Harvesting Materials (by jaythegreenling)

*These rules are based on the Alchemy test from Matt Colville's Strongholds & Followers.*

## Harvesting Materials

Whether you have a stronghold with artisans or not doesn’t matter—there are many more reasons for wanting to harvest organs or hides from the beasts you’ve killed. You may know someone who needs an ogre’s eye, or you may have been hired to kill a wyvern and get its venom, or you may simply want to take this gorgeous white wolf pelt and make a cloak out of it.

### Harvesting Organs

Organs don’t last long once a creature has died, so the faster you get the organ you want, the higher the likelihood of it actually being of use at some point in the future. The longer the creature has been dead, the more likely it is that the organ you harvest is already decaying, and whether you want to eat it, sell it, or display it, most scholars would suggest you do none of those things.

Most monster corpses have four useful components—though there are exceptions, and your GM should make you aware of those—and each requires a Harvesting test to extract. This combines two ability tests.

* The GM may decide to add a +1, +2, and rarely a +3 penalty to the TNs for creatures that are rare or whose anatomy is very complex.
* Beast Hunters, Shapeshifters, and Slayers get a bonus to the Knowledge test which is equivalent to the degree they have in the respective Specialisation, up to a +3. So a Novice Shapeshifter would get a +1 bonus, a Master Shapeshifter a +3 bonus, etc.
* Doctors get a bonus to the Removal test which is equivalent to the degree they have in the Doctor Specialisation, up to a +3. So a Novice Doctor would get a +1 bonus, a Master Doctor a +3 bonus, etc.

1. Knowledge Test: Make an Intelligence (Natural Lore) test to determine whether you know where the organs are and the best way to harvest the component. The TN of this test equals 10+ the Threat Level of the creature you’d like to harvest from. If this test is a failure but you still want to try your hand at removing an organ, you take a –3 penalty to the Removal Test.
2. Removal Test: Make an Accuracy (Light Blades) test to extract and preserve the component without destroying it in the process. The TN of this test is based on the organ in question and the Threat Level of the creature you’re operating on.

#### Threat Levels

* Minor: 1
* Moderate: 2
* Major: 3
* Dire: 4
* Legendary: 5

#### TNs for Removal

* Eyes: 15
* Blood: 10 + Threat Level
* Brains: 12 + Threat Level
* Heart: 13

Harvested organs don’t keep very long, so scholars and artisans alike suggest you carry a selection of containers and strong alcohol with you that you can put your harvested organs in while you’re travelling.

### **Harvesting Hides**

Once a creature is dead, its body loses warmth, so it is important to skin it as quickly as possible so as to ensure that the hide will be of good quality and can actually be worked with in the future.

Intact hides can be sold to furriers, tanners, leatherworkers, rangers, or other such workers, and sometimes even civilians, if they know what they’re doing or you’re being especially persuasive.

Not all creatures have a hide you can actually harvest, but your GM will let you know if this is the case for the creature you’re wanting to skin. Skinning a creature requires a Harvesting test which combines two ability tests.

* The GM may decide to add a +1, +2, and rarely a +3 penalty to the TNs for creatures that are rare or whose anatomy is very complex.
* Leatherworkers get a bonus to the Skinning test which is equivalent to the degree they have in the Leatherworker Talent, up to a +3. So a Novice Leatherworker would get a +1 bonus, a Master Leatherworker a +3 bonus, etc.

1. Knowledge Test: Make a TN11 Intelligence (Natural Lore) roll to figure out how to best skin the beast without ruining the hide. If this test is a failure but you still want to try your hand at skinning the creature, you take a –3 penalty to the Skinning Test.
2. Skinning Test: Make an Accuracy (Light Blades) test against a TN based on the beast’s size to skin the creature successfully. TNs are listed in the table below.

If the Skinning test is a failure and the Dragon Die is a 1, then the hide is completely ruined. If the Dragon Die is a 2 or higher, the hide as a whole is ruined, but the person harvesting is still able to get half (rounded up) as many pounds of hide as an animal of the corresponding size would usually provide.

#### **Skinning Table**

 Small
 Medium
 Large

Making leather out of hides is a fairly lengthy process, so when you hand hides to someone hoping to get leather in return, you will have to wait a while:

* Tiny: 6 hours
* Small: 12 hours
* Medium: 21 hours
* Large: 36 hours

When taking hides or completed leathers apart, the amount of pounds one receives also depends on the size of the beast they were harvested from:

* Tiny: 1d3 pounds
* Small: 1d6 pounds
* Medium: 2d6 pounds
* Large: 4d6 pounds