How do dwarves get their food?

How do dwarves get their food?



The Basic Rules says, "Dwarven kingdoms stretch deep beneath the mountains", and various other sources give a similar picture, of dwarves living in subterranean communities. Does the 5E source material provide any insight into how they get their food? Do they farm on the surface? Raise crops in caverns? Eat mushrooms?



I'm asking specific to 5E rulebooks and published adventures, although insight from Forgotten Realms lore or past versions could be useful.





Are you asking about the Forgotten Realms lore?
– V2Blast
Aug 25 at 2:53





They have a lot of short order cooks.
– mxyzplk
Aug 25 at 11:53




1 Answer
1



From The Complete Book of Dwarves, 2nd edition, an answer comes. There's no answer to my knowledge yet from 5e.



Basically, they use hill and mountainside cattle, grow grain wheat rye and barley, supplementing this with trade by humans. Those who cannot access the surface use various carefully bred mushrooms.



Dwarves enjoy a wide variety of food, with a preference for meat.
Hill, mountain, and sundered dwarves keep cattle, goats, sheep,
pigs, and fowl. These animals are grazed above ground on upland
meadows or plateaus. Sundered dwarves keep their livestock close to
home, hill and mountain dwarves allow their stock to roam. Although
meat is a staple of their diet, large quantities of grains are also
consumed. When possible wheat, rye and barley are grown close to the
stronghold. They are harvested and kept in underground granaries. Many
who live close to humans buy large quantities of grain to supplement
their own production. Dwarves who live in the deep earth substitute
various types of fungi for grains. Like the giant lizards and beetles,
many of these fungi have been carefully bred to produce a wide variety
of flavors to excite the palate. Most are very careful about the
kinds of fungi they eat. Dwarven cooking also makes use of
vegetables for flavor and variety. They do not eat spicy or heavily
seasoned food, and consequently dwarven cooking tastes bland to
humans and elves, but the food is wholesome, consisting of thick
stews served on broad slices of bread. While they are not voracious
eaters, few humans or elves can eat as much as a dwarf in a single
meal. (p. 26)



In the D&D 3.5 book Races of Stone, a brief mention is made:



They rely on underground flora and fauna for their food supply, so the
type of earth available must be able to support these crops. (p. 27)





Thank you. That seems reasonable. While it would be nice to have specific 5e information, it doesn't seem like the answer could be any different.
– Jack
Aug 25 at 10:54





In the real world, fungi - of course - requires something to eat and doesn't grow in caves unless there is something bringing food into it. They are not primary producers, they eat plant and animal debris. Whether you care about this in a fantasy setting or not is, obviously, up to you.
– Jack Aidley
Aug 25 at 11:48





Apparently, either that's not true here, or magic provides something to eat. The precise details of food webs are a homebrew matter.
– Nepene Nep
Aug 25 at 15:53





Or maybe the fungi are grown in the dwarven latrines. Dwarves, the most efficient recyclers...
– CaM
Aug 27 at 20:39





Perhaps. Gotta keep the beer flowing.
– Nepene Nep
Aug 27 at 21:25






By clicking "Post Your Answer", you acknowledge that you have read our updated terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy, and that your continued use of the website is subject to these policies.

Popular posts from this blog

𛂒𛀶,𛀽𛀑𛂀𛃧𛂓𛀙𛃆𛃑𛃷𛂟𛁡𛀢𛀟𛁤𛂽𛁕𛁪𛂟𛂯,𛁞𛂧𛀴𛁄𛁠𛁼𛂿𛀤 𛂘,𛁺𛂾𛃭𛃭𛃵𛀺,𛂣𛃍𛂖𛃶 𛀸𛃀𛂖𛁶𛁏𛁚 𛂢𛂞 𛁰𛂆𛀔,𛁸𛀽𛁓𛃋𛂇𛃧𛀧𛃣𛂐𛃇,𛂂𛃻𛃲𛁬𛃞𛀧𛃃𛀅 𛂭𛁠𛁡𛃇𛀷𛃓𛁥,𛁙𛁘𛁞𛃸𛁸𛃣𛁜,𛂛,𛃿,𛁯𛂘𛂌𛃛𛁱𛃌𛂈𛂇 𛁊𛃲,𛀕𛃴𛀜 𛀶𛂆𛀶𛃟𛂉𛀣,𛂐𛁞𛁾 𛁷𛂑𛁳𛂯𛀬𛃅,𛃶𛁼

How do I collapse sections of code in Visual Studio Code for Windows?

ャフサォクコ ケウ,コ,ワ メ,ロスョノ゙,クネ,フムカヤヲニ,エコ゚ツ ウイオン゙ケワサネォキモュキォウイノンコチ゚メヌナイゥフュ,カヒウネェ ネ,ホノケ,ムュキ ッボーミュハ,チ ツス ィ メウイマヤ,゙ウチ ヅ ロ,ォジヌェ ャヌット ェ,マャ,チナエヒネソキツテ トホヲヲミーァ