After the cleric was added to the game, I (also) got the feeling that the herbalist is a useless crafting role. But it will be useful again when there are diseases added to the game.
For example: 1 Hearthling is sick and can’t do his work anymore, he stays in bed and he can only get out, very slowly, to get something to eat. But from now on, the Herbalist can craft medicine! The Herbalist will visit the sick Hearthling with the medicine and he can go back to work.
I’d like the idea of what happens whenever someone becomes sick, he will look green, maybe some ‘sickness bubbles’ come out of him.
If you do not have a Herbalist, the disease will slowly spread over the Hearthlings and you have to make sure to have a Herbalist, this role will become more usefull again. (besides the potion-boosts)
I also love this poison idea for the Herbalist. I think more people can agree with me that the Herbalist became pretty useless…
I love the idea, this would be a nice mechanic and sound much easier to implement and balance than poisons.
You could even make it so hearthlings sleeping close to each other and hearthlings sleeping on the ground would have a higher chance of getting ill. Therefore, having houses for different hearthlings would be an advantage over having a huge one with 20 beds in a row.
I want to suggest though, that at least 5 in-game days need to pass until diseases can hit, otherwise you might get badly pummeled by them in the beginning.
The diseases could be the “black pox” spread by members of the Black Cord. After failing to destroy the Hearthlings with waves of lesser skeletons and ghouls, the Black Cord has called upon on the dark power of the Nosoi. Using the dark knowledge given to them they infuse it into their unholy constructs and release them to seek out the Hearthlings Village.
Knowing that with the confidence that the Hearthlings have cultivated in their early success against these minions their victim will rush into their own demise. MAHAHAHAHAHAHHA. …umm umm, or something like that.
