Mosses & Ferns (sage study)
Mosses & ferns is a sage study in the field of Plant Life, concerning plants that grow in dense green clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. These are seedless plants, distinctive from lichens but including hornworts and liverworts. As stated in the heading, the study also includes ferns. These plants feature prominently in magic and medicine, while often being grown for ornamental purposes.
Both mosses and ferns are limited to forested areas, from the arctic to the equator, so the knowledge is of little value if the character is located in an area of grasslands or desert. Moreover, some of the benefits below cannot be enjoyed in lands that have become intensely cultivated, as sufficient patches of moss or ferns cannot be found. However, it is also true that many buildings are cultivated to be shrouded in moss and many gardens planted to be carpeted with ferns, so that these things will be of use to the character with this knowledge.
Sage Abilities
The sage abilities below are those acquired by a character through the study, according to status.
Amateur Status
- Cultivate Ferns & Mosses: gather plant material sufficient for making essential oils, soap, tonics or dye.
- Protective Bracken: allows the character to seek protection from fern growths.
- Seek Bedstead: an ability to find a bank of sylvan moss, that it might be slept upon to gain from its magical qualities.
Authority Status
- Druid's Poultice: binds a mossy poultice to a puncture or cut into which a toxic substance has been injected, such as poison or venom. If an additional saving throw is made after the poultice is applied, the effects of the toxin are halved.
- Vermifuge: enables the concoction of a liquid tincture able to rid the body of parasitic infestations, requiring 2-5 days to acquire effect. Requires heat, a table, two bottles, a stirring wand, appropriate herbs and four hours. If applied directly, will kill throat leeches, ear seekers, rot grub and other similar 1 hit point creatures. Tincture lasts ten days.
Expert Status
- Necrotic Salve: produces an anti-necrotic healing agent that restores 1-4 points of necrotic damage per application. No more than one application may be safely taken per day.
- Terrarium: enables cultivation of a natural area to make it into a habitat for certain mollusks, spiders, insects, amphibians or reptiles, including their giant forms. Requires one month's labour per acre, with the area acquiring desirability after six months after. Once this has occurred, whether introduced or happening to find it's way to the spot, the creature becomes a permanent resident. No limit on how many acres can be transformed exists, except as a matter of time.
