Spinning up a Dolmenwood campaign for my weekly His Majesty the Worm game. It's fun to prep a new campaign.
Here is a procedure to find herbs in Dolmenwood, originally inspired by this hexculture post.
Gather Herbs
Gather Herbs is a Hex Crawl action. It takes a watch to accomplish and prompts a Meatgrinder event.
You look for rare herbs and fungi. Draw 1 + Cups minor arcana cards and make a poker hand.
• Pair: You gain a random common herb or mushroom endemic to this region.
• Two pair: You gain 2 random common herbs or mushrooms or a specific common herb.
• Three of kind: You gain 3 random common herbs or mushrooms.
• Straight: You gain a random rare herb or mushroom endemic to this region.
• Full house: You gain 2 random rare herbs or a specific rare herb.
• Four of a kind: You gain 3 random rare herbs or a specific rare herb from any region.
Herbs by Terrain
The herbs you find are determined by the terrain you are currently in.Common herbs are listed first, with rare herbs coming after the semicolon.
Bog: Lankswith, Gillywort, Marshwick; Nag-blood
Farmland: Fenob, Wayfarrow, Lilywhite; Tom-a-merry
Forest, boggy: Marshwick, Wayfarrow, Gillywort; Nag-blood
Forest, craggy: Lilywhite, Fenob, Bosun's balm; Arrowhame, Witch's oyster
Forest, hilly: Lankswith, Gillywort, Marshwick; Moonhaw
Forest, open: Wayfarrow, Bosun's balm, Lilywhite; Nag-blood
Forest, tangled: Fenob, Lankswith, Gillywort; Tom-a-merry
Forest, thorny: Bosun's balm, Marshwick, Spirithame; Witch's oyster
Fungal forest: Gillywort, Marshwick, Spirithame; Moonhaw, Smottlebread
Hills: Fenob, Lilywhite, Marshwick; Arrowhame
Meadow: Lankswith, Wayfarrow, Bosun's balm; Moonhaw
Swamp: Fenob, Lankswith, Spirithame; Nag-blood, Smottlebread
Fungi and Herbs (Converted to His Majesty the Worm)
Those that dwell within the eaves of the Wood know these herbs and their properties by name. You can buy them during a City Phase or find them when you Gather Herbs.
Arrowhame: Tiny, dried leaves of a climbing plant. Rehydrated and applied as a paste to diseased flesh, allows you to test Wands. If the test succeeds, the affliction recedes within 1d3 days. Repeat applications of arrowhame are ineffective.
Bosun’s balm: Roots dredged up from a rare river weed. Eaten at breakfast, the herb stimulates the body’s energies, bringing on great endurance for one day. The user gains two extra pack slots that day.
Fenob: The root-bulbs of a forest flower. A bulb of fenob placed under the tongue before bed provides one extra charge to be spent during the Rest and Recovery step of the Camp Phase.
Gillywort: A finely ground, white powder derived from the leaves of a creeper that favours dank cave-mouths. When the powder is added to liquid, there is a 50% chance that it turns a shocking purple in the presence of poison. A dose of gillywort is enough to test one liquid.
Grue’s ear: Rubbery, pink ear fungus. Consuming a specimen brings on a mild psychedelia wherein the character’s vision is tinged pink and they become sensitive to bright light. The character’s alertness is also enhanced, granting favor to tests of Cups related to alertness (e.g., avoiding being ambushed) for the rest of the day.
Lankswith: Powdered root of a floating pond weed. Taken as a tea with supper, cures common ailments overnight.
Lilywhite: Carefully dried and folded petals of a marsh lily. Smoking the petals in a pipe brings on a deep, soporific state that aids sleep in harsh conditions. Smoked before bed, the character can have a restful sleep even if there’s a detriment (cold, sick, rainy, etc.).
Marshwick: The seeds of a scarce and unremarkable marsh flower, ground into a blue powder. A character afflicted by a poison who drinks a dose of marshwick with a swig of wine may test Wands. If the test succeeds, the poison is neutralised. Repeat doses are ineffective.
Moonhaw: Pale white berries of a thorny bush, only harvested at night under the light of the moon. After chewing a handful of the berries, the character gains the ability to see normally in utter blackness. The effects are short-lived, lasting 30 minutes.
Nag-blood: A rich, crimson, viscous fluid extracted from the pulp of the rare ruddy medlar. Imbibing a dose induces a frenzy of aggressive emotions which are especially strong in the heat of battle, leading to a berserk rage. This lasts for a watch. A character under the influence gains a +1 bonus to Attack actions but must always play the lowest card for Initiative.
Smottlebread: Spongy, green, bread-like hunks of giant mushroom flesh. Consuming a chunk of smottlebread causes a trance state lasting [draw] x 10 minutes, during which the character enters into communion with the spirit of the smottlebread—a gargantuan, benevolent, elephantine entity formed of green spheres. While the trance lasts, the character is completely immobilised. Following the trance, the character’s vision is tinged green and their coordination is fuddled. All Attack, Dodge, Riposte, or Roughhouse actions are made with disfavor. However, both Wands and Cups cards can be used to take the Recover action. This effect lasts for the rest of the day.
Spirithame: Delicate, curled leaves of a rare moss. When crushed and applied to wounds, granting the Heal effect. Spirithame loses its effectiveness quickly—a character can only benefit from one dose per day.
Tom-a-merry: Tiny, cute mushrooms as tall as a baby’s finger, with pointy blue caps. Consuming a dose of tom-amerry induces a hallucinatory state where time lurches and becomes distorted. During a Challenge, cards that are placed facedown have disfavor, and the player must play their highest card for Initiative. However, the character also gains the ability to see invisible objects and creatures. The effects last for a watch.
Wayfarrow: Desiccated red berries of a thorny bush. Chewing the berries throughout the day brings on great vigour and stamina when marching. If the character engages in a forced march, they have a 50% chance of being fit for action the following day, without becoming Exhausted.
Witch’s oyster: Miniature, bright violet oyster mushrooms that grow in high tree branches. Boiling a portion and drinking the water induces a visionary trance lasting 1-4 hours. Upon awakening, the character gains an oracular insight into a topic that puzzles them. The referee provides the player some hint or insight into this subject.
