Food, Drink, and Lodging

"'Drink the beer, as is the custom of the land... He drank the beer-seven jugs! and became expansive and sang with joy!'" - Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh

Ants, Sugar
Sugar-coated ants are a sweet snack.

Candies
Candy is made from baked kank honey or fruit pulp.

Cheese
Cheese is made from goat or other animal milk; cheese made from carru milk is preferred by most Athasians.

Dung, Spiced
Chewing dung is made from heavily spiced, near-white inix dung. It is used as a treat in poor areas of Draj.

Larvae, Candied
Candied larvae are the color and shape of jelly beans but wiggle about. They are served as a dessert.

Nyssa
The nyssa tree has very tough bark, which if tapped produces a thick white sap which hardens into a resin after exposure to air. The resin of nyssa is chewed like gum.

Pastries
Flaky pastries are a common dessert served at noble banquets. The bread-like exterior is crumbly and is filled with kank honey or fruit pulp.

Red Cactus Grub
Red cacti often contain little warm grubs about the size of a thumb. Most bulbs contain 1- to 3-dozen grubs. The grubs have white, scale-covered bodies and brown heads, and are considered a tasty, juicy treat. Some people pop off the heads before sucking the insides out, while others eat the grubs whole. The taste is rich and gamey, and a little too sweet for some.

Sesame Wafers
Sesame wafers are a light treat for nobles. They are made from sesame seeds and honey.

Sugar Weed
Sugar weed is sold by street vendors. It is a long green stalk with a white bulb at its end. Chewing the weed releases mild sugars stored in the bulb. Street vendors enhance the taste by dipping the stalk in sugar.

Meats
The various meats that make up an Athasian's diet can be prepared in a variety of ways. In the city-states the most common methods of preparation are bite-size bits on a skewer cooked over an open flame, or a slab or steak grilled. For journeys across the desert or the Silt Sea, meat is either smoked or dried and preserved in salt. However, only rich merchants and caravan captains are served the prepared meat; the rest of the caravan is typically fed a stew using the leftover scraps of meat.

Aprig
Aprig meat is succulent and has a faint nutty flavor.

Boneclaw, Lesser
One lesser boneclaw provides 25 pounds of meat. Each lesser boneclaw has a fluid sac on its back which contains 1-4 pints of water but is tainted by the boneclaw's poison. Creatures drinking the water unpurified are affected by an ingested version of the lesser boneclaw poison (DC 10; initial 1d6 Con; secondary 1d10 Con)

Boneclaw, Greater
A greater boneclaw can be eaten but the meat is tough and stringy. One greater boneclaw provides up to 125 pounds of meat.

Carru
One carru can provide 200 to 250 pounds of meat for consumption. Carru is a red meat. Wild carru meat tends to be much leaner than that from domesticated carrus, which is fatty and has more flavor. All carru have a fluid sac behind their heads which contains 3 to 9 pints of water.

Cha'thrang
The meat of a cha-thrang is very expensive and only eaten by nobles on those rare occasions when it is available. The meat must be specially prepared to ensure that the toxic lime from the creature's shell is removed before cooking. The meat is very tough, making it difficult to eat in large chunks, and thus it is typically ground up and added to stews and soups.

Cloud Ray
The meat of a cloud ray is very expensive and rare. A single cloud ray could easily provide an entire settlement with enough meat for 2 to 3 months.

Crodlu
Crodlu meat is tough and stringy. Some enterprising cooks have found ways to use the meat in stews and other dishes to compensate for its texture. One dish involves ground crodlu meat mixed with rice.

Erdlu
Erdlu meat is very common and often used in stews as well as grilled. The meat does not need to be fully cooked to be safe to eat, and so can be prepared medium rare. It has no aftertaste. In Draj, some popular dishes include erdlu stew and steamed corn; a dried, pemmican-like erdlu meat that is part of the local diet; and spiced erdlu meat with vegetables.

Erdland
The large erdlund provides up to 700 pounds of meat and tastes similar to erdlu.

Fish
Fish is the rarest of delicacies in the cities of the Tablelands. Only the richest nobles and templars have tasted fish flesh. The fish are typically farmed in specially maintained pools for the exclusive enjoyment of their noble owners.

Gorak
Gorak meat is common quality and leaves a strong, greasy aftertaste.

Inix
An inix can provide a lot of meat, but most if it is considered average quality because it is lean and tough. The tail meat of an inix, however, is considered a delicacy. Despite the quality, inix meat is very versatile and used in a variety of dishes. In Tyr, inix meat is fried. Fillet of inix in a spicy sauce is a dish served in Raam. The meat can be added to a rich stew as is done at banquets for nobles in Raam.

Jankz
The meat has a gamey taste but is palatable. Because of the poison sacs, caution must be taken when preparing jankz. As a general rule, one jankz provides a meal for one man.

Kip
Kip meat is fatty and greasy. Kip sausages are served with biscuits in Tyr, while kip meat is a staple of many dwarven communities. One kip can provide meat for up to 2 meals. The meat of one kip can also be made into a stew that will easily feed six.

Kirre
Kirre meat is considered some of the finest available in the Tablelands. This has lead to over-hunting that has wiped out the kirre in the Crescent Forest, making the meat very difficult to obtain.

Kitsu
Kitsus are small bird-lizards. Their meat is tasty but dries quickly if overcooked.

Lizard, General
There are numerous types of small lizards used for nourishment throughout the Tablelands. Lizard meat is most often used in spicy stews. Small lizards live in the rocky badlands and foothills of the Ringing Mountains and can provide a meal for a desert traveler. Sweet lizard meats are sold at the arena in Tyr.

Mekillot
Mekillot steak is a stable for nobles and rich merchants. It is rich and juicy and typically prepared in thick cuts. In Raam, mekillot steak in a wine and berry sauce is served at banquets for nobles and other powerful figures.

Rat
Rats are found in the wilds and in every city-state of the Tablelands. The slaves and the very poor will often trap them for their meat.

Renk
Renks are small slugs that are eaten raw. Each slug has four ounces of water within it. When consumed raw each renk provides the equivalent of a ½ cup of water. An active man would need to eat 32 renks a day to replace his water requirement for the day.

Rotgrub
Fried rotgrubs are served in the bazaars of many cities.

Silt Crab
Silt crabs live on the shores of the Sea of Silt. Most species are the size of a man's fist. They must be boiled in water before eaten; otherwise a toxin is released into the crab's flesh when it is killed. While the toxin is not strong enough to kill a character, eating more than a couple of the crabs in this way would cause the victim to become violently sick and regurgitate any food they had recently consumed.

Silt Mussel
These mollusks live in the Silt Sea. They have an oblong shell, about an inch long, that must be cracked or pried open to get to the meat inside. Silt mussels can be eaten raw, but the taste is very dry and gritty due to their silty environment. In most city-states they are boiled in water. In Raam silt mussels are served with a peppery sauce.

Silt Spawn
Silt spawn meat is tasty and can be used as a source of food. Giants hunt silt spawn for food and consider them a delicacy.

Silt Serpent
The giants and others who live along the shores of the Sea of Silt know that silt serpents make excellent meals. Their meat is sweet, tasty and extremely juicy, and it can be eaten raw or cooked over a slow-burning fire. The Sky Singers elf tribe makes a particularly famous dish using silt serpent meat and faro leaves. The meal, called alrasb in elven, can be sampled in Nibenay's Hill District or the food tents of the Sky Singers' roadside bazaars.

Snake
Athasians include a variety of snakes in their diets. In cities snakes are usually cooked on skewers, chopped into round slices with the skin still on–cooks claim this helps to keep in the flavor. Whether true or not, the skin must be removed before eating. Harmless, albino snakes can be found amongst the crags and foothills of the Ringing Mountains. These snakes can provide a safe meal for a desert traveler.

Sygra
The meat of a sygra is palatable but unnoteworthy.

Z'tal
The meat of a z'tal is dense and coarse. The tail and hind legs make excellent eating and are considered the choice portions. The tail and legs are often roasted and can provide up to six meals. Z'tals can be used to prepare a stew. One z'tal can provide enough meat for a stew that would feed 12 people.

Erdlu Egg
Erdlu eggs have a wrinkled, leathery shell, but are delicious and also nutritious. When eaten raw, the red yolks have a zesty, gamey taste that is both satisfying and invigorating. The whites form a spongy cake that tastes like cheese when cooked. If eaten raw, the egg can take the place of a day's water requirements, but only for up to a week's time. The egg is an excellent source of nutrition, and can keep a man alive for months at a time as the eggs are packed with a variety of nutrients and essential vitamins. If eaten raw an egg can replace one gallon of water. However, it is not a perfect substitution and a man can only live on this egg-water diet for one week before he needs water.

Erdland Egg
Erdland eggs are less tasty than erdlu eggs, but are large enough to provide food for three men; the eggs are three feet in diameter.

Gorak Egg
Gorak eggs are delicious and oft-sought after. The shell is leathery but not as tough as an erdlu egg, making them more fragile. The brown yolks provide most of the flavor while, the whites are soft and spongy.

Jalath'gak Nectar
The abdomen of a jalath'gak yields 16 gallons of water. It also yields blood and nectar that can be filtered to provide 32 meals.

Kank Honey
Kank meat cannot be eaten; when a kank dies its flesh emits an odor so foul that not even a starving man can stomach it. Food-producer kanks create a melon-sized, honey globule that is very sweet. The honey is thick, green, and provides the eater with plenty of energy. Kank honey is very nutritious and can sustain a man for several days with no other means of nourishment.

Kes'trekel Egg
In Nibenay the eggs of a kes'trekel are a delicacy, but only if procured and eaten within two weeks of being laid.

Pulp Bee Honey
Worker pulp bees produce a sweet tasting liquid that is very nutritious. One quart of the liquid can provide a human with enough nutrients for two days. The honey hardens into resin a day after been produced. When it hardens the honey looses some of its nutritional value but can still provide the nourishment of one day's food.

Pterrax Egg
The eggs of pterrax are a very valuable source of food for those dwelling in mountainous regions. The eggs are almost two feet in diameter and one pterrax egg provides up to two meals.

Wezer Honey
Wezers produce a honey on which they feed. Although not the most delectable of the various honey's available to Athasians, its unique flavor and rarity makes it an expensive delicacy.

Fruits and Vegetables
Unless otherwise noted, all fruits ripen only once per year, near High Sun, and may be scarcer during the rest of the year. Only in the Forest Ridge and Crescent Forest do fruits ripen more than once per year. Vegetables, on the other hand, are readily available throughout the year. For desert travelers, most of the plants found in the Scrub Plains are safe for humans to eat, but halflings and dwarves should avoid eating anything with purple spots as these cause feverish deliriums and terrible stomachaches.

Agafari Nut
The nuts of the large agafari tree are edible.

Baobab Gourd
The gigantic baobab tree produces a gourd-like fruit that is edible. Some species have a sour taste.

Bergo
The bergo fruit grows on a tree. The bergo is pear-shaped and has red skin covered in soft green spines. The interior is yellow and contains many tiny seeds; the seeds are about the size of a sesame seed and are edible. The taste of a bergo is mildly sweet and the texture is crunchy due to the seeds.

Berill
Berill is a blue-green moss that often carpets the soil of the Crescent Forest. In open clearings the moss dries to a thin shell which crackles when stepped upon. In this state it is edible and tastes like dried tea leaves.

Berries, General
Various berries gathered from the Crescent Forest are part of the Gulgan staple diet, including blackberries, blueberries, mulberries, and raspberries.

Betel Nut
Betel nuts are eaten by most citizens of Nibenay. Eating the nuts over the years stains the teeth. The Nibenese also grind the nuts into tasty pastes.

Broy Bean
Broy beans take their name from the drink, but have little in common with broy. The flat, dull yellow beans taste horrible, reminiscent of bad broy. However they taste, the beans are a big source of protein for those desert communities lacking large animal herds.

Bulis Berry
Bulis berries have a hairy, thick brown skin, making it difficult to peel. If one has the patience to peel off the thick skin the small purple center can be eaten and has a sweet, flowery flavor.

Cabra
Cabra melons are thick-husked fruits that have a succulent taste. The inside of a cabra melon has wedges similar to an orange.

Cactus, General
Many variety of cacti can be eaten. Cacti are most often eaten raw, although some varieties are cooked. Honey-boiled cactus is served in the elven market in Nibenay.

Cactus, Prickly Pear
The prickly pear is a red fruit from the prickly pear cactus. It is sweet, but care must be used when peeling the skin because of the hundreds of tiny needle-like spines. The prickly pear is a popular choice to make candy or other snacks involving fruit pulp.

Cactus, Red
Red cactus is a round succulent plant with spiny thorns, about the size of a man's head. The cactus is typically used to harvest red cactus grubs, but the fruit of the cactus can also be eaten.

Cactus, Rock
A rock cactus can be peeled if it's incapacitated. Each rock cactus provides approximately one pound of food. The taste is vaguely similar to apples. In addition, a rock cactus provides up to four pints of water.

Cactus, Spider
Inside of a spider cactus is one gallon of a honey-like liquid similar in consistency to an erdlu egg. Each cactus contains one gallon of the liquid, which can be substituted for either food or water. One gallon can replace one gallon of water or provide nourishment for four meals.

Chadnut
The chadnut is sweet. People place them in their mouths and suck on them to get the flavor. The seeds of the chadnut are peppery, burning the tongue and making the eyes water. The seeds leave a fiery aftertaste in one's throat.

Copra
Copra is dried coconut. The city of Gulg exports a lot of copra throughout the Tablelands.

Corn
In Draj, large fields of corn are grown and is a main stay of the Draji diet.

Date
Dates are a delicacy that are enjoyed as a snack or appetizer by the upper classes. For the desert traveler, dates can be a life saver, as dates grow on palm trees that often surround an oasis.

Dem Bush
Dem bushes are not very tasty, but they do provide nourishment to a desert traveler. They grow in Rocky Badlands, especially near the Ringing Mountains.

Faro
Faro is a dwarf cactus tree, as tall as a man, with a handful of scaly stems that rise to a tangled crown of needle-covered boughs. The twisted cactus grows a blossom that blooms delicious fruit only once per decade. Faro blossoms have a sweet scent and have huge red flowers on the rare occasion that they bloom. Faro is a cash crop. Each piece of sweet fruit is a delicacy worth more than the plant itself. More common uses are found for the needles of the faro. The faro needles can be ground into flour for bread and are also a common ingredient in stews. The needles are made into a gruel for slaves. On many a voyage across the Silt Sea, the galley slaves eat moldering faro.

Fig
Figs are a pleasant snack for those who can afford it. The city of Nibenay cultivates fig groves in the Crescent Forest that provide most of the figs available in the cities of the Tyr region. Fig trees often surround an oasis in the desert, providing much needed nourishment to the desert traveler.

Geja
Geja is a soft-skinned fruit which is only ripe for a few days each year. It is sweet and delicate. Geja can be dried in the sun, and retains its sweetness when dried.

Gourd
The two most common gourds found in the Tablelands are the tulifer and the cucurbata. Tulifer looks like an oval, orange melon with green horns or spikes. The yellow-green flesh is soft and gel-like. If eaten raw it tastes very sour and salty, but if allowed to ripen the sourness is not as strong. The cucurbata is large, over a foot in diameter. It is reddish-brown in color, with a warty exterior. The white flesh is crunchy and watery but becomes bitter as it ripens. When fully ripe the flesh softens and takes on an orange color; by that point the gourd is too bitter to eat.

Grall
Grall is a squat, thorny cactus that is eaten raw, though it tastes bitter.

Gyava Berry
Gyava berries grow on short, creeping shrubs that resemble vines. The slender, wiry stems have small, sharp leaves. The tiny berries are less than a quarter-inch in diameter and are bright red when ripe. The gyava berries are sweet but have a strongly acidic taste. The berries can be crushed for fruit juice or made into dyes.

Javo
Javo is a large oval fruit with a thick brown skin covered in spines, similar to a pineapple. It is the smell of javo that everyone remembers–the smell is a horrible cross between excrement and onions that is detectable from half a mile away when the fruit is fully ripe. Because of the smell, most of the city-states have banished the cultivation of javo to isolated client villages. The inside of the javo is very soft, and contrary to the revolting aroma of the fruit's outer shell, the custard-like interior is nutty and sweet.

Junnfruit
Junnfruit has a tough orange rind, but inside it is meaty and juicy. It is eaten by nobles and rich merchants, the only ones who can afford it as a sweet snack.

Jute
Jute is a fibrous plant with shiny green leaves. The leaves are often eaten in Raam and Gulg but have a slimy taste. Sometimes the slimy taste is counteracted by adding a large pinch of salt.

Kola Nut
Kola nuts are from Gulg. Chewing on kola nuts too much stains the teeth and lips brown and gives one's breath a bitter tang.

Neep
Neep is a thick-rooted vegetable with an orange color and a bland flavor. It is often mixed with other food when eaten.

N'ku'ru'ma
N'ku'ru'ma are finger-sized pods with short, fine needles. The needles are removed before roasting. The cooked n'ku'ru'ma has a slightly sweet taste.

Oleracea
Oleracea is a succulent leafed plant. It is a staple vegetable of most diets. The oleracea has dull yellow, finely incised leaves. It is eaten raw or cooked, but is flavorless in either case.

Olive
Balic maintains large olive orchards. The olives can be eaten and are often used to make olive oil.

Orange
The Dictator Andropinis of Balic maintained a private orange grove outside his palace. Originally for his pleasure only, the merchant-house of Wavir now sells a limited number of the oranges at a high price.

Pepper
To add a dose of fiery spice to dishes, the Draji cultivate both red and green peppers. Their fierce taste is shunned by many who do not understand why the Draji would want to eat something so hot in Athas's scorching environment, but they are still popular with many.

Pree Stick
Pree sticks come from a thick, salt-crusted, leafy plant that grows in saltwater. The leaves are baked in the sun to create a crispy salty snack.

Scuppernong
The scuppernong is a hearty, rough-skinned silver berry that grows on small shrubs.

Silt Weed
Silt weed grows along the coastline of the silt sea. Some rare varieties are edible.

Silverbush
Silverbush is a desert plant that stores water in its trunk as a milky sap. It is edible but has a bitter taste. Hot spices are often added to make it more palpable.

Soybean
Roasted and salted soybeans are a cheap snack for the spectators in the arena in Nibenay. Soybeans are also added to vegetable dishes to make them more filling.

Tarange
Tarange is a nice, sweet fruit, slightly tangy in flavor. There are many varieties of this pear-shaped fruit, though the skin is not edible like that of a a pear. The color of the skin varies by type with colors that range from purple to orange. The center pith is full of inedible seeds.

Thornberry
Thornberries are tiny orange berries about a quarter of an inch in diameter. They are soft and juicy. Unfortunately, harvesting thornberries is very difficult as the thornberry bush has long, thin leaves studded with sharp thorns. The berries also have a sharp thorn on their underside that must be removed before they are consumed. Because of the difficulties in harvesting the berries, many farmers crush the berries whole to make juice and then later filter out the thorns. Thornberries are most commonly sold in the arena in Tyr.

Tubers and Roots
Tubers and roots are a large part of the diet of most desert communities.

The most common tuber is the solanu, a sturdy brown tuber that is marked above ground by hairy stems sprouting large leaves. After it is peeled, the solanu can be eaten raw, dried, or cooked. The flesh is white, and a woody pit, slightly yellow in color, runs down the center. The flesh darkens quickly when exposed to air, spoiling the solanu's flavor within a day of being peeled.

Ulenta is the most commonly grown edible root. Different species of ulenta have tastes that ranges from very bitter to only mildly so, although bitterness is common to all varieties. Ulenta cannot be eaten raw because the bitter taste is a sign of a toxin that naturally forms in the root; the more bitter the taste, the higher the dose of toxin. Cooking the ulenta is usually sufficient to eliminate the toxin. Ulenta has little taste but makes for a filling meal.

Velgest Fruit
The fruit of the velgest tree, the vel, is craved by nobles and rich merchants as a dessert. The taste is sweet though slightly acidic. The velgest tree grows in areas of high humidity such as the Crescent Forest.

Welela
The welela fruit is a long, thin, prickly gourd whose meat is flavorful and contains a fair amount of water.

Bread, General
In the Tablelands, bread is made using various ingredients and techniques. Besides bread made from flour, millet, wheat, and other grain, faro needles are also ground up and used to make bread. Most bread is unleavened flat bread, though biscuits and buns are available. There is a common sweet bread made with kank honey that is sold in most marketplaces.

Honey Barley
Honey Barley was developed to be cultivated using both water and kank honey. This gives it a sweeter flavor than normal barley.

Butter
Butter is available in Nibenay.

Clove
Cloves come from Gulg.

Salt
Salt is of major importance to the Athasian diet. Salt is the easiest way to replenish the body’s nutrients that are lost through sweat after toiling all day under the hot Athasian sun. If these nutrients are not replaced, it leads to weakness, muscle spasms, and eventually death. Because of its importance salt is rationed on caravans as well as in the armies of the sorcerer-kings; every member is given their salt ration each day. Salt is also used to preserve meats for long desert journeys.

Vanilla
Vanilla is exported by both Gulg and Nibenay.

Ale, General
Raam and Tyr both export ale. Cheap ale is served warm.

Aprig Milk
The milk is of poor quality.

Asticles Wine
Asticles wine has a pale golden color and a tart, dry scent. It has a light taste that leaves the mouth dry. It is a very fine drink and as such is very expensive. Asticles wine is the preferred drink of nobles in Tyr.

Beer
Gulg exports beer. Cold beer is available but expensive.

Brown Wine
Brown wine is thick and is an acquired taste.

Broy
Broy is made from fermented kank nectar. Spiced broy and watered-down broy are also available. When served plain, it is potent and foul tasting. However, broy can be served warm and spiced with a pungent herb that disguises its sourness, as well as enhanced its enrapturing powers.

Bulis Berry Wine
The bulis berries can be made into a wine with a dark blue-purple color. The taste is sickeningly sweet and so is often mixed with water.

Cactus Blue Ale
Cactus blue ale is served in Tyr and is made from fermented grall. The ale has a strong, rough taste and is very potent.

Carru Milk
The milk from a carru is of good quality. Female carrus provide a thick, creamy milk that is full of fat and nutrients. A female carru products three gallons of milk each day. The milk only keeps for a few days.

Cider
Gulg exports cider.

Elven Wine
Many elven tribes make their own wine, thought the process and quality vary from tribe to tribe. The Fastcoin elven tribe specializes in the sale of a simplistic elven wine, light on taste but fast and cheap to produce. Sky Singer wine, on the other hand, is made from kank honey and is an acquired taste, potent in both flavor as well as alcohol content.

Goat Milk
Fermented goat’s milk is served in bars.

Hay-frond Tea
The tea made from hay fronds is sweet and refreshing.

Honey Barley Ale
Honey barley ale is made from honey barley. It has a smooth taste that is slightly sweet.

Javo Nectar
Fermented javo nectar is potent. The nectar retains the sweet flavor of the javo, but does not have the obnoxious smell.

Kirre Milk
The female kirre produces milk, but they have not been domesticated thus making obtaining kirre milk a difficult process at best.

Klick-win
Klick-win is a sickly-sweet wine made from fermented flowers by tohr-kreen.

Kola Tea
Kola nuts are from Gulg. The nuts can be grounded into a fine powder which is then steeped in water. The resulting beverage is tasty and also stimulates the mind and wards off sleep.

Milkwine
Milkwine is a gummy liquid.

Palewater Ale
Palewater ale is served in Salt View. It has a rough yet simple taste.

Palm Wine
Palm wine is of poor quality but is affordable to the lower classes.

Port
Good port is available. A sweet dessert wine, it is drunk exclusively by the nobility.

Pulque
Pulque is fermented cactus juice that is drunk in Draj. Pulque comes from the huge maguey cactus. The taste is milky and slightly sour.

Red Wine
Thick red wine is served in Tyr.

Sapwine
Sapwine is tart. It is fermented from tree resin and has a powerful kick. Most consider it to be the foulest drink available in the wine shops of Tyr and Gulg.

Scuppernong Wine
Scuppernong can be fermented into a silver wine that is thick, with a slightly bitter taste.

Spiced Mead
Spiced mead is served in many taverns.

Spiced Wine
Spiced wine is sold in wine shops. The wine is mixed with a variety of spices to give it a strong flavor.

Sygra Milk
Sygra milk is of good quality.

Yypr Tea
Boiling the hard, flat needles of the yypr tree produces a refreshing tea.