Food in Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

Food in Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lanodantheon
06-20-07, 05:04 PM A fairly basic question often overlooked by many a DM. "What do people eat in a world of magic?"
Sure there are listings in the books about the kinds of textures and sauces and spices, but I want specific dishes. Not only that, what kind of cooking techniques can magic accomplish that medieval technology alone deems impossible? What are the usual food staples of Eberron. What is the norm anyway?

In your average fantasy setting, the average adventurer's meal is mutton, bread, cheese and ale. Surely magic has evolved them beyond that. Especially in cities like Sharn where there is magic everywhere. Does make take food just one step beyond or even further?

2 Things to keep in mind though.
1. House Ghallandra: The masters of the Eberronian Inn are full of master chefs and they have dragonmarks related to food. They, if anyone at all will be the pioneers of modern food. Think about what a halfling with a hungry stomach would think of as good to eat then multiply by the population of the dragonmarked house.

2. Take magic into account. Magic allows for the otherwise impossible in every aspect of food preparation, cooking and storage. It is mentioned in several sources that magic has given Khorvairians refrigeration.

My thoughts on this topic:

1. Refrigeration allows for more than just frozen meat for long term storage. Milk + Ice Magic = Ice Cream. Who better than a halfling to hand out such delights on a hot Sharn Day? Granted, that begs the questions of whether or not exotic ice cream comes from milked Talenta Dinosaurs. :eek:
In a jokey game you get the Ice Cream Golem, could be fun. Walks over to the table and the players eat him up like ants on the Gingerbread Man.

2. Fire magic + Meat = more ways to barbecue. Imagine cooking steak with Burning Hands right in front of you. Would make for a good show. Combustion could allow for some unique textures. It can also allow for great nights at House Phiarlin shows because now evenly distributed fire magic allows for the development of Popcorn. Add candy making into the equation and by the Host you can get Halfling Cracker Jacks.

3. Prestidigitation has the ability to instantly flavor food. That means you can make something taste like anything. Jokey DM's
would make it so that the spell make everything taste like chicken. However, if you could make a Profession(Chef) Check and actually make anything taste like anything, you could use the worst materials in your 5 Star restaurant to skim off the top. *Noble eating rare exotic sounding meat, his mouth watering* *The waiter leans to the chef* "What are really feeding him?" "Dog I found in the alley."

4. This idea might take the idea too far, but I'll mention it anyway. If you created an item that could Create Food and Water at will, you could make food rapidly, infinitely and cheaply in the long run. The Conveyer Belt of Infinite Food would Create Food and Water on Command which would probably be all the time and would cost 27,000 gp according to estimates in the DMG. Add Prestidigitation either as an at will item for 900 gp or via an underpaid employee with a 2 gp spice rack and you have, FAST FOOD!

In a really jokey game, the PC's will walk into an inn and the waiter will say, "Welcome to Mage Burger, Home of the Mage Burger. May I take your order?" :D
Shady314
06-20-07, 05:15 PM Gum that doesn't lose flavor.
Rechan
06-20-07, 07:02 PM Gum that doesn't lose flavor.

MADNESS!

I do think that the Conveyer belt would be a huge hit in industrial areas where they want to feed their workers cheaply. Imagine that, foundries providing free food for their workers. Granted, the lines would be jinormous, but it would certainly suit.

I say we avoid Refrigoration all together and go one step further: stasis. Basically "Whatever you put in this box stops aging entirely." I would expect such magical items had been created to transport and store delicate spell components ("You need basilisk eyes and hag gal bladder intact!?). This would also help with produce, as anyone who has bought bananas know that those suckers turn brown in like, three days - having them in stasis until you're in the rare mood for a banana would be nice.

Also an important issue is what goes into the food. Large scale pesticides likely aren't that much of an option. But with magic, you could create a spell that's pretty much a small-scale vermin bane, or a repellent. Or it would be really easy to just summon or control predators that eat those pests.

We have magebred animals in this setting - how about magegrown food? Crops that can be grown year round, handle drought or flood, or repel pests itself. And then there's the matter of food that does more than simply make you not starved - magegrown food might last you all day for energy and/or hunger needs. Imagine one meal a day sustaining your body without complaint. Naturally, magegrown foods would have the same concerns that genetically altered foods have today - what effect they would have on the consumer.

I also wonder if there would be any benefit in looking into intelligent plants - though I have the feeling that nothing good would come of that.

It wouldn't surprise me if a Guild started springing up. Where the Rainmaker guild is handled by Lyander, some non-Dragonmarked organization of druids and mages who handle crops and livestock, throwing the necessary spells across them - for a price.

Though one thing I am interested in would be couisine and when it comes to monsters. For instance, could any sort of Ooze be edible?
Fabius Maximus
06-20-07, 08:22 PM There was a thread about converting real world recipes on the boards. Sadly, I lost my link.
DragoonDarkfire
06-20-07, 08:36 PM You could do a whole adventure about a Galladra halfling with a sweet tooth who makes a candy factory and starts a contest with Golden Tickets.
Symar
06-20-07, 10:43 PM But, what would be the Oompa-Loompas if Willy is already a halfling?
Revvecor
06-20-07, 10:45 PM But, what would be the Oompa-Loompas if Willy is already a halfling?

Awakened pumpkin bards?
DragoonDarkfire
06-20-07, 11:15 PM But, what would be the Oompa-Loompas if Willy is already a halfling?

Kenders.
Rechan
06-20-07, 11:28 PM Kenders.

Bite your tongue, sir.

The answer is simple: Kobolds. They're all ready orange.
Shady314
06-21-07, 04:17 AM MADNESS!
Oh yes! Definitely a creation of a Daelkyr inspired wizard but quite possible with prestidigitation.

I say we avoid Refrigoration all together and go one step further: stasis.
But refrigeration just requires some sort of permanent ray of frost effect. Stasis is too high a level to be mass produced.

We have magebred animals in this setting
I like it. Magebred ladybugs to handle pests!

I also wonder if there would be any benefit in looking into intelligent plants - though I have the feeling that nothing good would come of that.
Hello Little Shop of Horrors campaign! Hells yeah.

Though one thing I am interested in would be couisine and when it comes to monsters. For instance, could any sort of Ooze be edible?
I hear Hobgoblin with the right spice is delicious. And Minotaurs make the absolute greatest burgers.

Oompa Loompas? Some sort of Daelkyr abomination.
Lanodantheon
06-24-07, 06:46 PM Oompas Lumpas in Eberron? No Cookiee for any of you!

Oozes would not be a good food choice, their too acidic. Maybe the remains of a Living Cure Light Wounds, maybe and it would be rare.

Ghallandra may cook the food, but Vadlis raises the food. Magebred animals stand as an analog to genetically engineered farm animals of today. Magebred Chickens are for producing more and bigger eggs. However, using magebred meats would be only the stuff of specific kinds of cuisine that don't have qualms about magic.

Magebred plants are the next step in magical evolution. You could make a Shambling mound into a walking crop. You could include Assassin Vines as defensive measures. It would be also cool to have Magebred vermin, allowing for Magebred silk and for really smart spiders and giant ants.

Cuisine I could see not only correctly spelled but also as the ultimate masterpieces of Ghallandra. No magical flavorings and the chef has to get up on the table to carve the Turkey. I could see a divide in chefs between using magic in cooking and chefs who want no magic influence at all. Although some chefs would never touch a magebred animal out of sheer expense, those that did would get otherwise impossible tenderness. Imagine the taste of Magebred Coq au Vin. As far as monsters in food go, I still like the sound of T-Rex Steak. The first choice for food after Animals would be Dire Animals, Plants, Magical Beasts, followed by less intelligent Dragons like Dragon Turtles, psuedodragons and Wyverns in some nations. Aberrations are too weird to look at let alone eat, elementals don't have the substance and it would be illegal probably to eat anything intelligent enough to have a language.

Imagine: A massive platter is laid before you.
"Oh, Squid!" You say as you dig in. Before you take your first bite you hear in the back of your head, "I'm not dead...." "I'm getting better...." *Smack* The halfling cook hits the squids head.

Dire Animals: 50 ft Cow. Bigger animals allow for bigger portions.

Magical Beasts: Behirs would be interesting cuisine because they are large portioned at 4,000lbs. a beast. The appeal of Behirs and SHocker Lizards is that they would shock you at every bite. Ghallandra wuld cook Blink Dogs the same way you can get steamed duck under a Donald Duck logo at Hong Kong Disneyland. Bulettes you would cook in their shell and you'd have to pump their stomach. Chimeras, Sea Cats and Manticores would have unique texture and would probably be raised as food. Cockatrices are giant chickens, but they have to be drained of venom first. Displacer beasts would be a tough catch, but they would have tender meat(look at how skinny they are in the illustrations). The Gray Render's description paint them as giant cows and they would have lots of connective tissues. They'd be good eats. Griffons would be steak that tastes like chicken. The Kraken would be grown in vats and would make good seafood if you controlled its growth. Krenhars have unique skin and would be good for something, I'm not sure what. Cooking a Purple work is like cooking a snake that weighs 40,000 pounds. Take about portions. Remorhaz's would be used with magic so that it's Heat ability would be used to cook it from the inside out.

That's all I have for right now. Enjoy the Treant Salad in game before the Gatekeeprs kill you. :D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lanodantheon 06-20-07, 05:04 PM	A fairly basic question often overlooked by many a DM. "What do people eat in a world of magic?" Sure there are listings in the books about the kinds of textures and sauces and spices, but I want specific dishes. Not only that, what kind of cooking techniques can magic accomplish that medieval technology alone deems impossible? What are the usual food staples of Eberron. What is the norm anyway? In your average fantasy setting, the average adventurer's meal is mutton, bread, cheese and ale. Surely magic has evolved them beyond that. Especially in cities like Sharn where there is magic everywhere. Does make take food just one step beyond or even further? 2 Things to keep in mind though. 1. House Ghallandra: The masters of the Eberronian Inn are full of master chefs and they have dragonmarks related to food. They, if anyone at all will be the pioneers of modern food. Think about what a halfling with a hungry stomach would think of as good to eat then multiply by the population of the dragonmarked house. 2. Take magic into account. Magic allows for the otherwise impossible in every aspect of food preparation, cooking and storage. It is mentioned in several sources that magic has given Khorvairians refrigeration. My thoughts on this topic: 1. Refrigeration allows for more than just frozen meat for long term storage. Milk + Ice Magic = Ice Cream. Who better than a halfling to hand out such delights on a hot Sharn Day? Granted, that begs the questions of whether or not exotic ice cream comes from milked Talenta Dinosaurs. :eek: In a jokey game you get the Ice Cream Golem, could be fun. Walks over to the table and the players eat him up like ants on the Gingerbread Man. 2. Fire magic + Meat = more ways to barbecue. Imagine cooking steak with Burning Hands right in front of you. Would make for a good show. Combustion could allow for some unique textures. It can also allow for great nights at House Phiarlin shows because now evenly distributed fire magic allows for the development of Popcorn. Add candy making into the equation and by the Host you can get Halfling Cracker Jacks. 3. Prestidigitation has the ability to instantly flavor food. That means you can make something taste like anything. Jokey DM's would make it so that the spell make everything taste like chicken. However, if you could make a Profession(Chef) Check and actually make anything taste like anything, you could use the worst materials in your 5 Star restaurant to skim off the top. Noble eating rare exotic sounding meat, his mouth watering The waiter leans to the chef "What are really feeding him?" "Dog I found in the alley." 4. This idea might take the idea too far, but I'll mention it anyway. If you created an item that could Create Food and Water at will, you could make food rapidly, infinitely and cheaply in the long run. The Conveyer Belt of Infinite Food would Create Food and Water on Command which would probably be all the time and would cost 27,000 gp according to estimates in the DMG. Add Prestidigitation either as an at will item for 900 gp or via an underpaid employee with a 2 gp spice rack and you have, FAST FOOD! In a really jokey game, the PC's will walk into an inn and the waiter will say, "Welcome to Mage Burger, Home of the Mage Burger. May I take your order?" :D
Shady314 06-20-07, 05:15 PM	Gum that doesn't lose flavor.
Rechan 06-20-07, 07:02 PM	Gum that doesn't lose flavor. MADNESS! I do think that the Conveyer belt would be a huge hit in industrial areas where they want to feed their workers cheaply. Imagine that, foundries providing free food for their workers. Granted, the lines would be jinormous, but it would certainly suit. I say we avoid Refrigoration all together and go one step further: stasis. Basically "Whatever you put in this box stops aging entirely." I would expect such magical items had been created to transport and store delicate spell components ("You need basilisk eyes and hag gal bladder intact!?). This would also help with produce, as anyone who has bought bananas know that those suckers turn brown in like, three days - having them in stasis until you're in the rare mood for a banana would be nice. Also an important issue is what goes into the food. Large scale pesticides likely aren't that much of an option. But with magic, you could create a spell that's pretty much a small-scale vermin bane, or a repellent. Or it would be really easy to just summon or control predators that eat those pests. We have magebred animals in this setting - how about magegrown food? Crops that can be grown year round, handle drought or flood, or repel pests itself. And then there's the matter of food that does more than simply make you not starved - magegrown food might last you all day for energy and/or hunger needs. Imagine one meal a day sustaining your body without complaint. Naturally, magegrown foods would have the same concerns that genetically altered foods have today - what effect they would have on the consumer. I also wonder if there would be any benefit in looking into intelligent plants - though I have the feeling that nothing good would come of that. It wouldn't surprise me if a Guild started springing up. Where the Rainmaker guild is handled by Lyander, some non-Dragonmarked organization of druids and mages who handle crops and livestock, throwing the necessary spells across them - for a price. Though one thing I am interested in would be couisine and when it comes to monsters. For instance, could any sort of Ooze be edible?
Fabius Maximus 06-20-07, 08:22 PM	There was a thread about converting real world recipes on the boards. Sadly, I lost my link.
DragoonDarkfire 06-20-07, 08:36 PM	You could do a whole adventure about a Galladra halfling with a sweet tooth who makes a candy factory and starts a contest with Golden Tickets.
Symar 06-20-07, 10:43 PM	But, what would be the Oompa-Loompas if Willy is already a halfling?
Revvecor 06-20-07, 10:45 PM	But, what would be the Oompa-Loompas if Willy is already a halfling? Awakened pumpkin bards?
DragoonDarkfire 06-20-07, 11:15 PM	But, what would be the Oompa-Loompas if Willy is already a halfling? Kenders.
Rechan 06-20-07, 11:28 PM	Kenders. Bite your tongue, sir. The answer is simple: Kobolds. They're all ready orange.
Shady314 06-21-07, 04:17 AM	MADNESS! Oh yes! Definitely a creation of a Daelkyr inspired wizard but quite possible with prestidigitation. I say we avoid Refrigoration all together and go one step further: stasis. But refrigeration just requires some sort of permanent ray of frost effect. Stasis is too high a level to be mass produced. We have magebred animals in this setting I like it. Magebred ladybugs to handle pests! I also wonder if there would be any benefit in looking into intelligent plants - though I have the feeling that nothing good would come of that. Hello Little Shop of Horrors campaign! Hells yeah. Though one thing I am interested in would be couisine and when it comes to monsters. For instance, could any sort of Ooze be edible? I hear Hobgoblin with the right spice is delicious. And Minotaurs make the absolute greatest burgers. Oompa Loompas? Some sort of Daelkyr abomination.
Lanodantheon 06-24-07, 06:46 PM	Oompas Lumpas in Eberron? No Cookiee for any of you! Oozes would not be a good food choice, their too acidic. Maybe the remains of a Living Cure Light Wounds, maybe and it would be rare. Ghallandra may cook the food, but Vadlis raises the food. Magebred animals stand as an analog to genetically engineered farm animals of today. Magebred Chickens are for producing more and bigger eggs. However, using magebred meats would be only the stuff of specific kinds of cuisine that don't have qualms about magic. Magebred plants are the next step in magical evolution. You could make a Shambling mound into a walking crop. You could include Assassin Vines as defensive measures. It would be also cool to have Magebred vermin, allowing for Magebred silk and for really smart spiders and giant ants. Cuisine I could see not only correctly spelled but also as the ultimate masterpieces of Ghallandra. No magical flavorings and the chef has to get up on the table to carve the Turkey. I could see a divide in chefs between using magic in cooking and chefs who want no magic influence at all. Although some chefs would never touch a magebred animal out of sheer expense, those that did would get otherwise impossible tenderness. Imagine the taste of Magebred Coq au Vin. As far as monsters in food go, I still like the sound of T-Rex Steak. The first choice for food after Animals would be Dire Animals, Plants, Magical Beasts, followed by less intelligent Dragons like Dragon Turtles, psuedodragons and Wyverns in some nations. Aberrations are too weird to look at let alone eat, elementals don't have the substance and it would be illegal probably to eat anything intelligent enough to have a language. Imagine: A massive platter is laid before you. "Oh, Squid!" You say as you dig in. Before you take your first bite you hear in the back of your head, "I'm not dead...." "I'm getting better...." Smack The halfling cook hits the squids head. Dire Animals: 50 ft Cow. Bigger animals allow for bigger portions. Magical Beasts: Behirs would be interesting cuisine because they are large portioned at 4,000lbs. a beast. The appeal of Behirs and SHocker Lizards is that they would shock you at every bite. Ghallandra wuld cook Blink Dogs the same way you can get steamed duck under a Donald Duck logo at Hong Kong Disneyland. Bulettes you would cook in their shell and you'd have to pump their stomach. Chimeras, Sea Cats and Manticores would have unique texture and would probably be raised as food. Cockatrices are giant chickens, but they have to be drained of venom first. Displacer beasts would be a tough catch, but they would have tender meat(look at how skinny they are in the illustrations). The Gray Render's description paint them as giant cows and they would have lots of connective tissues. They'd be good eats. Griffons would be steak that tastes like chicken. The Kraken would be grown in vats and would make good seafood if you controlled its growth. Krenhars have unique skin and would be good for something, I'm not sure what. Cooking a Purple work is like cooking a snake that weighs 40,000 pounds. Take about portions. Remorhaz's would be used with magic so that it's Heat ability would be used to cook it from the inside out. That's all I have for right now. Enjoy the Treant Salad in game before the Gatekeeprs kill you. :D