Herbalism Checks

[Velve]

Would the skill Heal be able to be added to checks with making things in herbalism? It makes sense to me, even if making something non-healy. I've always thought of a heal check as almost being lore for most things to do with healing, being able to easily identify how bad injuries are, identifying  and using medical herbs, and knowing what properties such herbs/plants have, healing or damaging.

Afterall, you have to know the damaging properties of certain plants, poisons, cuts and all, if you're to treat them right. So I believe heal makes perfect sense to add to the herbalism checks.

On the other hand, I don't understand why Animal Empathy is in there at all. Plants aren't animals.. Animals are sentient, at least to a degree. Plants are not. As much as anything, I see AE as understanding animals habits and mindset, which is something that can't really be subjected to plants.

Just my oppinion, which I'm sure differs to many.

[Garem]

You make a lot of sense! But this is the Forgotten Realms, and DnD. Things won't always make sense, sadly. Does that justify keeping a system where ones ability to calm a raging panther also measures your ability to make herbs? Might be a bit of a stretch.

This was done this way to give a significant advantage to druids and rangers when dealing with a very "outdoorsy" kind of activity. For what it's worth, I don't think it's really necessary-- an apothecary who stays in the city all day shouldn't be less knowledgable about flora and their uses than a forest warden (Animal Empathy)! Heck, he might be even MORE knowledgable because of the wide availability of books on foreign plants that rangers and druids wouldn't know anything about, since there's really no reason for them to have experienced them!

[Snoteye]

Heal is knowledge as relates to treating injuries, not knowing what to treat them with -- that's Lore. Animal Empathy is included for lack of a better alternative instead of a relevant Profession check.

[Velve]

Firstly, please don't take this as any sort of attack.

Well, I'll still have to disagree with that, but like I said its just my opinion.

However, although AE does seem closest to the lack of a herb specialized skill (Aside from Heal), its only accessable by duids/rangers.. Meaning you have to concentrate on the other check stats, which seemed almost as obscure to me.

And yes, I'll admit this is partly me complaining that my supposedly herbalism hobbiest character actually can't do herbalism with any skill unless I get more levels and dump all my skills into one of the other obscure skills, when I'd gone heavy on heal since it seemed logically related to herbalism.

 /Endrant

I can understand it a little, that rangers/druids should be able to get a bit of a bonus, who is going to be spending more time than them roaming about the wilds where such plants grow? Though I still fail to see why healing doesn't factor into knowledge of herbs. I addmitedly don't know a lot about first aid, but I do know the treatment of some poisons concocted of plants vary a lot from others, as well as how some plants with healing properties work better than others to treat certain injuries. In which case someone good with healing, in a time where the available healing is either time, magic, or directly related to plants/herbs, would -have- to know of certain poisonous and or healing plants, if they can't fast forward time or use magic. They simply would need to in order to become decent healers.

I know this is probably reading like another rant, and yeah, I'm still annoyed my more RP side of my character build is turning out lame, but it still stands.. If there's a good reason I'm wrong, knowing what it is would be good.

Long story short, its still my opinion healing should be in a herbalism check. >.>

[Snoteye]

... its only accessable by duids/rangers..

Precisely.

... I'd gone heavy on heal since it seemed logically related to herbalism.

Heal is logically related to healing. Only very few herbs have medicinal value. Heal does not seem logically related to herbalism to me in any way whatsoever (except for the dictionary definition, which is only that because medicinal values is the only thing worth writing about). That is not to say that AE does, however, in light of our options, it makes far more sense than Heal.

Long story short, its still my opinion healing should be in a herbalism check. >.>

And that will probably not change.