Artwork Credit: http://pinosy.com/media/16888567337333489/
Herbalist
His feet tread lightly on the forest floor. Peering around, the human locks his eyes on a small cluster of mushrooms. Upon approaching it, he takes a small towel from his belt and begins digging it out. Smiling, he stores the mushroom, a dull white fungi with orange markings, in a bag hanging on his belt. Standing up, he continues searching for any other ingredients.
"Heads up" shouts the dragonborn. She tosses a vial to her companion, a scarred dwarf in golden armor facing a snarling minotaur. Catching it, the dwarf quickly pours the foul liquid on her blade, causing rancid smoke to bellow off of it. Without hesitation, the dwarf plunges his blade into minotaur, the poison causing havoc on its internal organs. The dwarf's eyebrows shoot up as he sees a sickly, necrotic blackness spreading from the wound.
An elf leans over his desk, scribbling into a notebook. Muttering to himself from time to time, he grabs various herbs, fungi, and an unknown powder from a jar. He grinds them into a paste using a mortar. Adding some water, the mixture starts to foam and bubble. Nodding, he sets the mortar down. The elf cuts his palm using a knife. Wincing at the pain, he grabs the mortar and pours the mixture on the wound. The wound begins to close until no trace of the wound is found.
Obessive Thirsty for Knowledge
Herbalists are known for their almost fanatical hunger for knowledge. To them, they crave to learn more. Herbalists are known for locking themselves in their workspaces until they complete their goal. They are often compared to Wizards, as their devotion to herblore makes them experiment for days without sleep, only leaving their studies for resources or occasional snacks, or travel to far off lands, in search of a plant.
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Basic Herblore |
| 2nd | +2 | Herblore: Utilty Kit, Herblore: Common Poison Kit |
| 3rd | +2 | Herblore: Wound-Setting, Herblore: Pain Relief |
| 4th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 5th | +3 | Herblore: Moderate Healing |
| 6th | +3 | Self-Sufficient |
| 7th | +3 | Herblore: Rare Poisons |
| 8th | +3 | Workshop Side Effects |
| 9th | +4 | Herblore: Hallucinogenics |
| 10th | +4 | Herblore: Toxins and Acids |
| 11th | +4 | Herblore: Advanced Healing |
| 12th | +4 | Herblore: Rare Poisons |
| 13th | +5 | Herblore: Extra Potency |
| 14th | +5 | Quick Healing |
| 15th | +5 | - |
| 16th | +5 | Quick Crafting |
| 17th | +6 | - |
| 18th | +6 | Herblore: Unique Poisons |
| 19th | +6 | Herblore: Expert Healing |
| 20th | +6 | Herblore Mastery |
Creating a Wizard
As you are creating a herbalist character, spend some time to think what is driving you. What goal are you striving for, as your knowledge of herblore grows as you adventure? Were you unable to cure a loved one, or seeking a poison to extract revenge? Perhaps, in the middle of an ancient tome, you read the myth of a blue flower residing in the tundra of the Dragon Plains, granting the ability to control your body temperature.
Quick Build
You can make a herbalist quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution or Dexterity. Second, choose the sage background.
Class Features
As a herbalist, you gain the follow class features:
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d6 per herbalist level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per herbalist level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: Light armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, shortswords
Tools: Herbalism Kit
Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Choose two from Insight, Nature, Medicine, Perception, Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a simple melee weapon or (b) a shortsword
- (a) a simple weapon or (b) a shield
- Hand crossbow and 20 bolts
- Leather Armor
- (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a scholar's pack
- Herbalism Kit, 5 jars, and 3 pouches
Herblore
Herbalists gain an increased knowledge of plants, herbs, and foliage during their training and advancement. Herblore is the collective name for all such knowledge gained to that point. At certain levels, your knowledge of herblore increases, allowing you to utilize your skills in various ways.
Herbal Kits
Herbalists are able to create special herbal kits, capable of anything from numbing pain to transmitting deadly Poisons into a victim. The amount and variety of kits that a herbalist can make and alter increases as your herbalist level increases. Creating, altering, and applying a herbal kit requires an Intelligence (Medicine) check.
Herbal Utility Kit
These simple Kits are non-combat in use, but are useful around the house and in the field. Their exact limitations will be provided by the DM, but they are often used for such tasks as minor cleaning/stain removal, fever treatments, heat wraps and cool compresses, itch/rash relief, and the like. This Kit is exhausted after 10 uses.
Herbal Wound-Setting Kit
This kit contains items to staunch the flow of blood, to set minor wounds, and to halt further deterioration of the body. A typical kit is effective on 2 creatures of Large size or smaller, or one Huge creature. This Kit is exhausted after ten uses.
Herbal Pain Relief Kit
This kit contains items to relieve temporary or chronic body aches. It can also be used to reduce swelling and bruising. Temporary conditions will be wholly restored, but chronic/permanent pains will only affected for a short duration, usually a day. A typical kit is effective on creatures of Large size or smaller, or one Huge creature. The kit has ten uses.
Herbal Healing Kit
This kit contains items to Heal and restore injured and otherwise damaged individuals. It can restore health, fix cuts and breaks, as well as other more extreme uses. A full kit has 10 doses, each dose being a pack of herbs effective on creatures of Large size or smaller. However, many herbalist can make kits with less doses, decreasing the time and amount of resources it takes to make the kit.
The following are the effects of varying Healing Kits:
| Herbal Healing Kit | Cost (1 dose) | Weight | HP Regained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate Healing | 40g | 1 lbs | 1d6 |
| Advanced Healing | 300g | 1 lbs | 4d6 |
| Expert Healing | 800g | 1 lbs | 8d6 |
Herbal Poisons Kit
Poisons are very useful in and out of combat. They come with various status effects and damage dealt. A herbal poisons kit can contain up to three doses of a poison, where one dose is enough to affect a creature of Medium size. A creature of a Small size can be given half a normal dose. If a half dose is given to a creature of Medium or Large size, then they gain advantage on their saving throw.
- Common Poison Kit:
- Rare Poison Kit:
- Unique Poison Kit:
Herbal Poison Treatment Kit
This kit contains items to diagnose and cure many common Poisons, such as Lotus Tears solutions and snakebites. Standard Poisons will be completely expunged from the system, but extremely potent and rarer Poisons may only be temporarily halted, allowing transport to a place of Healing/ A typical kit is effective on 2 creatures of Medium size or smaller. This Kit is exhausted after use.
The following are the effects of varying Poison Kits:
| Poison Treatment | Cost | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common Poison | Xg | X lbs | Cures of common poisons, halts of advancement of rare poisons for 24 hours |
| Rare Poison | Xg | X lbs | Cures any common and rare poisons, halts of advancement of unique poisons four 24 hours |
| Unique Poison | Xg | X lbs | Cures common, rare, and unique poisons |
Herbal Hallucinogenic Kit
This kit contains items to affect the mind of those that receive it. May be used to incite dreams and visions, create/clear confusion and mental stress in an individual, or cause random hallucinations. A typical kit is effective on 1 creature of Large size or smaller. This Kit is exhausted after use.
Herbal Toxin/Acid Kit
This kit contains a variety of toxins and acids, useful for combat and non-combat scenarios. Several toxins or acids can be created, whether to supplement a Poison Kit or to create acid for combat/weaponsmithing. A typical kit is effective for up to 3 months, after which the toxins and acids lose their potency. This Kit is exhausted after use.
Basic Herblore
At 1st level, you have the ability to use and create Herbal Kits. This does not provide any proficiency in their creation or use, but simply the knowledge of what they consist of and how to use them.
Herblore: Utility
Starting at 2nd level, you are able to create and and use a variety of multi-purpose herbal kits. In particular, common kit types created are anti-fever treatments, itch/rash relief, heat/cold treatments, and cleaning solvents. The effects of these types are inherently limited, as they cannot be used to harm or destroy, and are strictly non-combat in usage. You gain proficiency in Herbal Utility Kits.
Herblore: Poisons
Poisons are always a danger when out in the wilderness, whether from a venomous creature lurking in the jungle, or an assassin's poison in your dinner, and it's always a good idea to have a Poison Kit or two on hand, just in case. At 2nd level, you gain proficiency in Common Poison Kits. You gain proficiency in Uncommon Poisons at 7th level. You also gain proficiency in Herblore: Poison Treatment Kits of the same tier at the same level as its poison counterpart.
Herblore: Wound-Setting
At 3rd level, you are able to make herbal kits for combat. This is the most basic of combat-related Herbal Knowledge. Such herbs and kits allow an Herbalist to set a wound, staunch bleeding or hemorrhaging, and otherwise stabilize an individual. This will not relieve or heal cuts, scrapes, and other serious injuries, but rather serve to prevent further deterioration of the victim's condition, so he may be safely transported to a site of more advanced healing. The sister knowledge of Pain Relief, this field of knowledge focuses on the physical aspect of injuries. You gain proficiency in Herbal Wound-Setting Kits.
Herblore: Pain Relief
Similar to the herbs used to stop blood flow, this particular area of knowledge focuses on numbing the effects of pain, as well as reducing swelling and bruising on an individual. This will not relieve or heal cuts, scrapes, and other serious injuries, but rather serve to prevent further deterioration of the victim's condition, so he may be safely transported to a site of more advanced healing. The sister knowledge of Wound-Setting, this field of knowledge focuses on the mental/emotional aspect of injuries. You gain proficiency in Herbal Pain Relief Kits.
Ability Score Increase
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Herblore: Moderate Healing
By far the most commonly-practiced type of Herblore, the power to Heal others is always of use. At 5th level, this first foray into the field provides several essential techniques, usable both in combat and outside the arena. Focusing on healing cuts, gashes, burns, and other painful injuries, this is essential knowledge for any Herbalist. You gain proficiency in Herbal Moderate Healing Kits.
Self-Sufficient
At 6th Level, you are able to forge for more ingredients, increasing the quantity you find and their rarity. You gain proficiency in the Nature skill. If you already have proficiency in Nature, you gain double proficiency in it.
Workshop Side-Effects
At 8th Level, through the amount of exposure to poisons gain resistance to poison damage and have advantage of saving throws against poison.
Herblore: Hallucinogeics
This intense new area of study focuses on mind-affecting herbs and plant secretions, to explore and affect an individual's mind. This is very powerful knowledge, however, and can be extremely potent, and dangerous, in the right(or wrong) hands. Hallucinogenics are typically used to incite Dreams, to confuse, and are commonly used by the lowe caste of society to entertain, typically accompanied by drugs and alcohol. You gain proficiency in Herbal Hallucinogenics Kits.
Herblore: Toxins and Acids
Similar to Poisons and Hallucinogenics, toxins and acids can be made from a variety of common plants. Somewhat unwieldy in combat due to their volatility, this is nonetheless a very important area of herblore. Toxins often go hand-in-hand with Poisons, while Acids are used for such purposes as releasing bound characters, throwing at opponents, and for alchemical and metallurgical work. You gain proficiency in Herbal Hallucinogenic Kits.
Herblore: Advancing Healing
By 11th far the most commonly-practiced type of Herblore, the power to heal others is always of use. This second foray into the field provides more advanced healing techniques, usable both in combat and outside the arena. Focusing on healing severe injuries, minor breaks and dislocations, and even effective for severed limbs when applied quickly enough, this is essential knowledge for any Herbalist You gain proficiency in Herbal Advanced Healing Kits.
Herblore: Extra Potency
At 6th Level, the Herbalist's advanced knowledge allows them to increase the potency of their Herbal Kits. Your Potency Bonus is equal to half of your Herbalist level, rounded down, and is added to the roll to create, alter, or use a Herbal Kit. Healing Kits are more effective at healing, Poison Kits become deadlier, and Hallucinogenic/Toxic/Acid Kits become harder to resist. For example, a 7th Level Herbalist would add +3 to her Herbal Kit healing results, and a 16th Level Herbalist would add +8 to her Poison Kit usage roll.
Quick Healing
At 14th Level, you have so much practice with applying Herbal Kits, that you are able to apply/use a Kit as a Move action, instead of an Action.
Quick Crafting
At 16th Level, you’ve mastered creating Herbal Kits so such a degree that you’re able to create/alter an Herbal Kit twice as fast. For example, a 2 hour Crafting decreases to 1 hour.
Herblore: Unique Poisons
By the 18th level, Poisons are always a danger when out in the wilderness, whether from a venomous creature lurking in the jungle, or an assassin's poison in your dinner, and it's always a good idea to have a Poison Kit or two on hand, just in case... This expert knowledge of Poisons allows creation of extremely effective remedies, the ability to create deadly and untraceable Poisons, and techniques for preventing future Poisonings and diseases. Also prevents accidental self-poisoning when working with Herbal Poison Kits.
Herblore: Expert Healing
By far the most commonly-practiced type of Herblore, the power to Heal others is always of use. This third and final foray at the 19th level into the field provides several high-risk and high-reward techniques, usable both in combat and outside the arena. Focusing on healing extreme injuries, severe breaks and dislocations, severed limbs and burns, this is essential knowledge for any high-level Herbalist.
Herblore Mastery
Upon reaching 20th Level, the Herbalist is considered to be a Master of all things related to plants and Herblore. He/She can Use, Alter, or Create any Herbal Kit at a +3 Bonus. In addition, the Herbalist can then begin imparting his/her knowledge to others, providing a +2 Knowledge Bonus to any student they may take on. As well, the intense knowledge of Herblore and Herbal Kits allows the Herbalist to recognize various Kits on sight, as well as fortify themselves from Herbal Poison, Toxin, Acid, and Hallucinogenic Kits.