I have an apron full of herbs from several years back. With all the changes from that time til now, are they worth keeping? Or, should I dump them and start fresh?

Thanks Ryeka. I will try that.

The alchemy student will replace an herb that is game-mechanically broken as a result of the changes that were made to the substance system a few years ago. This has nothing to do with potency however.

Assuming those old herbs aren't broken, the only way to tell how powerful they are is to take a nibble when you have appropriate wounds. Maybe you've got good ones and maybe you've got duds.

If you want the best and strongest herbs, find an Empath or a Ranger with very high ranks in Foraging and Perception, and have them forage your herbs precisely. Then either get them dried and turned into potions as appropriate, or keep them fresh and cast Sprout on them before use.

Right now the absolute highest possible potency is achieved by casting Sprout, but the boost is temporary.

~ Player of Farman et al.

http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Main_Page

<<Right now the absolute highest possible potency is achieved by casting Sprout, but the boost is temporary.>>

Can you just recast it every time you want to eat the herb?

Does anyone know what kind of ranks it takes to get better than storebought quality herbs?

>Can you just recast it every time you want to eat the herb?

Sprout was supposedly being worked on in response to the many concerns and opinions that were expressed when it was released, but it's been a while since then. As of now, the duration caps at 25 minutes if I remember right, and the only way to tell if an herb has been Sprouted already is to cast the spell on it. Once it wears off you can cast it on the same herb again.

~ Player of Farman et al.

http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Main_Page

>How did you test the duration of an herb-cast? Or maybe my MD skill can't see enough.

I wrote a simple little script that casts Sprout on an herb every minute, checks the messaging, and increments the counter with each cast. The only messaging I see on the herbs when you focus on it is the 'not magical' message, with nearly 300 MD.

>Would a Sprout, precisely-foraged herb + Sprout on the herb increase its healing potency doubly so?

Not double, but it certainly does increase the potency.

My problems with Sprout are not being able to sense the spell in effect on an herb, and the fact that you can't cast it on herbs that have been alchemically enhanced. For an Empath, that means there's no reason to practice alchemy anymore.

~ Player of Farman et al.

http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Main_Page

> For an Empath, that means there's no reason to practice alchemy anymore. [Farman]

WAIT! We had a reason to train foraging?!

---

Renegade Empath Raudhan just arrived - with less than 100 ranks in foraging.

A cutthroat gasps, "I can't get UP!"

A shadoweaver breathlessly whispers, "Raudhan, come dance with me!

>WAIT! We had a reason to train foraging?!

lol... I hear you ;)

I've been training it semi-regularly because

1) It's relatively easy to train, and thus a prime candidate for use as one of the top-six survivals Empaths need.
2) I like being able to produce high quality herbs, and 3) I want to forage scar herbs (getting close).


~ Player of Farman et al.

http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Main_Page

<<My problems with Sprout are not being able to sense the spell in effect on an herb, and the fact that you can't cast it on herbs that have been alchemically enhanced.

I have a question about store-bought herbs: does Sprout affect their potency, or just the potency of PC-foraged, un-altered herbs? Also, since hisan salve is a salve and not a fresh herb, does that mean it can't be improved using Sprout, even if it's bought from a store? Thanks!

Sprout works on hisan salve. Not sure about other store boughts.

It does not currently work on herbs altered with alchemy but the spell is supposed to be updated at some point to incorporate a few changes, hopefully including that.

Player of Farman et al.

http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Main_Page

>Hopefully the update will also include a permanent boost, even if it is a small fraction of the maximum boost and takes an obscene amount of skill.

I don't think that's needed in the spell. In my view, that's the role of alchemical processing--make the herb permanently better. But what I'd like to see is doing alchemy on a sprouted herb "locking in" the increased potency. Also being able to focus on an herb to tell if the spell is in effect.

Sprout has a really huge effect at present, which is great. It makes herbs a lot stronger, and if the original herb was obtained by a very skilled forager, the herb can become extraordinarily potent.

The problem as I see it with the current spell is that you have to choose between alchemy and sprout since you can't do both on the same herb. Sprouted herbs totally kick alchemized herbs' butt so IMO this means that for an Empath, there's a drastically reduced impetus to do alchemy on your herbs.

~ Player of Farman et al.

http://www.elanthipedia.com/wiki/Main_Page