Effects of an all blood diet.

[dave_o]

My next IRL campaign is going to be a wuxia-style Oriental Adventures/D&D 3.5 campaign (so LOOK ME UP San Diego gamers!) and I had a question about one of the first villians I plan on introducing in the game. While the details are still sketchy in the old brainpan, I've decided that he will believe blood is the spirit and thus, in order to attain transcendance, will only consume human (or animal, in a pinch) blood. Obviously this is a delusion, and a very creepy and mentally disturbed character -- especially because he things that regular food makes your soul heavy and thus, as punishment, stuffs his victims until they are huge gluttons, bursting. I think there's like a gluttony elemental somewhere (BoVD?) I can use.

Anyway, what sort of effects would subsisting entirely on blood have? Could you even do it? Would it change how you look? Are there actually any nutrients in blood that you could live off of? How long could you go? Etc.

Thanks in advance! (And I'm serious San Diego gamers, c'mon.)

 

[Aust Diamondew]

If I wanted to subsist on only blood and I lived in a D&D world I'd try to become a vampire.

As far as subsisting on it goes it proably isn't very healthy for an extended period of time but I'm sure in a pinch you could live on it for a while.

 

[Skarp Hedin]

Well, there must be sufficient nutrients - vampire bats do just fine, and they're mammals. They are, however, small.

Considering that a Desmodus rotundus eats something insane, like half its body weight in blood in a feeding, and is a small bat, I would think that a human would need vast ponds of blood to keep going.

 

[Three_Haligonians]

Hmm

Perhaps you could do some research into cannibalism.. I don't know if a diet of blood is the exact same as a diet of same-species flesh but it might be a starting point for you. There has been a couple threads here on ENWorld that discussed the moral issues of cannibalism but I'm pretty sure the medical reasons were talked about as well.

By the way, I love the idea for the character - very very cool.

J from Three Haligonians

 

[Tonguez]

Also don't forget the Masai amongst whom a significant portion of the diet is cows blood mixed in milk.

I'd guess that blood is primarily protein and thus you suffer the ill effects of lack of carbs and a variety of vitamins and minerals (including calcium). Your more likely to pick up any blood-bourne disease

also to drink enough blood to survive will probably make a person bloated (I saw a documentary on vampires once that suggested that if vampires were real they should be quite recognisable as bloated and ruddy not the suave pale skinned debonair types we usually see)

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Rats! Tonguez beat me to my point...

Mixing blood with other ingredients is likely the best way to handle it, I like blutwurst for example.

The Auld Grump, dang, my mouth just started watering... I think I need to go eat...

 

[Argonel]

1. Consuming blood would probably be a very good route for infection by blood borne pathogens. Especially considering that easy/early victims would be street people. Consider the conditions of what the NPC's victims would be, and how that may carry over to the villian.

2. The souls of those he killed may haunt him. He would probably have undead around him, hating him, but unable to harm him because he consumed thier blood. this could easily lead to coporeal or incoporeal undead either attacking the heros or attempting to assist the heros.

3. Blood coagulates as it is being digested, leading to severe constipation and black, tarry stools. This can't be good for one's disposition.

The ideas in the prior posts are also quite good.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

1. Consuming blood would probably be a very good route for infection by blood borne pathogens. Especially considering that easy/early victims would be street people. Consider the conditions of what the NPC's victims would be, and how that may carry over to the villian.

2. The souls of those he killed may haunt him. He would probably have undead around him, hating him, but unable to harm him because he consumed thier blood. this could easily lead to coporeal or incoporeal undead either attacking the heros or attempting to assist the heros.

3. Blood coagulates as it is being digested, leading to severe constipation and black, tarry stools. This can't be good for one's disposition.

The ideas in the prior posts are also quite good.

1 - only if it is consumed raw, which would be kind of nasty anyway.

It is also possible that he will suffer from an overdose of iron because of his diet - humans are not designed for pure blood. (There is a term for this, but I do not remember it.)

All liquid diets are a bad idea in general if I recall correctly.

2 would have to be because of a feat chain or a prestige class, too powerful otherwise.

3, Yep, sick as a dog. A drop in Con seems likely.

The Auld Grump

 

[Nifft]

In this campaign, is there any magic? If so, I'd use mythosymbolic taints rather than sciency stuff.


Blood-Borne Taints:

1/ Ill Humour. As we all know, Blood is a Hot Tempestuous Humour, leading unto Rage if the Will should meet opposition. This Quality of rage should also reside well within the spirit of a Villian.

2/ Bad Karma. Since you drink the prana as you imbie the blood, you will (of course) take on some of the karmic debt of your meal. This is why pure virgins are prefered -- better karma. Thus are the villian's wicked, corrupt cohorts safe from his diet.

3/ Blood Brothers. It's well known that if you mix your blood with that of another man, you are blood brothers. You share in his fate (per karma above), but you also share in his identity. Divinations might mistake you for him (especially if he is not available... because you killed him).

4/ Melting Pot. As above, but you also register as a member of pretty much any race you've ever fed on. Sword of Orc Bane? Well, you are what you eat.

-- N

 

[domino]

He's gonna smell REALLY bad.