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Plants & Magical Herbs
"The Coven-Master gave to me a phial
Of the dread opiate that is the key
To dream-gates opening upon a sea
Of acherontic vapours; mile on mile
Stretched ebon coasts untrod, wherefrom aspire
Pylons of rough-hewn stone climbing to skies
Alien-constellated, where arise
Grey mottled moons of cold and leprous fire.
I saw -- and screamed! And knew my doom of dooms
Learning at last... where the Black Lotus blooms."
-Lin Carter: "Dreams from R'lyeh"
This section details a few of the many plants and magical herbs in the Hyborian Age. All of the plants
listed are setting-specific, but this list is by no means exhaustive. Surely, predecessors to all of the plants of
the modern world must exist in Hyboria, so those plants with utilitarian, edible, and medicinal (as well as
magical) uses should be included in a Hyborian campaign. For the sake of brevity, only those plants that
are specific to the Hyborian age are listed below.
Apples of Derketa
"'We need not starve,' she said. 'There is fruit we can reach.' Conan glanced where she pointed. 'If we ate that, we
wouldn't need the bite of a dragon,' he grunted. 'That's what the black people of Kush call the Apples of Derketa.
Derketa is the Queen of the Dead. Drink a little of its juice, or spill it on your flesh, and you'd be dead before you
could tumble to the foot of this crag.'"
- Robert E. Howard: "Red Nails"
A deadly poisonous fruit found in the jungles to the south. The blackish juice causes death in seconds
and the poison works by both contact and ingestion. The fruit was given this name by the Kushites. The
lethal dose is .10 grams.
Poisontree Staff
The Tree of Death is a hardwood found in Khitai, from which staves can be cut that will deliver a
poisonous death to any victim touched. Any successful strike with the staff deals normal damage and
poisons the creature hit. When the staff strikes, a lethal dose is not necessarily delivered, so PCs or
NPCs using it must determine the Potency each time they successfully strike with the staff. A random
number 1-10 must be generated by any method (d10, d20 - 10 if < 10, etc.) each time the staff strikes.
This is the poison's Potency for the hit in question. Then, Potency is rolled against Endurance. Successful
rolls kill the target. Resistance can not be built up to Poisontree toxins. Poisontree staffs lose their toxicity
after several years of use. Those who wield a Poisontree Staff must wear gloves or risk being poisoned
themselves.
Shoki Leaves
A plant whose leaves can be crushed to make ink. Shoki ink is waterproof and doesn't fade for thousands
of years. The ink produced by these leaves can also be utilized as a potent black-purple dye.
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