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THE HERBAL A-C

ADDER'S TONGUE (Shaun Hately)

The herb has one leaf which grows from a stalk about three inches from the ground. It's appearance gives it its name. The leaf must be boiled in olive oil and set in the sun for three days. At the end of that time the infusion can be used as a balm for wounds. In the event that the wound is infected the balm will draw out the infection within one day. However for that one day the damage caused by the infection will be twice as severe. If the wound is not infected the balm will increase the rate of healing by 1 hp for that day.

ADGANA (Sean Snyder from Joe Devers `Lone Wolf' series)

The leaves of this plant must be dried. They may then be crushed and eaten. It's effects diminish with constant use. The first time and second time Adgana is used it adds 2 to the user's Strength, Dexterity and Constitution for 2d4+4 minutes. The third time it is used it adds 1 to Strength and Dexterity for the same amount of time, the 4th time +1 is added to Strength only, and after that no benefit is ever gained. In addition to this, the herb is also highly addictive.

AGRIMONY (Shaun Hately)

Agrimony reaches a height of 1 to 2 feet. It has leaves up to seven inches long, which are serrated, green on top and white underneath. It has yellow flowers with five petals which are arranged in a spike on top of the stem. Its dried leaves must be boiled in a pint of red wine for five minutes, and then left to stand for an hour. It should then be used on sprains and bruises in a compress. A successful application will cure sprains and bruises in half the normal time. Agrimony was also believed to produce very heavy sleep if placed beneath a persons head, so deep that the person could not be woken until it was removed. At the GMs discretion agrimony may have this effect, but I would suggest the potential victim gets a save vs poison with a very large (8-10) bonus.

ALDAKA (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

The roots of this plant must be brewed over a low fire for one week, and the resulting distillation drunk. If used successfully, sight will be restored to the recipient provided the eye remains.

ALETHER (Sean Snyder from Joe Devers `Lone Wolf' series)

Eating a handful of these orange berries will add +1 to both a characters chance to hit, and to their damage rolls for 2d6 minutes. The berries can be brewed in white wine to produce a drink that will add +2 to the recipients chance to hit, and temporarily give them 2d4 hp. This effect lasts for 2d12 minutes, and ends with the characters total collapse for 1d3 days unless they successfully save against poison. This brew will only be useful for one month after manufacture and then loses its potency.

ALKANET (Shaun Hately)

This plant has a thick red root, narrow hairy leaves, and small red or blue flowers. The root can be eaten directly upon being drawn out of the ground but will only keep for a week or so. The herb allows a +1 bonus to any saving throw vs ingested poisons for 1d8 hours after eating.

ALL-HEALE (Shaun Hately from Alexander Scott's "Maelstrom" RPG)

When All-heale is mixed in a pint of olive oil and applied to a wound, (one application per day), the recipient will heal even if still working as normal. With rest, the recipient will heal at three times the normal rate.

ALOE (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

The leaf of Aloe applied to a wound, will double the natural healing rate of burns and minor cuts.

AMRANS (Druann Pagliasotti)

The lilac flowers can be prepared into a potion that rapidly cures wounds (3d6 if properly prepared (for 1 week), 1d4 if poorly prepared (for 3 days))

ANGELICA (Shaun Hately)

Angelica's root should be boiled in water for an hour and then drunk in order to relieve coughs. The plant can grow to a height of eight feet. It has a hollow stem and has large, broad pointed leaves at the base of the stem. It has a cluster of white or pink flowers at the top of the stem. The herbs does not in any way act as a cure for any disease causing a cough, it merely reduces the amount of coughing.

ANISE (Shaun Hately)

Anise grows to height of about two feet, and is distinguished by its unusual leaf formation. At its base, the leaves are heart shaped and toothed, but as we progress up the stalk they are small and feathery. It has delicate white flowers which ripen in summer to produce small ridged seeds. These seeds should be crushed and left to stew for ten minutes in boiling water. The resultant mixture should then be strained and drunk as desired (it will keep for up to 3 months). A successful application will relieve hiccups.

ANSERKE (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

The root must be applied to a bleeding wound. Within three rounds it will have stopped the bleeding. The recipient must not move for one turn or risk the wound reopening.

ARCHANGELICA (Druann Pagliasotti)

This white flowering plant has black seeds and roots with a sharp taste. The root, when brewed, makes a hot, peppery decoction that helps alleviate common colds, flu and congestions (doubles recovery time, adds +2 to Constitution rolls to prevent colds in bad weather).

ARFANDAS (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

If the stem of Arfandas is bound up in the dressing of a fracture, it will double the rate of healing for that fracture.

ARKASU (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

When the sap of the Arkasu plant is applied to wounds, it doubles the rate of healing. The effect is not cumulative.

ARLAN (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

The leaf of Arlan when applied to a wound will heal 1 hp of damage if it is used within 5 rounds. Arlan will also speed a persons recovery from respiratory illness by five times.

ARNICA (Shaun Hately)

This plant grows to a height of 1 to 2 feet. It has a hairy stem on which its leaves are arranged in pairs. It has orange flowers. These flowers should be plucked and dried, and then boiled in a litre of beer. This should be applied to a compress which is wrapped around a bruise. A successful application will cause the bruise to fade within one day. The pollen of the flowers if inhaled will cause uncontrollable sneezing. A phial of arnica carried in a persons pocket is also reputed to help a person quit smoking.

ARNUMINAS (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

The leaf of this plant should be applied to the site of ligament, cartilage, or muscle damage. If used successfully, it will double the speed of healing of such damage.

ARPUSAR (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

The stalks of this plant must be brewed for one week in fresh water at the end of which time it may be drunk. If it is successful, it will heal any damage to a persons muscles that are capable of healing naturally within one day.

ASARABACCA (Shaun Hately)

Asarabacca is a creeping vine with many small leaves each on their own small stalk. It also has small purple flowers. These flowers must be brewed up on a fire and left to stand. When administered successfully to someone, they must save vs poison or be rendered docile, and incapable of violence for 3d8 hours. The brew has a distinctive purple colour, and bitter taste, so to be given secretly in food, the food must be able to hide these attributes.

ASH (Shaun Hately)

The bark of the ash tree must be stripped from its branches and boiled in clear water for one day. It should then be drunk as a cure for fevers, especially those caused by diseases such as malaria. It does not cure the cause of the fever but merely brings it under control within 2d6 hours. The ash tree is sacred to worshipers of Thor, who use its wood to make spears. The wood of the ash tree could possibly be used as an essential item in the manufacture of magical spears. Ash leaves should be boiled in water and drunk as a cure for the poison of viper bites (cures poison in 2d6 turns, any damage already incurred remains). The ash tree has ash grey bark, and black buds. Its flowers have no petals. Ash trees are also by tradition used to make stakes for the purposes of killing vampires. This belief stems from Roman times, when Pliny the Elder wrote that all evil things feared Ashwood.

ASHLINE (Seth Klein from Fantasy Star IV)

Ashline is a small red flower, with very pale green leaves. The entire plant must be mashed and boiled in fine red wine for one week and the resultant mixture mixed with olive oil. When this liquid is poured over a petrified person it will, on a successful roll, restore them to their normal state.

ATHELAS (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

Also known as "Kingsfoil". It appears as a vine with dark green leaves divided into four parts. According to legend, the leaves of Athelas when crushed by the hands of a King over the afflicted person are capable of curing anything.

ATIGAX (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

The roots of this plant must be brewed over a low fire for one day, and the resulting distillation drunk. If used successfully, sight will be protected from glare or blinding light for a period of nine hours. This herb can thus be used to limit the ill effects suffered by subterranean creatures (such as drow) in full sunlight.

ATTANAR (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

Attanar is a moss, which when applied to the forehead of a stricken person, will cure fevers. It takes effect 2d6 hours after it is successfully administered.

BALM (Shaun Hately)

Balm is a plant about 2 to 3 feet tall with squarish stems. It has oval, serrated leaves. It has small flowers which can be any shade from white to blue, which form small clusters at the base of the leaves. The herb should be boiled and given to women suffering menstrual pains (hey, someone has gone to the trouble of writing "A Guide to AD&D Sex" so this might be useful!) It also reputedly has properties of bestowing longevity, and so could be used as an ingredient in "Potions of Longevity" and the like.

BARBERRY (Shaun Hately)

The Barberry plant has sharp thorns on its twigs. It can obtain a height in excess of eight feet. It has roughly oval shaped leaves, which are smooth with toothed edges. It has pale yellow flowers which produce oval red berries, with a small black dot at their tip. Barberries should be ground up in cold water and be left to stand in cold water, and then boiled quickly. This mixture should be drunk as a cure for liver disorders such as jaundice. If successfully administered the cure should take effect within two weeks. However three failed applications mean that there is never any hope of cure by this method.

BASE MULLEIN (Shaun Hately from Alexander Scott's "Maelstrom" RPG)

Base Mullein is very easily found due to the fact that its flower stalks often obtain a height of 8 feet or more. Its clear yellow flowers cover about 3 feet of the top of the stalk, and form a long funnel about an inch or two in diameter. If the leaves of this herb are applied to a burn within one hour, it will reduce the damage taken from the burn, by half.

BASIL (Shaun Hately)

Basil must be used almost immediately on being picked. The leaves should be applied to the bite of a venomous creature, and it will then have the effect of drawing out the poison. It will give a bonus of +4 to the saving throw vs poison, or if the save has already been made and failed, it will allow a second saving throw at normal values. Any damage already sustained will remain. The herb has one upright stalk, and small white flowers.

BASTIT (Druann Pagliasotti)

A small succulent that, when crushed, tends to repel parasitic insects, including mosquitoes and the like. It has a pungent but not unpleasant odour. (Lasts 1d6 hours but can be washed or sweated off. Easily noticed by tracking animals.)

BELAN (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

The nut must be eaten to stop bleeding (including internal bleeding). Within two hours it will have stopped the bleeding. The recipient must not move for one additional hour or risk the bleeding restarting.

BELRAMBA (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

Belramba is a lichen. It must be brewed in water, and then drunk three days later. If used successfully, all nerve damage capable of healing naturally will be healed, at three times the normal rate.

BILBERRY (Shaun Hately)

Bilberries are small black berries. They must be mixed with pure alcohol and left to stand for fifteen days, at the end of which time they must be drunk. A successful application will give a human the same infravision ability as half elves, but a failed application may lead to the death (save penalty -4) of the person who drinks it, as if they had drunk a class J poison (Death/ 20 hit points, onset 1d4 minutes).

BIRTHNOT (Druann Pagliasotti)

Birthnot is a dark-leaved, flowerless vine. The dried leaves can be used to create a contraceptive tea effective on most humans, demihumans and humanoids, male or female. Must be ingested between 1 hour - 30 minutes before properties invoked. (70% effective; causes mild impotence in males 15% of the time.)

BISHOP'S WEED (Shaun Hately from Alexander Scott's "Maelstrom" RPG)

Bishop's weed is a small plant with pale blue flowers, and small pale green leaves. This herb will protect people from Plague (+5 bonus to saves vs disease). It is drunk in wine, and is effective for one week. In plague years, its price increases rapidly.

BITTERMOURN (Druann Pagliasotti)

A rare, colourless lichen that grows on rocks beneath year-round ice. When crushed and strained, it creates a clear gel at freezing temperatures that melts into liquid when warmer. Imbibing a pint slows the aging process and grants a lifespan of twice normal length.

BLACKBERRY (Shaun Hately)

The leaves of these small black berries should be crushed and applied to small wounds, where they can stop minor bleeding very quickly (within one round).

BLACKROOT (Druann Pagliasotti)

A tall plant with small, bell-shaped violet flowers and complex roots that are black on the outside and white on the inside. Blackroot's roots can be applied to fresh wounds in order to promote quick healing (applied immediately, gives 1d4 back to character at once).

BLACK ROSE (Druann Pagliasotti)

This rare rose is easily identified by its black, velvety flower and long white thorns. The thorns are hollow and absorb liquids at a rate of a pint every 5 minutes. The liquid is stored in the plant's fibrous roots. The black rose's roots are often used to draw poison from wounds or, placed under the tongue, to absorb alcohol and prevent intoxication. Sometimes victims are tied down and pierced with the thorns to cause prolonged and painful exsanguination.

BLOODKEEP (Druann Pagliasotti)

Tall stalks with jagged leaves and purple-red flowers, bloodkeep's fresh leaves can be bound to a wound to stop bleeding at once and quicken coagulation (apply within 2 rounds of injury to stop bleeding; character regains 20% - rounded down - of lost hit points at once).

BORAGE (Shaun Hately)

This plant has hollow, hairy cylindrical stalks which grow to a height of 1 to 2 feet. It has drooping flowers, red or blue in colour, which are shaped as a five pointed star at the top of the stem. The dried herb should be boiled in water and the infusion drunk. It is used to cure minor fevers such as those caused by chills, and influenza. It will relieve the fever in 1d3 hours.

BRELDIAR (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

This flower, when eaten, alters the way a person judges distance for a period of one hour. While under the influence of the flower, a person can add a bonus of two to ranged combat attacks, while subtracting two from melee attacks.

BULL-RUSH (Shaun Hately from Alexander Scott's "Maelstrom" RPG)

Bull-rushes are tall straight stemmed plants with many small flowers at the top of the stalk. These flowers must be ground into an ointment which is applied to a persons eyes or tongue. This herb will put someone to sleep for 3d12 hours. A roll of 1 on the ability check will put the person into a coma.

BURDOCK (Shaun Hately)

This plant grows to about 3 feet tall. It has huge leaves with a whitish underside, and purple flours. Its root must be boiled in water and then the root eaten and the water drunk as a cure for syphilis. The person will be cured within a week.

BURSTHELAS (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

Bursthelas must be brewed for one week in fine red wine before it can be used. It must then be drunk within one month or spoil. A successful draft will heal any fractured bones within the body within one to three days.

CAFFAR (Druann Pagliasotti)

Caffar is made of the small caffar nut that is ground into a powder and brewed into a dark, sweet-smelling beverage, traditionally with a goat's milk base. Like kaffe or black tea, caffar can be used to delay sleep, but it has the side effect of making the ingester more psychically sensitive; psionicists' skills are greatly enhanced and even the unpsyighted are more sensitive to nuances in the environment and in others' manners, sometimes even to the point of detecting "auras" around certain objects. (Raises Wisdom [Intuition] by 1 for every 2 cups imbibed, to maximum of 19. Drinking 3-4 cups in one day causes jumpiness that increases as more is imbibed. Those who drink 5 or more cups in one day become slightly physically addicted to the substance and suffer headaches and mild stomach pains when their usage is cut back.)

CALAMUS (Shaun Hately)

This rush grows in small grassy clumps. It can grow from about 2 to 6 feet in height and has very small yellow green flowers that jut out from the stem. The leaves are long, thin and light green in colour and smells faintly sweet. The root is white with a red brown peel. The root must be peeled and boiled in fresh water within a day of being picked, and should then be drunk by the recipient. Provided no permanent physical damage has been done to the person hearing organs, the herb may restore some small measure of hearing to a totally deaf person, perhaps 10% of normal hearing. In addition the herb has been reported to have aphrodisiac qualities (GMs discretion) and was used by certain Native American peoples to make their dogs fierce.

CALCENA MUSHROOM (Sean Snyder from Joe Devers `Lone Wolf' series)

CALLIN (Druann Pagliasotti)

A dark nut that grows on the Callin tree in tropical jungles. When the husk is dried, ground and ingested, it thins the blood and strengthens internal organs, helping to prevent heart attacks. (If taken regularly, prevents heart attacks except under extreme duress. Addictive; causes nausea, dizziness and an increased chance of cardiac arrest if quit under unsupervised conditions after repeated use.)

CAT'S TAIL (Shaun Hately from Alexander Scott's "Maelstrom" RPG)

Cat's tail is a small plant with long thin spear shaped leaves rising from its base, and a single long, thin, soft flower at the top of the stalk. This herb when made into a salve, will heal all damage to a person's heel.

CEPHALOPHAGE (Druann Pagliasotti, from Gene Wolfe's "Torturer" series.)

A pale, fleshy fungus with a tough, rubbery consistency that is commonly found growing near carnivorous plants. The fungus grows upon corpses, absorbing the cadaver's life memories and personality; up to 10 different minds have been found absorbed by one cephalophage mushroom. Eating cephalophage will transfer those memories and personality quirks to the eater. (Effects last 1d3 hours and while they last the eater can access all of the dead person's mind. After the effects wear off, the eater may still succumb on occasion to "flashbacks" or personality instability; save vs. Intelligence when under intense stress or in a situation liable to cause such flashbacks.) This plant is condemned by some religions as unholy, believed to prevent a soul/spirit from attaining the afterlife. (from Gene Wolfe's Torturer series)

CHAMOMILE (Shaun Hately)

This plant can grow up to 2 feet tall, and has a branched stem. It has few leaves, and these are finely divided. The flower heads have yellow centres which are domed in shape with a hollow at their very centre. The petals of this plant bend backwards towards the stem. The flowers from a single plant must be immersed in boiling water and the resultant drink consumed. This drink is very bitter and is normally mixed with honey but this is unnecessary. The drink will last for approximately 2 months after manufacture, while the leaves can be dried, and will then keep for up to three years. A successful use of this herb will have a calming effect on the consumer.

CHERVIL (Shaun Hately)

Chervil is used to dissolve blood clots, which can help to prevent complications caused by injury. The clots are dissolved within 1d3 turns.

CINQUEFOIL (Shaun Hately)

This plant creeps along the ground on long slender stringlike stalks. It has five or seven part leaves, and small yellow flowers. The stalks must be boiled in white wine or vinegar and then drunk. The herb will then act as an aphrodisiac, and increase the recipients Charisma [Appearance] by 1 for 1d4 hours.

COLEWORT (Shaun Hately from Alexander Scott's "Maelstrom" RPG)

Colewort is a small plant with a single large glossy leaf, and small white flowers with four petals. Anyone who chews on the flowers before drinking will remain sober for the entire evening. Its effects protect only against alcohol, and not against any other drug or toxin.

COLTSFOOT (Shaun Hately)

The plant has a single golden yellow flower borne at the top of a six inch tall stem with long pinkish woolly scales. These flowers are crushed and mixed with honey, and applied as a poultice to infected wounds in a effort to draw out the infection. It does not cure any damage.

COMFREY (Shaun Hately)

Comfrey grows to a height of up to 3 feet. It has stiff, angular and hollow stalks which are covered with rough hairs. It has pink, mauve white or cream flowers. Its thick black root is the portion used in Herbalism. It should be boiled and wrapped in a poultice which is then wrapped around a broken limb and increases the speed of healing by fifty percent. It can also be used in a bath by women in order to give the impression that they are virgins on their wedding nights.

COW PARSNIP (Shaun Hately from Alexander Scott's "Maelstrom" RPG)

Cow parsnip has small leaves covered with tiny hairs. These hairs must be made into a salve. Cow parsnip will cure madness for a short period (a few hours). Repeated application over a two week period may (GMs discretion) cure insanity altogether.

COW-WHEAT (Shaun Hately from Alexander Scott's "Maelstrom" RPG)

Cow wheat is a small straight stemmed yellow-green plant. Its pale yellow flowers produce a white powder when crushed, between two hands. If this powder is placed into food or drink it will cause a person to act as if drunk. For those who desire game mechanics to deal with drunkenness, please consult the Intoxication Table in the 1st Edition AD&D DMG, page 82. Each dose of this herb successfully administered will increase the level of drunkenness by one step.

CULKAS (Shaun Hately from ICEs "MERP" RPG)

Each application of Culkas will cure one square foot of sunburn.

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Guide written by Shaun Hately © 1997