the Jester
Legend
1. Yes, it does.
2. Not really. Part of the difference is the lack of an expected wealth level in 5e.
3. No.
D&D 5E Potions of Healing (and other common magical items)
1. Yes, it does.
2. Not really. Part of the difference is the lack of an expected wealth level in 5e.
3. No.
ZombieRoboNinja
First Post
Only if you want it to. Even if you're looking at it from a simulationist point of view, that potion literally doesn't fix anything a good night's sleep wouldn't take care of. If you're talking about situations where someone falls off a horse and breaks a leg, that's not hp damage; it's a lingering wound, right there in the DMG, and it takes a certain level of magical healing to fix. In the core rules for 5e (as for every other edition), HP ≠ meat.
I don't think realism or careful scrutiny of the rules will do anyone any favors when it comes to common healing potions. I prefer to take a more practical approach.
Does the party need to be able to purchase them?
How many should they reasonably be allowed to purchase?
How quickly should the herbalist be able to restock his supply?
Basically, my philosophy is that if the players are not abusing the privilege, there is no reason to wreck everyone's fun by denying them healing potions. It's not a terribly efficient use of an action in combat (or of gold outside of combat), so they probably aren't going to go overboard in any case.
One exception might be, for a party that relies on purchased healing potions, maybe the supply does start to dwindle for mysterious reasons -- or obvious natural ones, such as herbs becoming harder to find. That could make an interesting plot hook.
Does the party need to be able to purchase them?
In many cases, the answer is yes, especially if there isn't much magical healing in the party.
How many should they reasonably be allowed to purchase?
I think a maximum inventory of two per party member is about right, or three if they find some as loot. This may vary according to the needs of the party.
How quickly should the herbalist be able to restock his supply?
This depends on how often the adventurers offer to help him gather ingredients. I have no problem ruling that a professional, non-adventuring herbalist can make an enormous batch (dozens of doses) in one day, given enough ingredients.
Basically, my philosophy is that if the players are not abusing the privilege, there is no reason to wreck everyone's fun by denying them healing potions. It's not a terribly efficient use of an action in combat (or of gold outside of combat), so they probably aren't going to go overboard in any case.
One exception might be, for a party that relies on purchased healing potions, maybe the supply does start to dwindle for mysterious reasons -- or obvious natural ones, such as herbs becoming harder to find. That could make an interesting plot hook.
Indeed! I've seen that done, and it was a good story. An evil Death-domain cult might be at work... or farmers expanding cultivated land, by slashing and burning the terrain where the herbs normally grow, to instead grow wheat or barley... the Emerald Enclave might get involved...
Also, overharvesting, plain and simple. If demand goes up, and people pick all the herbs to make and sell more potions, the species could become endangered. (Lions used to be a European animal, and got wiped out in Roman Empire times, partly because of arena killings.)
See also: Speak with Plants, Plant Growth.
Is there an actual claim in the rules text that a non-caster can create healing potions? I couldn't find one. The general magic-item rules say you need to be a caster with slots, and I didn't see anything saying this was an exception.
Ahrimon
Bourbon and Dice
PHB 154 under Herbalism Kit
thalmin
Retired game store owner
Actually p 154 states
That quote doesn't state that spellcasting isn't also required.
Personally, I plan to go with the "kit allows" interpretation rather than "kit is required," as a spellcaster with the Alchemist kit should be able to make all the other potions.
Ahrimon
Bourbon and Dice
Very true. But considering that the PHB came out quite a while before the DMG and is mostly a here's how to play the game I interpret it to mean that antitoxin and healing potions are craft-able by anyone with the herbalism tool kit proficiency using the mundane crafting rules and any spellcaster using the magic crafting rules (if used). As always with 5e, the DM's interpretation may vary from table to table.
Sword of Spirit
Legend
That's pretty much my interpretation too.
Now I have to come up with the magic divisor number I'm going to apply to all figuring involving consumable magic items. The 1/2 figure is laughably insufficient in comparing the relative power of items. Magic armor vs. one use potion?
If I used 1/4, that would make the cost to create a potion the same for a spellcaster or an herbalist, it just takes the herbalist 10 days and the spellcaster 1. That's pretty cool in that specific instance, but I'm not sure 1/4 is enough when we get into more powerful consumables. They are listed as being a certain rarity because rarity indicates what level you should probably be before you run into them, but it should be significantly easier to create one use items than permanent ones. I wish they hadn't neglected to really address that issue...
Ahrimon
Bourbon and Dice
I'm not so sure that they did neglect it. Magic items and item creation are a very delicate subject that many players and DM's feel strongly about. If they had defined it more or even given more options then things could have very easily devolved into a situation that you see on the healing rates. There is at least one thread with over 1k posts with people going back and forth about healing.
In the end I'm glad they left it as undefined as they did. It can be very intimidating (I know I still worry about it from time to time) for many DMs to make that call that has such a profound effect on their campaign. But in the end, having the freedom allows us to make mistakes, learn from them and become better DMs in the process.
Similar Threads
