DD fan Tom Chick, in BoardGameGeek thread #2288601, posted his thoughts on the prevalance of references to and effects regarding "Herb cards" within DD, and how strongly that contrasts with the near-complete lack of Herb cards in the game (only 4 out of 100+ Loot cards). This page offers rules and playing pieces for one of many possible implementations for his suggestions for an Herbal Remedy. In short, this variant makes herbs readily available to the Adventurers, at the cost of spending time searching for them.

The Smug Drugglers mission is specifically designed for use with this expansion.

Herb image attribution: the graphics used in the tokens above were obtained from game-icons.net. The original URLs of each of the individual graphics can be found near the top of the source code for this page.

During setup, remove the four Herb cards from the Loot deck and set them aside. These cards are not considered to be in play, but will be used for reference. (Alternately, leave them in the deck but make a copy of them for reference purposes.) Place the 16 Herb Tokens in a pile within easy reach of the players. Each of the four Herb Token types corresponds to one of the Herb cards and one Region of the board:

• Goon Grass (Badlands)
• Marsh Moss (Wetlands)
• Sweet Leaf (Highlands)
• Witch Weed (Lowlands)

Any time the game refers to an Herb card, it instead (or in addition) refers to one of the corresponding tokens. Effects which allow a player to search through the Loot deck and/or discard pile and take an Herb card instead allows them to take a token from the Herb Token pile, within the inventory limit restrictions noted in the next sections. If the Herb cards are left in the deck during play, options which permit a player to search for an Herb card instead provide the player the choice of taking one from the deck or taking an Herb token instead.

To assemble the tokens, simply paste them to heavy paper or cardstock (thicker is better) and cut them out. Unless re-scaled during printing, each token measures 1x1 Imperial Inch.

When {:CAMPING:} on a Path in {:BOLD:} Stance, the {:PARTY:} gains a new Rest Action:

Pick Herbs: Each Adventurer, in MRL order (lowest to highest), who does not currently have an Herb Token corresponding to the current Region may search for Herbs. Make a PER Test. If you pass, take one of the Region's Herb Tokens. If the Space is {:EXPLORED:} or {:METAPHYSICAL:}, you may roll an additional die and discard the highest one when making the Test. An Adventurer with the Alchemy Skill or Mastery, or the Herb Fiend Weakness, may roll an additional die and discard the highest. (All such bonuses stack, so an Herb Fiend Alchemist in an {:EXPLORED:} {:METAPHYSICAL:} space rolls 4 additional dice and drops the highest 4!)

Limited growth: once any Adventurer successfully picks Herbs on a given turn, they've depleted the local supply, and no other Adventurers may take the Pick Herbs action in that Space until the Space has gone at least one turn without any party members resting there.

Explored Spaces Only: finding herbs in the wild may require a fair knowledge of the area, as the easy-to-reach spots have already been picked clean by locals who trade (or otherwise use) herbs and by passers-by.

Not only Paths: herb growth need not strictly be limited to Paths. Perhaps they can also be found on Roads, or in any {:OUTSIDE:} Space, or perhaps they can only be found in {:OUTSIDE:} {:METAPHYSICAL:} Spaces (noting that the party may well never come across such a space more than once or twice in a campaign!). This option may optionally be combined with the Explored Spaces Only option.

Back Street Dealers: perhaps Herbs can be purchased from dealers when trading in any {:TOWN:}. Take one of the Region's Herb Tokens in place of one Loot Card when Trading, and it may be purchased at the price listed on its card.

Hunting "High" and Low: it's completely conceivable that herbs are easier or more difficult to find in certain Regions, and this may be represented by either a PER Test modifier or rolling an additional Test die and disregarding the highest die (for a bonus) or lowest die (for a penalty). Perhaps the Lowland Puritans keep their Region scoured free of nasty Witch Weed, whereas in the Badlands Goon Grass can be easily found almost anywhere.

Each Herb Token is considered to be 100% equivalent to the corresponding card for all purposes. This means, for example, that they may be traded among Adventurers, sold as part of a Trade action, or lost to Monster abilities like Acidic. The following limitations apply, however...

• Each Adventurer is limited to having a single copy of any given Herb Token. An Adventurer may not, for any reason, take an Herb Token of a given type if he has a copy of that token in his inventory.

  This simulates, to some degree, the game's extremely limited supply of Herb cards.

  Players may, of course, choose to eliminate this limitation.

• An Herb Token cannot be used for its card's effect on the turn it is picked (they require a short amount of time to "cure" before use). When using an option which allows Adventurers to purchase Herbs, they may be used on the turn they are purchased.
• When an Herb Token is used for its card's effect, or is otherwise discarded, return it to the token pile.

  While Supplies Last: instead of returning Herb Tokens to the pile when they are discarded, instead remove them from the game for the duration of the campaign. This represents a limited supply similar to that imposed by the game's initial supply of Herb cards.

Though Herb Tokens may be sold, the countdown to Doom is always against the party, so it is not expected that repeatedly taking time to harvest Herbs for profit will be worth the time involved. The While Supplies Last option can ensure that they cannot be harvested for profit for too long.

Some random options and variant rules:

• The notion of the Adventurers becoming Herb Dealers, collecting and selling Herb Tokens, or simply harvesters on behalf of a 3rd party, could easily be the basis of a scenario, or even a whole mini-campaign. If you write one, please post it in the BGG thread linked to below or get in touch: if you like we can host it on this site.
• Alternate setup: place each Herb Token in a different non-{:TOWN:}/non-{:SETTLEMENT:} Space in its corresponding Region. The tokens may be collected via the Pick Herbs action but when they are used, or otherwise discarded, they are removed from the game. This setup is particularly appropriate for a scenario centered around the Herb Tokens.

Further discussions and variants might (or might not) eventually appear in BoardGameGeek thread #2288601.

Of course, feel free to introduce whatever options make it the most fun for you.

Below is an overview of version changes (from newest to oldest), noting that the version is not updated for purely cosmetic/layout changes. We use (more or less) the "Semantic Versioning" numbering conventions. The 2nd digit in the version number (the 2 in 1.2.3) is increased when significant rules are added or existing ones significantly modified. The final digit indicates "patches" - clarifications and rewordings or minor additions to existing rules. It seems unlikely that the first digit will ever be incremented, as that would indicate a major overhaul.

• 0.1.4 (2022-04-11): added a note about keeping the herb cards in the deck and making copies for reference purposes, as suggested by BGG user sbuge.
• 0.1.3 (2020-03-29): Explored spaces now provide a bonus to searching for Herbs.
• 0.1.2 (2020-02-16): one typo fix.
• 0.1.1 (2019-11-29): minor wording cleanups and improvements in the token colors for better contrast/readability of printed copies. Added Hunting High and Low option. Added Pick Herbs bonus for the Herb Fiend Weakness.
• 0.1.0 (2019-11-29): initial setup of this page.