I found the Horrific Herbarium: Volume 2 even less useful than the the first volume. There are several interesting entries in the first, that, although not worth the price of admission, are usable as written. I don't find this to be the case with the second.

In volume 2 the Hemowort and Arcana-Devouring Hawthorn are the most interesting entries mechanically, but are unlikey to appear in my games. The rest fall into being random spell effects, traps or minor annoyances. The exeption is the Parasitic Birch, which does actually produce a gastly and interesting atmsophere, but is mechanically useless in its current form. I will modify it for my own uses.

A fantastic content package for any Dungeon Master looking to level up the plants in their world with harder hits and horrifying mechanics. It contains details for 12 plants of which 8 have unique harmful mechanics (some are very long term) and the remaining 4 are fairly basic damage dealing plants. The document does not make any significant references to details in any of the published settings and as such the contents can easily be integrated into any setting of your choice. Although the mechanics of the plants are designed for the D20 system and Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, it would not be difficult to adjust the numbers to suit any gaming system or to level the plants to better suit your party.

The second volume of the series brings an additional level of terror to the plants in more ways than one, truly earning its name as the "Horrific Herbarium". Compared to the previous volume it provides fewer plants simply dealing damage by some manner but the ones that are included are quite deadly for low level parties: the Terrorcherry's 3 to 6 d12 psychic damage with hallucinations and exhaustion to boot is nothing to scoff at. The False Goodberry is a delightfully devious addition to the toolkit of a detail-oriented Dungeon Master to teach their players a lesson about carelessly eating plants from the wild and to make the players with proficiency in Nature feel a little more special. The Stinging Nettle — being a regular mundane stinging nettle — does feel out of place in this collection of plants but is a nice addition nonetheless.

Where this product truly shines is in the reasonably complex mechanics and long term effects to challenge your party. For example a particularly unlucky low to mid level party traipsing around the habitat of a Parasitic Birch at just the wrong time could lead to total party kill — 1d8 weeks later. Not to mention the now dead party spreading the habitat of this terrifying plant even farther. With some effort one could build an entire side quest around eradicating this plant from the local area or simply dealing with being infected by one. The Arcana-Devouring Hawthorn should definitely take your party's spellcasters by surprise and the Glassberry ought to teach them about the duck test...

For each plant, the document provides:

• A name fitting the vernacular in any area.
• A general description of the plant, including any effects, and the general habitat suitable for giving to your players (with perhaps minor modifications depending on how much information you wish to reveal).
• A detailed description of the appearance (height, leaf shape, flowers, color, flavor, etc.) that characters interested in herbalism should enjoy.
• A detailed description of the mechanics for the Dungeon Master.

It will take some effort from the Dungeon Master to integrate these deadly plants into their game as it may feel unfair to players if they are not given any chance to identify or avoid the many harmful effects of the plants. Unlike the previous volume these plants provide more content and mechanics for the players to interact with and as such are great ways to add more intrigue to new or existing quests. I would be hesitant to sprinkle the plants in just any region of my world, doubly so if running for a low level party. While I personally have no experience playing in the Feywild of the Forgotten Realms, I am quite confident in suggesting that all of these plants would feel right at home on that plane.

I can give a glowing recommendation for this product for Dungeon Masters looking to craft interesting mini-encounters with plants for low to mid level parties. For Dungeon Masters looking to add more content for herbalism be prepared to spend some time coming up with crafting components that could be harvested from the plants.

Purchasing the volume 1 of this supplement for more content (particularly something more "normal" and suitable for lower level parties) is an obvious choice for anyone interested in this product.