The Omnomnomicon (3.5 Food System)

[unosarta]

True enough, I could see exotic butchers in D&D running shops, or monstermeat restaurants. I'm going to have to include prices for dishes and ingredients...

That was what I was thinking. It could provide interesting character concepts, and also plot hooks for the DM. "Go find this certain rare ingredient, and I will reward you handsomely!"

Or something like that.

Ranks is a pretty good idea, I was going for something akin to spell levels.

Yeah, it just seemed better to base it on skill ranks if you are going to have it be a skill based system. Otherwise, the format looks good!

[Admiral Squish]

That was what I was thinking. It could provide interesting character concepts, and also plot hooks for the DM. "Go find this certain rare ingredient, and I will reward you handsomely!"

Or something like that.


Yeah, it just seemed better to base it on skill ranks if you are going to have it be a skill based system. Otherwise, the format looks good!

Perhaps just a table that details prices for the ingredients at each 'level'?

Also makes interesting NPCs. The crazy Qu gourmand that runs the restaurant in town, the werewolf predator that's been terrorizing the countryside...

True 'nuff.

[unosarta]

Perhaps just a table that details prices for the ingredients at each 'level'?

Actually, if done right, this might be able to get rid of gold from monsters, especially those who wouldn't normally have it, like an Aboleth, or a nymph. After killing a monster, the players take all of the meat, and then bring it back to be sold. If they find any equipment, they keep it. This might add both realism and extra roleplaying opportunities. I like it.

Also makes interesting NPCs. The crazy Qu gourmand that runs the restaurant in town, the werewolf predator that's been terrorizing the countryside...

Exactly. Hm, now, thinking about the werewolf, maybe they, or one of the creatures, might gain a bonus as if they had eaten a 'Monster Meal', just from eating a human, or an elf or something? It would certainly be an interesting concept.

True 'nuff.

Yeah, I really like the format. Everything is easy to find, and clear. I think there is a reason why WotC based most of their formatting on the spell format.

[Admiral Squish]

Actually, if done right, this might be able to get rid of gold from monsters, especially those who wouldn't normally have it, like an Aboleth, or a nymph. After killing a monster, the players take all of the meat, and then bring it back to be sold. If they find any equipment, they keep it. This might add both realism and extra roleplaying opportunities. I like it.


Exactly. Hm, now, thinking about the werewolf, maybe they, or one of the creatures, might gain a bonus as if they had eaten a 'Monster Meal', just from eating a human, or an elf or something? It would certainly be an interesting concept.


Yeah, I really like the format. Everything is easy to find, and clear. I think there is a reason why WotC based most of their formatting on the spell format.

Well, it'd make more sense than a chimera carrying around sacks o' money in it's belly. Perhaps a monster hunter-esque economy?

IT'd prolly be more like a werewolf anthropophage, now that I think about it. Maybe a lizardfolk predator legendary NPC?

Yeah, it makes a lotta sense.

[unosarta]

Well, it'd make more sense than a chimera carrying around sacks o' money in it's belly. Perhaps a monster hunter-esque economy?

That would be interesting. But, unfortunately, it might also penalize those who wished to cook. If they wanted to give their group buffs, they would have to pay for them, probably out of their own pocket. Maybe giving the ability to those specialized in cooking to "sub" out one ingredient by use of another that is similar enough? Like, use squid or octopus instead of Aboleth? That might make it easier on their own wealth. Maybe only one per recipe, or only a certain number of times per day?

IT'd prolly be more like a werewolf anthropophage, now that I think about it. Maybe a lizardfolk predator legendary NPC?

That would be a fun monster.

[Admiral Squish]

That would be interesting. But, unfortunately, it might also penalize those who wished to cook. If they wanted to give their group buffs, they would have to pay for them, probably out of their own pocket. Maybe giving the ability to those specialized in cooking to "sub" out one ingredient by use of another that is similar enough? Like, use squid or octopus instead of Aboleth? That might make it easier on their own wealth. Maybe only one per recipe, or only a certain number of times per day?



That would be a fun monster.

Well, if someone else wants you to make them something, it would be expected for them to be the ones providing the meat. I think substitutions could be rather unpleasant from e mechanics standpoint. Besides, the most of the aboleth-dish's magic comes from the aboleth slime.

As for the rest of the problem, there are parts you can't cook. What are you gonna to with the steel-hard bones of a wyvern? Sell 'em.

[Draz74]

My last campaign did have a PC who cooked up the dead Hydra ... she rolled really high on her Craft (gourmet food) check, too. It was fun to see all the uses the party came up with for having some good smoked Hydra meat in their backpacks.

[unosarta]

Well, if someone else wants you to make them something, it would be expected for them to be the ones providing the meat. I think substitutions could be rather unpleasant from e mechanics standpoint. Besides, the most of the aboleth-dish's magic comes from the aboleth slime.

I suppose. I simply was thinking of not hosing the cook's player.

As for the rest of the problem, there are parts you can't cook. What are you gonna to with the steel-hard bones of a wyvern? Sell 'em.

Hm, OK, I guess I could see this working.

Actually, now that I think of it, does each monster have its own weight listed? Because that might be a priority, in order to actually make this a playable variant. Like, say, 3/4's of a rare monster will be sellable (The organs and bones and such), and 1/4 will be meat, and muscle tissue. This way, the cook will get the meat, and still be able to receive his pay. Thusly, we (Since I am really excited about this ) need to make sure that it works for each monster, seeing as a dragons "parts" are going to sell for far more than, say, a giant bat. Maybe have it based on type and subtype? So a dragon might have 1000 GP/pound of parts, whereas an animal would have about 50 GP/pound. Then, the pounds of parts would be from the size of each creature. Just an idea.

[Admiral Squish]

Well, MOST monsters have listed weights, but the biggest problem I'm seeing with your system is that size is not always proportional to power. A 20th level necromancer would provide a TINY fragment of wealth, meat-wise.

[unosarta]

Well, MOST monsters have listed weights, but the biggest problem I'm seeing with your system is that size is not always proportional to power. A 20th level necromancer would provide a TINY fragment of wealth, meat-wise.

Hm. Maybe have it based on HD instead of size? But I still think it works with the type, because some types will just be inherently more magical than others. Like, an adult dragon will still probably bring in more than that Necromancer. Also, the Necromancer is a bad example because he or she would likely keep some cash somewhere, and because after death, magical ability doesn't become infused into the bones and meat of a creature, it is only there if it is inherent, or so is my thinking. Actually, though, HD might work. Unfortunately, it would be next to impossible to have it be correct or anything if a creature has a large number of HD and is small, so you are suddenly able to extract 100 pounds of spell tissue from them?

Maybe something like this:

HD: % of spell tissue, out of 30. So, a monster with 10 HD has 33% spell tissue. Caps at 75%.

Size: Amount of tissues total; depends slightly on monster.

Type: How much the spell tissue is worth.

There is always 25% of the monster that is meat and non-spell tissues that can be used for cooking.

{table=head]Type|Spell Tissue Worth per Pound

Aberration|200 GP

Animal|20 GP

Construct|100 GP

Dragon|1000 GP

Elemental|300 GP

Fey|200 GP

Giant|150 GP

Humanoid*|40 GP

Magical Beast|200 GP

Monstrous Humanoid*|50 GP

Ooze|100 GP

Outsider|500 GP

Plant|200 GP

Undead|80 GP

Vermin|10 GP[/table]

*Doubled if they can use spells.

With the actual prices varying, these just as outlines.

[Edit]: Hm, the percentage based HD isn't appearing all that sound (Like at first level. But of course, at first level, the adventurers might just be fighting humanoids, which would make sense, in a way). How might it work, so as to still make sense?

[AtlanteanTroll]

Can't wait for jello made from an Ooze type monster.

[Admiral Squish]

Can't wait for jello made from an Ooze type monster.

It's on the list, mate. Black pudding cups, gelatinous cubes...

[hamishspence]

Black pudding sausages?

[unosarta]

It's on the list, mate. Black pudding cups, gelatinous cubes...

That is pretty epic. Also; Buffalo Wings?

[Admiral Squish]

As to the meat economy, I think it would just be so much simpler to just say that instead of piles o' gold in monsters bellies, you just sell off the meat and parts for the same profit.

[hamishspence]

That is pretty epic. Also; Buffalo Wings?

Belkar mentions this in Where The Buffalo Wings Roam.

[Admiral Squish]

That is pretty epic. Also; Buffalo Wings?

There's a winged template in Savage Species, you know.

[unosarta]

Belkar mentions this in Where The Buffalo Wings Roam.

Wow... I love the Giant. Anyway, I still think that should be a dish. Maybe a bonus to charge attacks, and a flight speed?


[Edit]:

There's a winged template in Savage Species, you know.

Yeah, but I can't really put a link in that, which sort of ruins the impact, in a way. But either way, I think it should be a dish.

[Admiral Squish]

It'd be two dishes. Spiced Wings and Sirloin.

[unosarta]

It'd be two dishes. Spiced Wings and Sirloin.

Sweet.

Also, what did you think of the figures I made on the table above? Too high, too low? How does the HD thing really work out?

Maybe I should change it to be HD/3*CR %? So, a Tarrasque would be 48/60, or 80%, which hits the cap of 75%, so he would be 75% spell tissue? How would that work?

Thinking about dragons:

{table=head]Age|Black|Blue|Green|Red|White|Brass|Bronze|Copper|Gold|Silver

Wyrmling|66.6%|75%|75%|75%|75%|||||

Very Young|75%|75%|75%|75%|75%|||||

Young|75%|75%|75%|71.42%|75%|||||

Juvenile|71.4%|70.83%|66.66%|60%|75%|||||

Young Adult|66.6%|60.6%|57.57%|53.846%|70.83%|||||

Adult|63.63%|54.76%|56.41|53.33%|66.66%|||||

Mature Adult|57.14%|54.16%|52.083%|50%|63.88%|||||

Old|56.25%|53.7%|51.85%|50%|57.77%|||||

Very Old|55.55%|56.14%|54.38%|52.39%|56.86%|||||

Ancient|57.89%|55.5%|53.96%|52.17%|59.25%|||||

Wyrm|60%|55.07%|56.06%|54.16%|61.4%|||||

Great Wyrm|57.57%|53.33%|54.16%|52.56%|58.73%|||||[/table]

I will probably finish the Prismatic Dragon part of the table later. Still, it seems to be in order, and it does explain why dragons might feel protective of their young (with more magical power, they are easier to kill, but also haven't had the magic seep out of them, meaning they have a higher percentage of magical tissues).

This is just a thought process, by the way.

[Admiral Squish]

Did a quick check on the formula. Ahnkeg (HD 3, CR 3). I end up with ~10% spellmeat, which translates to about 80 pounds of spellmeat at 200 GP/pound. 16000 GP total. Split four ways, 4000 a peice. Treasure tables says they should get ~900 GP for this battle.

[unosarta]

Did a quick check on the formula. Ahnkeg (HD 3, CR 3). I end up with ~10% spellmeat, which translates to about 80 pounds of spellmeat at 200 GP/pound. 16000 GP total. Split four ways, 4000 a peice. Treasure tables says they should get ~900 GP for this battle.

So, magical beasts should get about 11.25 GP per pound then?

Hm. Having thought about this, it just sort of seems needlessly complicated. If you do it where it covers every single type, then some creatures are going to be overpriced, or under priced. If you do it on a creature by creature basis, then it is far, far too much work. I am not sure if there is a happy medium.

I tried it out on several of the hydra, and it only seems to work if the CR is really close to the HD, like for how Hydra's are. I am going to try on some other magical beasts.

[Edit]: For the Tarrasque, a party of four would get 2,193,750 GP.

This needs adjustment.

[Edit2]: Now I am just confused. For higher weight creatures (Like the Tarrasque), the numbers get wonky. For the lower weight creatures, the numbers are almost always close. This is confusing. Maybe add some effective weight with increased CR?

[Edit3]: Having tried it out on multiple creatures, I think I have come to a conclusion. We need to have an "effective" weight for each CR. Otherwise, the numbers get really weird. So; what should the effective weight be?

[Admiral Squish]

You know...

As to the meat economy, I think it would just be so much simpler to just say that instead of piles o' gold in monsters bellies, you just sell off the meat and parts for the same profit.

[unosarta]

You know...

Oops, didn't see that.
*Feels foolish.*

Maybe replace the gold and treasure (non-magical items) that a monster would normally have with an equivalent amount of normal and spell tissue. So now, there is the dilemma; how much does each cost per pound?

[Admiral Squish]

Just say that the valuable meat-parts of each animal are equivalent to the normal non-gear items. That way, we can leave the DM to determining what is so valuable and all that. Ahnkeg livers or something. Maybe make the base values 75% normal, then allow knowledge checks to increase the value up to a max of 125%.

[unosarta]

Just say that the valuable meat-parts of each animal are equivalent to the normal non-gear items. That way, we can leave the DM to determining what is so valuable and all that. Ahnkeg livers or something. Maybe make the base values 75% normal, then allow knowledge checks to increase the value up to a max of 125%.

Hm, that is certainly an interesting way to do it. I like the knowledge checks, but I am not sure exactly how it would work. By type, I assume? What knowledge skills apply to Constructs, Giants, Humanoids, Monstrous Humanoids, Magical Beasts, Dragons, Aberrations, or Oozes? I assume Knowledge (The Planes) gets you Outsiders and Elementals (being from the respective elemental planes, of course). Knowledge (Nature) could apply to Animals, Vermin, Plants and Fey (Maybe magical beasts... maybe). Knowledge (Religion) could be for undead.

Of course this gives a lot of importance to Knowledge (the Planes), and Knowledge (Nature), which are not altogether useless skills already.

[Admiral Squish]

Observe, Knowledge.

[deuxhero]

The title is awesome.

[unosarta]

Observe, Knowledge.

OK, so table time! (I just really like making tables, OK?)

{table=head]Type|Knowledge Skill

Aberration|Dungeoneering

Animal|Nature

Construct|Arcana

Dragon|Arcana

Elemental|the Planes

Fey|Nature

Giant|Nature

Humanoid|Local

Magical Beast|Arcana

Monstrous Humanoid|Nature

Ooze|Dungeoneering

Outsider|the Planes

Plant|Nature

Undead|Religion

Vermin|Nature[/table]

Nature still appears to have a huge advantage.

Also; I have no idea why this isn't anywhere else in the Knowledge section. You would think that it would be obviously helpful as a reference.

[Admiral Squish]

Revised format:

Spoiler

Show

Sizzling Wings
Minimum Ranks: 7
Cut: Shoulder
Servings: 2
Cook DC: 20
Augment: Yes
Ingredient Creatures: Chimera, Dragonne, Dragon (True), Half-Dragon (Large or larger), Manticore, Spider Eater, Wyvern, Yrthak

The shoulder and wing of a draconic being, this dish is served with hot spices inspired by flavors drawn from draconic fundementia. The eater gains a large pair of draconic wings.

At it's basic level, this dish provides those who eat it with a +10 bonus to jump checks and the ability to glide, allowing them to negate damage from a fall of any height, and allowing 20 feet of forward travel for every 5 feet of descent. The eater glides at a speed of 30 feet with (average) maneuverability.

Augment:
If you beat the cooking DC by five, the eater can fly at a speed of 30 feet for a number of consecutive rounds equal to their constitution score. The eater can still glide between rounds of full flight. The eater cannot fly for a number of rounds equal to the rounds spent flying before he may fly again.
If you beat the cooking DC by ten, the eater can fly without tiring.