When a creature is slain, the party can carve parts from it. The system uses Heliana’s harvesting as a team effort and Nord’s lists of which parts each creature has. Data for 325 creatures is in the Creatures folder.
Two kinds of parts
| Kind | Where they come from | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Specific parts | Nord’s table for that creature (e.g. Aboleth: Brain Matter, Mucous Glands). Every part has its own page in Creature Parts – see Creature Part Lookup | the book’s grade. Poor = Raw, and Supreme from CR 18+ counts as Mythic |
| Trait parts | The creature’s traits: movement, senses, resistances, special traits (see the Trait Parts folder) | the creature’s grade |
Grade of parts
The creature’s grade follows its CR: Low 0–2 · Medium 3–6 · High 7–11 · Supreme 12–17 · Mythic 18+.
All parts come from Nord: each creature’s own parts and the trait parts its traits point to. Heliana’s general components per creature type are not used – they gave every creature of a type the same parts (eggs, antlers, fins …) whether it had them or not.
Heliana’s method (default)
- Degradation: harvesting must start within 1 minute of death, and you can’t stop partway. So usually only one creature can be harvested after a fight.
- Harvest time by size: Tiny 5 min · Small 10 min · Medium 15 min · Large 30 min · Huge 2 hours · Gargantuan 12 hours.
- Harvest list: the party chooses which of the creature’s parts to take and in which order. The parts’ DCs add up down the list. The running total at each part is its harvest DC.
- The harvesting check = assessment (Int + PB if proficient in the type’s skill) + carving (Dex + PB if proficient). If one person makes both checks, they have disadvantage on both.
- Ritual carving: for aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey and fiends, a spellcaster may use their spellcasting ability instead of Dex.
- Helpers (max by size: 0 / 1 / 2 / 4 / 6 / 10): +PB if proficient in the skill, otherwise +½ PB.
- Result: you get every part whose harvest DC you reach. The first part you don’t reach was started and is lost.
| Creature type | Skill |
|---|---|
| Aberration, elemental, fey | Arcana |
| Beast, dragon, monstrosity | Survival |
| Celestial, fiend | Religion |
| Construct | Investigation |
| Giant, humanoid, undead | Medicine |
| Ooze, plant | Nature |
Tools (suggestion): proficiency with a fitting tool also counts as proficiency for carving, e.g. Leatherworker’s Tools for beasts and monstrosities and Smith’s Tools for constructs. See each creature type.
One check per part (alternative)
One check per part, using the skill or tool listed, against the part’s DC. Time is listed per part. More detailed, but slower at the table. The harvest tool does both.
Demons and devils
In many settings a demon or devil slain outside its own realm dissolves. Then only Demonic Ichor or Infernal Ichor is left (grade = the creature’s grade). The harvest tool has a checkbox for it.
Damage to parts
- Drawback damage: if the creature took any of these damage types during the fight, the part’s DC rises by +5 per type.
- Ruin damage: if the creature took any of these types, the part is ruined.
Hides
Skinning takes time by size (Nord): Tiny 10 min · Small 30 min · Medium 1 hour · Large 4 hours · Huge 8 hours · Gargantuan 24 hours. Requires Survival or Leatherworker’s Tools, and a sharp knife.
Metatags
If a recipe calls for a specific creature (e.g. “a breath sac from a fire-breathing dragon”), the exact part gives advantage on crafting.
Use the Harvest Tool, or the tool on each creature’s page.