I believe that there are three people however who are worthy of my special thanks, and I would like to mention them here (in no particular order).

The second person is Druann Pagliasotti. Shortly after the third edition of this guide went out over e-mail, Druann sent a list of new herbs adapted to the guides format to the ADND-L list. I contacted Druann and was kindly given permission to include these herbs in the fourth edition of the guide. Furthermore, Druann sent me a list of suggestions and clarifications to many of the herbs that I had already included in the guide, and suggestions on the long term storage and availability of herbs for purchase. There would have been a fourth edition of the guide without Druann’s contributions, but it would have been a shadow of what it became.

Last, but by no means least, I would also like to single out Maya Deva Kniese for special thanks. Maya contributed some herbs to this edition of the guide, but more importantly contributed a number of ideas, the most significant of which is the revised Herbalism proficiency (see Appendix A). Again, without Maya’s contribution, I would have done a 5th edition, but there is no way it would have been as complete or as (I hope) good.

These special thanks are not intended to diminish the contributions of other people to this guide. Everyone who is listed in the acknowledgments section contributed and deserves their place there. I simply feel that the three people listed above were worthy of special recognition. All these contributors share the responsibility and the credit for anything you like about this guide. Any criticisms, errors or dislikes that you have are solely my responsibility.

“Anything green that grew out of the mould
Was an excellent herb to our fathers of old.”
                           - Rudyard Kipling

Welcome to the fifth edition of “The Guide to Herbs for RPGs”, the third edition of this guide to be distributed by e-mail and across the Internet. Herbs have been a staple of fantasy literature for many years. Striders use of Athelas in “The Lord of the Rings” to cure Frodo, and Polgara’s herb lore in “The Belgariad” and “The Mallorean”, and Raistlin’s use of herbal teas to calm his cough in “Dragonlance” are two examples that come to mind. The first edition of this guide was written in response to a request by one of my players for more detailed use of the Herbalism proficiency than that supplied in the core AD&D rules, and also to provide a general system which can be converted to other rules systems fairly easily. This was in 1990 or 1991 and that edition was nothing more than an adaptation of the herbs contained in Alexander Scott’s Maelstrom RPG adapted to AD&D rules, a description of each herb, the chance of finding it, its preparation time, and its cost. This guide was quite useful, though several problems were found with it. The guide was used for a few years and my printed copy (done on a Commodore 64 and a 9 pin printer) became covered in pen and pencil additions and clarifications. In early 1995 I began GMing a new campaign and I decided to rewrite my herbal on my new 486. This second edition contained the same herbs as the first edition but with the addition of clearer descriptions, the addition of the Locale in which each herb could be found, and an Ability Check roll required to use each herb successfully. This herbal was much more useful than the previous one. In mid 1995, I gained net access for the first time, and discovered the phenomena of NetBooks, and unofficial supplements to various role playing games. I downloaded these and began to use them in my games. As a student I can not afford to buy all the commercially produced supplements for use in my games, and so these unofficial (and free!) supplements were a gift from the Gods. In December 1995 and January 1996, I revised my Herbal once again, incorporating herbs from the RPG Middle-Earth Role Playing (MERP), and on returning to University at the start of March, subscribed to the ADND-L e-mail list, and offered the Herbal to the inhabitants of that list. I received over 300 requests for the Herbal, and was informed that there was interest in Herbalism on the REALMS mailing list. I subscribed to this list as well, and offered the Herbal once again. I received more requests from this list. At the start of July, I released a fourth edition of the guide which for the first time included herbs submitted by other people, as well as herbs that I had designed through research outside gaming materials. In particular, special mention must go to Druann Pagliasotti whose assistance in compiling the fourth edition was considerable. Druann contributed new herbs, as well as sending me a list of suggested clarifications, and amendments to over forty of the herbs that I had designed. Since that time I have received more e-mail (both praise and criticism) from many of the people who are using my herbal, and this has once again encouraged me to put together a new revised edition. This edition includes even more herbs that other people have added to my rules, and some new herbs that I have developed, in total over 50 new herbs. It also includes more detailed physical descriptions of some of the herbs from previous editions where I have been able to find them. Most notably, it includes a revised Herbalism proficiency, which was largely developed by Maya Deva Kniese, whose contribution to this fifth edition was considerable. I welcome the contributions I have received to this guide, but as always all responsibility for any errors and discrepancies is mine and mine alone, although other contributors deserve full credit for whatever you like. The fifth edition also divides the ‘Locale’ field of the descriptions into two separate fields, ‘Climate’ and ‘Locale’. This was a commonly requested change, and I saw no reason why it could not be made. I welcome contributions, criticisms and comment on my guide, and will try to incorporate these in any future editions of the guide. Some people may have noticed that the title of the guide has changed from “The AD&D Guide to Herbs” (the title of the 1st-3rd Editions) to “The Guide to Herbs for RPGs” (4th and 5th Editions). This occurred because of advice that the original title was not compatible with the guides status as unofficial. Also the guide is no longer AD&D specific but designed to be used in other RPG rule systems. Please feel free to distribute this guide in unedited form in any format that you desire. I only ask that my contribution and that of other people is acknowledged and that the guide is distributed free of charge.

NOTE: In my guide I have used the term “Autumn” instead of “Fall” to describe the season between Summer and Winter. I have also used the correct Australian English spelling for words. I have altered contributions received from other people for the sake of consistency. I have received e-mail criticising me for this, saying “you should use the American conventions, because most AD&D players are American.” (By the way, this was not intended as a flame, but was part of some useful constructive criticism.) I have been taught English as it is spoken and written in my native country, and I will write and speak in that way. There are several reasons for this.
1) If I was attempting to write for a specific country, I would use their own conventions. I am not. I am writing this guide for everyone who requests it. I have received requests for the third and fourth editions of this guide from the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Holland, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Croatia and Zaire and possibly from other countries as well.
2) If I decided to write this guide in ‘correct’ English, I would be faced with the problem of what is ‘correct’. Is it American English, that of the largest English speaking country on Earth or British English, the source of the language.
3) I believe that the differences in English from country to country are so minor that all English speaking people on Earth will be able to read my guide with no problems.
4) Finally, it is simply easier for me to write this guide in the form of English with which I am most familiar.

I should note here that this herbal is not always ‘accurate’ in terms of the real use of herbs in our world. This is because my skills in Herbalism are very limited. I am not a professional herbalist just someone with an interest in the topic (especially from a gaming point of view). I have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible in terms of descriptions, but sometimes I am trying to describe a herb after seeing a black and white drawing. I have tried to be accurate in terms of naming the herbs, but some herbs have many different names. Bilberry for example is also known as Huckleberry, Whortleberry, Hurtleberry, Whin-berry, Wimberry, Black Heart, Hurts, and may even have other names that I am not familiar with. I have also ascribed to some herbs powers that do not exist in the real world. For example there is no herb that bestows infravision on a person in our world (as least I assume there isn’t!) but such herbs do exist in the guide. This is because the guide has been written for a fantasy game, and I felt that the powers ascribed to these herbs in legend and tradition could actually exist in fantasy worlds. I would also like to apologise for the fact that some of the herbs contained within have no physical descriptions. This is because I have adapted them from other game systems and I can’t find any physical descriptions in the original source material. This is especially true for those herbs adapted from MERP. If anyone feels that I have made mistakes in identifying herbs, or their curative properties, they should feel free to contact me, either by e-mail or by mail. For anyone who wants to find accurate books on Herbalism and its real life applications, please refer to the books in the reference section. Please do not assume this guide is accurate. Experimenting with plants can be very dangerous, and I accept no responsibility for any misuse.

NAME: This is what the herb is called. In brackets after each name is the name of the person who developed the herb for the guide, and the source of the herb if applicable. Available: This is the time of year when the herb is available, and the percentage chance for a person who searches for the herb for one day finding it.
Climatic Zone: This describes the climatic zone or zones in which the herb can be found.
Locale: This describes the region or regions in which the herb can be found.
Preparation: This describes how long a herb needs to be prepared before it can be used.
Cost: The cost before the / is the cost of the herb in raw form. The cost after the / is the cost of buying the herb ready to use.
Uses: The number of uses indicates how much of the herb can be found at any one time.
Ability Check: The ability check is the value that must be rolled under on a d20 for the use of the herb to be successful. If the ability check is listed as ‘?’ it means that the herb may or may not have the powers attributed to it. If the ability check is listed as ‘-’ then no ability check is needed for success. The GM should decide what effects these herbs have if any.
Description: This section describes what the herb can do.
The GM who uses or allows this guide in their games should examine it carefully before use, and remove or modify any herbs that they wish. This is particularly true for those herbs that have quite major powers.

It will be noted that very few poisons are listed in this guide. This is for two reasons.
1. I believe that a Herbalist should not use their art for nefarious purposes.
2. I believe that allowing players access to too many poisons can severely effect game balance.

Any GM who wishes to have detailed poisons in their games is referred to the “Netbook: Poisons of the Realm”, (author unknown to me) which I find to be excellent for the purpose. If you can find it, the rules for poisons sent to the GMAST-L list by Ron Knight (Modar) in late October of this year (1996) is also very good. The NetBook of Poisons, revised and expanded by Adrienne Mills, and based on the “Netbook: Poisons of the Realm” (mentioned in previous editions of this guide) is also very good and very detailed in its treatments of poisons.

It should also be noted that I have tried not to include herbs that could be classed as “Drugs” with the connotation of illicit use. This is because I do not and do not wish to be seen to be supporting illicit drug use. Having said that, for anyone who wishes to use drugs in their games, I refer them to ‘Appendix A: Drugs for Fantasy Role Playing Games’, from the ‘Complete Guide to Alcohol for Fantasy Role Playing Games’ which has excellent rules on all aspects of drug use including addiction and its effects. The drugs contained within it could be converted to my system fairly easily, although the system contained in that guide is already excellent for the purpose.

Finally, a note and a request. It has come to my attention, that people create and develop new herbs for their games and add them into this guide. I, of course, have no objection to this. However, I would appreciate it if you sent me a copy of these herbs. If they work in your games, they would probably work in other peoples, and should be included in any new edition of the guide (with full credit to you, of course). Again, people make changes to the guide, because they find mistakes, or discrepancies, or just things they don’t like. That’s fine, but please let me know. If you noticed something wrong, I would like a chance to fix it.

What you do with the guide in your own game is up to you. You can change and edit it in any way that you like. But please, if you distribute the guide, make sure that you distribute it in unedited form. If you have made any changes or additions, list them separately from the main guide. My name is on this guide, and while I’m perfectly happy to take the flak for any errors in it, I only want to be blamed for my own errors or for those of contributors, which slipped past me. I have been sent an e-mail from someone who thought a herb was too powerful. It was, because someone else had edited the guide and made it more powerful. It wasn’t a major problem, but it was annoying.

Furthermore, I own the copyright on this guide (except where I have indicated that it is owned by someone else, and I have their permission to include the information). I have gone to a lot of trouble to try and ensure that I don’t violate other peoples copyright, in order to avoid legal problems. If you add information into my guide, I may end up being legally responsible for information that I didn’t want to be. I don’t want that to happen. Having said that, if I have inadvertently violated anyone’s copyright, please inform me and I will remove the material in question.

Finally leave my name, and the name of other contributors on the guide. A person was distributing the 3rd Edition of my guide under their name as if it was their work. They have since apologised to me, and I consider the matter closed, so I won’t mention their name. The guide costs you nothing, but it represents a large amount of work on my part and on the parts of the other contributors. I think we deserve the credit for our work.

by Druann Pagliasotti and Shaun Hately

Unless otherwise indicated in text, any cut herbs and preparations of herbs only have a shelf life of 3d6 weeks. Dried herbs have a shelf life of 1d4 years if kept in a sealed container away from moisture (but not all of these herbs can be used in a dried form). Potions, on the other hand, have an indefinite lifespan - which is why they're more expensive yet still desirable.

A rule of thumb for purchasing is that the chance of purchasing an herb in a large city WITHIN its native region is equal to the chance of finding it in the wild (and the price will remain the same); the chance of purchasing an herb in a large city OUTSIDE of its native region is equal to half the chance of finding it in the wild (and the price will be half again as much); and the chance of purchasing an herb in a large city OPPOSITE of its native region (eg., artic vs. desert) is one quarter of the chance of finding it in the wild (and the price will be doubled or tripled).

The GM of an individual campaign must rule on the use of this guide. They must decide whether or not they wish it to be used at all, and they must modify it to fit their campaign. Some of the herbs contained in this guide are extremely powerful, and if they are overused they will unbalance the game. The prices given for herbs are only guidelines and must be treated with common sense. In plague years, for example the cost of herbs that protect against plague will increase incredibly. And if the characters stumble into a herbalist while supporting a friend who is on the verge of death from snakebite, the herbalist may decide to charge well above the going rate. Some apothecarists are nothing but charlatans and will sell anything while saying it is a wondrous herb.

Tropical: the tropical regions are those located close to the equator. They typically have an average annual and monthly temperature of around of over 20°C (68°F). They also have a tendency to have wet summers and drier winters, as you get towards their boundaries. On Earth the Tropical region may be considered to be approximately 12° north and south of the equator. Papua New Guinea and Peru have tropical climates.
Subtropical: the subtropics typically have anywhere from 4 - 11 months with temperatures of over 20°C (68°F) with the balance of the year having temperatures of between 10 - 20 °C (50 - 68 °F). It extends roughly between latitudes 12 - 25°. Northern Australia and the Florida Peninsula both fall into this area.
Temperate: the temperate regions are anywhere which has 4 - 12 months with temperatures between 10 - 20 °C (50 - 68 °F) and the rest of the year is colder. For convenience they can be considered to lie between latitudes of 25 - 45°. Southern Europe, the USA and Australia generally fall into this zone.
Cold: A cold region has 1 - 4 months with a temperature of between 10 - 20 °C (50 - 68 °F) with the rest of the year being colder. It can be considered to fall between 45 - 65° latitude. Canada, the southern half of Alaska and Scandinavia all fall into this region.
Polar: The polar regions have a year round average temperature of less than 10 °C (50 °F). They lie above latitudes of 65°. Greenland, Antarctica, and the most northern reaches of Canada, Russia, and Scandinavia all lie in this zone.

The above is a guide for game purposes only and is not absolutely accurate, geographically speaking. It must also be remembered that other factors, such as elevation above sea level, the location of rain shadows, ocean currents etc, also effect climate. Also, I have limited the number of climatic zones to the ones above, and there are many others. Some of the herbs may be found in a ‘tropical desert’. Under those circumstances it should be inferred that the herb is found in hot deserts, not that these deserts have ‘wet summers’.

Coastal: These are the regions that lie near the sea, oceans, or possibly near large inland salt-water lakes. As a rule of thumb, I assume that the coastal regions can extend up to five miles inland, although this may vary from place to place.
Desert: Most people assume deserts to be very hot places, such as the Sahara, the Australian Desert, or Death Valley, and indeed many deserts are very hot, but there are also cool deserts. A desert is normally defined as any area that receives, on average, less than 10 inches of rain a year, but for game purposes may be assumed to be any area that is very dry, without recourse to such official formulae.
Forest: A forest is any area that is heavily covered with trees. There are both large forests, which may cover vast areas, or small forests. In medieval times, forests covered a much larger area of the world than they do today.
Grassland: These areas, while mostly untouched by agriculture contain very few large tress. Instead they are mostly covered with grass, hence their name. The American prairies are a good example of grasslands.
Hills: A hill is a relatively small raised area of land. They are often found at the foot of mountains, but may exist in their own right, separate from the surrounding landscape.
Jungle: Similar to a forest, but normally thicker in nature, and found in more tropical environments. The Amazon is a perfect example of a jungle environment.
Mountains: Very large, raised areas of land, often found at the borders of continental shelves. A notable feature of mountains is that they are, due to their height, often much colder than the surrounding land. Another feature is the rain shadow phenomena. It may rain very heavily on one side of a mountain, but not at all on the other. The Himalayas, the Alps, and the Rockies are all examples of mountain chains.
Rivers: A river is a flowing stream of (normally) fresh water which runs to the sea. Rivers can be large (like the Mississippi, or Amazon) or very small, local creeks.
Rural: This describes farmland, land that has been turned over to agriculture, but is only sparsely settled.
Special: Where this is listed as the locale, read the description of the herb for more details.
Swamp: Areas of very moist soil. The Florida Everglades are a good example of a swamp.
Underworld: By Underworld, I refer to large underground complexes, ie the Underdark of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the Mac Mordain Cadal from the works of Raymond E Feist, Ulgo from the works of David Eddings, or the Mines of Moria from Tolkien. It might also be assumed that the herbs may grow in smaller complexes, but I do not recommend it.
Urban: Any area that is widely settled, such as towns, villages or cities.
Volcanoes: When a herb is said to grow in this locale, it may grow actually within the mouth of the volcano, or merely on its sides (GMs discretion, unless the description makes it clear).
Wasteland: This is the hardest area to describe. A wasteland may have once been any type of land, but has now been rendered totally inhospitable perhaps by some great disaster. Much of France after World War I fulfilled this criteria, as did Tunguska after the 1908 explosion. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or Chernobyl also fulfilled this criteria. In essence, any area of your gameworld where some great disaster rendered the land uninhabitable, may fit into this locale.