Herbs: APPENDIX A: THE REVISED HERBALISM SKILL

APPENDIX A: THE REVISED HERBALISM SKILL

by Maya Kniese

The revised herbalism skill that appears below is largely the work of Maya Kniese and is (c) 1996 Maya Kniese and is used with permission. I have edited her original document for greater clarity. Note, the following skill assumes (as does the entire guide) that Intelligence is measured as a score from 3-18, as appears in D&D, AD&D, Dragon Warriors, and Tunnels & Trolls FRPGs. If a different system is used, in your game it is necessary to revise the skill accordingly. The following system is totally optional of course, and you should feel free to use your own system, or that contained in your games systems rulebooks.

Herbalism, as a skill or a proficiency, is the ability to first of all find and then to prepare a certain herb in order to use its special properties (normally curative). To use this skill, simply tell the GM that you intend to look for a certain plant. The GM will decide, based on the information contained in the Guide for each herb, and on the fact whether or not he wants the herb to be found if the plant exists in the area.

If the herb does exist in the area, the GM will then roll 1d10 to determine the rarity of the plant in that area. This number must be multiplied by 10 and added to your intelligence score, in order to give the percentage chance that the herb will be found in each hour of searching. If the PC has two skill or proficiency levels in herbalism, then twice intelligence is added to the d10 x 10 roll, if the PC has three skill or proficiency points, three times Intelligence must be added.

The GM must add modifiers to this chance of finding the herb, based on common sense, etc. For example an eight feet tall plant in the middle of an open field is going to be very easy to see, and consequently to find. If the PC has a survival skill or proficiency in the type of terrain that they are searching in, 5% should be added to this roll.

If the PCs is in an area, that he or she is familiar with, for example their own village, 10% is added to the chance. These additions are cumulative. Finally once the herb is found, the Ability Check must be rolled in order to determine whether or not the herb is prepared correctly and functions as desired.