Design Intent

Gathering is designed to make herbalism, skinning, foraging and hunting feel like an adventure activity, not a shopping trip. It adds flavor, rewards exploration, and scales with rarity—while staying light on mechanics so it never drags down play.

Guiding Principles



House rules: Gathering

While traveling in the wilderness, a character with an herbalism kit (or similar expertise) may attempt a gathering check (usually Wisdom (Survival) or Intelligence (Nature)) to find useful ingredients. This check represents casually picking herbs, roots, mushrooms, salts or crystals along the way. In game terms, allow one such check per day of travel (or per suitable exploration period) without spending extra hours – it’s an incidental action, not a full “Downtime” day.

When & How


While traveling in the wilderness, a character with the right tools and skills may attempt a gathering check to find useful ingredients. This check represents casually picking herbs, roots, mushrooms or hunting small game for skins & meat. In game terms, allow one such check per day of travel (or per suitable exploration period) without spending extra hours – it’s an incidental action, not a full “Downtime” day.

The final yield is determined by the DM and should reflect the actual availability of the resource. Even an excellent skill check cannot produce a large harvest if the resource is naturally scarce; likewise, abundant environments may reward greater yields on a success.

Measuring success


Gathering requires a skill check against a DC, which can be modified by environmental factors such as terrain, season, or outside influences (e.g. a nearby wolf pack). On a success, the character collects usable reagents. The exact amount is determined by how successful the skill check was. Consult the 'margin of success' table at the bottom of this page.. here.

Skill checks & DC


The base DC for all gathering checks is 8. This DC is then adjusted by situational factors such as terrain, season, or other complications that make gathering more difficult. The table below offers suggested modifiers, but it cannot account for every possible circumstance—the DM should apply additional adjustments as needed.

Condition DC modifier
Autumn
e.g. scarce wildlife		 +2
Winter
e.g. no fruit on trees		 +5
Harsh environment
e.g. desert		 +1 - +3
Difficult terrain
e.g. treacherous mountain pass		 +1 - +2
Negative external influences
e.g. competing hunting party		 +1 - +3

Heerb gathering


Herb gathering requires proficiency with a Herbalism Kit. On a successful check. The number of rolls you can make on the Herbalism table is determined by the margin of success. Each roll you can make returns a pound of whichever herb is rolled.

Foraging

Foraging requires a Survival or Nature check. They are made with disadvantage if you are not profcient with one of these skills. Your margin of success determines the number of rolls you can make on the Foraging table. Each roll grants one item of food; enough for one person for one day.

Hunting & skinning

Hunting requires a Survival check. Checks are made with disadvantage if you are not profcient. Determine the outcome of your hunt then roll that number of times on the Hunting table.

Skinning requires proficiency with Leatherworker’s Tools. Each attempt calls for a skill check, though the skinner need not have hunted the beast you are attempting to skin. Of course, if the hunt fails, there is nothing to skin..

Each individual beast successfully hunted can then be skinned. The rarity of that beast must then be used to determine the skinning DC in the table below.

Example: Hugglebear the hunter is tracking through a forest in deep winter (+5 DC). This makes the DC 8 + 5 (13). She rolls a 16 giving a success margin of 3. margin of success of 3 grants her two rolls on the hunting table.

First roll using 'Forest' determines a 'Ruffed Grouse' (Yield 1, common, feathers). For the hunter this provides 1 food item; enough to feed one person for a day. In order to 'skin' to obtain feathers the skinner must succeed on a DC 8 + 5 (13) Leatherworking Tools check to safely remove the feathers without damaging them. Notes: as the DM I decided that the penalty for Winter (+5) should still apply here because it is difficult to work with cold hands. However, had the skinner taken the carcass inside and plucked it before the hunter cuts it up for food I would have reduced that penalty.

The second roll determines a 'red deer' (Yield 5, uncomm, leather). For the hunter this provides 5 units of food; enough to feed 5 people for a day. This time the skinning DC is a flat 12 because the carcass was carried back to a nice warm cabin in the woods. The check is a success and the hunter has obtained a deer hide.

Creature rarity DC
Common 8
Uncommon 12
Rare 16
Very rare 20
Legendary 30

Margin of success


Consult the table below to determine the total number of rolls you can make on the corresponding gathering table.

Note: if your travel speed exceeds 'normal' pace then you cannot hunt or forage. If the party elects to move at a slower speed then foraging and hunting checks can be made with advantage.

Margin of Success (DC beaten by…) Rolls
0 1
1–4 2
5-8 3
9-14 4
15+ 5