D&D (2024) Should Goodberry get improve like Cure and Healing word?

[Paul Farquhar]

You can't feed them all. If you tried, the PC in question would become a town assest to be fought over like the cauldron

Which is what happened. But why was the PC the only Druid (who wasn’t a baddie)?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

So how would you change Goodberry?

Not sure that I would, but I had a DM a few years ago that already had a house rule I will bring up here... I liked it at the time that we had a Druid and a ranger in the party.

The Goodberry only counted as 1 meal (not found of this change) but healed 1+spell slot level) and could have the ten berry's ferment and be made into "goodberry wine" that was a healing potion that would heal you only 1d6 (per spell level) and treat as a meal... but if you had more then 2 drinks within an hour required a con save or become slightly tipsy (poisoned condition) It would in this form last 1 month+ 1 month per spell slot level (so base 2 months)

 

[ezo]

Drinking a potion with a bonus action become enough popular that the rule change for that.

LOL yeah that was a ridiculous change IMO and one I would never implement.

 

[ezo]

Which is what happened. But why was the PC the only Druid (who wasn’t a baddie)?

Who says the PC was the only druid? The DM I suppose.

Just because something isn't in a published adventure certainly doesn't mean the DM can't choose to add it. But IMO it would not fit the premise of the adventure--a land plagued by cold and death. And of course any Druid who advertised goodberry could quickly find themselves in exactly that situtaion...

And of course you'd have to ask the designers why the Druids in the adventure were baddies... I'm old school---I still think of Druids as Neutral.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

And unless you have several platoons of Druids using all their spell slots on goodberries, you are not feeding a rebel "army" by any means

Depends what you mean by army, but one 10th level Druid was feeding around 150 people. For years.

 

[ezo]

Depends what you mean by army, but one 10th level Druid was feeding around 150 people. For years.

Not my definition of army by any means.

But sure, if that is all they were doing. Makes for an easy day's work, huh?

At any rate... as I said, make the spell a half-ration and that problem goes away. You cannot survive indefinitely on half-rations in the game, you need a full ration reset at least every few days. This of course with the caveat that additional berries don't continue to provide additional nourishment (no 2 berries = full ration thing).

 

[Micah Sweet]

Another vote for nerfing. Goodberry is horribly OP.

Nerfing it would be against 5.5's design philosophy. It is clear to me that WotC wants to eliminate survival at any level as a factor in D&D, to, "get to the action" as they've said. I say let them. Push Goodberry up to match the other healing spells. Those of us who don't like it can ban it (along with any other rules that act against the exploration pillar meaning anything) or move on to a game where such things haven't been deemed not worth supporting. There are plenty out there.

 

[the Jester]

Goodberry, IMHO, is too good for a 1st level spell. Compare it to create food and drink, not to cure wounds.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It wasn’t just a justification for a single encounter. There was an entire rebel army living of goodberry for years. And in Rime of the Frostmaiden we had ten starving towns, and the PCs march in tossing goodberry’s left right and centre.

It needs to provide nutrition for one day, but if you live off them for an extended period you become ill.

Why do farmers exist when we could replace them all with druids?

Since when in recent years has official D&D cared about any "extended periods" in game? That's not what the official game is about.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Changes I'd make:
Duration to only 8 hours. No burning all excess spell slots on it before taking a long rest.
Each berry heals 2d4+spellcasting mod. Only one berry per level of spell slot is produced.
If eaten as part of a short or long rest, you may bestow the amount healed as temporary hit points instead.