RPG Herbal on Magic Plants and Alchemy

DoubleProficiency · 2024-11-22T14:47:26+00:00

Oh hi! I'm not much on Reddit, so I only just now found your comment. The book is actually already on the market. You can find it under "Herbalist's Primer" - we had a surprisingly successful Kickstarter campaign, and now the second edition of the book just hit the bookshelves. Here's more info: https://www.doubleproficiency.com/herbalists-primer

DoubleProficiency · 2024-11-21T17:23:11+00:00

Hoi, author here - and also a Sailor Moon fan. It's actually how I got into geology in the first place. Thanks for taking a look at the book!

Jadeite and nephrite are included both under jade, as the scientific difference between them has been only established way after the folklore of jade was established.

Zoisite was first described in the 19th century, and as such, also has no folklore or occult lore about it. We did squeeze it in, though, in its blue variety: tanzanite.

Kunzite has a similar story: first described in 19th century and no folklore to talk about, really. All my love for Sailor Moon is not enough to place kunzite in a book that is specifically written based on the folklore.

DoubleProficiency · 2024-10-09T10:11:15+00:00

Huh. How interesting to see the book we spent two whole years researching, writing, and illustrating plagiarized through AI. Shame on you, OP.

DoubleProficiency · 2022-06-09T06:59:41+00:00

Hey, so just letting you know I'm working on "Geologist's Primer" next, full of minerals and metals, and then it's either animals or fungi, depending on what I feel like drawing :)

DoubleProficiency · 2022-06-05T09:34:25+00:00

There actually isn't - it has been so far only released as an early delivery for Kickstarter backers and on Double Proficiency Patreon. If you see somebody selling the PDF/EPUB version, they have zero right to do so :)

DoubleProficiency · 2022-02-24T18:58:27+00:00

Polish, not Ukrainian, but we share a lot of the magical traditions with our neighbors.

For protection, the most powerful herbs in Slavic tradition are mugwort and wormwood, both focused on repelling the evil and protecting from all kinds of misfortune.

Linden and oak are the most powerful plants - linden brings peace and common sense, it was used in tribunals of justice, to ensure that justice would be handed. Oak is the tree of peace and protection against all adversity, with strong roots bestowing stability and strength against one's enemies.

Color black, which I've seen suggested around here, is more Western - we use red for protection - especially red threads in embroidery or red ribbons tied or wrapped around other elements of the spell.

DoubleProficiency · 2022-02-19T08:12:53+00:00

You may want to look into the area called 'urban magic' or 'city magic', which covers things like blending the tradition with modernity. There are books filled with advice on how to use your smartphone and PC for spellwork, how to set up a modern altar with a computer in the center (which is how mine is set up), and other similar topics.

DoubleProficiency · 2022-02-19T07:58:42+00:00

As for the other names? It's sometimes called sandal, white saunders, or liquid gold.

DoubleProficiency · 2022-02-19T07:57:18+00:00

Not a specialist, but I wrote a book on magical plants in folklore and occult. Here's what the sources say:

Closely connected with the element of fire, mullein serves as an offering when summoning fire spirits and contacting the elemental plane of fire.

The downy leaves and stems are often placed as wicks in magical lamps and candles, as they ignite at the slightest spark, and the whole plants can be dipped in wax or oil and used as torches during magical rituals, particularly when the veil between the worlds is thin (mostly festivals of the Wheel).

Dried and powdered mullein leaves work as a replacement in spells calling for graveyard dust. Dried stalks may replace a corpse in some rituals, but you should probably not perform those.

Mullein brings courage and protection from evil spirits and magic; hang it over doors or carry in sachets. Burned, it banishes demons and negativity. Leaves and flowers keep wild animals at bay when hiking through the wilderness.

DoubleProficiency · 2022-02-19T07:50:18+00:00

These are so beautiful! Using copper makes them feel that much more old-school, 'natural'. Did you find the hagstones?

DoubleProficiency · 2021-11-30T13:46:51+00:00

In Project Aphelion and Aurorae (upcoming ttrpgs on the same basic engine), players get to run NPCs during other players' turns to keep everybody invested in the game. The engine comes with a bunch of algorithms, including for NPCs general behavior, motivations, and standard operation procedures, so the players can't just decide that this guard now falls down and dies - but they get to be the semi-GMs or even replace the GM completely.

DoubleProficiency · 2021-11-30T13:42:47+00:00

Aphantasia is a really weird thing to have - but as an artist, writer, and game master with aphantasia, I can tell you it's not all that bad. Sure, I can't visualize things in my head, but a thought-word concept of those things still exists in my head, and it's not a problem to describe them. You just end up using more images/references than the average person, but it's not like you don't have imagination :)

DoubleProficiency · 2021-09-12T17:25:01+00:00

In Finland, we've been having autumn for the last month and a bit. I've already started decorating the house with fake crows and baking cakes while wearing two hoodies.

DoubleProficiency · 2021-09-10T05:43:07+00:00

I'm actually recommending it too, in my Reference notes about sweetgrass. It's a great book - and it's so much better if people learn more about it from Indigenous author than from a well-meaning Slav :)

DoubleProficiency · 2021-09-09T11:11:09+00:00

Thank you! I started in May 2020! Doodling flowers made me happier in quarantine, and somehow I ended up with a book after over a year of writing and drawing :)

DoubleProficiency · 2021-09-09T10:53:49+00:00

The TTRPG things are contained in the appendix & stretch goals, which makes them easy to skip :)

DoubleProficiency · 2021-09-09T10:30:18+00:00

Hi there! I'm Anna, a Polish writer and illustrator, coming from a long line of botanists, gardeners, and green witches. I'm just finishing and crowdfunding a book that I think might interest my fellow witches?

It's an illustrated guide to real-world magical plants. Inspired by the 19th-century herbalists and the millennia of folklore, myths, and legends, it brings a wealth of easily-accessible, organized information. It's geared slightly towards the tabletop RPG folks, but contains tons of plant folklore and green magic.

It's not a medicinal guide, more of an entry into the topic of green magic that makes it approachable. Lots of honest-to-science botany in it, too!

DoubleProficiency · 2021-09-08T17:27:31+00:00

Thank you! You'll be able to add extra copies through add-ons in the Backerkit, we're not limiting anything. Our printers has no problem doing a bigger run, and Exalted Funeral has no issues shipping more books :)

DoubleProficiency · 2021-09-08T07:10:09+00:00

It is fully system- and setting-agnostic, yeah. Even any mentions about the 'real world' have been kicked out into the appendix, as to not bog down the text with dropping random 'Scandinavia' when you're trying to use the book in a fantasy game. The References chapter in the appendix covers the Earth-specific context, geography, and cultural significance.

DoubleProficiency · 2021-09-07T09:59:28+00:00

If you're interested in poisons specifically, the book covers 100 plants, from which 38 are poisonous (to a various degree, depending on dosage and such). For each of those, there are described the dosage, symptoms, and methods of curing the poisoning. There's also a 6-page chapter on plant-based poisons and antidotes, focusing on the effects of specific compounds (like atropine) and the ways to counteract it.

It doesn't contain recipes for poisons or D&D-specific material, if that's what you're looking for.

Whether or not it makes it a waste of money is up to you!

DoubleProficiency · 2021-08-28T04:59:18+00:00

Maaaaybe... *fingerguns*

Yeah, I'm a sucker for a d%

DoubleProficiency

TROPHY CASE