Herbs of the Jungle (2014)

From publisher blurb:

Welcome to the Jungle

Do you wish that alchemy in your game had a little more “oomph?” Have you ever been disappointed that no matter what it is that you’re trying to craft, all it takes is gold, time, and a skill check, with no concern as to what ingredients you’re using or how they’re prepared? Have you ever GM’d for a player who always seemed to want to wander off into the woods (or the merchant district) in search of rare and exotic reagents and compounds for his next magical experiment, and struggled to come up with an exciting and suitably fantastic material for him to find?

Then this is the book for you. The sequel to the triumphant book A Necromancer’s Grimoire: The Secret of Herbs, A Necromancer’s Grimoire: Herbs of the Jungle continues its predecessor’s unique approach to the sorts of low-cost special substances that can be created with the Craft (alchemy) skill. Presented herein are ten new jungle-themed herbs with very special properties, as well as everything you need to know about how to use them in your game.

Take the resailia, a strange herb that resembles a giant inverted carrot with a bright blue flower the size of a man’s head. In addition to being a great substance from which to make arms and armor, and serving as an odd-looking but simple and effective one-man boat, extracts made from the herb can be used to increase or decrease the hardness of objects, allowing talented alchemists to mold steel like clay, or create solid blocks of non-frozen water.

Or perhaps you prefer the chordoit bean, which is similar to coffee beans in many ways, but prized for alchemical use as well as as a food item. It can be made into a stimulating elixir that does away with fatigue for a short time, or concentrated into a speed-enhancing potion that can be incredibly valuable in combat. More sinister applications include the jitter poison, which causes the victim to shake uncontrollably, and the chordoit powder, which causes restless sleep and itching.

Other highlights include a salve that allows one to meld affected body parts into the earth, a poison which causes its victims to float uncontrollably off the ground like a balloon, an elixir which enhances Charisma at the expense of Intelligence and Wisdom, and a curious elixir that allows one to stay awake even while they’re asleep.

By themselves, each herb can be specially prepared into a handful of different special substances called preparations with a successful check, and further information outlines additional compounds and poisons that can be created by mixing two of these herbs together, for a total of over 70 new special substances and poisons.

Also included are guidelines for foraging and preparing these herbs, as well as optional rules for cultivating herbs deliberately and identifying the properties of unknown herbs, and many of the herbs in this book have special properties even without any special preparation. Whether you want to make the best alchemist (or witch, or hedgewizard, or even druid or ranger) ever, and display your superior knowledge of special plants, or just want to make sure that your players never look at a flower stand the same way ever again, don’t pass this book up.