Realism in Fantasy

[Ghostman]

Information about food preservation doesn't help with casual RP, to be certain...but it helps me build realistic cities and areas. Concepts like sources of fresh water, possible crops or sources of food, and means of preservation have a great impact on the development of cities, especially in a world without modern means to do it.

So, the point is, I don't have my players keep a list of specifically what foods they carry and so on; that information allows me to make richer descriptions of their market transactions and build more detailed, realistic, and "living" cities and towns.

With many foods, as well, means of preparation make a huge difference. Many foods, if prepared improperly, are either poisonous or simply cannot be digested and provide no nutritive value. Plot hooks can revolve around such simple matters. For instance...everyone in the city eats salted beef. So where's the salt come from? Historically, salt was worth its weight in gold, and battles erupted in the streets of old Europe between butchers and tax collectors, because salt was being heavily taxed and butchers need a whole lot of it to salt meat. So there's a salt mine, or salt gathered from seawater. And if there's a salt mine, it's just as valuable as a gold mine with the added bonus that you can't eat gold.

Where the money is, you will find a plot to draw in your adventurers.

[Zoberraz]

*applauds* Great observations Ghostman. Certainly food for thought for Sundren's staff, if they need quest inspirations. After all, plight of the common folk along with cause-effect situations can be the bread-and-butter for the adventuring lives of characters on persistent worlds.

[Urithrand]

*immediately begins to write up a huge plot around salt shortage in Sundren*

[Arlock Starwind]

kudos Ghostman on a new line of hooks for us.. ( for a moment there i thought i was going to have to clear rats out of the cellar next )

course theres always more Day-to-day problems you could always use for inspiration. "A farmer lost his horse again - this time to a flying sheep."

theres just one thing i don't like about some of the events i have been to latly.. all the run around the cherry bush hide and seek. why the seeking i know they don't want to be found but comon.. where the invading orc army or the pirate fleet. or how about a nice attack at the sundren gate.. perhaps a tital wave hit and the watchtower is being sieged by lizardmen.
(my personal favorite) a lich has poisened a river infecting an entire town and they haved raised to undead. go kill'em all.

(on second thought you all do a great job keep it up ... don't kill me game gods.

[Ghostman]

Well, food IS a day-to-day problem. That's why I'm so excited about this book. Wars have been fought over salt and cod and other foodstuffs. The Irish potato famine caused huge numbers of Irish immigrants to flood the US (that's why in those old westerns you hear people say "I don't hire Irish!"). The Malinese empire became massively rich because of salt. Millions of people tune in to watch the terrible hardships and drama on "The Deadliest Catch" as crab fishermen brave arctic waters to put food on tables. A man who's starving is more willing to break his moral code than one who is simply poor, and to keep his children from starving he'll do anything at all. You can pooh-pooh pickling and canning as being overly realistic or unnecessary, but food makes the world go round. There's a lot you can do with it, DM-wise...and plus I like to cook, so I think it's going to be good for my next campaign (if I have one, anyway, not much time to run one these days).

[PatriotBob]

Well, food IS a day-to-day problem. That's why I'm so excited about this book. Wars have been fought over salt and cod and other foodstuffs. The Irish potato famine caused huge numbers of Irish immigrants to flood the US (that's why in those old westerns you hear people say "I don't hire Irish!"). The Malinese empire became massively rich because of salt. Millions of people tune in to watch the terrible hardships and drama on "The Deadliest Catch" as crab fishermen brave arctic waters to put food on tables. A man who's starving is more willing to break his moral code than one who is simply poor, and to keep his children from starving he'll do anything at all. You can pooh-pooh pickling and canning as being overly realistic or unnecessary, but food makes the world go round. There's a lot you can do with it, DM-wise...and plus I like to cook, so I think it's going to be good for my next campaign (if I have one, anyway, not much time to run one these days).

I understand what your saying, and it's a great idea for the DM's to use, or rather a view to take on creating new content. Food does drive the common masses, nothing is on a commoners mind more than what he's eating for dinner especially if he hasn't had dinner lately. But, I just don't see a need to look into the actual mechanics used in storing or preserving the food. Small details or references to be sure, but I think that the immersion value is more affected by quests deriving from everyday life and not so much whether they used salted meat, or liquor'd fruit cake in rations.

[Phantom Lamb]

If someone wants to be creative, I think these would be some great details to add to the Sundren Wiki.

[Ghostman]

Your point is certainly valid, Bob sir. I tend to like more detail on a personal level. It doesn't mean that I require my players to memorize stuff like that.

But it would drive me CRAZY if it said (in the Sundren Wiki, for instance) that local peasants produce sun-dried tomatoes, when Sundren's extremely rainy climate is entirely unsuited to this means of production. That's my OC side coming out, I know.

On that note, I thought about seeing into the possibility of doing some writing for the Wiki. I may take Zim's travel guides and expand on them (and take the sarcasm out) and see what you guys think, at some point.