then. A potion of healing. The ingredients are eye of newt and tongue of bat. or maybe a honeycomb and a pinch of medicinal tincture purchased form the local apothecary. Or maybe it's a patch of moss from the wall of the dungeon over there and some water from that underground pool that we then bless in the name of the cleric's deity.
Well, that can surely be a way to approach the question of what ingredients are needed, but if I make them that specific I am worried, that they are maybe to situational to find. I want somewhat specific but abandoned ingredients so there is little randomness to their availability. Also with the value of the ingredient is easily determinable when it comes to gemstones.
@IamSposta I know what is written in the books and take it as a base, but I want it to be more specific than that.
The materials for a potion of healing should be hard to obtain and not just hand-waved. As with any materials for magic item crafting. Make it an adventure to obtain.
Are we talking about the bog standard potion of healing? You know a common and consumable magic item? Seems to me a common magic item ought to be made of common ingredients.
Going on a grand adventure to make a single use consumable item seems like a ridiculous amount of effort for very little reward. It's the kind of thing that seems likely needed to be used perhaps multiple times on the adventure to obtain it.
Now an adventure to learn how to make potions of healing on a regular basis? That seems fair. Maybe an adventure to acquire a reusable catalyst for the creation of healing potions could also be fair. But requiring an adventure for each potion made seems ludicrous to me.
Yes, I'm talking about what to do if you have a player who wants their PC to be able to craft healing potions on a regular basis. It should require an investment of actual game time and effort to make it more "expensive" than buying it from a DM-controlled source. If you make it too easy and cheap to have healing potions, then your players will simply say they are spending 2 months to make 60 potions of healing and going on their adventures with bandoliers stuffed with cheap heals. The DM should try to remain in control of either a seller of healing potions, or the special ingredients required to craft them to prevent misuse.
@IamSposta I know what is written in the books and take it as a base, but I want it to be more specific than that.
I think the issue that’s catching you up is the idea that there is 1 and only one viable recipe for a Potion of Healing. There could be thousands of recipes. Some might involve Willow bark (what aspirine is made from) others might involve ginseng, echinacea, ginkgo, poppy, coca, gogi berries, honey, yarrow, bread molds... the list goes on. Other ingredients might be alcohol or oil for tinctures, water for brewing, various yeasts, gelatins or other thickeners like extract from the marsh mallow plant (yes, it’s a real thing that the candy used to be made out of), salts or other preservatives, etc. It really all comes down to how appropriate you as the DM feel it is for them to have the required materials at hand in any given situation.
Well, that can surely be a way to approach the question of what ingredients are needed, but if I make them that specific I am worried, that they are maybe to situational to find. I want somewhat specific but abandoned ingredients so there is little randomness to their availability. Also with the value of the ingredient is easily determinable when it comes to gemstones.
@IamSposta I know what is written in the books and take it as a base, but I want it to be more specific than that.
This is the angle I was coming at. Cybermind showed you what the rules indicate are the requirements for crating the potion. What i was trying to do was give you, as DM, some ideas on how to work those rules into the story of a relevant environment to allow players to make these potions during their long rest or whenever. If it's appropriate to serve up a softball, then make sure they go in with the herbalism kit and the gold. Then just handwave the requirement in the name of something easily found in that environment. If you want to build some tension, make the acquisition of the ingredients a little more challenging "You seem to recall some of that moss was back on the other side of the cavern from that chamber where you had to run from the hobgoblins earlier." And if you want to make a whole story arc or quest out of it, then maybe the players who want to make a potion of supreme healing will need to pick the petals from a flower that is only found on a particular mountain within the hunting grounds of the werewolf king's domain and the flower only blooms during a full moon.
You have the mechanics. You can mold the details to fit your story.
This MAY work, but make sure your players know before (or not, that would be better), but for every random ingredient you put in, a random effect (both good and bad) has a 1 in 10 chance of occuring. Let's say if you include an amethyst gemstone, along with the required gemstone, you would feel happy and slightly drunk. If you include frog legs then you could get poisoned. The list goes on and on and could add something for the random ingredients you include.
In this thread, I want to share with you my concerns and thoughts about crafting potions of healing in my party.
The "issue" came up when one of my players announced that he would like to craft potions of healing in the future. I like that he wants to use his ability to do so but I am dissatisfied with the information given in the rulebooks when it comes to crafting potions of healing. To fix the issues I have with the description given I came up with my own recipe to craft a potion of healing.
At the moment my current idea is as follows:
To craft a potion of healing you need a flask of any quality and material which can at least hold 200mL of liquid. Then you need distilled and therefore pure water, a gemstone with a value of 25 GP which has been ground down to a fine powder. Distilling the water and grinding the gemstone both take quite some time. Afterward, you mix the two components and cast "Cure Wounds" on them. If you do as described you will gain a potion of healing. The whole process sums up to one day of work.
With a recipe like that, I hope to make crafting potions of healing a viable and balanced way to prepare for adventures and regaining HP next to the options provided by the general game, many spells and abilities and simply buying them. I want to make crafting potions of healing a thing to do in preparation for adventures or when downtime during an adventure would allow for it. I am aware that this recipe has nothing to do with herbs which is why I would claim you would need alchemist tools to brew such a potion and not a herbalism kit.
What are your thoughts about this? Do you think this is a reasonable and balanced way to craft potions of healing? Or do you see some major issues with this approach?
~Xerberon
This idea mostly seems to be fairly close to the actual rules of crafting established in XGTE, except with the ingredients specified instead of just the generic "25 gp of Supplies"... although with the added cost of requiring a casting of cure wounds. I'm actually keen on the idea of planning ahead of time on what specific ingredients are needed to make things like a potion... it helps to guide the players, since they don't have to question what, exactly, they're actually using to produce their desired product. I recall being a game where an herbalist character constantly asked what they could use various herbs they found for, and the DM was kind of put on the spot because she only included some plants in a scene as part of the environment. By stating outright at the start of the game that this specific ingredient is what's needed for this specific magic item then it directs the players and guides the choices they make regarding treasure.
That said... I dislike adding the cast of Cure Wounds to the cost of crafting a potion of healing. One of the nice things about the option to craft potions is 5e is that it grants opportunities for healing outside of classes that specifically have healing spells in their spell lists. By requiring Cure Wounds as part of the spell itself, you're basically just adding an extra step to healing options. If you're a Monk with an herbalism kit... well, what good is it? If you're playing an Artificer, you need to keep Cure Wounds readied constantly if you want to craft Potions, even if you would rather focus on damage dealing or battlefield control spells instead.
I actually prefer the idea that there are different recipes for something like a Potion of Healing instead of one single recipe.
I feel like it's a bit of a challenge between roleplay and gameplay. Roleplay-wise, I like the versatility and the potential for exploring a character's knowledge and training by allowing them multiple means of producing the final product with a variety of resources. But gameplay-wise, I kind of like the idea of having a dedicated "Green Herb" (or in the case of this thread, a jewel) that is always part of a potion. If I'm searching pockets, I have a specific resource to keep an eye out for and a dedicated action to associate with it. Still, it's very video-gamey... like finding a recipe in Breath of the Wild or crafting in an MMO. However, if in a videogame 50+ different herbs can all be used to craft a Potion of Healing... why are there so many different herbs anyway? That's just going to make the inventory menu large an unwieldy.
Hello everyone!
In this thread, I want to share with you my concerns and thoughts about crafting potions of healing in my party.
The "issue" came up when one of my players announced that he would like to craft potions of healing in the future. I like that he wants to use his ability to do so but I am dissatisfied with the information given in the rulebooks when it comes to crafting potions of healing. To fix the issues I have with the description given I came up with my own recipe to craft a potion of healing.
At the moment my current idea is as follows:
To craft a potion of healing you need a flask of any quality and material which can at least hold 200mL of liquid. Then you need distilled and therefore pure water, a gemstone with a value of 25 GP which has been ground down to a fine powder. Distilling the water and grinding the gemstone both take quite some time. Afterward, you mix the two components and cast "Cure Wounds" on them. If you do as described you will gain a potion of healing. The whole process sums up to one day of work.
With a recipe like that, I hope to make crafting potions of healing a viable and balanced way to prepare for adventures and regaining HP next to the options provided by the general game, many spells and abilities and simply buying them. I want to make crafting potions of healing a thing to do in preparation for adventures or when downtime during an adventure would allow for it. I am aware that this recipe has nothing to do with herbs which is why I would claim you would need alchemist tools to brew such a potion and not a herbalism kit.
What are your thoughts about this? Do you think this is a reasonable and balanced way to craft potions of healing? Or do you see some major issues with this approach?
~Xerberon
I'm fine with official rules. A herbalism kit or alchemist kit, 25 gp for components and whatnot and 1 day gathering supplies, mixing, etc.
It's no different than the cleric just making a spell scroll of cure wounds which any cleric can make with 25 gp, a 1st level spell slot and 1 day.
My Homebrew: Races | Subclasses | Backgrounds | Spells | Magic Items | Feats
Need help with Homebrew? Check out this FAQ/Guide thread by IamSposta
See My Youtube Videos for Tips & Tricks using D&D Beyond
So your player's character could sit down anytime and spend 8 hours and dig up some random components which are in some way worth 25 GP and make a potion of healing which then also can be used by characters that would not be able to use a scroll if he made one. Also a potion of healing CAN be stronger than cure wounds depending on the casters spellcasting ability.
My player's character might sit around and spend eight hours to assemble the right components--assuming they were available and accessible and make an actual potion of healing, yes.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
The materials for a potion of healing should be hard to obtain and not just hand-waved. As with any materials for magic item crafting. Make it an adventure to obtain.
Are we talking about the bog standard potion of healing? You know a common and consumable magic item?
Seems to me a common magic item ought to be made of common ingredients.
Going on a grand adventure to make a single use consumable item seems like a ridiculous amount of effort for very little reward. It's the kind of thing that seems likely needed to be used perhaps multiple times on the adventure to obtain it.
Now an adventure to learn how to make potions of healing on a regular basis? That seems fair. Maybe an adventure to acquire a reusable catalyst for the creation of healing potions could also be fair. But requiring an adventure for each potion made seems ludicrous to me.
How do you determine if the right components are available to them?
But how hard? Also, in my opinion, the components for a common magical item like a healing potion should not require an adventure to obtain since they can also buy them somewhat easily. I want to make sure the effort that is required is consistent.
I would just tell your DM what you want to do and see if it's viable for your situation.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I think they are the DM.
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB
Whoops! Even easier then. A potion of healing. The ingredients are eye of newt and tongue of bat. or maybe a honeycomb and a pinch of medicinal tincture purchased form the local apothecary. Or maybe it's a patch of moss from the wall of the dungeon over there and some water from that underground pool that we then bless in the name of the cleric's deity.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
[REDACTED]
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB
I think the issue that’s catching you up is the idea that there is 1 and only one viable recipe for a Potion of Healing. There could be thousands of recipes. Some might involve Willow bark (what aspirine is made from) others might involve ginseng, echinacea, ginkgo, poppy, coca, gogi berries, honey, yarrow, bread molds... the list goes on. Other ingredients might be alcohol or oil for tinctures, water for brewing, various yeasts, gelatins or other thickeners like extract from the marsh mallow plant (yes, it’s a real thing that the candy used to be made out of), salts or other preservatives, etc. It really all comes down to how appropriate you as the DM feel it is for them to have the required materials at hand in any given situation.
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB
Well, that can surely be a way to approach the question of what ingredients are needed, but if I make them that specific I am worried, that they are maybe to situational to find. I want somewhat specific but abandoned ingredients so there is little randomness to their availability. Also with the value of the ingredient is easily determinable when it comes to gemstones.
@IamSposta I know what is written in the books and take it as a base, but I want it to be more specific than that.
Yes, I'm talking about what to do if you have a player who wants their PC to be able to craft healing potions on a regular basis. It should require an investment of actual game time and effort to make it more "expensive" than buying it from a DM-controlled source. If you make it too easy and cheap to have healing potions, then your players will simply say they are spending 2 months to make 60 potions of healing and going on their adventures with bandoliers stuffed with cheap heals. The DM should try to remain in control of either a seller of healing potions, or the special ingredients required to craft them to prevent misuse.
I think the issue that’s catching you up is the idea that there is 1 and only one viable recipe for a Potion of Healing. There could be thousands of recipes. Some might involve Willow bark (what aspirine is made from) others might involve ginseng, echinacea, ginkgo, poppy, coca, gogi berries, honey, yarrow, bread molds... the list goes on. Other ingredients might be alcohol or oil for tinctures, water for brewing, various yeasts, gelatins or other thickeners like extract from the marsh mallow plant (yes, it’s a real thing that the candy used to be made out of), salts or other preservatives, etc. It really all comes down to how appropriate you as the DM feel it is for them to have the required materials at hand in any given situation.
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB
This is the angle I was coming at. Cybermind showed you what the rules indicate are the requirements for crating the potion. What i was trying to do was give you, as DM, some ideas on how to work those rules into the story of a relevant environment to allow players to make these potions during their long rest or whenever. If it's appropriate to serve up a softball, then make sure they go in with the herbalism kit and the gold. Then just handwave the requirement in the name of something easily found in that environment. If you want to build some tension, make the acquisition of the ingredients a little more challenging "You seem to recall some of that moss was back on the other side of the cavern from that chamber where you had to run from the hobgoblins earlier." And if you want to make a whole story arc or quest out of it, then maybe the players who want to make a potion of supreme healing will need to pick the petals from a flower that is only found on a particular mountain within the hunting grounds of the werewolf king's domain and the flower only blooms during a full moon.
You have the mechanics. You can mold the details to fit your story.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
This MAY work, but make sure your players know before (or not, that would be better), but for every random ingredient you put in, a random effect (both good and bad) has a 1 in 10 chance of occuring. Let's say if you include an amethyst gemstone, along with the required gemstone, you would feel happy and slightly drunk. If you include frog legs then you could get poisoned. The list goes on and on and could add something for the random ingredients you include.
This idea mostly seems to be fairly close to the actual rules of crafting established in XGTE, except with the ingredients specified instead of just the generic "25 gp of Supplies"... although with the added cost of requiring a casting of cure wounds. I'm actually keen on the idea of planning ahead of time on what specific ingredients are needed to make things like a potion... it helps to guide the players, since they don't have to question what, exactly, they're actually using to produce their desired product. I recall being a game where an herbalist character constantly asked what they could use various herbs they found for, and the DM was kind of put on the spot because she only included some plants in a scene as part of the environment. By stating outright at the start of the game that this specific ingredient is what's needed for this specific magic item then it directs the players and guides the choices they make regarding treasure.
That said... I dislike adding the cast of Cure Wounds to the cost of crafting a potion of healing. One of the nice things about the option to craft potions is 5e is that it grants opportunities for healing outside of classes that specifically have healing spells in their spell lists. By requiring Cure Wounds as part of the spell itself, you're basically just adding an extra step to healing options. If you're a Monk with an herbalism kit... well, what good is it? If you're playing an Artificer, you need to keep Cure Wounds readied constantly if you want to craft Potions, even if you would rather focus on damage dealing or battlefield control spells instead.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
I actually prefer the idea that there are different recipes for something like a Potion of Healing instead of one single recipe.
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB
I feel like it's a bit of a challenge between roleplay and gameplay. Roleplay-wise, I like the versatility and the potential for exploring a character's knowledge and training by allowing them multiple means of producing the final product with a variety of resources. But gameplay-wise, I kind of like the idea of having a dedicated "Green Herb" (or in the case of this thread, a jewel) that is always part of a potion. If I'm searching pockets, I have a specific resource to keep an eye out for and a dedicated action to associate with it. Still, it's very video-gamey... like finding a recipe in Breath of the Wild or crafting in an MMO. However, if in a videogame 50+ different herbs can all be used to craft a Potion of Healing... why are there so many different herbs anyway? That's just going to make the inventory menu large an unwieldy.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium