In my guide I have used the term “Autumn” instead of “Fall”
to describe the season between Summer and Winter. I have also
used the correct Australian English spelling for words. I have
altered contributions received from other people for the sake
of consistency. I have received e-mail criticising me for this,
saying “you should use the American conventions, because most
AD&D players are American.” (By the way, this was not intended
as a flame, but was part of some useful constructive criticism.)
I have been taught English as it is spoken and written in my
native country, and I will write and speak in that way. There
are several reasons for this.
1) If I was attempting to write for a specific country, I would
use their own conventions. I am not. I am writing this guide
for everyone who requests it. I have received requests for the
third and fourth editions of this guide from the United States,
the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Spain, France, Belgium,
Germany, Australia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Holland, South
Africa, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Croatia and Zaire and
possibly from other countries as well.
2) If I decided to write this guide in ‘correct’ English, I
would be faced with the problem of what is ‘correct’. Is it
American English, that of the largest English speaking country
on Earth or British English, the source of the language.
3) I believe that the differences in English from country to
country are so minor that all English speaking people on Earth
will be able to read my guide with no problems.
4) Finally, it is simply easier for me to write this guide in
the form of English with which I am most familiar.
I should note here that this herbal is not always ‘accurate’
in terms of the real use of herbs in our world. This is because
my skills in Herbalism are very limited. I am not a
professional herbalist just someone with an interest in the
topic (especially from a gaming point of view). I have
endeavoured to be as accurate as possible in terms of
descriptions, but sometimes I am trying to describe a herb after
seeing a black and white drawing. I have tried to be accurate
in terms of naming the herbs, but some herbs have many different
names. Bilberry for example is also known as Huckleberry,
Whortleberry, Hurtleberry, Whin-berry, Wimberry, Black Heart,
Hurts, and may even have other names that I am not familiar
with. I have also ascribed to some herbs powers that do not
exist in the real world. For example there is no herb that
bestows infravision on a person in our world (as least I assume
there isn’t!) but such herbs do exist in the guide. This is
because the guide has been written for a fantasy game, and I
felt that the powers ascribed to these herbs in legend and
tradition could actually exist in fantasy worlds. I would also
like to apologise for the fact that some of the herbs contained
within have no physical descriptions. This is because I have
adapted them from other game systems and I can’t find any
physical descriptions in the original source material. This is
especially true for those herbs adapted from MERP. If anyone
feels that I have made mistakes in identifying herbs, or their
curative properties, they should feel free to contact me,
either by e-mail or by mail. For anyone who wants to find
accurate books on Herbalism and its real life applications,
please refer to the books in the reference section. Please do
not assume this guide is accurate. Experimenting with plants
can be very dangerous, and I accept no responsibility for any
misuse. |
