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dripton · 10-03-2015, 09:47 AM

Sadly, I don't think I've ever used it either. Never played in a GURPS game with a druid or woods-witch PC, or where herbal healing was more effective than magical or clerical healing, or where mages needed to gather spell components in the wild.

Herb Lore and Alchemy are pretty much the same skill with slightly different chrome. One could argue for merging them. Or for merging Herb Lore with Pharmacy (Herbal). Lots of similar, underused skills. I guess you could introduce the "Herb!" skill, though it would probably lead to boring stoner jokes.

It seems easy enough to make this skill popular: make it an enabler for the cheapest or most effective form of healing available. That would totally fit a low-tech no-magic setting. But herb gathering just isn't that exciting; it feels like something an NPC should do for you.

10-03-2015, 09:47 AM	#4
dripton Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Northern Virginia, USA	Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Herb Lore Sadly, I don't think I've ever used it either. Never played in a GURPS game with a druid or woods-witch PC, or where herbal healing was more effective than magical or clerical healing, or where mages needed to gather spell components in the wild. Herb Lore and Alchemy are pretty much the same skill with slightly different chrome. One could argue for merging them. Or for merging Herb Lore with Pharmacy (Herbal). Lots of similar, underused skills. I guess you could introduce the "Herb!" skill, though it would probably lead to boring stoner jokes. It seems easy enough to make this skill popular: make it an enabler for the cheapest or most effective form of healing available. That would totally fit a low-tech no-magic setting. But herb gathering just isn't that exciting; it feels like something an NPC should do for you.