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Introduction

H
ello and welcome to my rules for harvesting
and selling materials from creatures! I will Contents
start off by saying this: I recognize that In this PDF, you’ll find the following:
Hamund’s Harvesting Handbook already
exists, and it is definitely more Rules for harvesting that can be applied to the remains of
comprehensive than this guide. I highly ANY creature
recommend it, of course, however, I created Rules for determining the cost of any part harvested from
these rules with a different purpose in mind. You see, these a creature
rules can be applied to any creature, homebrew or official. Rules for harvesting from incorporeal creatures and oozes
They are made for the DM who enjoys using homebrew Examples of the rules in use to help guide you if you feel
creatures or creatures from other sources and wants the confused
players to be able to harvest the materials from them without
having to reason it all out. I hope this guide will be useful for
that purpose! I do still highly recommend picking up
Hamund’s Harvesting Handbook, especially for the craftable
magic items!
This PDF was made using Homebrewery by Natural Crit.
The cover image is a photo in the public domain which was
taken by Francesco Ungaro, who uploaded the image on
Pexels.com. Here is a link to his account:
https://www.pexels.com/@francesco-ungaro Thank you for
releasing this wonderful photo as a free stock photo!
Harvesting an Item
To harvest the item, the players must make a Survival check
with a DC determined by the item itself and the creature’s
type.
1. What item is it? Get the base DC from the “Base DC and
Base Cost” table.
2. What type of creature? Get the modifier to the DC from
the “Creature Type” table. It’s more difficult to harvest
something from an undead’s body than a beast,
considering their odd anatomy.
3. Consider the difficulty in obtaining the item from the
creature, not just because of how difficult it is to harvest it,
but also how difficult it was to find and kill the creature. It
would kinda suck to go on a harrowing adventure where
two players die to get the heart of a dragon and then fail to
get it because you made a bad roll right at the end.
Creatures who act as boss monsters should probably have
automatic successes for some survival checks.
4. Keep in mind that certain creatures have bodies which
change in shape or just destroy themselves completely
when the creature is defeated. Consider giving them a
magic weapon that prevents this process.
Figuring out How Much of
the Item can be Harvested
Some creatures will have more scales and pounds of fat than
others. Simply reference the “Creature Size” table for most of
these. Most creatures will have a set number of a certain
item, like eyes, teeth, or tongues, which is why the table
doesn’t list all of them. Use your discretion for how much of a
certain thing a creature will have, probably by looking at its
reference pic. Also consider the following:
Some creatures won’t have enough of an item to be
considered worth selling, like the fat of a mouse.
Will a monster even have the item and would it be worth
selling? Deer don’t have shells, but they do have hooves
and hide. They also have teeth, but you’re probably not
going to find someone walking into a store looking for
deer teeth.
Did the characters damage anything in particular? If the
fighter killed the creature by skewering its heart, that
heart probably won’t be sellable, however, if a Wizard
fireballs a creature, is anything even going to be left except
ashes?
Finding the Cost of an
Item
1. What item is it? Get the base cost from the “Base DC and
Base Cost” table.
2. What CR? Take the base cost and multiply it by the
modifier in the “CR Modifier” table. After all, it’s easy to go
and kill 20 deer and selt their hides, but that’s very
common, since they’re easy to hunt. The hide of a
pegasus, on the other hand, is something much harder to
find and will definitely go for a higher price.
3. What type? Take the current cost and multiply it by the
modifier in the “Creature Type” table. A humanoid may
not go for much, but if ya bring in a celestial, you’ll be
rolling in dough.
4. What features may affect the cost? Check out the “Extra
Modifiers” section to see if the creature has any features
that may cause the item to be worth more money. The
hide of a creature that is immune to cold damage would
definitely be worth more than one that isn’t.
5. Consider the rarity of the item. People aren’t going to be
that interested in a pair of rat eyes, but the eyes of a
basilisk are gonna have people drop their money on your
counter as if it had turned to stone. Keep in mind certain
special items may go for more than the tables would have
you believe, but on the other hand, certain, mostly useless
items might not be of much interest to your customers.
Keep in mind that this table assumes many things will
come from certain special creatures to be valuable. Nobody
will buy the feathers of a pigeon, but they’ll buy the feathers
of a griffon. You should make it clear to your players that
some creatures’ items just won’t be valuable enough to bother
selling.
Base DC and Base Cost CR Table
Table CR Cost Modifier
Items Base DC Base Cost 0 x0.5
Fat 5 5 sp per pound of fat 1/8 x0.75
Scales 5 2 cp per scale 1/4 x1
Claws 5 3 cp per claw 1/2 x2
Teeth 5 3 cp per tooth 1 x5
Fangs 5 5 cp per fang 2 x7.5
Hide/Pelt 5 5 cp per 5 square feet of hide 3 x10
Blood 6 3 cp per pint 4 x20
Spines or Barbs 6 5 sp per spine or barb 5 x30
Tails 6 5 sp per tail 6 x40
Horns 6 1 gp per horn 7 x50
Feathers 7 1 sp per 100 feathers 8 x65
Beaks 7 5 sp per beak 9 x80
Hooves 8 2 sp per hoove 10 x100
Shells 8 1 gp per shell 11 x250
Antennae 8 1 sp per antennae 12 x500
Eyes 9 1 sp per eye 13 x1000
Poison 11 1 gp per pint 14 x1500
Tongues 11 1 sp per tongue 15 x2000
Skulls 13 5 sp per skull 16 x3000
Glands 15 1 gp per gland 17 x4000
Brains 15 5 gp per brain 18 x6000
Hearts 15 5 gp per heart 19 x8000
20 x10000
21 x15000
22 x20000
23 x40000
24 x60000
25 x80000
26 x100000
27 x200000
28 x400000
29 x800000
30 x1000000

Yes, the cost modifier for the higher CRs is ridiculously

high. This is done on purpose, as creatures with CRs of those
amounts should have extremely rare and valuable body parts.
If you feel the need to decrease a modifier, feel free to do so.
Creature Type Table
Creature Type DC Modifier Cost Modifier
Beast +0 x1
Humanoid +0 x1
Plant +1 x1.5
Undead +2 x1.5
Construct +2 x1.5
Monstrosity +2 x2
Giant +2 x4
Ooze +5 x4
Fiend +3 x10
Fey +3 x10
Elemental +5 x15
Dragon +3 x20
Aberration +4 x20
Celestial +4 x30

Creature Size Table

Item Tiny Small Medium Large Huge Gargantuan
Pounds of Fat None 1d4 (2) 2d10 (11) 10d10 (55) 2d4x 1,000 (5,000) 2d4x10,000 (50,000)
Scales 1d4 (2) 1d8 (4) 5d10 (27) 2d4x10 (50) 2d4x100 (500) 2d4x1,000 (5,000)
Hide/Pelt Lengths None 1 1d4 (2) 2d8 (9) 5d10x10 (270) 5d10x100 (2,700)
Pints of Blood 1 2d4 (5) 2d8 (9) 10d10 (55) 10d10x10 (550) 10d10x100 (5,550)
Feathers None 2d4x10 (50) 2d10x10 (110) 10d10x50 (2,750) 20d10x50 (5,500) 20d10x500 (55,000)
Pints of Poison None 1/2 1d4 (2) 1d8 (4) 10d10 (55) 10d10x10 (550)
Extra Modifiers
Different creatures in the world of Dungeons and Dragons
have bodies that have evolved to survive certain harsh
environments, causing their body parts to have properties
much more special than those of normal creatures. Below, I
have made a bullet-point list of common features that
creatures have which can increase the price of certain body
parts or justify them having a certain special body part in the
first place. If a creature has one of these features, simply
apply the modifier.
Some of these, such as Keen Eyes and Ears, aren’t very
important, and if you’d like to make it a bit easier on yourself,
you can gloss over these. However, certain features such as
breath weapons or damage immunities will probably be the
reason the players will want to hunt for these body parts in
particular, so I’d be careful to keep them in mind. Also note
that certain special body parts can be the end goal of
monster-hunting quests.
I chose to split these up into categories for your ease of
reference.
Senses
Keen _ - If a creature has a feature that grants it a
heightened sense in the form of Keen Hearing, Keen
Smell, etc, the body part that corresponds to the sense
gains a cost modifier of x2.
Darkvision - If a creature has a feature has darkvision, its
eyes gain a cost modifier of x2.
Superior Darkvision - If a creature has superior
darkvision, or darkvision to a range of 120 ft, its eyes gain
a cost modifier of x3.
Blindsight - If a creature has blindsight, its ears gain a
cost modifier of x2.
Truesight - If a creature has truesight, its ears gain a cost
modifier of x5.
Devil’s Sight - If a creature has the feature Devil’s Sight,
its eyes gain a cost modifier of x20.
Damage Vulnerabilities,
Resistances, Immunities
Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing Vulnerability - If a
creature is vulnerable to bludgeoning, slashing, or
piercing damage, its hide and/or shell gain a cost modifier
of 0.5x.
Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing Resistance - If a
creature is resistant to bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing
damage from nonmagical attacks, its hide and/or shell
gain a cost modifier of 3x.
Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing Immunity - If a
creature is immune to bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing
damage from nonmagical attacks, its hide and/or shell
gain a cost modifier of 10x.
Fire, Cold, Acid, or Lightning Resistance - If a creature
is resistant to fire, cold, acid, or lightning damage, its hide
and/or shell gain a cost modifier of 3x.
Fire, Cold, Acid, or Lightning Immunity - If a creature is
immune to fire, cold, acid, or lightning damage, its hide
and/or shell gain a cost modifier of 10x.
Damage Dealt
Poison Damage - If a creature deals poison damage or
causes a harmful condition through a melee attack, poison
can be harvested from it.
Acid Damage - If a creature deals acid damage, the part
of the body which it deals acid damage with (if it deals the
damage with a “bite” attack, then the teeth, for example)
gains a cost modifier of x3.
Psychic Damage - If a creature deals psychic damage, its
brain gains a cost modifier of x5.
Other Features
Breath Weapon or Spray Weapon - If a creature has the
ability to use a breath weapon, such as Fire Breath,
Poison Breath, Sleep Breath, Lightning Breath, Repulsion
Breath, Acid Spray, or really any other attack that ends in
“Breath” or “Spray,” it has a gland of the appropriate
breath weapon - such as a Fire Gland, a Poison Gland, etc.
This gland can be harvested with a cost modifier of x50.
Illumination, Heated Body, or Fire Aura - If a creature
has the feature Illumination, Heated Body, or Fire Aura,
its hide gains a cost modifier of x10.
Camouflage - If a creature has a feature that gives it
natural camouflage, such as Snow Camouflage or Swamp
Camouflage, its hide gains a cost modifier of x5.
Gaze - If a creature has the feature Petrifying Gaze or any
other feature that gives it the ability to affect creatures
with its gaze or sight, its eyes gain a cost modifier of x5.
Eye Rays - If a creature has the feature Eye Rays or a
similar feature, its eyes and antennae (eye stalks, for the
purpose of this, are considered antennae) gain a cost
modifier of x50.
Amphibious - If a creature has the feature Amphibious or
another feature which allows it to breathe both air and
water, its lungs can be harvested as though they were
glands and they have a cost modifier of x2.
Absorption - If a creature has a feature that gives it the
ability to absorb a type of damage, such as Acid
Absorption, its hide gains a cost modifier of x10.

Examples
A Dire Wolf’s teeth have a harvesting DC of 5. Very low,
since beasts are easy to harvest from. A tooth is with 3 cp
at the base price, and a dire wolf would probably have
about 40, since that’s the amount normal wolves have.
Since the Dire Wolf has a CR of 1, we multiply this cost by
5, making them worth 15 cp each. The cost modifier for
being a beast is x1, so that doesn’t change. The final price
of each tooth is 15 cp, and the price of all of the teeth
combined is 600 cp, or 6 gp. Nothing incredibly good, but
dire wolves aren’t that difficult to hunt.
A Dire Wolf may not be that dangerous, but it’s hellish
cousin, the Hell Hound, certainly is. A Hell Hound’s hide
has a base harvesting DC of 5, plus 3 due to being a fiend
makes it a DC of 8. Since they are a medium creature, you
can harvest 1d4 lengths, or an average of 2. The base cost
of a length of hide is 5 cp. Since the Hell Hound has a CR
of 3, this cost is multiplied by 10, making each with 50 cp,
or 5 sp. Then, we multiple by 10 again since it’s a fiend,
making the price 50 sp, or 5 gp. This means that if you
can harvest two lengths of hide from a Hell Hound, that
alone will be worth 10 gp. Take into account that you
might be able to harvest its eyes, ears, teeth, and possibly
claws, and you have a good amount on your hands.
However, take into account the fact that Hell Hound
bodies are consumed and destroyed by fire when they die.
This will likely call for some creativity from the players, or
the use of a magical item.
How about a creature from another source next? In
Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravica, we meet the Wurm, a
creature similar to a wingless dragon. If an adventurer felt
the need to attempt to harvest this creature’s heart, they
would be able to get a very large sum for it. However, the
base DC for a heart is 15, and the DC modifier for a
monstrosity is +2. This isn’t a creature that you can safely
harvest a heart from. However, if you manage it, the base
cost of a heart is 5 gp. It gains a modifier of x2 from the
creature type table since it is a monstrosity, bumping this
up to 10 gp. Then, the CR cost modifier, x1500, makes it a
whopping 15,000 gp. Most would be set for life with this
thing.
Harvesting Poison
Poison can easily be harvested by draining it from the body of
a creature using a sharp tool. A syringe works best when it is
applicable.
Ghost Harvesting
Ghost hunting is a topic that could definitely be delved into
very deeply and that could create a very interesting adventure
or even campaign. I’m 100% sure this has already been done
by multiple people, so I’m going to only cover harvesting the
remains of an incorporeal being. To make the process non-
complicated, I have a spell, a magic item, and a description of
what can be harvested from an incorporeal being. First, I’ll
describe what can be harvested.
Using the spell or magic item below, you can harvest an
incorporeal being’s “essence,” a residual remain of their
ghastly body. The magic item and spell cover how much can
be harvested depending on the way the spell or magic item is
used. 1 vial of this “essence” can be sold for a base cost of 1
GP, which is subject to the cost modifier determined by CR. It
is not subject to the cost modifier determined by the creature
type - only incorporeal, undead creatures can produce
essence, so there is no reason to increase the price based on
that fact.
Here are the spell and the magic item:
Essence Bolt
2nd-level evocation
Time: 1 action
Range: 30 ft
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Classes: Artificer, Cleric, Wizard, Sorcerer
You concentrate your mind to create a blast of ethereal
energy that affects the ghastly remains of those who once
lived. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit,
the target takes 3d10 psychic damage. This spell only affects
creatures with the feature incorporeal movement. If the
attack reduces the target to 0 hit points, the caster can
choose to draw the bolt back to himself and put it into a
container of any sort. The bolt will deposit the essence of the
ghost collected into the container. When this is done, roll 1d6.
The number rolled determines how many vials worth of the
essence is collected.
At Higher Levels. When this spell is cast using a spell slot
of 3rd level or higher, add 1d6 to the essence collected per
additional level of the spell slot.
Container of Essence Collection
_Wondrous item, uncommon _
The Container of Essence Collection is a container that
can be of any shape, size, or type. It can be used to harvest
essence from undead creatures with the feature incorporeal
movement. To use it, the container must be pointed towards
the target creature and an action must be used to utter the
command word and activate the magical ability. When this is
done, the user must roll a d20 + their spellcasting modifier
(Wisdom if they are not a spellcaster) to determine if the
collection is successful. The DC is equal to the remaining hit
points of the target creature. On a success, the target
creature drops to 0 hit points and their essence is collected in
the container. The amount collected is 1d6 vials worth + one
vial for every 2 hit points the incorporeal creature had when
the item is used (if it had 4 HP remaining, 1d6+2 vials would
be harvested).
 If you’re wondering about the practical application of
Ooze Harvesting ooze remains, depending on what type of material they
It isn’t easy to harvest the remains of an ooze, which to most corrode, the ooze can make an extremely effective
people isn’t a problem, considering the acidic remains of an cleaning solution. They can also be used to make
ooze don’t sound appealing when you first hear of them. particularly powerful Vials of Acid which deal the same
However, all oozes have certain properties that can be more amount of acid damage that the ooze dealt while still alive
helpful than one may expect. When harvesting an ooze, take (Gray Ooze would deal 2d6, Black Pudding would deal
note of the following: 4d6). As for the crafting of this, I would recommend one of
the following:
The ooze must be dead. Living oozes can be great for The acid can be used raw to deal the normal
selling, but that’s not what this is about. When an ooze amount, or Alchemist’s Supplies can be used to
such as a Gelatinous Cube is defeated, the consistency of concentrate it more and increase the damage by,
the cube will collapse. With the others, if they aren’t say, 2d6. This rewards a character that can use
defeated, they’ll probably be looking for a way to escape Alchemist’s Supplies.
their prison - having an ooze play dead for an The acid can be used raw to deal half the normal
unsuspecting party trying to harvest it could be amount, or Alchemist’s Supplies can be used to
interesting. concentrate it more and deal the normal amount.
The ooze must be gathered using tools that won’t dissolve It’s up to you if this makes more sense.
based on its type. Ochre Jelly and Gelatinous Cubes can
be harvested using anything, since they only dissolve flesh.
Gray Ooze can not be harvested using metal, as it will
corrode, but any other material is fine. Black Pudding will
corrode any material except for stone.
Ooze can’t just be shoveled into a bag of holding with
other items inside. To store them, a separate container of
the appropriate type that is non-magical can be used or a
magic item such as a bag of holding that is otherwise
empty can also be used. Magic items will not be corroded
by the ooze, so that is not a concern, however, the items
inside a magic item can definitely be corroded by ooze, so
keep that in mind.
If oozes are mixed together… well, you have three options:
The oozes don’t merge or anything, similar to how
oil doesn’t dissolve in water. This is the most simple
and easy way to do things, though it doesn’t make a
ton of sense.
The oozes do merge and decrease in value because
of it, perhaps turning into Gray Ooze remains, the
least valuable type.
When the oozes collide, roll on a Wild Magic Surge
table. After the effect ends, the remains explode
backwards. This one is the most fun if you ask me.
For the sake of selling ooze remains, consider them to
be similar to poison for the sake of cost and how much
can be harvested. The remains can be called “Gray Ooze
Remains” or “Black Pudding Remains” in the inventory.
For the DC required to harvest each one, the base DC is
10 + one point depending on how corrosive it is.
If it corrodes only flesh, +1.
If it corrodes metal, +2.
If it corrodes a multitude of materials, +3.
If it corrodes everything except one type of material,
+4.