Crafting - Harvesting
GM-Info!
Work in progress!
Slightly NSFW!
FEATURED
Locating & Identifying the Plant
Skill Options
- Outdoor Survival (common approach: foraging, finding plants in the wild).
- Lore (Herbs), Lore (Druids), or Trade (Herbalist) (to recognize and pinpoint rarer or more exotic specimens).
- Perception (when searching in unfamiliar terrain under time pressure).
Difficulty & Rarity
- Common or easily cultivated plants: Average (+20) or Challenging (+0).
- Scarce or region-specific plants: Difficult (–10).
- Rare or exotic flora (e.g. “Glowroot,” “Brimpepper,” or similar): Hard (–20) or worse.
Extended Tests
If a large batch is needed, or if the plant is incredibly rare, GMs may require an Extended Test. Each test might represent an hour, a day, or a week’s worth of searching, depending on the campaign pace. Failure could mean wasted time or a lead that goes nowhere.Optional: Concentration
A character with high enough Concentration (from the Crafting rules) can spend 50–100 points to re-roll a failed “Locate Plant” check or reduce the required SL for an extended search. This represents meticulous research or attunement to nature’s rhythms.Preparing for the Harvest
Tools
Harvesting tools range from simple scythes and pruning shears to more specialized Druidic sickles or Arcane Horticulture Kits. Generally, a basic kit grants no modifier, while Quality Tools (costly or specially crafted) might grant +10 or more. For rare or delicate flora, or whenever “preserving potency” is critical, the GM may require high-quality or specialized tools.- Common sickle or shears: no modifier; standard.
- Masterwork Herbalist’s kit: +10 to relevant tests (e.g. careful cutting, collecting seeds).
- Arcane horticulture kit or druidic sickle: +10 or +20 in particularly specialized contexts, such as magical plants or ritual harvesting.
Protective & Storage Gear
- Sealed leather pouches or hermetic jars for fresh leaves, seeds, or juices.
- Special cases for plants that are flammable, venomous, or that degrade rapidly when exposed to air.
Performing the Harvest
Skill Tests
Skills: Trade (Herbalist), Trade (Apothecary), or Outdoor Survival to physically cut, dig up, or otherwise remove the plant. Difficulty: Challenging (+0) for standard plants. Hard (–20) or worse for legendary or extremely tricky flora.Extended Tests
If a harvest is time-consuming (e.g. collecting enough seeds from a large field or carefully extracting “Exploding Seeds”), the GM can require an Extended Test. Each success level (SL) contributes to the yield’s quantity or quality. Failures may destroy or degrade part of the batch.Yield & SL
- Marginal Success (+1 SL): A minimal yield - just enough for a single concoction, a handful of seeds, etc.
- Moderate Success (+2 to +3 SL): Enough for several uses or a small stockpile.
- High Success (+4 SL or more): Abundant yield; possibly picking the best specimens.
- Failure / Critical Failure: Damages or spoils the plant; you might lose half or all of the potential harvest (GM’s discretion).
Optional Hazards
- Arcane Feedback: Magically infused flora may release a jolt of energy if disturbed incorrectly, dealing direct damage or applying Stunned (WFRP) or a loss of points from a stat Pool (Cypher).
- Attracted Wildlife: The plant’s scent draws a hostile beast or swarm, interrupting the harvest.
- Cursed Aura: An ancient or malicious force lingers around the plant’s location, imposing a penalty on Willpower (WFRP) or Intellect (Cypher) tests until cleansed.
- Explosive Seeds: Rolling a critical fumble (e.g. double 99) could cause the seeds to detonate, dealing minor damage or scaring the party.
- Fungal Infestation: Harvesters risk inhaling fungal spores that cause disease or infection.
- Hungry Vines: The plant itself is predatory; tangling vines attempt to grapple the harvester.
- Night-Blooming Toxicity: The plant is only harvestable at night, increasing the danger from nocturnal predators or random encounters.
- Poisonous Thorns: Tiny barbs that inflict the Poisoned condition (WFRP) or 3 points of ambient Damage (Cypher) unless an Endurance (WFRP) or Might defence roll (Cypher) succeeds.
- Slumber Spores: A burst of pollen triggers a Sleep effect unless a Willpower (WFRP) or Intellect defence roll (Cypher) is made.
- Thieving Creatures: Nimble pests or fae-like creatures might steal away seeds the moment they’re cut free.
- Toxic Spores: A failed test might force the harvester to pass an Endurance test or suffer Poisoned conditions.
- Unstable Terrain: Muddy or crumbling ground can cause a slip leading to further trouble (spilling the harvest, attracting predators).
Treating & Conserving the Harvest
Many plants degrade quickly if not prepared or preserved. This step is analogous to the Material Selection or Quality Adjustment phases in item crafting.Preservation Methods
- Drying or Smoking (Trade (Herbalist) or Trade (Cook) test).
- Salting, Pickling, or Soaking in Alcohol (Trade (Apothecary) test).
- Magical wards or Runes (using the Item Enhancement rules - e.g., Rune of Preservation (Variant) to keep produce fresh indefinitely).
Difficulty & Time
- Usually an Average (+20) or Challenging (+0) test to preserve common flora.
- Rare or exotic plants might require special recipes or rituals (Difficult or Hard).
- Each test may represent hours or days. A high SL can extend shelf life significantly.
Storage Guidelines
- Without any treatment, most harvested goods remain fresh only for a few days to a week, subject to GM’s setting.
- Properly preserved harvest might last weeks, months, or indefinitely (with magical runes or special containers).
- Failure at this stage can ruin the harvest or reduce its potency (e.g., reduce final potion bonuses by 1, or cause the seeds to lose any special effect).
Refining or Infusing the Harvest
Similar to how crafters refine ore into higher-quality metal or enchant a blade, you can “refine” a plant to improve a future yield or endow it with special properties. This might be vital for druids cultivating explosive seeds, or alchemists seeking a magically enhanced fruit.Examples of Refinements
Crossbreeding & Selective Cultivation
- Trade (Herbalist) or Trade (Farmer/Gardener)
- Extended Test to merge traits from two different plants (e.g., a spicier fruit or seeds that store explosive potential).
- Time can range from a single planting season to multiple in-game years, depending on the campaign’s narrative depth.
Arcane Infusion
A Lore (Magic) or Language (Magick) test to run a day-long or week-long ritual, granting the plant supernatural properties (e.g. faint glowing seeds, regenerating fruit).Special Fertilizers & Growth Boosters
Combining alchemical components (e.g. “Verdestone” from the mineral table) might require a Trade (Apothecary) test. On success, speeds up growth or grants novel features (the fruit now deals minor Fire damage when thrown, etc.).Difficulty & Rarity
- Common or Scarce plants can be refined with a Challenging (+0) extended test.
- Rare or Exotic flora might be Hard (–20) or worse, requiring multiple successes, special quest items, or the help of a druid circle.
Optional: Spend Concentration to reduce the extended test level or to re-roll a critical failure.
Possible Outcomes
- Slight Improvement (Marginal SL total): Slightly better yield next time you plant these seeds; +1 to relevant effects or reduce required skill test by one step.
- Breakthrough (High SL total): The plant gains entirely new features (such as seeds that do elemental damage, a fruit with healing properties, or a vine that can entangle foes).
- Catastrophic Failure: A critical fumble might corrupt the batch, produce a toxic hybrid, or cause an unforeseen magical mutation.
Using Harvested Materials in Further Crafting
Alchemists & Potion Brewing
Harvested plants are prime ingredients for potions (Healing Draughts, Poisons, special potions with custom effects). GMs can:- Grant a bonus to Trade (Apothecary) or Trade (Alchemist) checks if the plants are especially fresh, well-preserved, or magically infused.
- Introduce negative modifiers if the plant was poorly stored or partially decayed.
Druids & Seeds, Vines, Roots
Druids or nature-focused characters might:- Replant seeds in a personal grove, ensuring a steady supply.
- Use special seeds in traps (exploding seeds, tangle vines as foot snares, etc.).
- Combine runes or inscriptions (from the attached “Enhancement” rules) to enchant seeds, vines, or fruit. For instance, Rune of Preservation keeps a druidic “Explosive Gourd” stable until thrown.
Cross-Compatibility With Existing Crafting Rules
At the GM’s discretion, all the usual Crafting guidelines - such as Material Tiers, Extended Tests, Quality Adjustments, Time & Economy - can apply to gathering or refining plants. You could, for instance:- Require an alchemist to gather Rare flora and treat it as a “material tier” for potions that need Rare or Exotic components.
- Introduce partial or total failure states with wasted resources, matching the tension of forging an elaborate weapon.
- Encourage collaborative efforts: A druid with high Trade (Herbalist) working alongside an alchemist with strong Lore (Magic) could reduce the overall difficulty or time required.
Plant List
See Resources.Druidic Plants
See Book of Plants.
Harvesting in the Cypher System
Core Mechanics Adaptation
Much like the Cypher adaptation of Crafting, we treat Harvesting as a streamlined process with its own step-based approach. Instead of forging blades, characters scour meadows or delve into dank marshes seeking valuable flora. Use the Cypher difficulty ladder (1–10), with skill training, assets, and other factors altering the difficulty as usual. Each +1 step of difficulty loosely corresponds to a ±10% in WFRP4e terms.Step 1: Finding & Identifying Flora
- Skills: If characters possess training or special focus in Survival, Herbalism, or Druidic Lore, they lower the difficulty by 1 step per relevant skill/specialisation.
- Set Difficulty: Common or well-known plants might be Difficulty 2 or 3 (Equivalent to WFRP’s +0 or +20). Highly exotic or region-specific flora might be Difficulty 5+ (Hard in WFRP terms).
- Success: uncovers the target plant or yields enough knowledge to track it down swiftly.
- Failure: leads to wasted time or the possibility of encountering hazards.
Step 2: Appropriate Tools & Preparation
In the Cypher System, tools typically grant an asset if they’re high-quality or specifically suited to a delicate harvest (e.g. a Druid’s Sickle, an Arcane Field Kit). If lacking tools or using improvised gear, the GM may increase the difficulty by 1 step.Step 3: Harvesting the Plant
Core Action: The character attempts a single check - again, the difficulty depends on the plant’s fragility or danger. For large tasks (or especially rare plants), the GM might require multiple checks or use a short Extended Test approach (two or three rolls in sequence). Outcome:- Marginal/Partial Success (Minor Effect): A small quantity or lesser-quality yield.
- Full Success: A healthy bundle or seeds, fully potent and usable.
- Major Effect: Enough extra yield for additional uses or storing; or immediate synergy with a druidic ritual.
Step 4: Preserving or Storing the Harvest
- Difficulty: Usually Difficulty 3 or 4 in Cypher terms, depending on the complexity of preserving the plant.
- Assets & Skills: A character trained in Herbalism or Alchemy might reduce the difficulty by 1 step.
- Failure: The plant degrades, loses potency, or becomes unsafe to handle.
Step 5: (Optional) Magical Infusion or Refinement
- Infusion Rituals: For especially prized flora, a druid or mage might spend time (e.g., one day or more) performing a ritual. The GM sets a difficulty akin to crafting an artifact in Cypher - perhaps Difficulty 5 to 7.
- Rewards: A successful infusion can grant the plant unique or enhanced properties (e.g., exploding seeds, additional healing, etc.).
- Failure/GM Intrusion: A botched ritual might cause mutated or corrupted flora, harmful side effects, or an unexpected hazard (see “Harvesting Hazards” above).
This is sooooo amazing and it is incredible how much content you have for Alana. Or are all those ingredients not "finished", if you understand what I mean?
No, what you mean? :)
Do Songseed or Blinkbud have their own articles? Or are they "just" in the list?