Herbs, Breads, Elixirs and Poisons

[Kurt]

Hi All,

I am quite new to the game. Having said that I am a veteran gamer, I'm quite enthusiastic about The One Ring and I've made the commitment by purchasing quite a few of the products. I'm only about 1/3rd of the way through the Core Book and I like what I see. Well done to Francesco and the team at Cubical 7. This will be my tabletop RPG for decades to come.

I have been browsing the forums and have seen some terrific player generated content. Zedturtle's new "The Theft of the Moon" looks incredible (queue the nerdgasm), Rich H and others have also contributed substantially. Way to go TOR community!

So I will get to the point. From what I have read, noting that I haven't finished yet, healing seems to be quite a time consuming and hazardous task which ensures that getting into combat is risky business. Avoiding combat altogether and planning a safer route to the destination becomes a much smarter and viable thing to do. (I love this about TOR). Anyway, given this, is there any user created content with a list of herbs, breads, elixirs, salves or poisons (opiates or anaesthetic) available that fit with the lore? Knowing the climates/seasons that these herbs grow in would also be great.

It would be wonderful for a skilful character to know that

"Kingsfoil is what we need here, unfortunately it doesn't grow in this region. The closest place that it could grow is three days ride north where the climate is cooler".

Or a character may say

"There is likely to be a considerable number of orcs along the southern borders, we had best prepare for the worst. I know that Kingsfoil grows along the foot of the mountains and it's only two days march from here. Shall we get some supplies or shall we risk it?"

This would add a lot of colour to the game. The players would need to think strategically about where they are going, how dangerous it will be and how they will recover if they do run into trouble. If they already purchased the right medical supplies prior to departing, will it be enough to last the entire journey? Perhaps the right concoction for an ailment or wound could lower the requirements for a healing check or speed up the recovery time. This also brings life into the trade of these medicines and the changes in supply/demand due to location of suppliers (city or remote) and the current season.

Further to this, the need for adequate medical supplies poses logistical challenges for the players to overcome. If they need to take a detour to 'top up' on resources, but have a deadline to get catch the bad guy at a known location before he moves on it creates a dilemma. Travel and distance matter in this game (which I also love) and making logistical choices that impact the difficulty and distance of a journey adds a new dimension to the game.

Anyway, those were some of the thoughts that I had as a new, but soon to be long term TOR player.

Cheers,
Kurt

[Rich H]

Welcome Kurt!

The nearest thing I've done for TOR is on page 28 onwards of the following doc: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/795 ... 0Rules.pdf

It doesn't cover everything you need because the task for gathering herbs is a Fellowship Phase undertaking and a PC can travel about a bit during such time but you could tweak the content to make it location specific.

However, just a little word of caution... The use of herbs, potions, etc can often be attributed to specific cultural Virtues that characters purchase with XP so I'd take a look through the published material so far before deciding to allow PCs to gather such flora as and when they wish.

[StuartJ]

Hi Kurt - and welcome to the community!

is there any user created content with a list of herbs, breads, elixirs, salves or poisons (opiates or anaesthetic) available that fit with the lore? Knowing the climates/seasons that these herbs grow in would also be great.

The only thing I'm aware of is the Herbarium de la Terre du Milieu, which I translated into English here if you don't read French. It's not very detailed, but very nicely evocative. Tomfish from the forum here is helping me arrange with the original author for a fully formatted translation.

Otherwise, if you are after more detail, I'm sure there's something in the MERP content that ICE put out, if you can find old PDF copies!

hope that helps

Stuart

[zedturtle]

Also, take at Laketown and it's undertakings, which I've adapted (on the fly) for other locations. Like Rich said, you'll want to be careful to avoid making certain heroes 'special thing' become ordinary.

[zedturtle]

P.S. Thanks for the kind words regarding Theft!

[Kurt]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the welcome. I'm so excited about this game and my friends are telling me "Hurry up and read the rules already".

Thanks Rich for the document with supplemental rules. I had a look at the section on herbs and it's great (like the rest of the document). Your suggestion on checking the cultural backgrounds was also a good one. Different herbs will be found in different regions and this would have an impact on trade. I would imagine the dwarves under the mountain would be less proficient in gathering herbs but would import the supplies that they need in exchange for gold or silver. I will be sure to read the rules regarding the cultural virtues and ensure that they remain special and useful. Thank you for reminding me about this. I'm interested in these little details because if someone does spend the XP points in a virtue then it's nice to reward them with something that is detailed and adds significant value. I also like that this causes a small dependance on the characters with these virtues, which in turn encourages teamwork.

Thanks Stuart for that "Herbarium of Middle Earth" document, I have downloaded it as well (the english version).

Zedturtle, I haven't purchased the Laketown GM Screen yet, I shall in the future.

I must say I am amazed at how relatively simple game mechanics (from what I have read so far) have yielded some surprisingly complex results that encourage gamers to think about the story and actions of their character on a deeper level. My friends and I are quite excited about this game.

Thanks again for the support.

Cheers,
Kurt

[Majestic]

Welcome, Kurt!

Your post has led me to realize that a mini-adventure to 'top off' healing resources would be an excellent idea. If nothing else, just as a way to get the PCs out and about (as opposed to heading somewhere specific, like going to where the Beornings and Viglundings are having trouble) when they're deciding what direction to go. Sort of a "side mission" of sorts.

[Kurt]

Thanks Majestic,

Yes, I will be doing the same except not so much side adventure, but rather to plan for it prior to a journey or to take into consideration along the way. I find it's the little things that create immersion and bring life to a game. Herbs and medicines are essential, particularly during the time of The Hobbit and beyond as the influence of the dark lord grows. I can imagine there would be a lively trade in in herbs, elixirs and potions.

For the adventure "Don't Leave the Path" in Tales from the Wilderland, amongst the trade goods that Baldor has in his wagon will be herbs, elixirs and medicines to be sold in rural areas where the price is significantly higher for a few types of herbs and the elixirs. On the return trip he will load up on herbs grown in rural regions and sell them in Dale or perhaps to the Elves. The three thugs have been informed and know the herbs and medicines are the most valuable portion of cargo he has. There is also an important ethical and moral reason for this cargo. These supplies are vital to rural areas as they are increasingly effected by the resurgence of Saurons minions but lack the defensive walls of the cities or numerous well equiped and capable guards on the payroll.

When I am running a game (in the past it was D&D) I liked to attach importance to skills because it's what defines each character and will make him/her unique. I value the non-combat skills a great deal and hope to make very good use of them. I find nothing more annoying as a player than to have interesting non-combat skills and never get to use them. I think that TOR has a well thought out skill, trait and attribute system. Simple enough to not get in the way of the story, but complete and complex enough to allow individual characters to shine. The skill Healing and traits Herb-Lore and Gardening will provide that colour and immersion for me and the players in the game.

Cheers,
Kurt

PS: Stuart, your Palantir for TOR is excellent, I found a lot of information using that. Thanks again to Rich for the document with extra house rules.

[Robin Smallburrow]

Welcome Kurt!

A note of caution on the trade of Herbs etc. One of the things I disliked about MERP was that travelling often degenerated into foraging for herbs- don't let that happen!

Middle-earth is like our world in regards to herbs- trade would only be local as there was no way to preserve them. This is why spices were so valuable

See also my discussion on honey cakes

[Kurt]

Hi Robin,

You are absolutely correct. I am writing a Herbs & Elixirs supplement at the moment. My aim is to explain (with a bit of learning and understanding for myself) the combination of skills traits and cultural virtues associated with healing in Middle Earth. I don't want my players to be foraging for herbs all the time, that would become incredibly boring. Going on a herb farm is the last thing that I want. I am trying to strike a balance about what would happen in Tolkien's world and at the same time not have the role of healing as an after thought. Healing, Herb-Lore, Herbal Remedies, Gardening, Cooking, Elven-Lore and Shadow Lore are all important non-combat skills, traits and virtues. I really want to ensure that they are as important as the ability to swing a sword.

What I am trying to achieve with my "Herbs & Elixirs" supplement is that feeling of medicine in a medieval period, it's unrefined and has its own challenges. I also want to stay true to that feeling of Tolkien's world that I have imagined. I want to explain the availability and rarity for herbs and elixirs so that some thought can go into the planning process for players before a journey begins and that a fellow in the party with Herb-Lore etc is a valued member for having that trait. In my mind, most healing in TOR is not about magic, it is about practical knowledge in healing techniques and the human anatomy, knowledge of herbs and herbal remedies and if you want to grow herbs then an understanding of Gardening is required.

Healing an un-natural wound (a wound from a Morgul Blade) does have an element of magic to it and is exceptionally difficult for most people. Healing a wound from a Morgul Blade would certainly not only require a person to have strong skills in Healing, they would also need to know Herb-Lore, Elven-Lore and Shadow-Lore as well. Even Aragorn and Arwen with their skills and history struggled to heal Frodo, who had to be swiftly carried to Rivendell to receive treatment (not even cured). Magic in Middle Earth is diminishing and those that truely understand it (the elves) are leaving for the distant shores of Valinor. By the end of the Third Age they will predominantly be gone (including Gandalf).

In D&D, if you loose an arm the cleric is likely to say "Don't worry there buddy, I'll magic you up a new one!". I don't want that in my campaign at all, it makes the game feel like a Monty Python sketch (I love Monty Python, just saying). When a dwarf says to my players "We will need to head through the Mines of Moria" I want the players to respond with "You want us to do what!?". There needs to be a real sense of danger in my campaigns, it's what makes the enemy a truely powerful opponent. Combat is dangerous and healing is a challenge. It's what makes the game memorable and fun.

I hope that makes sense

Cheers,
Kurt

P.S. I have to learn to stop writing essays in my posts.