#drow cuisine

[luthierscurse]

Drow Cuisine - Black Sporebread.

[y-rhywbeth2]

Elven 'Physiology' and Quirks

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index[tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. There's a lot of lore; I don't know everything. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest]

Physiology and quirks | Names & Clans and Houses || Pan-Cultural things: Social life | Time and Age Categories | Homes | Language | Art | Entertainment | Technology || Elven 'Subraces' still a wip || Philosophy and Religion & Pantheons || Half-elves | [WIP]

In my continued desire to procrastinate on reading two novels and cross-referencing about three sourcebooks for drow culture, I met myself in the middle and did this instead.

Also I really need to rehaul some of the lore compilations...

Unlike elves of other worlds, the Tel'Quessir – except drow – are as tall as humans, but finer boned and typically narrower in build – except for aquatic elves. An elf weighs less than a human of the same build and height, which appears to be something to do with their bone density, as elven bones (especially winged elves’) are light (though ‘surprisingly sturdy’). Their fingertips taper, and their hands and fingers are longer than a humans… although I still think saying they’re 50% longer (palm and fingers) is a bit much.

Elves are noted for their androgyny, which goes both ways; there's not much difference in the skeletal structure and elven women are noted by humans for their narrow hips, which led to a comment that it must make childbirth agonising in comparison.

Elves are also noted for their distinctive 'dance-like' motions while walking due to walking on their toes and the balls of their feet: 'Most seemed to have a lilt and swing, like dancers. Ah, that was it—none strode flat-footed; even the tallest and most hurried of the citizenry danced forward on their toes.' - Elminster in Myth Drannor

They don't grow much in the way of body hair - they appear hairless, with the only visible hair on their eyebrows and scalp. Elves unused to mixed company find non-elves disturbingly hirsute.

The shape of their facial features, regardless of ‘subrace,’ are as varied as humans. The only rules of thumb are about their eyes and ears:

Elven ears are always pointy – but can vary greatly in shape and length otherwise. They’re somewhat prehensile; elven children can move their ears, but generally this ability is lost with maturation. Maintaining it seems to be a genetic quirk. Whether the shape or whatever, elves have sharp hearing.

Elven eyes are larger in proportion to their face and spaced a little further apart than human eyes, slightly slanted in a manner that gives them a wider field of vision and more acute vision in general.

If you're using recent editions then elves can see in very low light conditions (able to see perfectly clearly by starlight alone). Drow can see in perfect darkness.

If you want to go by older editions you're looking at infravision: elves, like other beings that can 'see' in the darkness, were able to change their sight to the infrared spectrum, perceiving heat signatures. Drow vision was further ranged and more acute than surface elves'.

Elves aren't diurnal, and have no particular circadian rhythm, they just get four hours in whenever and communities are have a consistent level of full activity all day and night.

The elven olfactory senses are much sharper, as is their sense of taste. Drow raised in the Underdark have a sense of smell on par with humans, due to overexposure to incense and other strong fragrances used in ritual and covering up the fact that living crowded together in caves doesn't always spell great. Elves are picky eaters, both due to taste and texture, deriding non-elven cuisine as ‘over-spiced animal flesh and other abominable foods.’

Elves are biologically wired for music somehow, able to recall melodies flawlessly and engage in music theory , 'the elven faculty for music is uncanny in comparison to most other races,' which they credit to the divine influence of the Seldarine.

While this doesn't always come up in the rules, elves are immune to the paralytic effects of ghouls, due to an incident involving either Corellon Larethian or Lolth, and the ghoul deity Doresain, who in the version of his backstory given for the Realms was a green elf back in -11,200 DR whose recent ancestors were of the nation of Eiellûr and betrayed their people to the dark elven empire of Ilythiir. A rather brutal bastard and slaver who eventually killed and ate the raw flesh of the ruling family of the last surviving green elven nation of Southern Faerûn as part of a pact with the demon lord of the undead, Orcus for eternal life. When Doresain later fell in combat during one of the many skirmishes of the Crown Wars, Orcus brought him back as a unique undead horror and King of the Ghouls and Orcus’ proxy on Toril (so that Orcus could focus on important matters in the Abyss). Doresain eventually became trapped in the Abyss, trapped in service to Yeenoghu when Orcus ignored his pleas to save him (despite his ‘domain’ Orcus despises the undead). Most Torilian sages claim that Lolth intervened and freed him, bringing Doresain back to Toril in exchange for imbuing the drow with immunity to his children and swearing that ghouls would never attack them, which indirectly affected all elves (except for the ‘not attacking’). Others claim he prayed to the gods of his living years, the Seldarine, and they took pity on him in exchange for the same service.

The Seldarine are always depicted as genderfluid or agender – if depicted in art in humanoid form they are shown with two bodies as afab and amab, or possessing both characteristics in a single form. Occasionally a mortal elf is also born who takes after the gods; marked by their androgyny (by elven standards) and the ability to alter their sex characteristics at will, these elves are considered blessed by Corellon and closer to the gods by many elven cultures. They haven’t been given an official word, but the elven word for ‘Blessings of Corellon’ on Toril is ‘Cormiira.’ According to the most popular take on the elven creation myth, the People are born of Corellon’s blood (and possibly Sehanine’s tears as she wept at seeing him gravely wounded), which many elves attribute this as evidence for. The Tel’Quessir do have several other creation myths however.

Elves have an innate connection to the Weave, which is why they're 'the wizard race' and something to do with their connection to the world. Elves are more likely to have the innate ability required to become arcane spellcasters, and some say the Weave is what gives them their lifespans.

Going into purely non-published realmslore from word of god:

The elven gestation period takes two years (this I’m pretty sure is in published DnD somewhere?) Elves tend to avoid being pregnant unless they actively want to and have generally mastered the art of not being pregnant, the threat of being side-lined by shorter lived peoples who have more children and faster be buggered.

The elven diet primarily consists of raw plant matter and fish. The elven digestive system can handle vegetation that others’ cant. They can eat meat, and many do – especially those who grow up around humans, who have developed a tolerance that makes it easier for them to digest – but it’s not a ‘natural’ part of their diet nor does it play a large role. Apparently drinking small quantities animal blood is a reasonably common enough way to consume land animals (I’m not clear on whether this is in the form of soups or beverages).

Elves are severely allergic to cannabis and can't use it, though they have found unspecified alternatives.

While getting it is unpleasant, they are only inconvenienced by bubonic plague and its not considered a dangerous disease.

Elves also draw energy from the sunlight, which bolsters their metabolism, allowing them to eat less and possibly playing a part in their ability to digest previously mentioned plant matter. Access to fresh water (not just drinking it) also plays a part in their overall health. Somehow. Dark elves in the Underdark have adapted over the centuries (or maybe from the High Magic ritual that binds them to it) to draw from the faerzress radiation.

Elven vocal chords can reach pitches higher than humans can reach, and there's a gene that can allow the elf to produce two notes at the same time, which with training allows them to sort-of say two things at once (a 'ghost' vocalisation beneath the spoken words). This is described as 'genetic but not racial' so I assume it can pass to half-elves and any non-elven descendants through them.

---

Reverie/'Eedqa':

Elves do not sleep, unless something has gone wrong (injury, illness, exhaustion). They also can’t be forced to sleep, and are immune to magic that would do so (but not to being whacked over the back of the head and knocked out with something heavy).

- Elves enter a state called the Reverie (or just reverie) in Common, and ‘eedqa’ in Elven. The elf finds a quiet place to relax, gradually tuning out the world and slipping into a trance-like state where they re-experience their lived memories, occasionally interspersed with memories from past lives and visions from the gods – which will be vague and puzzling and probably require a priest to decode, the Lady of Mysteries did not earn that nickname for nothing. - They are somewhat aware of their surroundings in reverie, but pulling themselves back out of their mind is disorienting and waking early is extremely disorienting, much like waking any sleeping individual. Physically, they are immobile, not necessarily lying in a normal sleeping position (sitting or reclining is the norm), their breathing slows into a torpor and their eyes remain open and unfocused, which has occasionally caused panic in acquaintances who’ve never witnessed reverie before and think the elf has died (elves in turn are known to find the 'heaviness' of sleep disturbing to behold).

The only elves who deliberately sleep are priests of Sehanine Moonbow, who occasionally enter the deeper state of unconsciousness to communicate with their goddess, and the majority of drow (whose struggles to achieve reverie have been credited to the Underdark 'fragmenting' their natural instincts, and their inability to relax enough to enter the state).

Elves experience their first reverie in the womb, as pregnancy forges a temporary Rapport between parent and developing foetus where the offspring experiences the parent’s life and learns of their family and culture through them (how much the child can learn varies by parent; quality of education not guaranteed). Young children, lacking experiences of their own, are more likely to experience memories of previous lives unless they share in the reveries of other elves. The occurrence of the first ‘current life’ reverie is a life milestone and typically marks the end of childhood.

It’s very taboo amongst elves to interrupt another elf’s reverie.

-

Communion and Aleirin:

'Elves who lived even in reasonably close contact were so connected to each other through the Reverie and the Weave that they shared at least some shadow of each other’s emotional experiences.'

Elves have something of telepathic abilities, such as the ability to sense their own kind, a ‘sense of welcome,’ ‘warmth’ and ‘safety,’ although this can be obscured. This extends to the ability to enter each others minds and share thoughts, emotions and memory. Although that’s not to say that elves are living in each others heads, nor that they can (or are willing to) do it simply or constantly.

The state of ‘mind melding’ is communion, which is accomplished by sharing reverie while in physical contact (holding hands or pressing palms together, usually). The elven term for communion is apparently quor, however I can’t say for certain that applies to this mystical variety. Communing is credited with the sense of community elves experience, is an important part of elven religion, and they’re noted to anticipate sharing themselves with loved ones and struggle to understand non-elves due to their lack of ability to do so. However, it’s not a state entered into casually, as it requires deep trust and a willingness to be vulnerable with your entire being – you are exposing your every emotion and memory to another. Preparation may take weeks of mundane communication as the elves do away with any prejudices and air concerns to be resolved beforehand. It’s also physically and emotionally draining, and while in communal reverie the elves are entirely unaware of anything but each other and are vulnerable to surrounding hazards. Up to four elves may participate at once.

This awareness of each other lends elves an understanding that allows them to predict each others moods and actions acutely, and aids them to work in sync or borrow one anothers skills for a time (for example an elf who doesn’t know how to speak a certain language may temporarily ‘know’ after borrowing the knowledge from another elf.) Extended use of communion may cause loss of individuality however, as the elves begin to blend into each other.

Elves who isolate themselves from their people - whether this is by their own bitterness, malice, scheming, etc, or if the source is due to external magical affects like the Shadow Weave digging out these emotions (which; Shar, that’s what she does) - lose the ability to reverie and the ability to commune with it. Other elves cannot sense them, describing them as feeling ‘asleep.’

Drow may or may not be capable. They are capable of reverie, which would indicate that they can, they just don't know they can, or plain don't (Lolth would firmly discourage it with torture and death regardless).

Some elves, when they trust each other implicitly, may chose to make the link more permanent – a communion that never ends, in a form called Rapport or aleirin, or aleiryid if the nature of their relationship is romantic. The bonding is permanent, and can usually only be made a single time. Those born of multiple births like twins have rapport with their siblings, but outside of this it’s still uncommon for an elf to make this level of commitment and most are happier with normal, less co-dependent relationships (especially because, if you want to bring in the Complete Book of Elves, the shock of one partner dying can kill the other). A rapport can be made with non-elves, a ranger could even choose to establish one with their animal companion, but such bonds are so rare as to be practically unheard of.

The ability to commune has been attributed to a gland in the elven brain, which produces a magic that veils their minds. At rest it forms a shield that isolates them (and some scholars believe this is where the elven resistance to enchantment magic comes from), but they can lift it or expand it to bring other elven minds in.

The elven resistance to enchantment spells has also been credited to elven culture itself, since magic saturates their world so heavily elves grow up exposed to a constant background radiation of enchantment magic, for lack of a better word, and build up a tolerance. Others have said it’s the elves fey ancestry.

--

Souls/'Ues':

Like most sapient beings who are not humans – or mostly/half-human (excluding half-orcs) dwarves, gnomes or halflings – elven souls, ‘ues’ in elven, are somewhat different to the norm. sometimes differentiated in lore by calling them ‘spirits,’ and do not stay permanently in the afterlife, instead residing in the outer planes for a time (varying from days to millennia) before reincarnating back on the Prime Material Plane. While 5e claims drow are locked out of the cycle, the original lore included drow, and suggested that elves who decide to be evil little bastards in life and bar themselves from Arvandor will find themselves reincarnated as drow (vice versa: a drow who rejects Lolth is unlikely to find themselves reborn in her clutches).

(Elves do not have access to DnD sourcebooks and do not have any concrete idea of this kind of thing, so elven religion and philosophy varies heavily and may or may not reflect these things. Some elves don’t even believe in reincarnation.)

Another traditional side effect was that raise dead didn’t work on elves, only resurrection. Space was made for DMs to hand-waive this if it was getting in the way (because it makes elves expensive to have in the party), and the rule seems to have been officially side-lined for convenience by this point.

--

Ageing:

How elves age has varied by edition and writer. Sometimes they're human aging, sometimes a bit slower, sometimes much, much slower.

In most sources, including 5e core, an elf matures at the same rate, physically and psychologically, as a human, later developing into elven psychological stages as the centuries pass and they outlive the human experience.

It's also been said that Torilian elves are physically mature at 25.

In older editions, including realms sources, elves could age slower, taking between 30-60 years to hit puberty (which lasts another 50-85 years). Psychologically, non-elves are known to find elven youths to be rather mature for their age (due to longer lives and communing with the adults in their lives), though they’re still inexperienced by elven standards and hormonal. Elven children are left to pursue their ever shifting curiosity, instincts and impulses which means they generally don’t master any skills and end up about level with any other race by early adulthood. Drow have the fastest rates of maturation, Gold elves the slowest. Wheras in humans afab are known to hit puberty first on average, elves mature at the same average speed regardless.

Elves also have a mystical land-connection thing and are noted to be shaped by their environments, and it has been said of the latter version of ageing that elves may mature faster outside of the slow pace of elven cultures, particularly in dangerous and stressful situations where they need to grow fast.

Bizarrely, and I’m assuming this is a typo, it seems that the process of elven puberty is a bit like getting steroids because they get strength and dexterity bonuses. Or maybe elven teens are just stronger and more agile than their human counterparts, which is probably more likely if it isn't a typo.

[sorcerous-caress]

Worldbuilding and human kink? Is it my birthday /lh. This has me googling “halfling sex” and being a little surprise someone has thought about it enough to write a generously large paragraph.

Apparently it’s not uncommon for them to have more casual sex with close neighbors and friends indulging in it together. I genuinely think it would be hilarious for a halfling with a human, elf, drow, orc, dwarf, etc (the more uptight races) friend/neighbor to ‘seduce’ and then being very friendly and kind, but not exclusive or even inherently romantic.

Halflings 🤝 Humans

Being horny on main.

Oh my god imagine a poly relationship that's a human who thinks this is a casual friends with benfits deal, a halfing who thinks everyone here is just friends, and one high elf who acts as if they're robbing a bank whenever they watch the human go down on the halfing.

Add a dragonborn who is sweating over which one of those people is gonna end up as their mate for life, who isn't phased by the sex but it's the romance part that's considered a big taboo in their culture to even date someone for love, so imagine seeing more tha one person?

High elves being sex repressed 🤝 Dragonborns being romance repressed

Also I really love world building AAAAA i wanna invent shit and make shit up and shake it around like a snow globe. I believe elves went to the moon much sooner than humans with just magic, dwarves have found fallen space rocks and meteors and used them to forge their weapons, winged elves or any species who can fly already mapped the world and drew all the know maps before humans even learned how to tame horses.

Also the horses is funny, elves has seen them all their lives but never bothered to tame it because it feels weird yk? Why would they ride on an animal, plus their cousin is a centaur so it feels even more weird.

Then they see the humans coaxing the horses with carrots while holding a saddle behind their back, skip a few years and suddenly the horse population skyrockects as humans steal this one animal to their side.

Imagine being a wood elf and in harmony with all of nature, then glancing over at the human city and feeling very confused on what these weird wolves are and why do the humans call them dogs, also why are they obeying the humans and holy shit that one is wearing bowtie.

Occasionally humans just wander into the forest, spot an animal that seems semi useful then kidnap it back to their city, suddenly their population spikes and they're the new best friends of humanity.

It happened the other way with cats tho, the wood elves remember overhearing two cats talking about the hairless apes wandering around and how one was betting the other that they can get them to share their food by just screaming at them.

Humans probably inspired their cuisine based on halflings' recipes since they didn't add soul consuming spices for fun like elves and didn't sprinkle in literal gem and gold dust like dragonborns.

A human with a Halfling neighbour who comes over every other day to share their stew because "they accidentally made too much and can't possibly finish it all themselves so how about you grab a bowl or two, human?"

One day the human makes a joke about how they're a simp or going to horny jail, whatever modern shitposting meme is trending, and the halfling takes it seriously and offers to sleep with them.

I mean, that is basic neighbourly hospitality to them. Of course they will fuck their friend who is in need, you don't even have to ask twice, come here and lay down and they'll take care of you until satisfied.

Now their trips over to your house are twice as frequent, half to feed you their cooking, other half to sate your lust appetite.

[whitegoldtower]

Felt cute so here’s a face reveal of the dude behind all the horny elfposting and unhinged oc lore dumps✌🏻

About me! 🧝🏻‍♂️🕷️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

I’m Afallach. I’m just a little guy. Literally. I’m 5’3. I’m an illustrator, a poet, a writer and something of a musician when I can be bothered. I’m a Welsh druid, and I have a pretty thick accent - although well spoken, if I do say so myself - and I’m a proud Horatian.

Bisexual as fuck, in other words.

My favourite colour is purple, I love folklore, I’ve got a great relationship with the spiders in my house and if I were plopped into a fantasy setting, I’d like to consider myself a dark elf / drow / dunmer. The most stereotypically Welsh thing about me is that I love being underground. Probably for the best, because I’m very sensitive to light (although love to sunbathe, go figure. The heat is my friend). I look like this on a near daily basis: 🌑👄🌑

I have a penchant for jumping into mountain lakes and wriggling through cave systems whenever the opportunities present themselves, and would consider myself pretty adept at rock-climbing. I used to be a swimmer and a gymnast.

Food-wise, I’ll eat just about anything (I’m not nicknamed ‘the bin’ for nothing), though my favourite cuisines are Greek, North-West/West African, Thai and Middle Eastern. I like my wine like I like my men (and women); bold, aged and fruity.

I definitely have a type, as anyone who follows me / has been following me will know all too well, and I have no reservations about being completely batshit about them.

My favourite games are Skyrim, Baldur’s Gate III and The Witcher, though I’m slowly getting into Dragon Age (it’s all Zevran, Josephine and Dorian’s fault), and I’ve been wanting to shove my head into Morrowind for the past five years because there’s nothing I love more than eating a house of lore brick by brick. One day, I will force myself to play Oblivion, Daggerfall and Arena and I will enjoy them once I hard-launch myself into playing them because that’s just the way it works.

I also just really love dnd but have nobody to play with. I regrettably don’t have many friends, irl or online. Someone please play little games with me. Please. I don’t even mind dming because I like to craft stories and take GREAT pleasure in engaging in a battle of riddles. I’m like Gollum in that one scene, hopping around on all fours watching you guess. (LOTR is another special interest and I’m aware that I’m a textbook nerd at this point)

I’m an autistic intersex ftm and I will fight a TERF with my bare hands. I have no qualms about throwing hands in the name of justice and bodily autonomy.

Anyway. I know I posted my work last time, but in case anyone new shows up, here’s my work again. 🤭

[that-spider-witch]

Elven cuisine Headcanons

High Elves:

Haute Cuisine, but make it 🍁𝓬𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓮🍁

...at least, that's how a lot of humans would describe it, for lack of better words.

Pretty-looking dishes that are served in small proportions. Anyone who is still hungry after a 'normal' ration can repeat: High elf families who invite people of other races for brunch tend to already be used to their guests asking for refills.

Mainly vegetarian: Lots of leaves, fruits, roots, seeds, flowers and even bark from edible trees, as well as fungi. If a plant is edible and can be harvested without risk, it will be in the menu.

That is not to say that high elves don't eat meat, though their idea of what's game and what's not can be very culturally different from another race or even another clan: Some high elves might abstain from eating deer or elk because they are seen as sacred in their clan, while some humans might find the idea of froghemoth terrine "disgusting".

Wood Elves:

Cuisine is a reflection of someone's culture, and with wood elves said culture is one of respect for nature. Veggies tend to be foraged rather than grown in a farm.

"Agriculture" and "wood elf" are words that are very rarely in the same sentence, and their food reflects that. Their traditional bread and other baked goods use wild grain instead of wheat.

When meat is consumed, it is based on whatever animals are necessarily hunted, and when that happens, no part of the animal is wasted: Offal and organ meat is cooked and eaten in a variety of ways, and bones are used for stock. If you are gonna eat an animal, then honor its sacrifice by using it all.

Wood elven dishes are the polar opposite of high elves': Little thought is given to a meal's visual presentation, what's important is to make it hearty and delicious.

Dark Elves:

Drow cuisine is one that was very much shaped by the Underdark and what few things are edible and easily harvested in such a hard place.

Mushrooms and edible fungi in general are prevalent: Mushroom stew, mushroom pie, mushroom bread, even mushroom wine! (That last one is canon!)

Some Underdark monsters are hunted for their meat. The Cave Fisher and the Darkmantle in particular are considered delicacies.

"Spider eater" is a derogatory slur sometimes used against dark elves. In truth, Lolth-sworn dark elves see eating spiders or killing spiders in general as highly blasphemous. It is the surface-born Seldarine drow population the ones to actually partake in the consumption of spider meat, and that's something they only started doing precisely to give Lolth the middle finger and then continued doing because, as it turns out, it is a good protein source that doesn't actually taste bad at all, thank you very much.

Surface drow cuisine is marked by a cultural need to replicate the flavors found in Underdark as best as possible using what's available to them. Expect a lot of spices, algae, shellfish, some bugs and, yes, lots and lots of mushrooms.

[hopelovesvideogames]

This is Octavia, my cleric of Eilistraee. She is Drow and is currently romancing Astarion. I am currently waiting to make a new playthrough for her since I've toyed with her personality and appearance a bit since I last played.

@bhaalbomb did these questions and while I was not tagged, I really wanted to just get my writing juices flowing about my sweet baby girl!

~Is your character good, evil, or neutral (makes some good decisions, some bad ones)?

She's a bit neutral. She makes more good than bad decisions, but she can be a bit of a vigilante. She definitely more inclined to do something good for someone who does the same back. She's been neglected a lot in life so she tries to make good out of bad situations. I will say though, piss her off and she will break you. Doesn't happen often though

~What hobbies do they partake in?

She loves reading and writing. She has a journal she writes in during the adventure. She's the one in the group that knows a remedy for every condition. Kind of nauseous? Try Ginger. Can't sleep? Try lemon balm. Had a rough fight and now you ache? Try white willow bark. After a while, Astarion teaches her how to sew after noticing all the rips in her clothes.

~Do they own any heirlooms from their family or ancestors?

She doesn't really own anything from her parents. She left her house in the Underdark when she was old enough after tolerating years of abuse from the matron mother, her grandmother. It isn't until after the events of the game that she finally tracks down her parents who were kicked out and shielded from finding her. It's there her mother and father give her a necklace with her birth stone that they had made for her but couldn't give to her.

~ Can your character cook?

Yes, and she'd pretty good at it. Definitely likes to try new things and helps Gale a lot with the cooking. The cuisine form the Underdark is definitely different though. Growing up she fended for herself, so she has plenty of recipes from her time where she had little and just threw things together and was pleasantly surprised.

~Does your character have a best friend?

Astarion. While they don't see eye to eye in the beginning, both start to notice how alike they are and how comfortable they feel around each other. It's a strange bond they share that begins to form into something more. Tav loves all. her companions in their own way, but she tends to stick around Astarion the most. Halsin is very close too though, but in more of a fatherly figure.

~Their biggest fear?

She is afraid of failing. She is constantly trying to help others. She is truly the backbone of the group. However, she is worried about letting them down. She tends to push herself really hard to make sure everything's okay, but there are definitely times she pushes herself too hard and the others have to reassure her to take care of herself too.

~Name one of their red flags

Tav has a wall she puts up and doesn't let down. She's been hurt before so it takes some time to truly get to know her. She's nice and polite, but never really reveals anything personal until she really trusts you, which can be a while. Her and Astarion are very similar with that, so they never really pry with each other since they know how they feel. It's a constant fear for her.

[quescon]

WIP LIST TAG GAME

Tagged by @redroomroaving, rip, my friend, you're really going through it

No pressure tagging @cactusmisslittle @acrowsrockcollection @mikuchan @m-for-musings @zoloteh-volossya @optiwashere @beesht (only if you want to) @ineadhyn @beyourlionheart and YOU, YES, YOU (again, only if you want to)

[steamclouds]

What was his favorite food as a kid?

Ohhh so drow cuisine is quite interesting, I imagine he always really liked rare sliced Deep Rothé meat, or different kinds of fried shellfish (he didn't have what you'd really call a balanced diet)

[relentlessgrief]

🌿 🌿 🌿

Katya... To what did Connor owe the pleasure?

The Crawling Spider of Waterdeep. This was an establishment that often had wonderful little alcoholic drinks in cauldrons and various spider shaped ware, some of it in dedication to Lolth. It was, interestingly, ran by the female drow, but she was friendly enough to all of those who stepped in. And wonderfully, she was kind to keep her people employed, as all waiters and waitresses were drow too. Any tension they might have held for each other beneath the surface is either under wraps or completely thrown to the wayside.

In here, there were plenty of small 'caverns' were available for individual couples who wanted a more ... intimate approach, in which, when Connor arrived, was quick to ask for one. He was here a few times with his former teammates, enjoying the visual cuisine more than the actual food itself on the account of being dead, but they did accommodate him with oysters, which were interestingly alive. Living flesh was living flesh.

As they were escorted to their little burrow where the both of them could enjoy some time with each other behind a cloth spiderweb curtain, Connor noticed it right above their heads after Katya went to sit down, and he was in the process of doing so.

Mistletoe.

The undead quickly leaned forwards towards her, giving her a gentle 'peck' on the cheek with his teeth before going to sit on the opposite side of the booth from her.

Just in time for the waitress, who showed up a little earlier, having watched the skeleton give her a loving and gentle kiss. She was doing her best to not smile while watching it, quietly endeared at the sight of them.

When they're both settled down, there's a gentle clearing of her throat.

"Heya. Welcome to The Crawling Spider. Can I start off with drinks for the two of ya?"

@silvertiefling

[bottombatch]

Ok so I went looking for spices specific to the underdark and-

A fermented, spicy paste for soups and stews reminds me SO much of gochujang. It's a korean condiment that is a fermented, spicy paste from chili peppers and it's also used in soups!!

Obviously drow culture is not particularly asian-coded but I can't fucking ignore it. If fire lichen is half as good as gochujang I just know drow cuisine kicks ass.

I am also now seeing some similarities between Minthara and my (korean) mom which is uh. Something.

[dailycharacteroption]

Roleplay Ramblings: Food part 4

(art by @kelbremduskart on Twitter)

 Species Differences

 We’ve talked about culture and location and how it affects how and what foods are made, but something we often assume with food is what is edible to us as humans. Hell, ask any veterinarian and you’ll likely hear dozens of stories about owners that assumed their pets could eat anything they could, and ended up feeding them something super unhealthy or outright toxic to them.

So, let’s take a moment to consider what the dietary needs of other playable ancestries might be, and how that effects their cuisine.

While you can probably assume that the so-called “demihuman” (such a terrible term) ancestries, such as dwarves, elves, halflings, and such has similar tolerances to humans, they might not. Perhaps dwarves are associated with alcohol because their tolerance for toxins is so much greater, which might extend to the spices they put in their food, including things that are outright poisonous or inedible to humans, for example.

Consider also that some species might completely lack the ability to taste or react to certain things. Most birds don’t react to capsasin at all, so peppers might not be used in a tengu’s diet at all, or alternatively, might instead be used as a filler item without realizing the effect it would have on another species that tries it.

Also consider that some species have different tolerances. Catfolk might have a mostly carnivorous diet with only some ruffage to round things out. Meanwhile, lizardfolk and goblins may be less picky about food that is going bad by our standards.

Consider also how a species’ taste would affect how they prepare food. In terms of preserves, they might focus on pickling, drying, or some other method depending on what appeals to them the most.

On the flipside of things, consider what a fantasy ancestry might not like in their food. Perhaps certain flavors that we love are intolerable to them, even for food that isn’t poisonous for them.

And of course, that leads into foods that are indeed toxic to them. Canine and feline species that can’t eat chocolate, others that can’t eat the berries or fruit of a certain tree, and such. Heck, subterranean folk like drow, some kobolds and dwarves might outright find plant matter inedible unless heavily softened by cooking and preparation, having lived off softer fungus and meats.

While this might close some doors in a people’s cuisine, consider how it might open others. For a real-world example, the Japanese Cherry, or Sakura, is poisonous to humans. However, it’s flowers and even leaves are not, and are used to give floral flavor to certain foods and snacks.

 As we can see, there’s a lot more nuance to be had when it comes to fantasy ancestries in a setting than “Oh, they’re a lizard so they must mostly eat meat.” Think hard about the needs of your fantasy peoples and you’ll find yourselves coming up with a menu of their cuisine in no time!

That will do for today, but tomorrow, the conclusion and final thoughts of this entry. See you then!

[kurczakmarty]

Sorry that you're not feeling good <3 Tell us about your Tav, Eliseris! She's ADORABLE. A Seldarine Drow that is faithful to Eilistraee (the hair braiding is PRECIOUS) - what class? What is her favourite taste? 👀

Hiii thank you so much 🥺 I’ll be better soon just feeling cranky I think haha.

And yesss! Eliseris is a wild magic sorceress! She’s faithful to Eilistraee, not to the level her clerics are but will pray every day and try to follow the most important part of her doctrine. (Like you mentioned the hair braiding, dancing whenever she catches a moment, sharing beauty and kindness.)

As for the taste! This is fuuun. I think she really loves light cuisine. Anything light and fruity, give her a juicy pear or some sweet grapes and she’s happy. Truthfully, the camp life and eating (most likely) stews and soups and game meat most nights was not her favorite. And she definitely has a sweet tooth 🧁.

Thank you so much for the fun questions!!!

[ophexis]

After days of travel, you finally arrive at the small town of Royal Mount, so named after the sacred hill resting at its center. Your contact asked you to meet them at the local inn, where they would impart delicious culinary secrets upon you.

You quickly notice a sign advertising a place called Tym Hort's inn. This must be the place. As you enter, a hooded figure wearing a strange billed hat waves at you. They lower their hood as you approach, looking up through shining glasses. "Greetings my friend! You may call me Phex. I believe you are here to discuss a most delicious topic, are you not?"

You find nothing odd about them, save for your inability to settle on any pronoun to refer to them. They regard you with an amused look despite their clear sleep deprivation and as they invite you to sit, they open a large grimoire, surely full of secrets each more delicious than the last...

The first dnd cookbook! Winner of the last poll!

This is a book I hadn't planned on getting initially. I watched misohungrie's review, and it seemed like a really nice book, but despite the fact that I've played in a few campaigns using dnd, I've never actually played in the Forgotten Realms settings (or any other of their settings) and always in homebrews. So I wasn't that yet interested in the lore or references.

And then I played Baldur's Gate 3.

So I now have this book, and it's one of my favorites of my collection lmao. I haven't gotten the second book yet but I intend to eventually!

The book separates its recipes by "cultures", basically most of the basic playable races in dnd. Uncommon has a mix of stuff, from dragonborn, gnomes, tieflings. And then drinks have their own chapter. Between each chapter there's also a nice menu reproduction for various inns, which I love.

I'm only really familiar with forgotten realms now that I've consumed the entire wiki for Baldur's Gate purposes and finetuning my oc's backstories lmao but there are references to many others, like Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Ravenloft and a few more. My good friends, who are much more powerful nerds than I am, gave me a brief summary of all of them so that was also pretty cool. There's also at least one obligatory Drizzt reference, which I have to mention bc I'm about to get into that shit to indulge in the drow obsession I could never have in high school.

ANYWAY.

The recipes are varied, and there are a LOT in there that interest me ngl. I've already cooked two! I've made Dwarven Flatbread (easy and delicious!) and Halfling Chili which I believe I've posted about before. It is also very delicious (I remade this week! I didn't post about it bc I'm supposed to be cooking something new lmao). It uses cocoa powder and cinnamon amongst others in the spices. And delicious bacon.

Human recipes have variety, are pretty hearthy and generally go for a "comforting" vibe, I would say. They go from hand pies to seafood bouillabaisse or ribs to candied apples! Very fun chapter.

The Elven chapter unsurprisingly has a lot of light recipes, a ton of veggies, with some seafood! But for the most part it's a lotta veggies and fruits, and the one drow recipe, mushroom steak!

The Dwarven chapter, by contrast, has a lot of meaty recipes. You've got potatoes, sausages, beer, bread, rich desserts. (kinda my favorite chapter I think lmao)

The Halfling chapter is all about hearthy, homely(?) recipes that can be shared with many people, and many soups. This one is also very good.

Uncommon cuisine has a wide range of recipes. This is the chapter that has the halfling chili. Because normally it's made of...well you know. But you can make it with turkey, if you're not a dragonborn of very specific taste.

And finally the drinks are about half and half alcoholic and not, which I think is nice as someone who doesn't drink. It also has the second drow "recipe" which is like a mushroom "tea" (or like a stew?).

Now, there is one major problem with this book.

So many recipe photos missing!! So many!!

And it's particularely frustrating for this book because sometimes a page will have an environmental photo of like trees or whatever. But why not put food photo there instead?? Bummer.

This is a pretty village and all but do I really need it? I don't think so lmao.

Now after agonising over the meal choice (and over my mental health) for the last 10 weeks, I finally decided to make the Vedbread, a cheesy, mushroomy bread roll that sounds delicious. I just gotta go out and buy some shiitake mushrooms soon. Misohungrie happens to have made that one too (kinda the reason I chose it lmao it looks delicious) so you should check out his video too if you're interested in the book! He's also kinda the reason I bought the book in the first place, and he brings up the weird photo issue too.

Overall I really like this book, because I like ordinary daily life lore and you get a pretty good amount in that one, on top of having delicious recipes to try out. The recipes aren't super crazy in terms of trying to make them weird or unique, but they all seem pretty solid. They all have a little flavor/lore blurb before every recipe, and it's fun to get some tidbits like "tieflings love spicy food" or whatever yknow lol.

My tab crashed and I can't remember what I was following up with, but I wish y'all success in your culinary adventures and campaigns! I'll make a post for the vedbread when I get around to making it!

[beelzebby666]

There is one already; it's called Drow cuisine ideas.

[viconic]

there is a letter neatly placed among her belongings. It smells of lavender. The envelope offers no clue as to who sent it or why it was placed here. Its contents however are more illuminating:

The drow sat back to read the letter that was left for her. Red eyes scanning the page she couldn't deny it had been far to long since he partook of the cuisine of her homeland. Whats the worst that could happen? Perhaps she would meet Wren for this it would be a good excuse for her to get dressed up.

[internft-21]

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