What do dwarves eat?

[H.GrenadeFrenzy]

What about birds of prey that prefer mountainous regions... there are several kinds that perfer those areas...let my trained feathered friend prove his worth to the clans....and recieve a place of honor among them.

 

[Gladi]

Bright day
A) I am not spelunker, I just like going into dampy dark places, be they natural or manmade, I think there is special name for that. And your caves sound a lot different from our caves...

B) of course distilation was in Ancient times, it was already used for parfumes amongst other things afaik in roman times.

C) It may be that we both overreacted. But I have to take objection to you "forgivness" of my unfortunate traits. Which in itself could be translated as an insult.

 

[Kerrang]

....Gladi I forgive you for it is probraly simply in you nature as your posts and signature imply. Plus you get points from me for being a fellow spelunker(deep enough to avoid snakes damn the spiders damn them to hell...........I wish I could eat centipeeds....and whatever those freakish flat silver/gray insects are that the AOutobon Society hasn't helped me with damn manuals.)

I think you may be referring to Silverfish, this is what they look like (lets see if I can get this link to work):

Dwarves should definitely not be afraid of crustations(from insects on up) and the use of them for food should be normal as well as a bonus of some sort for posion use, identification and antiodotes. Most games ignore this inevitablity. Salamaders? Posion extraction from posionous prey possibly. Little white blind creatures abnormal for surface dwellers maybe?

Not sure what games you are talking about, but the old D&D tradition is that Dwarves have a higher constitution than normal, and are immune to most types of poison.

 

[H.GrenadeFrenzy]

Bright day
A) I am not spelunker, I just like going into dampy dark places, be they natural or manmade, I think there is special name for that. And your caves sound a lot different from our caves...

B) of course distilation was in Ancient times, it was already used for parfumes amongst other things afaik in roman times.

C) It may be that we both overreacted. But I have to take objection to you "forgivness" of my unfortunate traits. Which in itself could be translated as an insult.

A)It has been awhile since i had oppurtunity to enjoy my favorite rappelling/climbing experience....I have some tales but a different thread would probrably be in order maybe Caverns and the World Below.
B)the roots of Alchemy........oh joy!
C)Great,it took me awhile to acclimate but I like your traits.......and I think I may understand....try this on if you will

Cynism is the product of unfullfilled Idealism. The fulfillment of Idealism through the validation of the possiblities by manifestion by breaching the limitations of the status quo is the method not only enlightenment, it is also nessisary for the paradigm shift required for entrance into a new Age...Thus Cynics should be held close not so much for their sarcasm as for the cause/source of the sarcasm.....because the pain they feel is not just for their own place in the world as it is for the worlds place within the community of which they are apart and the worlds place it the universe........without them and the progression of their insights and a trusting and imimate society to embrace them ......we are all truly lost..............do you hear the drums...........it is your heart........remeber that....and breathe.........I too have been a Cynic for far too long but not anymore..........If I am wrong its ok It will not be the first or last time....but the enlighten mind can cast off any poison cast at it.....laughter is good.......maddening gallows laugh and "This one needs more work, boss"......"I may not agree with you but I'll go to the ramparts with a broken bottle with you>" by Derry Brownfield ...i think

 

[wilboman]

"I abhor what you say but I will fight to the death for your right to say it" - Voltaire, not sure that's close but it sounds like the source of inspiration.

 

[H.GrenadeFrenzy]

"I abhor what you say but I will fight to the death for your right to say it" - Voltaire, not sure that's close but it sounds like the source of inspiration.

I know that quote too. but Brownfield or Farber offered this other version of the same premise on his regular radio show......I'm not sure which and it has been awhile since out here in the boonies played the particular show in queston..........however both radio show archives are available online.............mostly free

 

[H.GrenadeFrenzy]

I think you may be referring to Silverfish, this is what they look like (lets see if I can get this link to work):





Not sure what games you are talking about, but the old D&D tradition is that Dwarves have a higher constitution than normal, and are immune to most types of poison.

Silverfish almost but no feelers........and maybe thats why I let myself excuse it to quickly........I mean if,the feelers aren't there maybe there is a reason the little freaks where about an inch long...metallic(copperish) acidic smell eveywhere thousands of them both times different caverns.... slimey gritty soot like substance on them............I donno ten years may have altered my memory no matter how vivid......


Dwarves,yeah resistance but no followup on knowledge or application....except dark dwarves maybe its an evil issue idono but antidotes for poor bastards that are not dwarves...if they know how....as well as what is edible........posion for pest control as well and what not....damn....I'm human far too human....but I do care about dwarves..and honor......feel my wrath Yagsothuos.....never spell this name correctly and if you don't know why don't ask and good you are better off in ignorance...

 

[H.GrenadeFrenzy]

They introduce their neighbors to Rock Soup regularly......especially the elves...when asked why they say because you have the best spices for our wonderful rocks now go get these things.......no daisies please....they sour the rocks..

 

[AndrewDJ]

I thought, from memory (damned, where are those crows when you need them!), that the lead was actually in the container/stopper - and that is where the buildup came from. also in the tankards & ewers.....

Lead was used by the Romans in wine as a sweetener. The lead reacts with acetic acid in the wine (found in high levels in the cheap, near-vinegar variety that seems to have been a Roman staple) to form lead acetate, commonly called "sugar of lead" for its sweet (edit: but toxic) taste.

There are some claims that the Romans used lead acetate as a sweetener in food, not just wine, but I don't recall seeing anything substantive.

Bringing this back a bit more on topic, in my fantasy worlds, dwarves have a *very* high tolerance for heavy metals, and elves have a correspondingly low tolerance. So, all the elves have to watch their diets, being prone to things like hemochromatosis from too much dietary iron, while the dwarves maintain an ageless appearance through arsenic-eating.

(Seriously, there are really people who have become arsenic-eaters, starting with small amounts and eventually being able to eat amounts of arsenic that would kill a normal person. The arsenic keeps their skin soft, supple, and unwrinkled--but after a certain point, they can't stop eating it or they'll die.)

 

[wilboman]

Apparently there is fairly strong evidence Napoleon was one of them, only he used it as a kind of drug. In any case, the arsenic in his hair was enough to kill a normal man, so either he was poisoned, or...

 

[AndrewDJ]

Apparently there is fairly strong evidence Napoleon was one of them, only he used it as a kind of drug. In any case, the arsenic in his hair was enough to kill a normal man, so either he was poisoned, or...

My understanding is that the latest scholarship is that analysis of hair samples taken throughout his life show multiple large, non-lethal doses of arsenic over time; the official cause of death for L'Empereur was gastric cancer. The problem is that on more than one occasion, arsenic poisoning has been misdiagnosed as gastric cancer. However, a team of Swiss doctors examined the rate at which Napoleon lost weight in the year before his death, and concluded that he died of stomach cancer, which had also been the cause of his father's death.

 

[wilboman]

I think I knew that once, but all I remembered was the arsenic bit. Interesting. Horribly OT, but definitely interesting

 

[H.GrenadeFrenzy]

I think I knew that once, but all I remembered was the arsenic bit. Interesting. Horribly OT, but definitely interesting

I am sorry Wilboman.............it is my fault. I was just trying to reinterate a point about how civilizations differ so greatlyl.........and no matter how powerful they are they still have frailties that affect not just them but those other civilizations that interact and/or ostrasize them.....basically if you know them or are in any kind of location that has been infuenced by them there is a mark left.........like the universal laws of gravitation for analogy.....in origin It was simple role-playing for game meat, mead and sauce.....Ultimately that is a very important part of this game we play after all it is named Civilization but my methods could have used a little more candore,and even if I have tried to bring things back on topic.....I take resposiblity for it going off topic.......OK

Caving or spelunking as we call it is fun but remember at least three people go in and two of them have experience and I don't mean once this is to prevent what happens if you don't heed this traditional safety rule.]

There are many things dwarves might eat. It makes sense that dwarves would be very resistant to toxins because not only heavy metals are down there. Many kinds of poisonous creatures and things like bats.........bat guanno is a killer and not just from the toxins but the molds and other micro-organisms that grow on it are dangerous and sometimes fatal. Could it be that dwarves could eat bat too and not tell others because of their superstitions and reactions (Social) to the fact.....just considering the possiblity.......to get ya minds a moving to help our favorite mod makers....

 

[Oldfrt]

Just because foods are fatal/toxic to humans doesnt mean that a Dwarf wouldnt consider it a great delicasy! Remember, we are talking about a non human species. Different genetic code... its a common enough feature in the real world, so why not in a fantasy world?

That said, the staple diet of most creatures, fantasy or otherwise has a common enough base - whatever the staple foods are, they have to have a high enough calory content to be able to sustain vast numbers of hungry Dwarfs. Just imagine the food needed to feed a population in a large city!

You have to end up ruling out bats/rats and insects as anything but an occasional delicacy (battered rat on a stick anyone?), due to their size and the quantity/time that would be needed to catch enough of them to feed enough Dwarfs..... at the end of the day, you are back to grains (or suitable substitute) for the bulk of their food source, and larger animals for meat supplies... mushrooms are a fine source, but there does exist the problem of generating enough of them to feed a population as the calory count isnt as high as most grains.... so you would need to eat MORE of them....

 

[wilboman]

Oh, I don't mind things slipping off on an interesting tangent, I'm a bit of master of thread-jacking myself I certainly didn't know that thing about lead as a sweetener in wine, so now I've learned something new.

But back OT, I figure we've ignored something basic. This is a magical world, with sun magic (among other things). In the real world, creating UV rays isn't too hard, just look at those people who grow pot in their basement under sunlamps. So why can't the Dwarves, and in our case, particularly the Luichurp, just magic up a suitable source of sunlight to power the photosynthesis in a vast network of underground fields? I was thinking I'd maybe use that little idea for a flavour text on the Kazad.

 

[H.GrenadeFrenzy]

Just because foods are fatal/toxic to humans doesnt mean that a Dwarf wouldnt consider it a great delicasy! Remember, we are talking about a non human species. Different genetic code... its a common enough feature in the real world, so why not in a fantasy world?

That said, the staple diet of most creatures, fantasy or otherwise has a common enough base - whatever the staple foods are, they have to have a high enough calory content to be able to sustain vast numbers of hungry Dwarfs. Just imagine the food needed to feed a population in a large city!

You have to end up ruling out bats/rats and insects as anything but an occasional delicacy (battered rat on a stick anyone?), due to their size and the quantity/time that would be needed to catch enough of them to feed enough Dwarfs..... at the end of the day, you are back to grains (or suitable substitute) for the bulk of their food source, and larger animals for meat supplies... mushrooms are a fine source, but there does exist the problem of generating enough of them to feed a population as the calory count isnt as high as most grains.... so you would need to eat MORE of them....

Have you ever found a bat cave? Those little bastards really pack in there in fact you could farm them if you had sticky plants to attrack insects outside their cave...and back to point bat guanno is flammable thus fuel for furnaces and lighting is plentiful..............secret of the dwarves possibley uncovered? Or a least speculated upon.....Trying to tie things together also added something for you Wilboman on another thread...post entitled Invading the Dream Space............I dreamt it literally

 

[H.GrenadeFrenzy]

Oh, I don't mind things slipping off on an interesting tangent, I'm a bit of master of thread-jacking myself I certainly didn't know that thing about lead as a sweetener in wine, so now I've learned something new.

But back OT, I figure we've ignored something basic. This is a magical world, with sun magic (among other things). In the real world, creating UV rays isn't too hard, just look at those people who grow pot in their basement under sunlamps. So why can't the Dwarves, and in our case, particularly the Luichurp, just magic up a suitable source of sunlight to power the photosynthesis in a vast network of underground fields? I was thinking I'd maybe use that little idea for a flavour text on the Kazad.

Refection Chambers and Mountain Quarts on skyline receptors..........lava flow receptors and also Refection Chambers and Sun Magic..........What kinda plants ya lookin for son?.........if it ain't here,it doesn't grow anywhere cuz here in the Hydroponic Chamber we grow anything even if it requires a particular kinda atmosphere.......What? Your momma said that wasn't safe to eat,well she probrably jus doen't know how to cook it right..son meet Braggon , he is our chef and boy has he gotta dish for you.......What? What's my real name?.Boy they've always called me Farmer, it is my real name..

 

[Kerrang]

Refection Chambers and Mountain Quarts on skyline receptors..........lava flow receptors and also Refection Chambers and Sun Magic..........What kinda plants ya lookin for son?.........if it ain't here,it doesn't grow anywhere cuz here in the Hydroponic Chamber we grow anything even if it requires a particular kinda atmosphere.......What? Your momma said that wasn't safe to eat,well she probrably jus doen't know how to cook it right..son meet Braggon , he is our chef and boy has he gotta dish for you.......What? What's my real name?.Boy they've always called me Farmer, it is my real name..

Good flavor text there, now we just need a Dwarven Farmer unit to apply it to.

 

[Rising Sun]

they eats baby mind flayers or perhap they like their own kinds.

 

[H.GrenadeFrenzy]

Good flavor text there, now we just need a Dwarven Farmer unit to apply it to.

I live in Nebraska and theorically speaking anyone could be NAMED Farmer,but I do agree a Dwarven Farmer with what Wilboman is suggesting and a little role-play could be very interesting and perfered if they could build farms in mountain tiles or better yet anytile........desert hahaha....we underground dwellers love desert that is what dew collectors are for hahahaha....take that adepts.....Please don't tell my neighbors I said tne Name thing these people....pitch forks,shotguns,rifles,weopons and methods of destruction city people have forgotten I dare not mention....they don't so much frighten me...it is just that......You don't want everyone around to start thinking like you when their miffed....