Mystic Herbology?

[FriarJohn00]

Anybody have much luck converting the Mystic Herbology from Tifts England to PDRPG?

[Library Ogre]

I allow it without problem. Druids, Shamans, and Alchemists are the only ones to really practice it, and they need Holistic Medicine, Lore: Magic, and two OCC related skills to do so. The lower PPE levels on Palladium make it rarer, since it's hard to get the large amount of PPE needed, but it's not unheard of.

[Reagren Wright]

Did a tad bit of this in Bizantium (The Great Oak) and a tad bit in Phi manuscript.
Contemplating on how to do more and what kind of O.C.C. I like to utilize with it.

[Hotrod]

I did a straight conversion of the Scatach O.C.C. to Palladium Fantasy for a character I made a few years ago. The druid classes are interesting. They're not so much limited by their knowledge, as they all get the skills and knowledge to do what they do, but rather by their ability to gather the necessary herbs, and more importantly, scrape together enough P.P.E. to enchant them (this is particularly limiting for the hybrid druid classes like the Filidh and the Scathach).

Skill-wise, they're pretty well-suited for Palladium Fantasy, only requiring a few skill changes here and there from a modern to a middle ages equivalent skill, and swapping out any modern equipment for Fantasy-appropriate ones. None of them, even the more hybrid ones, are dedicated men at arms, so they get extra penalties in anything but light armor. The Filidh and Scathach have good hand-to-hand skills, but they're more vulnerable in a drawn-out slug-fest.

Magic-wise, the style of mystic herbology makes it something like a diabolist to play. You have to plan ahead, scavenge ingredients, and be careful with what your character carries. Some mystic herbology items like wands and staves can be potent, but they're difficult to enchant (very high P.P.E. cost), they are limited to a few uses per day, and the range of powers is quite limited.

I would be careful not to turn a druid character into a walking alchemy shop. While their powers might allow it (and there are certainly places where they work with and for alchemists), a druid is not a bottomless dispenser of magic stuff. An adventuring Scathach might make a magic sword for a close friend, but that takes time, a forge, and likely help from other people to get enough P.P.E. to enchant it. Minor or disposable items might be no problem, but some of the really powerful items like the anti-magic cloud staff/wand or the Oak Staff of Strength or the limited restoration herbs require a huge amount of P.P.E. This would require help from a creature of magic, magic user, a lot of willing volunteers, or a nexus during a lunar eclipse/planetary alignment.

Another factor is acquiring the herbs themselves. Most of what's presented in Rifts England could be found in many deciduous woodlands, grasslands, and hill country, but deserts, tundra, and jungles are likely to have very different vegetation, so if the druid is working outside his/her native region, he or she will have to take preserved herbs along, or hope that the local stuff can work with mystic herbology.

All in all, the druid classes and the herbologist seem like good additions to Fantasy, crunch-wise. Their combination of skills and magic, and their hybrid classes allow for multifaceted characters that can perform in a variety of utility roles in a group, including healing, supernatural protection, and some fighting. The Filidh makes for a good bard-type of character, and the Scathach brings the ability to craft some very useful items for the group. They might be a bit overpowered skill-wise, especially the hybrid druids; it would be a good idea to compare their skills to dedicated specialists. The Dryad should probably be on-par with the Psi-Healer in terms of healing skills. The Filidh should be somewhat less-skilled than a straight-up bard. The Scathach should have fewer or less-bonused crafting skills than a blacksmith. Hand-to-hand skills should probably be reduced by one or two notches across the board, as it doesn't quite seem right to give the Scathach Martial Arts in the Fantasy setting by default. Alternately, you might want to use a steeper experience table to reflect the increased breadth of skills and training required for some of these classes, especially the hybrids.

Lore-wise, I like to think that they are a very different faction from the classic druids presented in 1st and 2nd edition. The sacrifice-based magic/faith of the Fantasy Druid might not gel with the practical plant-magic of the herbology druids. In some regions, they might get along wonderfully and cooperate, but there's also potential for conflict, since both groups serve similar needs in markedly different ways. In the background of the Scathach I created, the herbology druids are seen as heretics where he grew up, and he became an outcast from his own people when he joined them.

[RockJock]

I've only used Rifts Herbology a few times in PF, mainly for NPCs and items/potions/cures for fluff material, but it has never been overpowering.

[kiralon]

Herbalism?
Herbology?
Symbalism?
Symbology?

Boondock saints ftw