D&D General Fantasy cannibalism, a theoretical philosophy discussion

[jasper]

I'd resurrect 'em just so I could eat 'em again.

OH PLEASE NOT AGAIN PRAKRITTI. COULD AT LEAST THIS TIME START WITH MY FOOT AND NOT THE EARS!.

 

[Tonguez]

But.....wouldn't you get suddenly very hungry, and maybe starve, if you last meal was ressurected right out of your belly?

No, being Hungry isnt just about need for food, theres also hunger brought on by habit and pleasure seeking (ie Hunger cased by want of Chocolate not because you need it). Hungry is a condition trigged by a complex set of hormones in the body and brain which signal when energy stores are running low And cause Hunger hormones in the stomach and intestines to rise but then become suppressed as soon as a person starts eating as satisfaction hormones restore homeostasis.

Anyway if the food was magically removed that wouldnt affect the hormone triggers so a person would still feel satisfied and no longer hungry. It also becomes an issue of whether the nutrients extracted from the food remains or are extracted as part of the ressurection spell.
If they are and it was done repeatedly over a sustained period then yes starvation due to lack of nutrients would probably set in

 

[jasper]

Warning: I'm bored. Also this may veer into uncomfortable territory.

So the subject here is Need based emergency cannibalism in a situation that, in the real world, would be considered forgivable. I.e. marooned on a barren island, trapped by an avalanche, e.t.c.
Also for our purpose here we will consider the eating of ANY creature of humanlike or greater intelligence cannibalism. Debates and loopholes of the "if I'm a human and i eat a gnome is it really cannibalism?" nature should go elsewhere.

You're marooned on a desert island with a group of people. You have no supplies and no magic that would provide supplies or escape. Eventually, one of you succumbs to starvation, and the rest of you, in desperation, eat them.
Subsequently, you are rescued.

The eaten party can be restored by the 7th level spell resurrection. Since you obviously aren't casters of that power level, you would have to find someone who could cast it for you.
This would cost at least 2500 gold

So here's the question: how great is your duty of care? How responsible are you to restore them?

mmm good mmm good! Soup made out the Campbells is mmm mmm good!
You already said I was lower class, low power, and nearly an NPC. Only thing I have to do is; say a prayer for your soul. And toss a penny to the witcher if you come back to kill me.

 

[MarkB]

I have always seen the Revivify / Raise Dead / Resurrection spells not as actual parts of the setting or game world, but merely as game-playing conveniences. This is why kings and queens and nobles and high-ranking clergymen etc. all can die early in their lives as the story requires... without not just get raised again and again and again until old age finally catches up with them. If raising the dead was so ubiquitous, it would become commonplace. And truth be told also a lot easier and cheaper to do over time, such to the point that even the middle class and at some point even the lower classes could do it.

Yeah, in my campaigns I tend to emphasise the whole "soul must be free and willing to return" clause, and make it clear that when it comes to NPCs, only a very small percentage meet those criteria. Those who've gone to a "good place" afterlife aren't going to want to give it up for mortality, and those who have gone in the other direction won't find it easy to escape their torment. Even for those in between, the afterlife opens up whole new vistas and perspectives which make mortal existence seem paltry and irrelevant. For anyone other than a PC, any resurrection magic beyond revivify will likely be a waste of diamonds.

 

[Seramus]

Depends on if they were evil. If they were, they deserve to rot in hell. If they were not, they still go to the appropriate plane after death.

So... I guess it didn't depend after all!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

No, being Hungry isnt just about need for food, theres also hunger brought on by habit and pleasure seeking (ie Hunger cased by want of Chocolate not because you need it). Hungry is a condition trigged by a complex set of hormones in the body and brain which signal when energy stores are running low And cause Hunger hormones in the stomach and intestines to rise but then become suppressed as soon as a person starts eating as satisfaction hormones restore homeostasis.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'd resurrect 'em just so I could eat 'em again.

“Oh no, not Meat Loaf again!”

 

[Coroc]

Warning: I'm bored. Also this may veer into uncomfortable territory.

So the subject here is Need based emergency cannibalism in a situation that, in the real world, would be considered forgivable. I.e. marooned on a barren island, trapped by an avalanche, e.t.c.
Also for our purpose here we will consider the eating of ANY creature of humanlike or greater intelligence cannibalism. Debates and loopholes of the "if I'm a human and i eat a gnome is it really cannibalism?" nature should go elsewhere.

You're marooned on a desert island with a group of people. You have no supplies and no magic that would provide supplies or escape. Eventually, one of you succumbs to starvation, and the rest of you, in desperation, eat them.
Subsequently, you are rescued.

The eaten party can be restored by the 7th level spell resurrection. Since you obviously aren't casters of that power level, you would have to find someone who could cast it for you.
This would cost at least 2500 gold

So here's the question: how great is your duty of care? How responsible are you to restore them?

There's when that ring of regeneration comes in handy .... yuck

 

[Coroc]

Pun aside, in a proper darksun campaign halflings and thrikreen eat anything humanoid (well thrikreen might eat anything that moves), even their fallen comrades.
This is about the only scenario, apart form some obscene horror setting, where this situation might come up at my table.

And then it would probably be in the form of some RP lecturing that people are not rations, and the Halfling has to suppress his traditional habits, to be sociable .

 

[Eltab]

"Fish are friends, not food." Says the shark, trying hard to convince himself.