Critique my feat: Herbal Medicine

[Greenfaun]

Herbal Medicine

Description:The character has knowledge of the medicinal properties of common plants and can use them to aid her healing.

Prereq's: Knowledge(Nature): 5 ranks and Heal: 5 ranks.

Herbal Medicine gives three benefits:

1) Herbgathering: The character may make a DC 20 Survival check to gather sufficient herbs to create an herbal Healer's Kit. The kit functions exactly as a normal Healer's kit (+2 circumstance bonus to heal checks) but only for someone with the Herbal Medicine feat. Gathering the herbs takes 1d3 hours.

2)Herbal Antidote: A healer with the Herbal Medicine feat and a Herbal Healer's Kit can make a Knowledge(Nature) check to cure a disease or remove a poison with the correct herb. The DC for the check is the same as the poison's or disease's save DC, but supernatural poisons and diseases cannot be cured this way. Even if the check is successful, the herbal treatment takes (1d6 x 8 ) hours to restore the afflicted character, but the character suffers no further ill effects during that time.

3)Skill synergies: A character with this feat gains new skill synergies. Knowledge(Nature) at 5 ranks grants +2 synergy bonuses to Heal and Craft: Poison.


So there it is. I figure it's mostly flavor, since anyone in need of real healing goes to a cleric or chugs a potion, but I wanted some sort of bonus for the "wise woman in the woods" type, and it could make a ranger or druid feel a little more useful.

What do y'all think?

[MrNexx]

In 3.0, the Profession (Herbalist) skill used to give you a synergy bonus to the Heal skill. I don't think the feat looks horrible, though I do question needing a minimum Knowledge: Nature then requiring a Survival Check. I do like the idea, however, of a feat opening up synergies between two skills, though.

[The_Werebear]

I like this feat. I tried to do a combat medic type thing before, but the healing rules prevented me from actually doing that much. I think this feat would help immensly. In fact, it tempts me to try that again... anyway, I would change the Knowledge:nature requirement to Survival, along with the synergy bonus.

[SkullspliTTer]

I like the idea, and I agree, it would make rangers feel a bit more useful (I like playing rangers myself). One question... how long, or how many treatments, would the Herbal Healer's Kit last? Would it depend on how bad the treatment is needed, etc.?

[Gamebird]

To make it a little more realistic, I'd drop the DC for the herbgathering check to 15 and up the time it requires to 2d6 hours. An herb kit will require probably a dozen different herbs, which you'll have to find, travel to, pick and prepare before they can be used. 2d6 hours is generous, IMO. But on the other hand, if you know what to look for, it shouldn't be too hard to do.

Other stuff sounds fine.