D&D 5E Herbs and Healing

Herbal remedies for various ailments and injuries are a staple of fantasy literature, but the D&D core rules scarcely mention them. The ability to brew a natural remedy in the wilderness leans into this colourful trope and provides an alternative to healing magic. The system below suggests that various herbs provide unique healing abilities when harvested fresh from the wild. But these herbs lose potency quickly, and if not used within a day of harvesting, they become ineffective. You must also be proficient with the herbalism kit to prepare the plants.

Characters can forage for these valuable herbs in forests, meadows, grasslands, and similar fertile areas. Your character must spend an hour attempting to locate one of the specific herbs named below and make a DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check. If the location is conducive to the herb, the DM may grant advantage on the Survival roll. On a success, you find enough of the herb to prepare a single application for one person. On a failure, the herb is unavailable nearby, and subsequent foraging for that herb will also fail. However, there is always some sort of useful plant available in a fertile area, so you can roll a d12 on the below table and see what you find instead.

  1. Adder's-Tongue
  2. Birthwort
  3. Calendula
  4. Comfrey
  5. Garlic
  6. Heartberry
  7. Juniper
  8. King's Candle
  9. Moorroot
  10. Stinking Nightshade
  11. Witch Hazel
  12. Woundwort

Adder’s-Tongue​

Adder's-Tongue is a single-leafed plant with a long, thin stalk that sprouts small, yellow-green flowers. It thrives in moist meadows and shady clearings, particularly in late spring. Often overlooked for its simple appearance, this herb can promote recovery when its leaves are crushed and boiled into tea.
Effect. When you take a short rest immediately after drinking Adder's-Tongue tea, you add +2 to the total of each Hit Die you spend to regain hit points.

Birthwort​

Birthwort is a climbing vine with heart-shaped leaves and thin, tubular yellow flowers that grow along hedges and shrubs in sunlit areas. It flowers in mid-summer and is renowned for its ability to neutralise toxins.
Effect. Drinking the juice of the crushed leaves removes the poisoned condition.

Calendula​

Calendula features vibrant orange and yellow flowers with lush green leaves, blooming from early summer through fall. It thrives in sunny and well-drained soil. The petals of Calendula possess anti-inflammatory and purifying properties, making them effective in treating necrotic wounds and promoting tissue regeneration.
Effect. When applied to a creature suffering from necrotic damage, a poultice made from the crushed petals restores 1d8 hit points.

Comfrey​

Comfrey features large, hairy leaves and hollow stalks that grow up to three feet high, with violet or white bell-shaped flowers. It grows in damp fields, ditches, and near water sources, blooming mid-summer. Its roots, when crushed, are especially effective for open wounds.
Effect. When applied to a creature suffering slashing or piercing damage, the crushed root immediately restores 1d6 hit points.

Garlic​

Garlic is easily recognisable by its tall green stalks with pungent, white flower clusters. Found in meadows, gardens, and forests, its strong odour makes it easy to identify. While well-known for its use as a culinary herb, garlic is also a potent antiseptic. The crushed cloves are especially useful for preventing infection in wounds.
Effect. If you have received a disease from a wound, applying a garlic poultice to the would enables you to repeat the saving throw you made against contracting the disease.

Heartberry​

Heartberry is a small, four-leaved plant that grows in woods and along field edges, bearing either a single white flower or a dark berry. Herbalists prize it greatly. When ingested, the berries can neutralise poisons, and when used to wash open wounds, they prevent infection.
Effect. When you consume the berries, the poisoned condition is removed from you. If you wash a slashing or piercing wound with the berry juice, you regain 1d6 hit points.

Juniper​

Juniper is a fragrant bush with rough bark and short, needle-like leaves. Its dark purple berries ripen after a year and grow in sparse forests and heathlands. Juniper berries are a stimulant; when consumed, they can revive those near death.
Effect. If you are at 0 hit points and consume several juniper berries, you regain 1 hit point. Assume that someone can assist you in consuming the berries, even when you are unconscious.

King's Candle​

King's Candle is a tall, striking plant with soft, silvery-green leaves surrounding a thick stalk rising to five feet. Its bright yellow flowers glow faintly like a candle and bloom in rocky soils or sunny slopes like those found near cliffs and quarries. These flowers are known for their potent pain-relieving properties. When crushed and mixed with water or wine, they can be applied directly to wounds to numb pain and speed healing.
Effect. When applied to an injury, the mixture grants 1d6 temporary hit points. These hit points disappear at the end of your next short or long rest.

Moorroot​

Moorroot is a tall plant with soft, white stalks and broad, hairy leaves that grow in salt marshes and damp meadows by the sea. Its long, pliant roots, when smashed and made into a poultice, sooth fresh burns.
Effect. When applied to a creature suffering fire, lightning, or acid damage, the poultice restores 1d8 hit points.

Stinking Nightshade​

This is a low-growing plant with thick, deeply cut leaves and hollow yellow flowers veined with purple. It has a strong, offensive smell and thrives in clearings and along paths, flowering throughout the summer. Though its odour is repellent, the plant's boiled leaves form a powerful painkiller, deadening discomfort from severe wounds. However, it can also cause intoxication.
Effect. When ingested, the mixture grants 2d6 temporary hit points, which disappear at the end of your next short or long rest. But you must also make a successful DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for one hour.

Witch Hazel​

Witch Hazel has glossy, dark green leaves and striking, spidery yellow flowers that bloom in late autumn and early winter. It typically grows along riverbanks, wetlands, and shaded woodlands, thriving in moist, fertile soils. Witch Hazel leaves have astringent and anti-inflammatory properties that promote the healing of bruises and contusions.
Effect. When applied to a creature suffering bludgeoning or thunder damage, a poultice from the crushed leaves immediately restores 1d6 hit points.

Woundwort​

Woundwort is a slender, green-stalked plant with long, jagged leaves and large purplish-red flowers. Found growing in fields, ditches, and marshes, it thrives in mid-summer. When mashed into a poultice, its acrid-smelling leaves are a potent remedy for deep cuts.
Effect. When, at the start of a short rest, you apply the poultice to a creature suffering slashing or piercing damage, any Hit Dice they spend restore the maximum number of hit points possible.

This article was influenced by Kevin Thompson's "Wounds and Weeds" in Dragon #82.
 

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I love when herbs can be applied in some fashion to a fantastic setting; it brings to mind the use of athelas by Aragorn in the "Flight to the Ford" in The Fellowship of the Ring. Such a memorable moment from that book.
 

Herbal remedies for various ailments and injuries are a staple of fantasy literature, but the D&D core rules scarcely mention them. The ability to brew a natural remedy in the wilderness leans into this colourful trope and provides an alternative to healing magic. The system below suggests that various herbs provide unique healing abilities when harvested fresh from the wild. But these herbs lose potency quickly, and if not used within a day of harvesting, they become ineffective. You must also be proficient with the herbalism kit to prepare the plants.

Characters can forage for these valuable herbs in forests, meadows, grasslands, and similar fertile areas. Your character must spend an hour attempting to locate one of the specific herbs named below and make a DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check. If the location is conducive to the herb, the DM may grant advantage on the Survival roll. On a success, you find enough of the herb to prepare a single application for one person. On a failure, the herb is unavailable nearby, and subsequent foraging for that herb will also fail. However, there is always some sort of useful plant available in a fertile area, so you can roll a d12 on the below table and see what you find instead.

  1. Adder's-Tongue
  2. Birthwort
  3. Calendula
  4. Comfrey
  5. Garlic
  6. Heartberry
  7. Juniper
  8. King's Candle
  9. Moorroot
  10. Stinking Nightshade
  11. Witch Hazel
  12. Woundwort

Adder’s-Tongue​

Adder's-Tongue is a single-leafed plant with a long, thin stalk that sprouts small, yellow-green flowers. It thrives in moist meadows and shady clearings, particularly in late spring. Often overlooked for its simple appearance, this herb can promote recovery when its leaves are crushed and boiled into tea.
Effect. When you take a short rest immediately after drinking Adder's-Tongue tea, you add +2 to the total of each Hit Die you spend to regain hit points.

Birthwort​

Birthwort is a climbing vine with heart-shaped leaves and thin, tubular yellow flowers that grow along hedges and shrubs in sunlit areas. It flowers in mid-summer and is renowned for its ability to neutralise toxins.
Effect. Drinking the juice of the crushed leaves removes the poisoned condition.

Calendula​

Calendula features vibrant orange and yellow flowers with lush green leaves, blooming from early summer through fall. It thrives in sunny and well-drained soil. The petals of Calendula possess anti-inflammatory and purifying properties, making them effective in treating necrotic wounds and promoting tissue regeneration.
Effect. When applied to a creature suffering from necrotic damage, a poultice made from the crushed petals restores 1d8 hit points.

Comfrey​

Comfrey features large, hairy leaves and hollow stalks that grow up to three feet high, with violet or white bell-shaped flowers. It grows in damp fields, ditches, and near water sources, blooming mid-summer. Its roots, when crushed, are especially effective for open wounds.
Effect. When applied to a creature suffering slashing or piercing damage, the crushed root immediately restores 1d6 hit points.

Garlic​

Garlic is easily recognisable by its tall green stalks with pungent, white flower clusters. Found in meadows, gardens, and forests, its strong odour makes it easy to identify. While well-known for its use as a culinary herb, garlic is also a potent antiseptic. The crushed cloves are especially useful for preventing infection in wounds.
Effect. If you have received a disease from a wound, applying a garlic poultice to the would enables you to repeat the saving throw you made against contracting the disease.

Heartberry​

Heartberry is a small, four-leaved plant that grows in woods and along field edges, bearing either a single white flower or a dark berry. Herbalists prize it greatly. When ingested, the berries can neutralise poisons, and when used to wash open wounds, they prevent infection.
Effect. When you consume the berries, the poisoned condition is removed from you. If you wash a slashing or piercing wound with the berry juice, you regain 1d6 hit points.

Juniper​

Juniper is a fragrant bush with rough bark and short, needle-like leaves. Its dark purple berries ripen after a year and grow in sparse forests and heathlands. Juniper berries are a stimulant; when consumed, they can revive those near death.
Effect. If you are at 0 hit points and consume several juniper berries, you regain 1 hit point. Assume that someone can assist you in consuming the berries, even when you are unconscious.

King's Candle​

King's Candle is a tall, striking plant with soft, silvery-green leaves surrounding a thick stalk rising to five feet. Its bright yellow flowers glow faintly like a candle and bloom in rocky soils or sunny slopes like those found near cliffs and quarries. These flowers are known for their potent pain-relieving properties. When crushed and mixed with water or wine, they can be applied directly to wounds to numb pain and speed healing.
Effect. When applied to an injury, the mixture grants 1d6 temporary hit points. These hit points disappear at the end of your next short or long rest.

Moorroot​

Moorroot is a tall plant with soft, white stalks and broad, hairy leaves that grow in salt marshes and damp meadows by the sea. Its long, pliant roots, when smashed and made into a poultice, sooth fresh burns.
Effect. When applied to a creature suffering fire, lightning, or acid damage, the poultice restores 1d8 hit points.

Stinking Nightshade​

This is a low-growing plant with thick, deeply cut leaves and hollow yellow flowers veined with purple. It has a strong, offensive smell and thrives in clearings and along paths, flowering throughout the summer. Though its odour is repellent, the plant's boiled leaves form a powerful painkiller, deadening discomfort from severe wounds. However, it can also cause intoxication.
Effect. When ingested, the mixture grants 2d6 temporary hit points, which disappear at the end of your next short or long rest. But you must also make a successful DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for one hour.

Witch Hazel​

Witch Hazel has glossy, dark green leaves and striking, spidery yellow flowers that bloom in late autumn and early winter. It typically grows along riverbanks, wetlands, and shaded woodlands, thriving in moist, fertile soils. Witch Hazel leaves have astringent and anti-inflammatory properties that promote the healing of bruises and contusions.
Effect. When applied to a creature suffering bludgeoning or thunder damage, a poultice from the crushed leaves immediately restores 1d6 hit points.

Woundwort​

Woundwort is a slender, green-stalked plant with long, jagged leaves and large purplish-red flowers. Found growing in fields, ditches, and marshes, it thrives in mid-summer. When mashed into a poultice, its acrid-smelling leaves are a potent remedy for deep cuts.
Effect. When, at the start of a short rest, you apply the poultice to a creature suffering slashing or piercing damage, any Hit Dice they spend restore the maximum number of hit points possible.

This article was influenced by Kevin Thompson's "Wounds and Weeds" in Dragon #82.
This is wonderful! Both Level Up and ACKS II make use of similar herbal remedies and the skills required to concoct them. I like your system quite a lot though.
 

Nice and reminds me of the herb system from the Resident Evil games and of several watched Anime that have such in them.

Herbal Lore- A book tome collection of either local or regional herbs with sketches of the herb in black ink or colored ink that aids a gatherer in their endeavors.
Knowledge Skill Set Herbs allows the gatherer to easily search and discover the desired herb after Search and Spot DC.
Harvesting the desired herb with the root system intact can provide more than just one dosage use and possible cultivation at an alchemist apothecary herbalist shop.
Nature Spells could be used to cultivate said herbs. A Druid or other maybe a monster Dryad that cultivates them in a hidden grove.
Mundane versus Magical variants where the Magical variants could be crafted into the standard healing potions that rapidly heal or restore the consumers HP or MP levels.
 
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Immediate use of the herb to be ingested consumed as a drink or to being chewed crushed to make balm, poultice, or salve that is applied to the wound injury site Example Blood Leaf stops bleeding at the wound site applied wrapped as a poultice salve.
 

If memory serves me correctly, and its process in Resident Evil there were more the just RGB color herbs in later games and they could be combined with the others to boost the effects of that color by x-multiplier or have dual properties. Three green herbs would heal lets say 1.5 to 3 times the HP or an RGB may heal and detoxify poisoned levels by 1.5 HP and removes the poison effects.

Remember drying of Herbs, Seeds, and other could prolong the efficiency of the item for later use. Just requires more of the dried or powdered herb seeds.

Stasis magic applied to the containers which hold the herb seed selection. Maybe a special magic item jar glassware that could store a single herb seed or ones that contain several multiple choices possibly all related to a set of recipes for a potion, balm, poultice, salve, and other.

 
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Magical Herbs
 

This makes me think of the old "Maelstrom" RPG (Google: by Alexander Scott). IIRC it had a major herbalism component. One of the first non-D&D RPG's I ran.
 

Cadoc (Leaf)
A rare succulent that only grows in temperate and arid conditions after a substantial rain; most frequently in alpine locations. The herb is about a hands length in height, with concentric rings of thick, spiky, triangular leaves that mature at approximately two to three fingers in width. Cadoc is exceptionally difficult to cultivate as the plant produces tiny spores instead of seeds that cannot usually be seen with the naked eye. When crushed, the leaves produces a faintly luminous (providing dim light in a 5 foot radius) paste that greatly speeds tissue growth.
Effect: When directly spread on injuries, the paste doubles hit points restored by spending hit dice during a short rest. When fractionated and distilled properly through alchemical means, Cadoc can be used to produce healing or growth potions; presuming the user has both appropriate equipment and a detailed recipe for formulation. Users should be warned that excessive long-term use can cause cancer, although this rarely falls within an adventuring career...

Moonsilver
A tiny blue, annual flower that forms small patches in loamy, forest meadows that see significant fey activity. Moonsilver looks much like flax; and is almost indistinguishable from a number of more common meadow flowers except that it magically shimmers with a wispy, silvery sheen under the light of a full of near full moon. Moonsilver patches are most bountiful after the equinoxes - which are believed to affect growth or germination in some manner.
Effect: Approximately half a peck of moonsilver flowers can be distilled into a vial of moonsilver essence. When used in the casting of an illusion or light-producing spell (including any that cause radiant damage), a vial of moonsilver essence can be consumed to effectively improve the spell so that it is treated as if cast with a spell slot that is one level higher than is actually expended. Cantrips improved with moonsilver essence are instead treated as upgraded to the next tier of damage; or have duration, area, and range doubled for non-damaging cantrips.

Quasit Fingers
A perennial shrub that grows beneath brambles in boggy patches by sparse deciduous groves. Forms woody stems that rise no more than two feet high with tiny, spade-shaped leaves. The plant produces slender black seedpods that mature in autumn at around half an inch to an inch in length. Raw seedpods are bittersweet in flavor and toxic, usually resulting in nausea and vomiting if consumed. However, they may be processed for medicinal use. Properly prepared fermentation byproducts of the seedpods increase heart rate, induce sweating, and stimulate liver and kidney function; helping the body to expel toxins and harmful magic more rapidly.
Effect: Harvested seedpods can be mashed and mixed with oil derived from garden Sage; then left to ferment for at least six months. When this concoction is consumed, it provides the user a +1d4 bonus on constitution saves for 10 minutes. Care must be taken to ensure that mold does not grow on the fermenting extract, which typically ruins any beneficial effects and instead causes extreme gastrointestinal distress (resulting in diarrhea and the poisoned condition) for 1d4 days afterwards.
 
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