Feeding/watering mounts and beasts of burden (or a 12,000 lb lizard?)

mir said:
I happen to have my old Darksun boxed set handy. It says Mekillots need 300 pounds of food and 16 gallons of water per day.
Can I ask you where you found it? What book/page? I've looked everywhere and I seem unable to find it.

Everyone else, thanks for your help! I think I have most of the data I need to put together something. Depending on what I find in the Darksun rules, I may just go with that.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

...I don't think there is enough vegetation above ground on all of Athas to support your mekillot for more than a few weeks total.

If that's the case, then it's dead already. There would need to be MORE vegetation to support it as a carnivore, since there would have to be enough vegetation to support each of its meals.. & support them until they're large enough for it to eat, & support enough of them to maintain a stable prey base for it & all of the others of its species. If you're going to have carnivores of this size on a desert planet, I'd suggest some sort of magic be involved in the ecology.

As for whether it 'should' be a carnivore because it's a reptile, I wouldn't worry about it. While a carnivorous state is the norm across all non-avian reptiles (yes, birds are reptiles with feathers), there are enough exceptions (e.g. tortoises, some lizards) to justify going with whatever seems to fit better for your needs. This is going only from surviving reptiles, too; certainly we know there were plenty of herbivorous (& massively sized) dinosaurs which could just as easily serve as a model for this beastie.
 

Regardless of shoulds or should nots in terms of hypothetical reptiles, the Dark Sun Mekillot is most definately a carnivore, according to the boxed set.
 

Ok guys, here is what I'm going with. This is based on an extrapolation of the numbers in 3rd edition (and clearly, nothing to do with reality).

Size of Creature / Water Needed Per Day / Food Needed Per Day:
Fine / 1 oz or less / .1 oz or less
Diminutive / 4 oz / ½ oz
Tiny / 16 oz / 2 oz
Small / ½ gal / ½ lb
Medium / 1 gal / 1 lb
Large / 4 gal / 10 lbs
Huge / 16 gal / 40 lbs
Gargantuan / 64 gal / 160 lbs
Colossal / 256 gal / 640 lbs
 
Last edited:

Steverooo said:
These numbers are right-on! One pound of DRIED rations, per person, per day, and one gallon of drinking water, per person, per day, under normal conditions, meaning temperatures around 72 degrees F, doing "normal" exertion (walking, but not running, working, but not strenuously). When exerting strenuously, double the water, and when in hot weather, double it, again.

Now note, this is enough water for surviving on DRIED food, and not exhausting the body's resources. Yes, you CAN get by on one quart of water, per person, per day, but if you are also eating DRIED Food, you will have parched mouth, and be VERY uncomfortable! If you can get fresh plant food, with water within it, you can probably get by on that... OTHERWISE, you will begin dehydrating (and that's bad)!

Also note that, in a hot desert (two gallons of water, per person, per day), when doing strenuous work (four gallons, per person, per day), that this includes enough water to COOK with (and also a modicum to wash with, occassionally). If you are doing no cooking, and no washing, you can get along with a bit less (and about one quarter that, for short periods, although the risks of heat exhaustion & stroke go up, and the body begins to dehydrate).

Also note that, when low on water, the eating of fat is to be avoided! Lean meat can be eaten (and if cooked in some broth is very good for you), but that breaking down the fat, in the body, sucks the water out of it, as water is necessary to metabolize the fat!

Surviving on dried rations, high in nuts and fat (as granola, nuts, trail mixes, etc., usually are), with only one quart of water, per person, per day, will get you killed. It is possible, in the short run, but expect to lose body weight (and more importantly, muscle mass), dehydration, and generally weakening yourself. You might survive, but it's a lousy idea to try it!

One gallon of water, per person, per day, doubling that for strenuous exertion, doubling for heat, is the amount that a human needs. I believe that the DMG says that a horse being fed with a Murlynd's Spoon needs four times that much, IIRC (you can look it up). With FRESH food, maybe you could halve that, but the cooking would require some water...

Lizards mostly eat their foods raw, so no cooking. They mostly eat insects, IIRC, so that adds some fresh water (eh, ichor!) to their diet, which is low in fat, so multiply by your 16x, or whatever, then halve that, due to low fat diet & no cooking, and cold blooded metabolism. That seems about right, to me...

I must rsepctfully disagree on the water intake both from personal experience and every thing I've read in the field. The 1 gallon a day number is handy and has floated around for quite some time. it's a great guideline for stockpiling since we use water for som many things but for what you actually need to drink in a temperate environment its inflated. Found a handy site that lists several recommendations and where they came from. Pick your own, but 1 gallon per day (again non-desert environments) is at the very high end of the recommendation.

http://www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/ask-about/adults

As a personal testimonial, which isn't worth much since intake can vary drastically, I've backpacked for about 28 years and never drank a gallon of water a day. At most 2 liters and ate plenty of dried food. I've been on 2 week trips with nary a bad side effect, except blistered feet.
 
Last edited:

Rothe said:
Amusingly enough in that website they mention...

Table 2: Recommended Adequate Intake for water:
Total water intake per day (including water contained in food and other beverages)*=3.7 litres.
Water obtained from drinks per day (representing approx. 81% of total water intake)=3 litres.
*The panel also noted that higher intakes of total water would be required for individuals who were physically active or exposed to hot environments.
And One US liquid gallon = 3.785411784 litres

Since iron rations are dried and waterless, it would seem that your link agrees with the DMG.
 
Last edited:

Remove ads

Top