TEXT: Monster Salvaging | EN World EN5idEr
  C
  ourageous adventurers 
  often wander into dens 
  of great beasts to slay fearsome 
  creatures and though they may 
  leave such a kill with a treasure 
  hoard on their backs, it is just 
  as likely their reward comes 
  from 
  whomever 
  sent 
  them 
  and is dispensed later—yet 
  this is not always the end of it. 
  Anyone of sufficient intellect or 
  preparedness can decide to use 
  the slain monster to aid their 
   
  WRITING Michael Ohl
   
  COLOR ART Herman Lau
   
  EDITING Mike Myler
   
  LAYOUT Frank Michienzi
  Monster
  Salvaging
  
  Monster Salvaging | EN World EN5idEr
  Open Game Content | The game rule information in this 
  article is designated Open Game Content. All other material 
  in this article, including maps and illustrations (including 
  illustrations in the public domain), in-character and out-of-
  character narrative and descriptive text, character and place 
  names, trade dress, “EN Publishing,” “EN World,” “EN5ider,” 
  EN Publishing product and article titles, and  
  EN World and EN Publishing logos, are designated 
  Product Identity.
  future endeavors. For example, a crafty wizard might 
  take the dried skin of a slain salamander to enhance 
  the next burning hands they cast whereas a resourceful 
  rogue distills the poison from a basilisk fang to turn 
  the next slash of their dagger into a virulent strike. 
  All manner of beasts, dragons, and monstrosities 
  stalk the lands until the right enterprising adven-
  turer comes along to slay them, taking their valuable 
  harvested parts (known as reagents) to be used for a 
  variety of things. This guide presents a basic system 
  for harvesting special parts from creatures to enhance 
  equipment and spells. 
  Harvesting Reagents
  To preserve a slain creature’s supernatural essence a 
  reagent must be collected in a special jar coated by an 
  alchemical substance that requires a day to congeal. 
  Both jar and coating are essential tools for harvesting 
  the essence of a creature. Crafting a jar and correctly 
  coating it requires 4 hours of downtime activity, 5 
  gold worth of materials, and a successful DC 13 Intel-
  ligence (alchemist’s supplies) check. 
  CREATURE HARVESTING
  CREATURE 
  TYPE
  SKILL/TOOL
  DC
  Abomination
  Arcana/ 
  Alchemist’s Supplies
  Minor  
  12
  Moderate  15
  Major  
  18
  Celestial
  Arcana/ 
  Alchemist’s Supplies
  Minor  
  11
  Moderate  14
  Major  
  17
  Construct
  Arcana/ 
  Tinker’s Tools
  Minor  
  10
  Moderate  13
  Major  
  16
  Dragon
  Arcana/ 
  Hunter’s Tools
  Minor  
  12
  Moderate  15
  Major  
  18
  Elemental
  Arcana/ 
  Alchemist’s Supplies
  Minor  
  11
  Moderate  14
  Major  
  17
  Fey
  Nature/ 
  Herbalism Kit
  Minor  
  12
  Moderate  15
  Major  
  18
  Fiend
  Religion/ 
  Alchemist’s Supplies
  Minor  
  11
  Moderate  14
  Major  
  17
  Monstrosity
  Nature/ 
  Hunter’s Tools
  Minor  
  11
  Moderate  14
  Major  
  17
  Ooze
  Arcana/ 
  Alchemist’s Supplies
  Minor  
  10
  Moderate  13
  Major  
  16
  Plant
  Nature/ 
  Herbalism Kit
  Minor  
  10
  Moderate  13
  Major  
  16
  Undead
  Religion/ 
  Hunter’s Tools
  Minor  
  11
  Moderate  14
  Major  
  17
  Harvesting a reagent from a creature’s corpse 
  requires a successful ability check (using a skill or tool 
  proficiency, as listed on Table: Creature Harvesting) 
  against a DC determined by the type of reagent being 
  harvested (either minor, moderate, or major). Reagents 
  REAGENT JAR 
  (1 LB., 15 GP)
  This specially prepared jar is able to hold up to 2 lbs. 
  of harvested reagents inside of it. 
  HUNTER’S TOOLS 
  (5 LBS., 25 GP)
  These include various knives, traps, and skinning 
  implements ideal for gathering horns and pelts 
  from beasts. 
  
  Monster Salvaging | EN World EN5idEr
  take 10 minutes per 1 point of challenge rating of the 
  creature being harvested from (it takes 20 minutes to 
  harvest a reagent from a CR 20 creature, 13 minutes 
  from a CR 13 creature, and so on). Some benevolent 
  creatures may be willing to donate certain items to the 
  right cause under the right circumstances, in which 
  case it permanently loses 1 hit dice and 4 hit points. 
  Creating Reagent Items
  The most common things made using harvested 
  monster parts are minor magical items, poisons, 
  potions, and alchemical items partly because time is a 
  crucial factor when dealing with reagents. They must 
  first be harvested then suffer exposure during the 
  creation process, gradually becoming weaker and less 
  effective all the while. A reagent stored in a reagent 
  jar remains viable for 1 month per point of challenge 
  rating of the creature it was harvested from (minimum 
  1 month), thus the more powerful a creature is the 
  more potent and enduring anything harvested from 
  it is. Creating reagent items take time (as noted on 
  Table: Creating Reagent Items) and a successful ability 
  check. A minor reagent can be crafted in a relatively 
  short time while a major reagent takes considerably 
  more effort. 
  A harvested reagent may be able to create multiple 
  effects depending on how it is used—for example, 
  a ghoul’s heart could be used to create a paralysis 
  poison, or to make a spell enhancer that adds necrotic 
  damage to an existing spell. Exactly what parts can 
  be harvested from a creature and the effects reagent 
  items made from them can have are entirely at 
  the GM’s discretion. Reagent items have different 
  power levels depending on the rarity of the creature 
  harvested and Challenge Rating of the creature. All 
  items come from creatures that are magical in some 
  sense—beasts and most humanoids do not tend to 
  produce enough supernatural essence to harvest. So 
  while a roc is likely to have essense for air- or growth-
  based effects, a mammoth is all but useless for the 
  purposes of reagent items. 
  Minor Reagent Items. These produce a single effect 
  equivalent in power to a cantrip or 1st-level spell. 
  Moderate Reagent Items. Effects from these reagent 
  items can include boosts to the damage or duration of 
  a spell, a temporary attack bonus with a weapon, up 
  to a single die of extra damage for a weapon, a tempo-
  rary increase to armor class, or a moderate in effect 
  such as that from an enlarge/reduce spell. No bonuses 
  granted from a moderate reagent item are greater 
  than +1. 
  Major Reagent Item. Powerful wizards seek out 
  and slay purple worms (CR 15) to harvest major 
  reagents that boost their spells by changing damage 
  types, adding bonus damage dice, or granting magical 
  boosts (up to a maximum of +2). Other major reagent 
  items can have impressive durations (lasting for as 
  long as an hour) or replicate the effects of spells as 
  high as 3rd-level. 
  Reagent Item Benefits. Benefits granted by a 
  reagent item should follow themes matching the 
  creature from which its harvested parts came from. 
  When a creature has an extraordinary ability it is well 
  known for (such as a medusa’s Paralyzing Gaze) that 
  is the most likely effect of a reagent item made from 
  parts harvested from a medusa. Spell enhancers have 
  no effect on spells that do not deal damage (unless 
  the GM determines otherwise, attempting to use a 
  reagent item in this way wastes it.)
  Reagent Item Downfalls. Each reagent item has a 
  minor drawback when used as consuming another 
  creature’s essence causes internal clashes of energy. 
  A downfall has a minor effect (such as short-term 
  reversal of the reagent item’s effect) that typically lasts 
  for 1d4 rounds. A reagent item that allows a creature 
  to breathe poisonous gas might cause the poisoned 
  condition in the user for 1d4 rounds afterward, a 
  flame breathing reagent item might cause 1d4 levels 
  of exhaustion that last for 1d4 rounds, a freezing 
  spray reagent item might halve the user’s Speed for 
  1d4 rounds, a thunderous shout reagent item could 
  remove the user’s reactions for 1d4 rounds, and so on.
  HARVESTING MONSTERS AND CR
  CREATURE CR
  CREATURE 
  RARITY
  REAGENT LEVEL
  4 or less
  Common
  Minor
  5-12     
  Uncommon
  Moderate
  13 or more
  Rare    
  Major
  
  Monster Salvaging | EN World EN5idEr
  CREATING REAGENT ITEMS
  REAGENT TYPE
  REAGENT LEVEL
  TIME FOR CREATION
  DC
  SUGGESTED SKILLS/TOOLS
  Spell Enhancer
  Minor
  1 day
  13
  Arcana/Alchemist’s Supplies
  Spell Enhancer
  Moderate
  5 days
  15
  Arcana/Alchemist’s Supplies
  Spell Enhancer
  Major
  2 weeks
  17
  Arcana/Alchemist’s Supplies
  Poison
  Minor
  1 day
  14
  Arcana/Poisoner’s Kit
  Poison
  Moderate
  3 days
  16
  Arcana/Poisoner’s Kit
  Poison
  Major
  1 weeks
  18
  Arcana/Poisoner’s Kit
  Potion or Oil
  Minor
  1 day
  12
  Arcana/Alchemist’s Supplies
  Potion or Oil
  Moderate
  3 days
  16
  Arcana/Alchemist’s Supplies
  Potion or Oil
  Major
  2 weeks
  20
  Arcana/Alchemist’s Supplies
  Item
  Minor
  2 days
  13
  Arcana/Tinker’s Tools
  Item
  Moderate
  1 week
  17
  Arcana/Tinker’s Tools
  Item
  Major
  2 weeks
  21
  Arcana/Tinker’s Tools
  REAGENT ITEM BENEFITS
  REAGENT TYPE
  BENEFIT
  VALUE
  EXAMPLES
  Spell Enhancer
  When used as an additional spell component, 
  the spell deals 1d4 extra damage for every 1 
  point of the harvested creature’s CR (minimum 
  1d4 extra damage).
  15 gold per CR 
  Purple Worm Stinger
  Poison
  The poison either:
  •  (a) inflicts the condition of a poisoned
  attack the harvested creature had (such as
  poisoned, paralyzed, or stunned; save DC
  equal to 10 + ½ the harvested creature’s CR).
  •  or (b) deals 1d6 poison damage for every
  1 point of the harvested creature’s CR 
  (minimum 1d6 poison).
  20 gold per CR
  Wight Drain
  Potion or Oil
  This potion either: 
  •  (a) replicates a trait possessed by the
  harvested creature. The trait has the same
  duration as when used by the harvested
  creature, up to a maximum of 1 minute.
  •  or (b) grants a bonus to the same ability
  score as the harvested creature’s highest
  ability score (+2 for minor, +4 for moderate,
  +6 for major).
  50 gold per CR
  Hydra Blood Potion
  Items
  When this item is used, it replicates an attack 
  possessed by the harvested creature. The 
  damage dice, area of effect, or range do not 
  change, but any saving throw DCs are equal to 
  10 + ½ the harvested creature’s CR. 
  25 gold per CR
  Dragon’s Presence,  
  Medusa’s Gaze
  
  Monster Salvaging | EN World EN5idEr
  Sample Reagent Items
  Dragon’s Presence
  Major reagent
  This distilled dragons’ essence can be used to 
  empower already substantial magic. When casting a 
  spell that uses a 5th-level or higher spell slot, you can 
  add this reagent item as an extra component and crea-
  tures damaged or affected by the spell must make a 
  DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, a creature 
  becomes frightened of you for 1 minute. In addition, 
  any other enemy creatures within 30 feet must also 
  make this save or become frightened of you for the 
  duration of the effect. At the end of its turn, if a fright-
  ened creature cannot see you it makes a new saving 
  throw to end the effect.
  Hydra Blood Potion
  Moderate reagent
  After using an action to drink this potion, once in 
  the next hour you can take an additional action on 
  your turn. After the additional action is taken you 
  cannot be affected by another dose of hydra blood potion 
  until you finish a long rest. In addition, you become 
  famished afterward and must eat meat of some kind 
  within 10 minutes or gain a level of exhaustion.
  Medusa’s Gaze
  Moderate reagent
  This serpent harvested from the hair of a medusa 
  holds great power within. By using an action to 
  consume it, you gain a gaze attack until the end of 
  your next turn. When a creature that can see your eyes 
  starts its turn within 30 feet of you, you can force it to 
  make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw if you aren’t 
  incapacitated and can see the creature. If the saving 
  throw fails by 5 or more, the creature is instantly petri-
  fied. Otherwise, a creature that fails the save begins to 
  turn to stone and is restrained. The restrained crea-
  ture must repeat the saving throw at the end of its 
  next turn, becoming petrified on a failure or ending 
  the effect on a success. When the gaze attack fades, 
  your Speed is halved for 10 minutes. 
  Purple Worm Stinger
  Major reagent
  When casting a spell that deals damage, you can add 
  this reagent item as an extra component and change 
  the damage type of the spell to poison. In addition, 
  the spell deals an extra 4d6 poison damage. After you 
  cast the spell you are poisoned for 1d4 rounds.
  Wight Drain
  Minor reagent
  The essence drained from a wight is particularly 
  valuable to assassins. This poison causes a life drain 
  effect. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution 
  saving throw or it is poisoned for 1d4 rounds and its hit 
  point maximum is reduced by 3d6. After applying this 
  poison to a weapon, for 1 hour you have sunlight sensi-
  tivity (disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks 
  that rely on sight while in direct sunlight). e
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 297 - Monster Salvaging.pdf