D&D 5E Military food in dnd

[Tonguez]

the great thing about Orcs and Gnolls is that they dont need to carry rations - they just eat who they kill

humans probably need to survive on gruel (Grains) and dried meat, bread, pickles and forage,

oh and because of gurel you also get lots of Beer

 

[Seramus]

You just need a 1:6 ratio of Outlanders. Large armies will often hire mercenary bands of Outlanders to provide them with food, and foraging usually involves stopping by local Outlander homes. For example, Rome tried to hire as many Outlanders as they could, and the Gauls had to be wiped out because an entire army of Outlanders was just too dangerous and mobile to allow them to survive.

 

[Ulfgeir]

I would expect they would eat lots of dried stuff, like Beef Jerky, Lutefisk, nuts, and berries, and also things like Kimchi. I can definitively see canned goods being used in some settings (they are of Napoleonic origin. Remember that the can opener though was not invented until much later...)

For a slightly more modern setting (or one where chocolate exists), I can see chocloate bars that have been stored a long time. In the Swedish military we used to get bars that had been stored so long that the sugar had started to crystalize in them. They were actually surprisingly good though.

 

[Zardnaar]

Yeah, but they weren't your rations, were they?

Seriously, the French combat rats were Teh Bawmb. I remember trading for those in Somalia. To further prove my point, they hated their rations and loved our MREs.

Lunatics.

'Course they were Legionnaires. That might account for a lot.



Never had those. I wonder what those were like.



I have a really awful story about a C130 full of paratroopers and a Chicken Stew MRE. LOL

I always loved Tuna with Noodles, myself.

They probably got sick of their own rations due to repetition, not because the rations were bad.

I ate good at army camp in NZ. Cooked breakfast every day was a bit much week 2 I ate cereal, yoghurt, fruit.

 

[Zardnaar]

I see no reason why it'd have to be appreciably different than Medieval or Early Modern real-world armies.

Finding sufficient supplies of clean potable water along the route of march is impossible. Historical armies relied on water at their peril, hence the rations of weak beer (or wine), as well as the supplies of the raw ingredients for brewing, as outlined above.

If the water can be somehow treated, whether magically treated or created by magic, dysentery can't really happen. However, I think that'd run into the magic "economy," also outlined above, where I mused on food.

Before anyone goes all wonky about staggering, drunken soldiers, keep in mind we're talking about weak, weak ale. Less than 2% by volume, consumed over a long period, does not lead to impairment. The brewing process removes harmful microbes, and retains proteins and other nutrients which supplement the cheese-and-hardtack ration.

Regards,

Bob

www.r-p-davis.com

Food changed a lot from medieval times.

Corn, tomato, potatoes came from the America's.

Armies used baggage trains and we're usually smaller than say 18th century one's. Grain was popular, weaker beer and wine.

Mongols used horses, mates milk, livestock.
Logistics weren't the best though they tended to use multiple horses and expect to lose a few.

By the time they got to Western Europe they ran out of Steppe.

Laying a siege was often more dangerous to the attacker. Local food supplies got depleted, sanitation was poor.

 

[abe ray]

Now at the Baracks it’s another story for the troops as they would have less repetition in their diet!

 

[Hussar]

Goodberry isn't military, it's cast by Druids, the anti-civilisation Hippies.

I know this is thread necromancy, but, it's a good thread.

I'd point out that rangers can cast Goodberry as well. Which is a second level ranger. Not exactly a huge requirement there. One 2nd level ranger can feed 20 people per day which is HUGE. The spell is a bit vague as to whether it provides drinks as well (it just says nourishment - I'd say you still need to drink), but, the gains for that would be immense. Not having to carry any food? Only needing to eat 1/day? That would have a very large impact on any army. Add a 1st level cleric for Purify Food and Drink (all food and drink within 5 feet is automatically purified - That's a 1000 liters per casting, and it's not like you have to cast every day. You could march armies across deserts with this and not suffer.

The D&D magic system does very, very bad things to world building considerations.

 

[LordBP]

Short article on what it takes to feed an army.

The Logistics of Medieval Warfare – neutralhistory.com

neutralhistory.com

 

[Seramus]

the gains for that would be immense. Not having to carry any food? Only needing to eat 1/day? That would have a very large impact on any army.

Not having to do dishes would also be amazing. But now I'm wondering about the impact of goodberry on latrine usage. Not normally something to worry about in a fantasy game, but fascinating to consider in general.

 

[Ancalagon]

Short article on what it takes to feed an army.

The Logistics of Medieval Warfare – neutralhistory.com

neutralhistory.com

oh, I will have to read this!

Another great article on the issue - well, the issue of logistics, for which food was an important aspect:

Collections: Logistics, How Did They Do It, Part I: The Problem

In this three-part series (I, II, III) we’re going to be bowing to reader demand and taking a close look at the nuts and bolts of maintaining an army in the field. In our last series, after all, w…

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