Herbal Remedies

Herbal remedies are the oldest and crudest brews of low magic: liquids or salves with modest powers of healing and cure, far simpler than herbal elixirs. Rather than measuring herbs by weight, the maker takes the choicest parts of one whole plant, fresh or dried, and boils them in a fluid ounce of clear water. No mortar and pestle is needed, just a small bowl or pot. A batch takes 40 plus d20 minutes and almost never fails, and a ready-made remedy usually costs about 100 GP.

Some two dozen recipes are listed. Cures exist for amnesia (sage), apathy, violent tendencies, blindness, disease, insanity (any three of six herbs), paralysis, fever, lost speech and fear of any origin. A burn salve rubbed in for a minute mends 2-16 points of burn damage, and the Healing brew of any four listed herbs restores 8 points when swallowed. Antidotes against insect and spider venom, and against poisons generally, cure 2-16 points and halt the toxin within a minute. Other remedies purge parasites, ease pain and itching, cure love sickness with hellebore, or lift a minor curse of level 1-3 with adder's tongue and bittersweet. The Sedative brings restful sleep within 1-4 minutes for 2-8 hours and doubles any healing remedy or potion taken with it, though a sleeper woken early fights and casts at half ability.