Dwarven Food
Added 2022-06-08 16:51:53 +0000 UTCI worked with the constraints of the setting to come up with this (eg. grazing is not possible in a cave environment so no cows aka bovas), and as expected from a sketch, it also gave me some new ideas and nuances to make the world feel more authentic and lived in.
One example could be the potential relationship between dwarves and goats - since the animals have "beards", dwarves could well have developed superstitions of their ancestors' spirits being trapped in goats, or something involving reincarnation etc etc. This means that goats are only consumed on special occasions, and in ritualistic ways (similar to the Easter lamb for example). Hogs, on the other hand, are very common since they can be fed with local food.
Chicks, which are imported from the Overworld along with grain and other basics, are more likely to be kept for laying eggs and only sacrificed when old enough.
Since bovas are rare in the absence of sunny grass plains, dwarves are likely to have a certain degree of lactose intolerance, which means that they are more likely to process their milk into cream or cheese, or import it as such.
You kinda see how the thought process goes. But yeah, as always, this is more to help me keep track of things rather than to provide a complete showcase, so all questions and suggestions are welcome!
Next up I'll be commencing the mapping (or at least the sketching part).
Comments
They still have crystals for light, however I believe certain plants require actual sunlight to thrive, and therefore I limited to plants and trees that thrive in partial shade. Since pear and plum trees fit this category best, they are most available, it makes sense for brandy and cider to be more widespread. Funnily enough, these dwarves also don't have native beer, they only import it. I think hops and wheat and other plants needed for beer require large sunlit areas to thrive. They definitely do have vodka (potatoes, fungi etc.) which I called spirits here (I don't feel like the word vodka itself would fit in a fantasy setting). They do have white grapes and vines (another plant that can grow in partial shade) so fizzle wine is basically champagne. Also note that glass is way more available than wood for these dwarves, in regards to containers.
Zan the Bonebreaker
2022-06-09 09:47:50 +0000 UTCSo for the plum brandy and pear cider, unless they have some sort of artificial sunlight to maintain the trees, the fruit alcoholic beverages would be reserved only for the wealthy and middle class on special occasions. For the common dorf, beer (Likely made from local suitable vegetation) and maybe a Kvass like homemade drink would be more attractive. Maybe depending on how widescale pototo growing is, and if they know of distillation, potato vodka would be the preferred drink of choice for lower and middle classes. Fizzle wine being made from mushrooms and berries however sounds awesome.
Blood Raven
2022-06-09 03:06:12 +0000 UTC
