Herbarium of Hodas vol 1

     This week I wanted to post a few plants that are unique to the setting of Hodas. These are all things that we rolled up and work-shopped together to figure out how they fit into the setting and what they might do. I really like that Graves & Groves included some unique plants in their book, its fun, it's cool, and I figured I could share some from my setting.

 

“Last Lesson”

-Mushroom

-grows on dead adventurers

-Black with orange frills on underside

-only grows in darkness

-1” to 10” tall

-1d5 on corpse

-may have it’s frills removed and pressed, releasing a liquid which, when mixed with pine tea and powdered hard tack creates a potion of healing, 1d8+1 per HD of dead adventurer

These tend to be found by adventurers and turned into potions with supplies that are both common and plentiful. Most novice adventurers with even a passing knowledge of herbalism knows the process of making the potion from these, despite their rarity. It has lead to a superstition among adventurers to keep bundles of fresh pine in their packs which is good practice either way due to the many uses of pine. 

 

Crimson Thistle bloom

Annual

Large Deciduous tree

100' (30.5 m)

main color: green (leaves)

accent: red (fruit)

contains euphoric compounds

Treats: Parasites (ointment made from juice of fruit)

Poison: Topical (raw seeds, 1 hour incubation, Hypoxemia)

This tree flowers in the spring with sparse but beautiful crimson blossoms. The summer brings a thorned fruit that is poisonous if consumed but if juiced it can be used to prevent and remove skin parasites such as ticks, leeches, or lice but not limited to them. The fruit must be handled carefully when being processed as the seeds brushing against skin will cause hypoxemia. Crimson thistle blooms are found dotting the land and are not often cut down due to the benefits they impart

 

Pyro-pine

Biennial

Large Coniferous Tree

80' (24.4 m) growth max

Green

Orange

crushed plant attracts monsters

Treats Ulcers (Infusion made from juice)

poison (ingestion tincture made from juice, 5 hour incubation, Neurotoxin)

The pyro-pine's name is a little misleading. Nothing about this plant has anything to do with fire. It's name instead comes from the dull orange color of it's cones which can only be found once every 2 years. This is much like any other coniferous tree with two distinct differences. first the sap may be made into an infusion to treat ulcers when drank. however the seeds of the cones can be made into an tincture that kills slowly and has a very distinct flavor, making it difficult to hide or use effectively but difficult to detect if the imbiber doesn't know the signs right away. when used in poison it's used in places where the Pyro-pine isn't native and hidden in a beer or a mead.