So while recently running a campaign for newer players; I came onto a problem my own First Aid Rules caused. Truthfully, it's been something I've thought about for a while. I really like the healing system; allowing players to do plenty of out-of-combat healing allows you to keep individual combats dangerous (since you can balance them around being vs a full strength party instead of an HP tax), gives scholarly/smart characters something beneficial to do during downtime besides magic stuff, adds risk-reward to the time management minigame (you can heal during an exploration turn, but you will get a wandering monster roll- if you get a random encounter, you may lose more health/resources then you'd gain from the break, so it's always a balancing act), and finally improve the resource-management depth of the game.
I've used the healing system in multiple dungeon crawls and it hasn't really upset the balance as much as I once thought; PCs can still die, and making a tactical retreat out of the dungeon once you get enough treasure is still a priority given the strict time pressure I like to add to the game. But the different types of healing items I was never quite satisfied with. I never found the players actually debating what kinds of items to bring with, no make the strategic decision to prioritize certain items over others. The idea of bandages being the best and most useful (as well as most "realistic") stuck out constantly. To simplify this system somewhat for a group of newer players, and as an experiment, I changed it so simple bandages were the primary healing item. This felt like it fit the fiction and was simple and easy to understand. Almost immediately, the players began trying to abuse it a bit. While I like the idea of player skill being used to stock up on supplies or improvise useful items in a dungeon was appealing and something I approved it, it completely killed the careful planning aspect and the limited starting gold the players were given to buy equipment, torches, healing items, and so forth.
Side note; I had more thoughts on this basic system, which I decided to outline in this small post.
After just one session of them tearing up every single piece of clothing to make an endless supply of improvised bandages, I already had enough. Then it hit me, just make it healing herbs instead.
Healing herbs fulfill the function of bandages (as being a "general purpose" healing item), but with the exclusivity of being something you can't easily scavenge from anywhere. You could still have them found out on an adventure, such as in a dungeon or in the wilderness, but these would be more rare and selective. Maybe even something your Druid or Ranger types can get a bonus to search for. That's a fun mechanic to come out of the concept. It also doesn't deny you to use a more case-sensitive uses for things like improvised healing items or "puzzles" for the players to solve; using bandages for any context specific deep wounds that drain your Hit-Points over time. Plus it also solves a very small issue I had in both games where it came up; explaining to players that you treating the wound may not in fiction actually magically "heal" it, but for the purposes of the game, the wound is cleaned and bandaged and "healed" for purposes of hit points. It's a small issue, but enough that I feel healing herbs would solve, since magical herbs that make wounds less severe is very simple to understand, and could be easily explained as actual accelerated natural healing, making these small breaks in verisimilitude less important.
And on top of all that, it also solves the minor issue of healing items (potions specifically, but bandages fall under this too) of being something that doesn't expire or can be stockpiled. Something complained about before, with other solutions too; but in this case, herbs eventually dry up and go bad! Everyone knows this inherently, especially once you pluck them from the ground and carry them around, so it puts a time pressure on their use. You wanna be the guy carrying around a bunch of potted plant healing herbs with you so they stay healthy until you need them? Bam, instant character concept. Another added benefit? They aren't too mystical or magical like a limited use healing wand or whatever for players to wonder why they can buy them in preparation for an adventure. In the same way you head to the general store to buy rope, the bowyer to buy arrows, and the herbalist for healing herbs.
Another reason why I like the idea? You can make different herbs do different thing; you can just straight up steal it from Resident Evil.
Healing Herbs Rules
Require an exploration turn (10 minutes) to prepare and apply an herb. Herbs are applied to wounds, or eaten. You can combine multiple herbs in a single application to a maximum of 3.
Green Herbs heal 1d6 hit points per Green Herb.
Yellow Herbs restores 1 point of any damaged attribute. (Or +1 Max HP if your attributes are all ok)
Blue Herbs remove poisons you are suffering from, or grants you an one extra save against the effect. If it's not the type of poison cured by "mortal" means, it delays its onset by one hour. (Or alternatively; ignores the healing negative from Aggravated Wounds?)
Red Herbs double the numerical value of any other herb used with it, but does nothing on its own. Burning Red Herb might scare away ghosts. Trying to use two Red Herbs at once will probably make you have a seizure (or grant +1 AC temporarily or something, up to you)
Note: Normally red herbs make a green herb into a full heal, but making it so you can pick and choose what effects you want to boost, from making poison take longer to harm you or restoring attributes, might be more interesting. If you want to make Red Herbs an actual full heal, then be my guest, appropriately priced it isn't that much different then just stacking a bunch of Green Herbs anyway. At least this way you can maximize the value of different curative effects.
I like to imagine different healers (and adventurers) have their own methods of using healing herbs. Primitives throw them into a campfire and just rawdog the smoke into their lungs. If you're healing yourself, chew it up and spit it on the wound. Wizards smoke them in a big hookah. Motherly types add them into a pot with her stew. Horsemen put them in a feed bag and chew on them while watching down a hallway for the telltale yellow eyes of a goblin sneaking up on the party while they take a short rest. If you play a goblin, he probably smokes it in a little crack pipe; fun stuff like that? That's free roleplaying.
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