The mind of a child is a curious thing. A kid’s priorities and cares often seem alien to adults. They may spend all day crawling in mud eating worms only to get incredibly fussy at dinner time. They might believe in the monster hiding under their bed, but not in the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. They also insist on knowing the answer to strangely difficult questions, as anyone who has tried to explain just why the sky is blue can attest.

As a dungeon master, sometimes your players can feel like your children. You care deeply for them, even when they get on your nerves. Occasionally, you have to herd them like a bunch of cats.

And sometimes, they really want to know how to make a healing potion.

There’s a long list of potions in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, and players can get their hands on alchemist’s tools, but what exactly goes into making a magical potion? What ingredients do you use? How do those ingredients change depending on what you’re brewing? These are all legitimate questions, and ones that you may face from your players one day.

One way that you could answer is by introducing your players to enchanted mushrooms.

Why mushrooms, you may ask, and not different potion ingredients? Mushrooms are well-known for having bizarre effects in the real world. Some are powerful hallucinogens, others are deadly poisons, and some just taste really good. Your players are primed to accept that mushrooms do weird things to people because the fact of the matter is that they do. Making a magic mushroom that is actually magic, therefore, is not much of a logical leap.

Similarly to introducing your players to magical liquors or threatening them with venomous snakes, enchanted mushrooms make your world feel more alive, more filled out. It’s an added touch that rewards your players’ engagement with the setting; the more interested they are in what is happening around them, the more you give them to satisfy their curiosity. Since mushrooms come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, your only limit is your own imagination.

Below, I’ve created three illustrative examples of mushrooms that you could include in your own game.

Lajasilma

This long and slender white mushroom can be found growing in clusters under the floorboards of houses in particularly wet environments. Also known as “Tabaxi Pipes” or “The Oculus,” this fungus is prized for its hallucinogenic qualities. Ancient seers and shamans often used Lajasilma in their rituals, and certain druids still collect it for their own purposes. If eaten raw, it has an earthy, almost putrid flavor. It is much more pleasant—and far more effective—if it is brewed into a tea and drunk.

Anyone who drinks Lajasilma tea feels the effects within minutes. It pierces disguise and falsehood, bringing a sense of unity with the surrounding world. While under the influence of Lajasilma, a player gains truesight for one hour, but has disadvantage on all Intelligence and Wisdom saving throws. Casting lesser restoration removes all effects.

Scelitel

A wide, flat fungus that grows on cave walls, Scelitel is also called the “Clamshell Mushroom” due to its wavy outer edge. Though most specimens could fit in the bottom of a drinking glass, they have been known to grow as large as a dinner plate. Most mycologists would go to great lengths to secure even a small sample of Scelitel; as a primary ingredient in healing potions, its resale value is astronomical.

Though it is most effective when distilled and mixed with other ingredients, it has its own benefits when eaten raw or cooked. It has a meaty texture and a rich, smoky flavor that roasting only enhances. A player that eats Scelitel regains 10 hp over the course of the next minute. This effect is the same regardless of the size of the mushroom eaten.

Nightcap Mushroom

The Nightcap’s distinctive pointed crowns and bright purple color draw the eye, but beware; like most beautiful things in nature, the Nightcap is dangerous. Used in small doses as a sleep aid and backwoods treatment for anxiety, eating just one of these mushrooms can be deadly. It is usually found in rainforests, where several small species of frog, all equally poisonous, shelter under its crowns. Though each individual Nightcap is no bigger than a human thumb, they grow in patches up to three feet long

The Nightcap’s effects vary wildly depending on how it is prepared. If it is dried and powdered, it becomes the main ingredient in a potion of sleep. If eaten raw, however, the player must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. If they fail, they suffer 4d8 poison damage, and they are poisoned for the next hour. Casting lesser restoration will remove the poison effect, but will not heal any damage already taken.

These three mushrooms are simply meant to be an example of what is possible. You can absolutely take the principles of these items and use them to design your own magical herbs, crystals, or whatever else strikes your fancy. You don’t need a completed potion to cause a little bit of magical mischief. With a single plant, you can poison your players, heal them, or give them a delicious meal.

Or you can just have them trip their faces off. The choice is yours.

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