Across the Shattered Realm, you will undoubtedly uncover a fast number of plants and animals, all with unique and sometimes magical traits. Much of the Shattered Realm relies on scavenging and finding a use for nearly anything; almost nothing goes to waste no matter how grotesque it may seem. The following section details how you can make use out of what you find out in the wilds. <br> ___ ### Foraging Flora Any magical plant (and even some plant adjacent organisms like mushrooms and lichen) are considered herbs. Herbs can be found in virtually every environment, even using their magical nature to survive in places that would be inhospitable to more mundane plants. Their effects vary widely and some are much rarer and more useful than others, but all have their own value in their own ways. <br> ##### Foraging Foraging refers to wandering through one’s environment and simply gathering whatever they may come across. It may be done as a [[Downtime Activities|downtime activity]], or while the party is travelling. If a character is foraging while travelling, they may make a Wisdom ([[Abilities & Skills#Survival|Survival]]) check, then consult the table below to earn the foraging result. If a character wishes to forage during downtime, they spend the next 8 hours collecting any herbs they come across. The character may make a Wisdom ([[Abilities & Skills#Survival|Survival]]) check, then consult the table below to earn the foraging results. When performed as a downtime activity, results are cumulative; If you succeed, you earn the corresponding reward, and all the foraging results of the rows above it. | Survival Check | Foraging Result | | :------------: | --------------------------------------------- | | <12 | Character is unable to find any usable herbs. | | 12 | Character finds one common herb. | | 16 | Character finds two common herbs. | | 20 | Character finds one rare herb. | | 24 | Character finds one rare herb. | <br><br> ##### Identifying Once a character has foraged a herb, they must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence ([[Abilities & Skills#Nature|Nature]]) check in order to identify the herb they've gathered. On a failure, a character is only aware that the herb is vaguely useful, but does not know its name, effects or how to use it. <br><br> ##### Picking Picking refers to actively searching out a specific herb by tracking through the environment and looking for signs of where the herb may be. This may only be done as a [[Downtime Activities|downtime activity]]. In order to go picking for a herb, a player must declare which herb they are looking for and then spend the next 8 hours attempting to find it, at the end of which they may make an Intelligence ([[Abilities & Skills#Nature|Nature]]) check based on their familiarity with the herb. A player may only attempt to pick a herb that is in the same environment the player is currently in. If a player casts either the [[Primal Spells#Locate Animals or Plants|locate animals or plants]] or [[Druid#Commune with Nature|commune with nature]] spell to aid in their search, or otherwise know that the herb is in that area, looking for and picking a specific herb only takes 4 hours instead of 8. | Familiarity with Herb | DC, Common Herb | DC, Rare Herb | | -------------------------------- | :-------------: | :-----------: | | Herb has been picked before | 15 | 20 | | Knowledge from books or research | 20 | 25 | | Name of herb | 25 | 30 | <br> On a success the player finds the herb they were looking for. On a failure, it is deemed that the herb cannot be found in the local area and they must travel to a new Fragment before they, or anyone in their party, may attempt to pick the same herb again. <br><br> ##### Using Herbs Herbs may be used much like any other item, with their description detailing how to use them, how long it takes to use them, and the effects they bestow. A creature may only be under the effect of one herb at a time. If a creature attempts to use a new herb on themselves while still under the effect of another, the first herb’s effects end immediately. <br> >**Preparing Herbs** >Many herbs are quick and simple to apply, usually just using an action to eat them or spending a bit of time rubbing their juices on one’s equipment. However, other herbs require a much longer and more involved process- needing to be smoked, boiled, peeled, burned, etc. before they become usable. These herbs require 'preparation'. > >To prepare a herb, a character must have a [[Adventuring Gear#Herbalism Kit|herbalism kit]] in their possession and spend an hour during a [[Survival Needs#Rest|rest]] processing the herb appropriately. > >Unless the herb states otherwise, it takes an action to use a prepared herb. The character preparing the herb and the character using the herb do not need to be the same. <br><br> ##### Tinctures In order to get the most out of your plants and herbs however, it's recommended that they are treated prepared into tinctures. A tincture is the essence of a herb, distilled through various processes and designed to apply all the effects of a herb in a much faster timeframe. Using a tincture takes an action and results in all the effects specified in the herb’s description. Like herbs, a character may only benefit from the effects of one tincture or herb at a time. Using a new tincture while still under the effects of another tincture or herb, causes the first’s effect to end immediately. In order to create a tincture, follow the [[Crafting|rules for crafting]], with a few caveats. You may only craft Tinctures if you have harvested a herb, you do not need to pay for the supplies in order to turn it into a tincture. Crafting a Tincture only ever requires 4 hours of work, regardless of the herb being used. At the end of the process, the herb is destroyed and the character creates a tincture of the used herb. The resulting tincture is worth 5 times the value of the herb that was used to create it, and unless otherwise specified the duration of it's effect increases to 8 hours. <br> ___ ### Harvesting Fauna The act of removing useful body parts from a creature is referred to as harvesting. Anything that can be harvested from a creature is referred to as a harvesting material or simply material. In general, only creatures that have died may be harvested, but there may be some exceptions based on context. When a player wishes to harvest from a creature, they may follow these steps: <br> ##### Step 1: Description Once a creature has been chosen for harvest, the DM will provide the players with a list of harvestable components from the slain creature. The list of components may change from creature to creature, based on the creature's type, as well as what kind of creature it was. The provided list will break down the Component DC for each component, as well as whether a component is edible, used in crafting, or potentially volatile. <br> ##### Step 2: The Harvest List The player that is leading the harvest then quickly chooses up to three items from the component list they wish to harvest, and in which order. Once the list has been created, calculate the Harvest DCs; list out the chosen components in the order that they wish to be harvested and sequentially add each Component DC to the total of all the previous Component DCs, as shown the the following example: | Example Components | Component DC | Harvest DC | | ------------------ | ------------ | ------------ | | _Pouch of Teeth_ | 12 | 12 (12) | | _Eye_ | 7 | 19 (12+7) | | _Hide_ | 22 | 41 (12+7+22) | <br> ##### Step 3: Harvest Check The player makes a Harvesting check. The Harvesting check is the summed total of two ability checks: Assessment and Carving. With all Harvesting checks, the skill used for the check depends on the type of creature the characters are attempting to harvest. For example, beasts require a Survival check while aberrations require an Arcana check. | Creature Type | Associated Skill | | :-----------: | :--------------: | | Aberration | Arcana | | Beast | Nature | | Celestial | Religion | | Construct | Technology | | Dragon | Survival | | Elemental | Arcana | | Fey | Arcana | | Fiend | Religion | | Giant | Medicine | | Humanoid | Medicine | | Monstrosity | Survival | | Ooze | Perception | | Plant | Nature | | Undead | Medicine | >**Assessment** >To correctly assess how best to extract and store creature components, a player must make an **Intelligence check**. The skill applicable to the check depends on the type of creature, as shown in the Creature Types and Associated Skills table; alternatively a player may add their proficiency with Harvesting Tools in place of the associated skill. A player attempting this Assessment check is known as the assessing harvester, and does not have to be the same character as the character doing the carving. ><br> >**Carving** >Skill with a knife is the proven method of harvesting components. A creature attempting to harvest a corpse makes a **Dexterity check**. The skill applicable to the check depends on the type of creature, as shown in the Creature Types and Associated Skills table; alternatively a player may add their proficiency with Harvesting Tools in place of the associated skill. A creature attempting this Carving check is known as the carving harvester, and does not have to be the same character as the character doing the assessing. > >For some creature types, magical rituals can be performed instead of getting elbow-deep in grisly viscera. When making a Carving check to harvest an aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, or fiend, a carving harvester with a spellcasting ability can make the Carving check using that ability instead of Dexterity. ><br> >**Help** >Creatures not involved in assessment or carving can [[Actions in Combat#Help|Help]]. A character may only help if they have proficiency in the skill associated with the monster’s type. Helpers must help for the entire duration of the harvesting procedure, and suffer all the same consequences from volatile components. ><br> >**Duration** >Harvesting a creature is a race against time; the components must be assessed, carved up, treated, and correctly stored before the latent magic leaves the body. Harvesting a creature takes a set duration based on the size of the creature (see harvest time in the table below). > >| Creature Size | Harvest Time | >| --- | --- | >| Tiny | 5 minutes | >| Small | 10 minutes | >| Medium | 30 minutes | >| Large | 1 hour | >| Huge | 4 hours | >| Gargantuan | 8 Hours| <br> ##### Step 4: Loot Compare the result of the Harvesting check to the harvest list you made in [[#Step 2 The Harvest List|Step 2]]. If the Harvesting check’s result met or exceeded the total Harvest DC for a component in the order that they were listed, that component is successfully harvested. If the total Harvest Check did not meet the total Harvest DC for a component, the player fails to collect that component, which may result in complications if they component was volatile. The table below explains this process. **Assessment Check:** 15 **Carving Check:** 21 **Harvesting Check:** 36 (15+21) | Example Components | Component DC | Harvest DC | Result | | ------------------ | ------------ | ------------ | ------------- | | _Pouch of Teeth_ | 12 | 12 (12) | Harvested | | _Eye_ | 7 | 19 (12+7) | Harvested | | _Hide_ | 22 | 41 (12+7+22) | Not Harvested | <br> >**Carcass Degradation** >In some cases, a player may desire to harvest a creature that has been dead for quite a while. In these cases, the DM may declare that certain body parts have already withered away and become useless and unharvestable or may decide to increase the DC’s of all harvestable materials similar to as if the creature had died a particularly violent death. If corpse decomposition is too advanced, it is entirely within the DM’s right to deny harvesting the creature altogether. > >As a quick guide, the following timeline may be observed to decide on decomposition levels: > >- **12 hours after death:** The carcass’ hide has ruptured from bloating and has become useless >- **1 day after death:** The carcass’ blood has become too tainted to be useful, and soft tissues like the eyes have putrefied. >- **3 days after death:** The carcass’ internal organs have decomposed. >- **7 days after death:** The carcass has undergone extensive putrefaction and none of its soft tissue remains harvestable. > > For materials that have already been harvested, this guide assumes that part of the harvesting process is preserving those materials properly for storage and transport. As such, these materials will generally last at least 4 weeks after being harvested before they begin to undergo decomposition. Note that harder materials like bones, teeth, claws, and hair do not generally undergo decomposition and will remain usable indefinitely. <br> ##### Crafting While some creature parts are useful fresh from the carcass, many require some alterations before their full potential can be realised. These base components can be used to turn into magical items. Craftable items require more than just the base component provided by harvested materials however. Assuming that the players are providing the base material for a craftable item, only the value of this base component can be deducted from the supplies cost of crafting the item. <br> >**What to Craft** >Whenever a character harvests a creature, they can choose to make a DC 15 Intelligence ([[Abilities & Skills#Technology |Technology]]) check in order to determine what, if anything might be crafted from the harvested materials. On a failure, a character is unsure as to how the material might be utilized in crafting. On a success, the character is develops an idea, and learns what if anything can be created from their harvest, as well as how to make it and any associated cost or additional materials required.