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noblecrumpet-dorkvision:

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Here I’ve made a slew of tables to roll on to help you generate random herbs for your campaign! Now those Nature checks can actually yield some results! In part 2 I will offer some ways to use these herbs with some herb-related alchemy!

Where the Herb Can Be Found

Rarity:

Determine an herb’s rarity using your discretion. If you are searching for an herb outside of its native biome, treat it as one level of rarity higher. Rare herbs cannot be found outside of their native biome. You should limit how often the PCs can search for a particular herb. I would suggest once per hour in a forest region, once per day in any other region, or only once per square mile. If a player knows any hints as to an herb’s location, grant them advantage on their Survival check. If a plant is usually found near a waterfall, or in shady areas, or near certain animals, for instance.

• Common: Found with a DC 13 Survival check. Identified with a DC 10 Nature check.
• Uncommon: Found with a DC 17 Survival check. Identified with a DC 15 Nature check.
• Rare: Found with a DC 22 Survival check. Identified with a DC 20 Nature check.

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Native Biome (1d20):

Herbs are not native to every environment/climate. Randomize where they can be found. If a particular herb is uncommon, roll 1d20+2. If rare, roll 1d20+5. Otherwise, roll 1d20 or just choose from the list below.

• 1-5: Forest
  
• 6-10: Tropics
  
• 11-12: Savannah
• 13-14: Swamp
• 15: Mountains
• 16: Underwater
• 17: Tundra
• 18: Desert
• 19: Underground/Dungeons
• 20+: Unique Biome (See Below)

Unique Biomes (1d12):

Use this list if the herb is especially difficult to come by and the PCs must put in extra effort to quest for such an herb. These are just ideas, but you can also have an herb be native to an environment that you want the PCs to travel to as a railroading tool.

1. Bottom of the ocean
   
2. Good-aligned Outer Planes (like Celestia, Elysium, Arborea)
   
3. Evil-aligned Outer Planes (like Baator, Hades, the Abyss)
   
4. Inside of active volcanoes
   
5. In poisonous, disease-ridden swamps
6. A particular named location in your world
7. The Underdark
   
8. Near powerful undead or in ancient burial sites (Vampires, Liches, Mummies, Dracoliches, Death Knights)
9. Sites of arcane disturbance (Wizard Towers, Lich Lairs, Portals, Rifts, Dragon Lairs)
   
10. The Feywild
    
11. Lairs of powerful aberrations (Beholders, Aboleths, Mind Flayers)
    
12. One of the Inner Planes (Elemental Planes, Energy Planes, Ethereal Plane, Shadow Plane)

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Herb Description

Here’s a generator for random herb descriptions. You can roll up a completely new plant or just use a few of the different tables.

Herb Type (1d100):

• 1-15: Fungi
• 16-50: Diminutive Plant
• 51-70: Tiny Plant
• 71-85: Small or Medium Bush
• 86-90: Vine
• 91-00: Large or larger Tree

Leaf Shape (1d12):

1. Whorled: Leaves attached to stem in spiraling groups (White Bedstraw)
2. Lobed: Leaves have distinct protrusions (Sassafras)
   
3. Dissected: Leaves with deep repeated partitions (Ferns, Buttercups)
   
4. Compound: Leaves are in small clusters of leaflets (Clovers)
   
5. Undulating: Leaf margins have a wavy plane, specially towards the edge (Common Burdock, Cocklebur)
   
6. Toothed: Edges of leaves are toothed, or serrated (Peppermint)
   
7. Ovate: Standard large, round base and pointed tip leaves (Common Nightshade)
   
8. Elliptical: Common oval-shaped leaves (Rhododendron)
   
9. Lanceolate: Leaves shaped like a lance head (Goldenrod)
   
10. Heart-Shaped: Shaped like a heart (Eastern Redbud)
11. Needles: Clusters of needle-shaped leaves (Pine Trees)
12. Large Leaves: Roll again and make the leaves big (ignore a result of 12)

Flower Type (1d6):

An herb is 50% likely to use flowers to reproduce. Otherwise roll on the seed/fruit/berry table.

1. Solitary: Flowers borne singly on isolated stems (Daffodil)
   
2. Raceme: Many stalked flowers attached to a central stem, elongated cluster (Bluebells)
   
3. Spike: Many stalkless flowers attached to a central stem, highly elongated cluster (Smartweed)
   
4. Corymb: Many small flowers form a cluster (Common Yarrow)
   
5. Head: Tightly compact flowers seem to form a single head (Thistle)
   
6. Panicle: A compound raceme (Goldenrod)
   

Flower Color (1d10):

1. Orange
   
2. Purple
   
3. Yellow
   
4. White
   
5. Red
   
6. Pink
   
7. Blue
   
8. Black
   
9. Striped (Roll twice, ignore 9/10)
   
10. Spotted (Roll twice, ignore 9/10)

Root Type (1d4):

1. Fibrous
   
2. Tuberoid
   
3. Branched
   
4. Bulbous
   

Bark/Stem Type (1d6):

Roll on this table for bushes, trees, or vines.

1. Smooth
   
2. Peeling
   
3. Cracks
   
4. Scales
   
5. Plates
   
6. Ridges

Seed/Fruit/Berry (1d10):

If an herb doesn’t have flowers, it most likely has seeds, berries, or fruit.

• 1-3: Spherical (apple, poppy seed)
• 4: Spikes, Ridges, Ribs (sycamore seed pod, durian)
• 5: Seed Pod (silk tree seed pods, pomegranate)
• 6: Oblong (zucchini, beans)
• 7: Teardrop (pumpkin seed, avocado, gourd)
• 8: Fuzzy (dandelion seed, peach)
• 9: Covered in Leaf/Shell/Rind (tomatillo, most nuts, oranges)
• 0: Unique (get creative!)

Mushrooms/Fungi (1d12):

If the herb is a fungus, roll on the table below. If a player identifies a fungus incorrectly, there should be a high chance that using the herb causes poison damage or applies the poisoned condition. You can roll on the Flower Color table to give it a unique color.

1. Convex Cap
2. Concave Cap (Red Cup Fungi, Black Trumpet, Chanterelle)
3. Star-Shaped Cap (Earthstar)
4. Fuzzy (Hairy Mycena)
5. Cluster of Mushrooms
6. Ridged (White Morels, Turban Fungus)
7. Cage/Tendrils (Cage Fungus, Veiled Lady, Anemone Stinkhorn)
8. Scaled (Lichen)
9. Slime (Scrambled Egg Slime)
10. Shelved (Hen of the Woods)
11. Warted (Fly Agaric, Blood Tooth)
12. Puffball

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Special Qualities

In D&D, herbs can be fantastic and magical! Don’t be afraid to roll on the table below to find out if a given herb has anything special going on with its appearance or if it has any abilities.

Special Herb Qualities (1d100):

• 1-40: None
• 41-50: Thorns: Deals 1d4 piercing damage if touched. DEX save DC 10 negates.
• 51: Hallowed: This herb has a random iteration of the Harrow spell cast upon it, which fades once harvested.
• 52: Dryad: The herb is protected by a dryad that lives within this particular herb. The dryad must either be killed, convinced to give up their home, or taken with the herb.
• 53: Explosive: To gather the herb, you must make a Nature check with a DC of 15 or else the herb explodes and deals 3d10 fire damage to those that fail a DC 13 DEX save. Half damage on a successful save.
• 54: Bless/Bane: Harvesting the herb grants the effects of a Bless or Bane spell for 10 minutes.
• 55: Conductive: The herb zaps those that touch it for 2d8 lightning damage. Recharge 5-6.
  
• 56-59: Coated in Oil or Slime: Deals 1d6 acid damage if touched
  
• 60-63: Emits Magic: It can be detected with a Detect Magic spell and gives off a faint aura (good, evil, chaos, or magic; not law, though)
• 64: Makes Noise: The herb either mimics noises it has heard, plays music, shrieks, crackles, or ticks. Sometimes this can deal 1d6 Thunder damage in a 15’ radius if it emits a loud enough noise.
  
• 65-66: Carnivorous (harmless): It just eats insects or small animals.
  
• 67-72: Carnivorous (dangerous): It eats humanoids. Use a Vine Blight (CR ½), Awakened Tree (CR 2), or Shambling Mound (CR 5) statistics.
  
• 73-88: Poisonous: Harmful to either ingest, touch, or smell (DM’s choice). CON save DC 13, 5d8 poison damage.
• 89-91: Poison Spores: The herb lets out a cloud of spores that deals 3d8 poison damage to those within 10’ that fail a DC 12 DEX save.
• 92: Charming: Those attempting to gather the herb must make a DC 15 CHA saving throw or become charmed by the plant for 1 minute.
  
• 93-96: Bioluminescent: Glows a color. Sometimes has the ability to blind those that fail a DC 10 CON save for 1 minute.
• 97-98: Animated: 5′ move, fly, burrow, swim, or climb speed.
• 99: Sentient: Has an INT of 3 and can communicate telepathically.
• 00: Roll twice, ignore results of 1-40 or any previous results.

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Preparing the Herb

Here are some tables for how to use the herb once you’ve found it! Different parts of the plant might have different uses and can mean the difference between vital medicine and toxic death. Good luck with your Nature checks!

Which Part of the Herb is Used (1d12):

• 1-3: Reproductive System:
• Stamen
• Pistil
• Seeds/Fruit/Berries
• Petal
  
• 4-8: Leaves
  
• 9-11: Roots
  
• 12: Shoots/Bark

How the Herb is Prepared (1d10):

1. Balm/Salve: Mix the herb with white wax, oil, or fat
2. Decoction: Boiling the herb in water (tea is included here)
3. Infusion: Soaking the herb in water, oil, or honey
4. Paste: Macerating the herb with a bit of liquid and its natural juices
5. Poultice: Holding the processed herb against the skin with gauze
6. Powder: Grinding the herb with a mortar/pestle
7. Raw: Eating or rubbing the herb on the skin without other preparations
8. Syrup: An infusion with sweetener to combat the herb’s foul taste
9. Tincture: Extracting the nutrients of an herb in alcohol
10. Vapor: A decoction where only the steam is inhaled, perhaps because the herb is toxic in large doses