Weeds - by Lug

A book written by the mononymous author Lug detailing the use of various natural resources found in Sargossa. Lug's identity is unknown but their work is considered trustworthy and accurate.

The bulk of the content identifies edible plant and animal life. Characters carrying this book gain advantage when foraging (boon: double the volume of food found). It also identifies several plants and animals with unique properties. A player can specify that their character is searching a region for a specific item from this list instead of searching for food. If their foraging test succeeds and the region does contain that resource, the character finds 1d6 doses of it. If they succeed and the region does not contain that resource, the character finds food using the typical foraging rules.

Wren's Feet

Smooth thumb-sized pods containing multitudes of tiny 'Y' shaped seeds. The seeds are chewy and cause dryness of the mouth, but their fortifying properties cannot be overstated.
Effect: Eating one portion causes a creature to regain 1d6 HP at a rate of 1HP per 10 minutes.
Location: Grows in sandy soil within sight of lakes and oceans.

Yellow Saviour

These hard yellow berries grow in clusters of three. Eating them has a nearly instantaneous detoxifying effect, nullifying poisons (as well as any other effects). They can be difficult to find in the wild as they are a popular food source for animals of all kinds.
Effect: Eating a berry ends any ongoing effects (positive and negative) from ingestion or injection.
Location: Grows in regions with high air moisture and plenty of shade.

Pilgrim's Stave

The popularity among travellers of the long, straight stalks of this flowering shrub is twofold. Firstly, chewing the papery bark stimulates the leg muscles. Secondly, the wood makes for excellent walking sticks! Make sure to select mature specimens with dry, peeling bark, as the younger bark is too fibrous and bitter to chew.
Effect: Chewing a portion of bark allows a character to travel with the speed of a forced march without suffering the negative effects for one hour.
Location: Grows in higher elevations at the transition between forest and grassland.

Jeweler's Friend

A pulpy white root harvested from a slender flowering plant. The root is brewed in boiling water as a soup or tea. The pulp – being unpalatable and not particularly nourishing – is typically discarded, and only the resulting tea is consumed to steady shaky hands.
Preparation: Steeped in boiling water for 10 minutes.
Effect: Consuming a cup of prepared tea increases a character's Dexterity by 2 for one hour.
Location: This plant grows in waterlogged soil near rivers.

Bluebane

This plant grows no more than a foot tall and produces purple and green trefoil leaves. Touching the leaves can irritate the skin. When crushed the leaves release juice (dark purple at first, but turning quickly blue) which is deadly poisonous when eaten or administered to a wound.
Preparation: Leaves must be crushed. Test Dexterity, taking 1 Stress on a failure.
Effect: A creature who eats a dose of bluebane or who is injured by a blade coated in bluebane immediately takes 1d4 damage from poison. Every round they must pass a Constitution Test (ending the effect) or take an additional 1d4 damage.
Location: Bluebane grows in rocky terrain, preferring the shadow of overhangs and cliff faces.

Murdop

This fuzzy yellow moss is a popular sleep aid. When smoked in a pipe like tobacco it produces a soporific effect on the imbiber for several hours.
Effect: A character who smokes a dose of murdop gains the full benefit of sleep regardless of weather, excepting storms, but suffers a -5 penalty to Intelligence. The effect lasts for 8 hours.
Location: Murdop grows best in caves and rocky overhangs.

Moon Cups

Bluish white mushrooms that spring up from deadfall after heavy rain. When ground into a paste and applied directly to the eyes, they stimulate the senses and grant night vision. They do not survive long, turning to grey mush within 24 hours of appearing.
Preparation: Spend 10 minutes grinding into a paste.
Spoilage: Ground or whole, moon cups lose their potency 24 hours after they are harvested.
Effect: One dose applied to the eyes grants 1 hour of night vision.
Location: These mushrooms only appear after continuous rain (12 consecutive hours of drizzle, rain, or storm), but can be found anywhere there is deadfall.

Undertow

This algae is harmless as it appears in nature: a shaggy green algae that is common in strong, clear rivers. When dried, powdered, and mixed with spirits, however, the result is dramatic, dropping the imbiber into a comatose slumber for days.
Preparation: Hung in a dry spot for a minimum of one week, then ground in a mortar and pestle and mixed with spirits.
Effect: To be effective a dose of dried, powdered undertow must be mixed with alcohol and ingested. The presence of undertow in a drink can be detected with a successful Intelligence Test. The imbiber must pass a Consitution Test or fall into deep, unshakeable slumber. Succeeding on the Test instead causes the imbiber to become clumsy and disoriented, suffering a -5 penalty on all Tests. The effect lasts for 1d6 days. Location: Undertow grows in clear, fast-flowing fresh water rivers.

Diplomat's Carrot

This vine is unrelated to carrots, but its flesh is similarly coloured and textured. Eating it brings about a cheerful, intoxicated attitude.
Effect: Characters who eat a dose of Diplomat's Carrot raw or cooked become very agreeable, and suffer a -5 penalty to Intelligence Tests when being persuaded.
Location: This vine grows in lush jungle.

Groslarch

The hardened sap of the groslarch tree improves bloodflow to the muscles and strengthens the heart. It must be boiled in water and drunk while piping hot to produce an effect.
Preparation: A knob of sap must be boiled in water for 10 minutes until it has fully dissolved, and drunk while quite hot. If allowed to cool, the sap will quickly come out of solution and reform into inert clumps of sap.
Effect: Consuming a dose of groslarch grants characters a +2 bonus to Strength for an hour. When the effect wears off the imbiber must pass a Constitution Test or suffer a -2 penalty to Strength until they take a night's rest.
Location: Groslarch grows in dry soil at high elevations.

Brain-On-The-Lam

This fungus' comical name is apt for both its appearance (lurid pink) and its effect on the mind. Eaten raw it is mildly nauseating, but when pickled in vinegar or wine for a week it can be eaten to boost the cognitive powers of the mind.
Preparation: Pickle in vinegar or wine for one week.
Effect: Characters who consume a dose of pickled brain-on-the-lam gain a +2 to Intelligence for 1d6 hours.
Location: This slime mould can be found growing beneath the bark of rotting logs.

Quitch

Quitch is a common flowering grass which can be used to produce a powder of the same name also known as "shush" or "monk breath." The flower's stamen must be separated, dried, and ground (a tedious process at every step) in order to produce a grey powder. When inhaled, the powder tightens the vocal cords, rendering the target mute.
Preparation: Every dose of Quitch flower requires 30 minutes and a successful Dexterity Test to separate, destroying the dose on a failure. The separated stamen must dry for 24 hours before being ground into powder.
Effect: When inhaled (typically done by blowing the powder into a target's face), a creature must pass a Dexterity Test or become mute for an hour.
Location: This grass grows in open fields away from the shade of trees or terrain.

Worrybug

The worrybug is a sizeable, hairy caterpillar with black and red stripes. It should never be eaten raw as the hairs cause rashes when touched and the innards are slimy and unpalatable. When cooked over a fire (speared on a stick), the hairs burn away and the flesh becomes meaty, and eating it relieves muscular tension.
Preparation: Skewer and roast over a fire for 10 minutes.
Effect: Eating a cooked worrybug removes one Stress.
Location: Worrybugs are found feeding on Yellow Saviour and Bluebane.

Thiefbeetle

Thiefbeetles are named not for their behaviour, but instead for their use among thieves. When agitated these dark blue beetles will spray a substance from their posterior which has the unusual effect of numbing the olfactory senses of anyone who breathes it in (an anti-perfume, if you will). Thieves may use this to thwart hounds, but it can also be used to mask unpleasant smells or tastes.
Preparation: Thiefbeetles can spray multiple times, but are short-lived. They can spray once every 24 hours, and die 2d4 days after being harvested.
Effect: One dose of spray from a thiefbeetle masks all odours from a person or object for 1 hour. Breathing in a substantial amount of the substance mutes both smell and taste for 24 hours.
Location: Thiefbeetles congregate in dry soil around the roots of bushes where they lay their eggs.

Glitterfish

Glitterfish are as beautiful as they are useful. They are suitable for eating, but more importantly their iridescent scales can be taken orally (in practically any preparation) to invigorate the body and mind. The effects are unpredictable, but usually positive.
Effect: Consuming a dose of glitterfish scales causes one random stat to increase by 2, and one random stat to decrease by 1. The effect lasts for 1d4 hours.
Location: Glitterfish school in deep, well-shaded rivers.

Greenstone

Greenstone is not really a stone, nor is it a plant, fungi, or animal. Instead it is clay, usually found in steeply cut riverbanks, recognizable by its deep green hue. Mixed with sufficient amounts of water it can be choked down (an unpleasant affair) to grant immunity to ingested poisons. Note that it does not clean the blood to cure any ongoing effects.
Effect: A creature who consumes a dose of greenstone gains immunity to ingested poison for 1d4 hours.
Location: Greenstone can be found along riverbanks in clay-rich regions.

Swiftthistle

This succulent plant does not grow "thorns" in the traditional sense. Instead the sharp protrusions are actually crystals that form from the overabundance of some substance within. These crystals can be harvested for their energizing properties.
Preparation: Scraping and powdering the crystals requires 10 minutes per dose.
Effect: Powdered swifththistle crystals can be inhaled through the nose or rubbed onto the teeth and gums to increase a character's speed to 50' and decrease their Dexterity and intelligence by 2 for 10 minutes.
Location: This plant grows in dry, windswept terrain.

Hobbleweed

This green leafy plant is like in appearance to many other harmless, edible varieties. The leaves and root can safely be eaten, but taken raw or cooked the stems contain a toxin that thins the blood and saps the body's fortitude.
Effect: Whenever a character who has eaten a dose of hobbleweed would regain HP, they must pass a Constitution Test, regaining only half the amount on a success and none on a failure. The effect lasts for 24 hours.
Location: Hobbleweed grows in most climates but is difficult to differentiate from others similar plants.

Firebabies

These plentiful orange water serpents may be excavated from the muddy banks of jungle rivers, or else harvested from the water at night by candle light. The head, gills, forelimbs, and offal are discarded. Process the long fleshy tail meat with a mortar and pestle, thinning somewhat with oil until a fatty ointment forms. This ointment has tremendous heat resistant properties, and can be applied to the body, garments, and possessions to resist damage from fire.
Preparation: Processing one dose of firebaby ointment requires 30 minutes and a portion of oil.
Effect: A dose of firebaby ointment can be spread across the body, or used to seal a backpack or sack. Protects against 10HP of fire damage before burning off.
Location: Firebabies can be found buried in the mud along riverbanks during the day, or swimming in rivers at night.

Wyvern Fouling

Among the most unique and frightening fauna of the Sargossan jungle is the wyvern. Resembling enormous bats, the wyvern is an apex predator. Fittingly, even its guano is fearsome, containing a deadly poison that can kill within minutes. The poison is rendered inert if allowed to dry, so the droppings must be collected while they are fresh to preserve their potency.
Spoilage: Wyvern fouling must be kept moist. It must be stored in a sealed container or else its is rendered ineffective within four hours. Every 24 hours it must be maintained with a few drops of water.
Effect: A creature who eats wyvern fouling (pungent and rancid smelling) immediately suffers 1d4 damage. For 5 minutes, once per minute, they must make a Constitution test; on a failure, increase the damage die by one step (d4 > d6 > d8 > d10 > d12) and suffer damage equal to the current die.
Location: Wyvern droppings can be found wherever wyverns are found, but fresh droppings are more likely to be found around their nests.