Herbology 101
For those of you who haven't heard, we recently released a new book, a sequel to A Necromancer's Grimoire: The Secret of Herbs, which expands on the extensive herbology rules implemented in that book by providing 10 new, jungle-themed herbs, complete with dozens of ways to use them, both on their own and mixed with one another. It's called A Necromancer's Grimoire: Herbs of the Jungle, and you can get your copy by clicking right here.
Of course, if you're the cautious type, who likes to sample before you buy, we wouldn't ask you to take our word for it (or even the words of the rave reviews for the original book). Below you'll find two complete herbs from the book, as well as three compounds made by mixing herbs together. If you like them, please consider taking a look at the full product, but either way, feel free to enjoy them along with this week's herb-themed articles.
Chara Tree
These short, thin trees are extremely uncommon even in remote jungles due to over-harvesting by primitive humanoids who seek their special properties for curatives, poisons, and armor. Effectively three herbs in one, every part of the chara tree has some special quality and can be harvested for alchemical reagents. A chara tree’s leaves, sap, and roots are all counted as separate herbs and must be harvested separately. A typical chara tree can yield 20 doses of each and re-grows leaves once each year. If depleted of any one of these components (leaves, sap, or roots), the tree dies and does not continue to produce leaves.
A chara tree is also useful for constructing wooden weapons and armor, and all wood harvested from a chara tree is treated as though it had a hardness equivalent to iron; however, it retains the same hit points as a wooden item of its kind.
CHARA ROOT
Forage DC 20; Environment jungles
Cost 40 gp; Weight 2 lbs. per dose
The chara root is the only part of the chara tree which is inherently poisonous, and eating the roots raw can have dire consequences. Anyone eating the root raw immediately becomes sickened for 1 hour. Additionally, he then must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 14) or suffer 1d2 points of Dexterity drain. The root of the chara tree has a wide variety of offensive uses, and its juices are potent and dangerous and have a number of adverse effects on the body.
Preparations
Bleeding Root Mist: The root of the chara can be juiced, distilled, and then humidified in order to create a single dose of bleeding root mist, which can be bottled in a jar that may be thrown as a grenade-like weapon. This requires a ranged touch attack which, if successful, causes the glass to burst and spread the mist in a localized area. All creatures within a 5-foot burst are exposed to the mist, and must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 12) or suffer from the bleeding root mist’s effects. A creature hit directly by the bleeding root mist receives no saving throw, and is automatically affected. A creature that becomes affected by bleeding root mist is particularly vulnerable to bleeding wounds, and any bleed damage that such a creature suffers cannot be stopped by any means for 1d8 rounds after being affected. For every 2 points by which the Craft check to create the bleeding root mist exceeds the DC, the duration increases by 1 round.
Craft DC 25; Price 175 gp
Blood of the Chara: The root of the chara tree can be juiced and boiled in order to create an irritating salve which burns away exposed skin and boils blood, causing great wounds. Blood of the chara is applied to weapons like a poison, and requires that a creature have poison use in order to safely apply it to a weapon. A creature who becomes exposed to this preparation while applying it to a weapon suffers 1 point of bleed damage. Once applied to a weapon or piece of ammunition, the next successful hit with that weapon deals 1 additional point of damage. For every 10 points by which the Craft check made to create the blood of the chara exceeds the DC, this damage increases by an additional +1.
Craft DC 10; Price 50 gp
Chara Root Beer: It takes 3 weeks to brew a single dose of chara root beer from a single dose of chara root, though once brewed, the beer is slow to spoil and lasts for 1 year. Consuming a dose of the beer is a full-round action. After being consumed, the imbiber is damaged by the anti-coagulant effects of the chara root, but is physically strengthened by the beer’s other effects. The imbiber suffers 1 point of damage per round for 1d4 minutes, and there is no way to prevent this damage, though it can be cured while the imbiber is still under the chara root beer’s effects. For the same period of time, the imbiber gains a +1 enhancement bonus to his Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores. This bonus increases by +1 for every 10 points by which the Craft check made to create the chara root beer exceeds the DC. Additionally, if the target gains any benefit from consuming an alcoholic beverage as a result of a class feature, spell, feat, or special ability, this bonus increases by +1.
Craft DC 20; Price 120 gp
Chara Root Poison: The root of a chara tree can be distilled into a deadly contact poison which is highly irritating, painful, and can cause long-term physical damage. For every 5 points by which the Craft check made to create the chara root poison exceeds the DC, increase the saving throw DC of the poison by 1.
Craft DC 25; Price 800 gp
CHARA ROOT POISON
Type poison (contact); Save Fortitude DC 15
Frequency 1/round for 4 rounds
Effect 1d6 points of damage and 1d4 Dexterity damage, on a successful save the target becomes sickened for 1 round instead; Cure 1 save
Mud Lily
These unusual and elusive jungle flora aren’t truly plants at all, but are rather a sort of highly unusual and disgusting fungus, commonly found near rivers and streams lurking just below the jungle mud. A typical mud lily is a rough disc about 3 feet in diameter and 4 to 5 inches thick, broken by an asymmetrical pattern of crater-like pores and quivering sucker-like protrusions which the strange fungus uses to extract nutrients. Some scholars believe that the mud lily is intelligent and merely incapable of action; however, no attempts at communication with a mud lily have met with success to date.
MUD LILY
Forage DC 13; Environment jungles
Cost 20 gp; Weight 2 lbs. per dose
Mud lilies are fairly commonplace, but dwell under at least 10 feet of mud. Digging up a mud lily’s stomping ground typically takes about 2 hours of hard work by at least 2 Medium-sized humans with a Strength score of 12 or higher. Once the appropriate depths have been reached, a successful Perception check (DC 20) is required to actually discover a mud lily in order to harvest it. Once discovered, harvesting a mud lily is a simple matter of removing it from the mud and placing it in one’s pack. Mud lilies are edible in the raw, and have hallucinogenic properties. A creature consuming a mud lily must succeed a Fortitude save (DC 14) or be staggered for 10 minutes, as he is overwhelmed by psychedelic visions. A creature who critically fails his saving throw must also succeed on a Will save (DC 14) or become confused for this period.
Preparations
Absorptive Sponge: A mud lily’s body is inherently capable of absorbing significant quantities of liquid. By removing the mud lily’s pseudo-organs and other fluids and applying basic alchemical treatments to the remaining husk, a mud lily can be converted into an absorptive sponge. When placed in a liquid, the absorptive sponge begins to suck that liquid into itself. An absorptive sponge is capable of absorbing one 5-foot cube of liquid, plus one 5-foot cube of liquid for every 10 points by which the Craft check made to create the absorptive sponge exceeds the DC. It takes an absorptive sponge 1 minute to absorb a single 5-foot cube of liquid. Though an absorptive sponge is capable of absorbing dangerous liquids such as acid and lava, such liquids typically destroy an absorptive sponge long before it has a chance to do so. An absorptive sponge is normally a 1-foot diameter disk which expands in size to equal the amount of liquid it absorbs. An absorptive sponge has no effects on the physical properties of a liquid it is placed in; thus, when placed in a pool of water, the water level will lower gradually from the top, rather than the sponge removing several cubes of water while leaving others intact.
Craft DC 25; Price 250 gp
Delusion Extract: A mud lily has psychedelic properties when consumed, and causes any creature imbibing it to suffer from mild delusions and hallucinations. By applying alchemical skill and certain easily obtained reagents to the mud lily, one can create a much more potent pure extract in the form of a liquid. Any creature imbibing the liquid suffers minor delusions, causing him to become sickened for 1 hour (no save). A creature who imbibes the delusion extract must also succeed on a Will save (DC 15) or become confused, as he fails to distinguish between the hallucinations and reality. For every 5 points by which the Craft check to create the delusion extract exceeds the DC, the saving throw DC increases by +1.
Craft DC 20; Price 60 gp
Lily Vision Paste: A mud lily has sensory organs which allow it to see through mud and other opaque substances to a distance of about 10 feet. Those same organs can be harvested, and when treated by oils extracted from the rest of the mud lily and simple sand, they are transformed into a paste which can transfer those powers to any creature that smears it over his eyes. This grants the creature the ability to see through solid objects up to 3 feet thick, regardless of their composition. This benefit lasts for 1 minute, plus 1 additional minute for every 5 points by which the Craft check made to create the lily vision paste exceeds the DC. This effect is highly disorienting, however, and causes the user to be sickened for the duration of the effect.
Craft DC 20; Price 250 gp
Mud Repellant: By crushing a mud lily into a fine paste and adding water and the skin of an earth elemental, one can create a potent substance which allows the user to cross over muddy and uneven surfaces without peril. A creature who applies a dose of mud repellant to the bottom of his feet walks effortlessly atop a number of difficult surfaces, ignoring the effects of the terrain. The types of surfaces affected are mud, sand, quicksand, snow, and any other similar substance. The target always move across the top of such surfaces, preventing him from digging, burrowing, or swimming into the substance, even if he attempts to do so. Mud repellant only allows the user to ignore the movement-based effects of such a terrain, and do not allow a creature to avoid other perils of the terrain which do not affect movement, such as damaging traps or other effects, and the user’s body remains in contact with the top portion of whatever surface he is currently walking across. This effect lasts for 1 hour, plus 1 additional hour for every 5 points by which the Craft check made to create the mud repellant exceeds the DC. The mud repellant can be removed by washing the affected area with clean water (a process which takes 1 minute).
Craft DC 15; Price 120 gp
Compounds
In addition to the various preparations that can be created from individual herbs, when herbs are combined with one another they can be used to create a wide variety of compounds, which are special alchemical items that are made from two or more herbs. These can be created using Craft (alchemy) like any other alchemical item, but each requires a certain number of doses of two or more specific herbs, instead of the normal material cost associated with crafting an alchemical item. Each of the following compounds has a description that includes its effect, the number of doses of each type of herb it requires, the Craft DC to create it, and the price to purchase one on the open market.
Earth Meld: This salve, created from the oils of a resailia plant and the juices of a crushed mud lily, can be rubbed all over a single creature of Medium or smaller size, and allows him to meld into natural earth for a short time, as though his body were insubstantial. The affected creature can pass through objects and surfaces with a hardness of less than 8 as though he had the earth glide ability. A creature who is currently within a solid surface or object at the end of this time is immediately deposited into the nearest open area which can support him, and suffers 3d10 points of damage. This effect lasts for 1 minute, plus 1 additional minute for every 5 points by which the Craft check to create the earth meld exceeds the DC.
Ingredients mud lily (4 doses), resailia (2 doses)
Craft DC25; Price500 gp
Flotation Poison: This poison causes the victim to fly about uncontrollably. An affected creature has very little control over his body.
Ingredients cloud vine berry (3 doses), mud lily (2 doses)
Craft DC18; Price150 gp
FLOTATION POISON
Type poison (injury or ingested); Save Fortitude DC 12*
Frequency 1/round for 10 rounds
Effect 2 Dex damage and an additional cumulative -2 penalty on Fly checks. Additionally, the target rises 5 ft. and takes flight. While moving in this way, the target can move up to his speed in the direction of his choice with a successful Fly check (DC 20), but if the check is a failure, the target cannot move that round.
Cure 1 save
Simpering Tonic: This sweet-tasting tonic is of great benefit to anyone looking for a short boost to his personal magnetism. Drinking the tonic enhances the imbiber’s natural assets, increasing his beauty and causing him to give off pheromones which have a potent effect on all those around him. However, the delicious liquid has an adverse effect on the minds of those who drink it. For 1 minute, the target gains a +4 enhancement bonus to Charisma and an additional +6 competence bonus on all Charisma-based skill checks. However, each round for the tonic’s duration, the target must attempt a Will save (DC 20) or suffer 1 point of Intelligence and Wisdom damage. For every 5 points by which the Craft check to create the simpering tonic exceeds the DC, the saving throw DC is reduced by 1.
Ingredients chara sap (2 doses), veronica flower (2 doses),
Craft DC18; Price390 gp