As someone who plays a character that is pretty well-known in server for being knowledgeable about plants and herbs, I'd like to raise some points about the way many players interact with the harvestable herbs in game. First of all, please don't take these as a mean-spirited critique for your RP, or in any way an attempt to limit your RP! My goal with this post is simply to bring up some lines of thought that I personally feel are not often considered by players and help bring more value to herbs/related RP, as well as more realistic and immersive roleplay overall!
IDENTIFICATION - Just because the game tells you the name of a plant, doesn't mean your character knows.
As gamers, it is often our nature to have the urge to interact with interactable things, or even just collect items simply to have them. You see a shiny, pretty herb on the ground...you want to pick it. Trust me, I get that. But have you considered your character's knowledge of plants? Can your character even reasonably be expected to identify these plants? Obviously the game tells you what they are when you approach, but does your character actually know that? Have you studied plants at all, or lived a lifestyle that would make you learn these things? (I.E. you're a hermit that lived in the woods, a native medicine woman, a college-educated botanist, an avid gardener, etc.) Does your character even recognize creeping thyme as anything different from the rest of the brush growing in the heartlands? To most people, plants are just plants. I know I certainly wouldn't be able to wander into the woods IRL and identify a lot of the things growing there. Can your character? And if so, how/why?
HARVESTING - Why does your character want this plant?
If I had a dollar for every time someone came up to me BEGGING for me to take their herbs because they picked a bunch on a whim and now their inventory is cluttered with things they don't care about...phew. I'd be rich! If your character has no interest in plants, and/or cannot positively identify them - what are your IC motivations for picking them? Realistically, WOULD you even be picking them at all? My alt character, who is an Irish street urchin with little in the way of wilderness survival skills, doesn't interact with herbs at all. Why would she? She can't identify most of them to know if they could be food or not. They aren't valuable in a monetary sense. They hold no interest for her. So what drives your character to care about some random plant?
CONSEQUENCES - Not all plants are harmless.
The harvestable herbs in game all have different RP uses - medicinal, culinary, poison, etc. Some even have mechanical benefits, like feeding your horses or replenishing your HP! And, of course, all plants have the mechanical function of being able to be eaten. This has the potential to lead to interesting RP - but should always be taken seriously. It's very frustrating (and immersion breaking/arguably NVL) to tell people that oleander sage is highly poisonous or that chewing the leaves of indian tobacco will make you vomit profusely, only to have another player go "LOL OK" and immediately shove it in their mouths. For instance, here are some notes I have on the poisonous nature of oleander (Nerium oleander), which the oleander sage in RDR2 is based on:
Eating random plants is gambling with your character's life, even if you know OOC that you will not perma from it.
RESEARCH - It makes a big difference.
Obviously if herbs aren't a big part of your characters, you have very little reason to be actively researching herbs and their uses. I don't expect you to research all these plants and know everything about them! But as previously mentioned, if you ingest a plant or plan to use it in some way, do a quick search on how it might affect you or ask someone about the plant IC before you search for/use it! Obviously, be careful not to meta your knowledge here - if your character doesn't have justification for knowing about plants, you can't just google them and suddenly know. Find someone to ask IC, RP going somewhere appropriate to do research, etc. However, google is useful for finding the effects of a plant you've already eaten or otherwise used and need to know the effects, flavor, etc. of!
Additionally, please be mindful of speaking about or RP-ing with herbs that you haven't taken the time to learn about (unless, of course, it is your intent to RP your character this way for whatever reason). For instance, a common misconception I see on the server is that indian tobacco is basically just wild tobacco or something akin to marijuana...when in reality it is the lobelia plant (which is possibly toxic). There's actually very little scientific evidence to support that it creates any kind of high when smoked, although it may help with coughs; however, it also has many potential negative side effects...and, when injected, could possibly even kill you.
If you are able to rationalize your character identifying, harvesting, and using a herb, and then someone later tells you the actual properties of the herb which you haven't RP-ed out appropriately...it makes things a bit awkward (and again breaks immersion) to have to hand-wave things away. Your character might not know what they're handling...but you should.
Obviously you know your own characters best and what they would do in different scenarios! These are just some thoughts I've had for a while after observing other players and their behaviors regarding the mechanically-harvestable herbs. I've found that herbs are often treated as a collectible/mechanic instead of an RP element and, for me, this tends to break immersion and/or step on actual herb-related RP.
If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to add it here...and feel free to bring up your own thoughts/suggestions in the replies! I'd love to see herbalists, apothecaries, medicine men/women, holistic doctors, etc. actually get to use their knowledge (and vast stores of herbs) more in various RP scenarios. Seek us out! We'd love to do more than just take all your unwanted herbs.
IDENTIFICATION - Just because the game tells you the name of a plant, doesn't mean your character knows.
As gamers, it is often our nature to have the urge to interact with interactable things, or even just collect items simply to have them. You see a shiny, pretty herb on the ground...you want to pick it. Trust me, I get that. But have you considered your character's knowledge of plants? Can your character even reasonably be expected to identify these plants? Obviously the game tells you what they are when you approach, but does your character actually know that? Have you studied plants at all, or lived a lifestyle that would make you learn these things? (I.E. you're a hermit that lived in the woods, a native medicine woman, a college-educated botanist, an avid gardener, etc.) Does your character even recognize creeping thyme as anything different from the rest of the brush growing in the heartlands? To most people, plants are just plants. I know I certainly wouldn't be able to wander into the woods IRL and identify a lot of the things growing there. Can your character? And if so, how/why?
Ideas:
- you recognize a few things that grow around where you're from, but that's about it.
- you've been told about a plant by someone else.
- you ate something that was poisonous once, and now know to steer clear.
- you have a small book that identifies wildflowers (don't just use this as an easy out - why would your character want or have this item?).
- maybe you don't recognize anything at all (this is very likely without an appropriate background or RP reason, tbh)
HARVESTING - Why does your character want this plant?
If I had a dollar for every time someone came up to me BEGGING for me to take their herbs because they picked a bunch on a whim and now their inventory is cluttered with things they don't care about...phew. I'd be rich! If your character has no interest in plants, and/or cannot positively identify them - what are your IC motivations for picking them? Realistically, WOULD you even be picking them at all? My alt character, who is an Irish street urchin with little in the way of wilderness survival skills, doesn't interact with herbs at all. Why would she? She can't identify most of them to know if they could be food or not. They aren't valuable in a monetary sense. They hold no interest for her. So what drives your character to care about some random plant?
Something else to consider: Where are you storing all these herbs? Are you preserving them in any way or will they eventually rot/wilt? As it is now, most people seem to have bags filled to the brim with herbs - this makes it difficult for characters who are knowledgeable about herbs to sell or give them to others, or to accept them from other people who gather them, simply because soooo many people are trying to unload theirs. Be mindful of this...If you are focusing on the "ooh, a piece of candy" mechanics of harvesting every herb you see and not considering your character's relationship to these plants, you are effectively contributing to denying RP for others by making herbs a practically trash item and crashing their economy. You're also denying yourself RP - instead, go seek out people who have the things you want that your character wouldn't realistically get themselves!Ideas:
- you see a violet snowdrop or prairie poppy and, even if you can't identify it, you want to give the pretty flower as a gift.
- you've seen your doctor friend make use of the yarrow plant, and see some while you're out. Maybe they could use more for their stores!
- you want to make a nice dinner for your sweetheart, and decide to gather some chanterelle mushrooms to go with the nice cuts of pork you bought from the butcher.
- your character has a fascination with the color purple, and compulsively collects purple things.
- you're on a hike with friends, and see some wild raspberries. You all grab them as a snack.
CONSEQUENCES - Not all plants are harmless.
The harvestable herbs in game all have different RP uses - medicinal, culinary, poison, etc. Some even have mechanical benefits, like feeding your horses or replenishing your HP! And, of course, all plants have the mechanical function of being able to be eaten. This has the potential to lead to interesting RP - but should always be taken seriously. It's very frustrating (and immersion breaking/arguably NVL) to tell people that oleander sage is highly poisonous or that chewing the leaves of indian tobacco will make you vomit profusely, only to have another player go "LOL OK" and immediately shove it in their mouths. For instance, here are some notes I have on the poisonous nature of oleander (Nerium oleander), which the oleander sage in RDR2 is based on:
Everyone knows not to eat strange mushrooms or berries you find in the woods, for fear of poisoning. Most people know that bright colors in nature generally means stay away. You would never choose to eat something IRL that you could not positively identify and definitively know to not to be harmful - your character should not either. If you do, a quick google search can help you RP out the proper consequences (if there are any).Oleanders contain two extremely toxic cardiac glycosides, oleandroside and nerioside. These toxic components exist in all parts of the plant, from the leaves to the branches, seeds, flowers and even the flower nectar. Toxins are effective whether the plant is fresh or dry, and honey made from the flowers is also poisonous.
Simply touching an oleander plant can cause skin irritation, particularly if you come into contact with the plant sap. If you are cultivating an oleander, wear gloves when you prune the shrub, and wash your hands well afterward. Disinfect your pruning shears by soaking your tools in a solution that is equal parts alcohol and water for five minutes. Rinse with water and air dry. Do not burn oleander clippings, as the smoke can irritate the eyes and lungs.
Ingesting even a very small piece of the plant may be fatal – a single leaf can kill an adult. People have died from using oleander branches as skewers for meat. Also, children have been poisoned from chewing leaves and sucking nectar from blossoms. Poisoning symptoms may include severe stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, weakness, dizziness and irregular heartbeat. Also, pupils may appear dilated. In the worst case scenario, respiratory paralysis, coma and death occur.
Eating random plants is gambling with your character's life, even if you know OOC that you will not perma from it.
RESEARCH - It makes a big difference.
Obviously if herbs aren't a big part of your characters, you have very little reason to be actively researching herbs and their uses. I don't expect you to research all these plants and know everything about them! But as previously mentioned, if you ingest a plant or plan to use it in some way, do a quick search on how it might affect you or ask someone about the plant IC before you search for/use it! Obviously, be careful not to meta your knowledge here - if your character doesn't have justification for knowing about plants, you can't just google them and suddenly know. Find someone to ask IC, RP going somewhere appropriate to do research, etc. However, google is useful for finding the effects of a plant you've already eaten or otherwise used and need to know the effects, flavor, etc. of!
Additionally, please be mindful of speaking about or RP-ing with herbs that you haven't taken the time to learn about (unless, of course, it is your intent to RP your character this way for whatever reason). For instance, a common misconception I see on the server is that indian tobacco is basically just wild tobacco or something akin to marijuana...when in reality it is the lobelia plant (which is possibly toxic). There's actually very little scientific evidence to support that it creates any kind of high when smoked, although it may help with coughs; however, it also has many potential negative side effects...and, when injected, could possibly even kill you.
If you are able to rationalize your character identifying, harvesting, and using a herb, and then someone later tells you the actual properties of the herb which you haven't RP-ed out appropriately...it makes things a bit awkward (and again breaks immersion) to have to hand-wave things away. Your character might not know what they're handling...but you should.
Obviously you know your own characters best and what they would do in different scenarios! These are just some thoughts I've had for a while after observing other players and their behaviors regarding the mechanically-harvestable herbs. I've found that herbs are often treated as a collectible/mechanic instead of an RP element and, for me, this tends to break immersion and/or step on actual herb-related RP.
If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to add it here...and feel free to bring up your own thoughts/suggestions in the replies! I'd love to see herbalists, apothecaries, medicine men/women, holistic doctors, etc. actually get to use their knowledge (and vast stores of herbs) more in various RP scenarios. Seek us out! We'd love to do more than just take all your unwanted herbs.
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