WFRP1 - Herbs and Their Uses (Unofficial)
WFRP1 - Herbs and Their Uses (Unofficial)
WFRP1 - Herbs and Their Uses (Unofficial)
A number of herbs are described below which may be identified and picked by player characters with Herb Lore and/or Identify Plants
skill. Note that if a character only has the latter skill, all tests are made with a penalty of -10. Additionally, many of the herbs may not be
administered unless the character has some other specialist skills. These are mentioned in the description of each herb.
Acquiring Herbs
Each herb has an availability rating, just like all commodities in the Consumer Guide. The season when it is most abundant is also
given, along with the type of environment where it is most likely to be found. If a character is looking for a herb out of season, the
availability becomes two categories worse (e.g., average becomes rare, scarce becomes very rare, rare and very rare cannot be
found). The table below may then be consulted to determine the percentage chance of finding a given herb, according to whether the
locale being searched is Ideal (the same as the environment given in the description); Similar to that environment; or Unsuitable
(different from the described environment).
There are two methods for obtaining herbs; they may either be bought from NPC Herbalists or found and picked by any PC with Herb
Lore or Identify Plants. In the first case, you need only note the availability rating and price of the herb and use the table given in the
Consumer Guide. In the second case, the character wishing to look for the herb should make an Int test. If this is successful, he or she
may check the herb's description to see whether or not the immediate locale is worth searching. Once a search is undertaken, you
should use the table below to determine the percentage chance of the herb being found and roll D100. If the result is less than or equal
to the percentage chance, the character will find enough of the herb to prepare D4 doses. This will take a number of turns equal to the
result of the D100 roll multiplied by the Time Modifier from the table below. If the character fails the roll by 40 or more, you may decide
that he or she has confused the herb with another one and adjudicate the results of the mix-up as you see fit.
Ideal
5%
15%
30%
50%
70%
95%
x 30
x 20
x 10
x5
x2
x1
Environment to be Searched
Similar
1%
x 100
3%
x 50
6%
x 30
15%
x 20
30%
x 10
60%
x5
Unsuitable
1%
5%
10%
20%
x 100
x 50
x 20
x 10
For the entry under each suitability of locale, two numbers are listed; before the slash is the percentage chance of finding the herb and
the number after the slash is the Time Modifier.
Two costs are given for one dose of each herb (assuming that it is bought from an NPC Herbalist). The first is the
cost in season and the second is the cost out of season.
Brew:
Ingest:
Inhale:
Smear:
The herb must be stood in boiling water for a few minutes and then drunk.
The herb is to be eaten.
The herb must be immersed in boiling water and the fumes inhaled.
The herb is made into an ointment or poultice which is applied to the injured part.
Preparation:
This is the time needed to dry and otherwise prepare the herb so it can be used. No special equipment (other than a
pestle and mortar) or facilities are required. Once prepared, it will remain effective for a period equal to the
preparation time. After that, there is a 10% cumulative chance per week that the herb loses its efficacy.
Dosage:
This is the minimum time which must elapse before a second dose may be administered. Failure to observe this
requirement means that a subsequent dose has no effect and a period of twice this length must elapse before
another dose will have any effect. This effect is cumulative.
Skills:
Any skills listed here must be possessed by the character administering the herb, in addition to Herb Lore or Identify
Plant.
Tests:
Lists any tests to be made by the administering character for the herb to be effective.
Herb List
Agurk
In the Moot we call this herb Shiverweed. It is also known as Zitterwort in the Empire, Trema in Tilea, and Gysenblat in Norsca. The
Elves call it Echryddeillen. it grows in open grasslands where the soil is well-drained but not too sandy. To prepare it, pick the leaves,
strip and discard the stalks, and hang up to dry beside the fireplace for at least a week. This herb is useful for improving air circulation
and also for helping a patient sweat out a heavy cold. Never use it for a fever, since it can cause the patient's temperature to rise. To
use the herb, add the leaves to a dish of boiling water, let stand for a minute or two until the water begins to take on a little colour, and
then let the patient inhale the fumes for three or four minutes. After this time, the patient should start to shake; make him comfortable
and keep an eye on him for three or four hours. If the trembling has not subsided by this time, you may safely administer a mild
sedative. Dispose of the infusion carefully and never let it be drunk - it can cause fatal convulsions if taken internally.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Alfunas
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Cochlearia (Shallya-Rose)
Standing fifteen to thirty centimetres high, the plant has a rosette of long-stalked, almost circular leaves. Its flowers are white and
pleasantly fragrant. The common name Shallya-Rose is derived from the stories of Klaustistis, famous for sailing the world. Legend has
it that Shallya gifted the rose to him after he was shipwrecked, and was cast ashore ill and dying. He recovered, eventually escaping his
island exile with a group of pirates.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Faxtoryll
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Fieberhitzen
A light-brown fungi growing in shadowy and damp places. It is said to be used by the Fimir, but to what end is unclear. Certainly the
tales of Dwarfs using it in their beer-making processes are false.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Scarce, spring, summer, and autumn. Dense planted marsh, bog or swamp.
2 GCs and 20 GCs.
Brew.
2 weeks.
1 day.
Cure Disease.
Int.
The Fungi itself is poisonous in large quantities, but the prepared brew is able to minimize the effect of
fevers. All fever modifiers are reduced by 1 or 10 points, as appropriate. The brew is not cumulative, and
death can be caused from heavy overdosing. The brew only works for one day.
Gesundheit
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Scarce. Winter to Spring. Mixed forest (Reikwald, Great Forest, Drak Wald).
15/- and 3 GCs.
Smear.
2 weeks.
1 day.
Cure Disease.
Int.
When applied to an infected wound, this preparation will halt the effects of the infection, restoring all lost
Dex points in D6x10 game turns. It will not restore any W.
Hysspous (Bauchbaum)
"Hysspous in his stew, like the wind he flew." So goes the (rather poor) translation of a line from a Tilean rhyme. Nevertheless it
encompasses the two widely known uses of the herb: as a spice and as a laxative. It is a treelike herb found in the areas around the
Southern and the Tilean seas. Its leaves are shiny, and when it flowers, it does so with a beautiful blue flower.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Common, Late Spring to late summer. Light woods and meadows in the southern Old World.
15/- and 5 GCs.
Stomach diseases: Ingest.
Infection: Smear.
1 week.
Twice each day.
Cure Disease.
Int.
It is used as a medical cure against stomach diseases (including bowelworms) and infections. It does act a
laxative, but only when used in heavy doses. As a dried spice, the herb counts as being unprepared (of
course it doesn't require Cure Disease skill to use it as a spice) and only has a minor curative effect. As a
cure against infections, this herb gives a +5 bonus to T tests when determining if W are lost permanently.
Juck
Also known as Nettlesap, Klosaft, Itching Weed, and by several other names with the same meaning, this plant is well-known to young
boys who live in rural areas, who use it for all kinds of practical jokes. Growing in woodlands and flowering before the trees put on
enough leaf to block sunlight from the forest floor, the sap of this plant can also be used to help restore feeling to the skin in cases of
numbness caused by cold or injury. On one occasion, I used it in a concentrated form - boiled until it reached the consistency of hot
custard - as a treatment for frostbite and was able to restore feeling to a foot which otherwise might have had to be amputated.
Because of the itching it causes, you may sometimes need to administer a mild sedative to the patient, especially if you use Juck
repeatedly or over a large area, such as an entire leg.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Mage-Leaf
I was unsure at first as to whether to include this herb, since it has no known medicinal value. However, its magical properties are
sufficiently well-known that I thought it might be useful at least to mention the different names by which this plant is known, to avoid any
mistaken impression that there are several different plants with similar properties. The Elven name for Mage-Leaf is Daionillyseiwyn,
which I am told means "the good plant". In Norsca, it is known as Troldblat, in Bretonnia as Feuille Sorceiere, in Tilea as Folimaggi - a
corruption of the Classical Folia Magii - and in Albion as Draodill, meaning "the leaf of the Druids".
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Nightshade
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Salwort
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Plentiful. Autumn & Winter. Mixed forest (Reikwald, Great Forest, Drak Wald).
5/- and 1 GC.
Inhale.
2 weeks.
12 hours.
None.
Patient's T.
Holding a dried sprig of this herb beneath the nostrils of a stunned/concussed character will bring him/her
round in 1D4 rounds, providing that he/she makes a successful T test.
Sigmafoil
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Slowmind
I know that there are those who regard this plant as nothing more than a poison, but I have found it useful in extreme cases of nervous
hysteria where the patient must be kept still to avoid self-inflicted injuries and also in cases where the pain of a wound or infection
makes it difficult for the patient to fall into a healing sleep. Provided the dosage is strictly controlled and the patient's temperature and
breathing are watched, I believe there is no significant risk.
The root of this plant, which grows in marshy areas and is often found together with water-lilies, is first soaked in salt water for three
days and nights to leach out any impurities, then dried on a pan in front of the fire for two days or until it sounds woody when tapped
with a fork. Then, it is finely grated - mixed with a little nutmeg if available - tied in a cloth bag and hung in the chimney to smoke for two
weeks. The powder is then boiled for two days in water with a little vinegar, strained, and added in small quantities to a sweet tea or
mulled wine.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Spellwort
Spellwort is the name by which this plant is known in the Moot. Other names include Unzauber, Wizard's Bane, Feuille Contraire, and
Witch-Hunter's Friend. It is similar in appearance to Mage-Leaf and someone without the proper herbal training may easily mistake the
two. Made into a tea, the dried leaves can help a patient resist any ailment that comes from a magical cause. It is well to store dried
Spellwort away from ingredients such as Graveroot and Mage-Leaf, since I have found that their magical properties are sometimes
diminished by sitting too close to Spellwort for a time.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Spiderleaf
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Tarrabeth
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Trinkwort
According to the Halfling tradition, the knowledge of this plant was given to us by Esmeralda herself, soon after her first husband
Bibogenitus brought the knowledge of brewing and winemaking to the Moot. We know it as sober-root, although the Elves call it
Corrylliamid. It is found in the deepest forest, often growing between the roots of the lornalim tree or next to ancient oaks. The bulb is
peeled and roasted in a slow oven until it is as soft as a well-cooked apple and then eaten.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Vanera
Some herbalists in the Empire and Tilea believe that the name of this plant comes from the human goddess Verena. I don't believe this
myself, since it is also known by this name is Norsca and Kislev, where Ulric is worshipped instead of Verena.
It grows on the south side of chalk hills, where there is plenty of sun and not too much wind. The leaves are picked, cleaned, soaked in
salt water for two weeks, and then boiled and served like spinach. A little butter and black pepper helps the flavour enormously. I
personally don't use it for convalescents, because the headache that occurs when the herb wears off can often undo any good that the
patient received from the herb's stimulant effect. However, I will prescribe it for those on watch or required to search all night for missing
travellers or anyone else who needs to stay awake when they should be asleep and who doesn't mind paying the price later.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Verbena
Often mistaken for many of its similar looking (and more common) cousins, Verbena grows up to three foot high plant, covered in
summer with small blue-lilac flowers. It is typically found around the less well-travelled roads and villages of The Old World.
Availability
Price
Method Of Application
Preparation
Dosage
Skills
Tests
Effects
Rare, summer.
3 GCs and 20 GCs
Stomach diseases: Ingest.
Infection: Smear.
1 week.
Once each day.
Cure Disease.
Int.
The herb is used as a universal medicine against Jaundice, menstruation problems and Scabies.