Li Shenron
Legend
Well, I suppose they could also organize parties to go gathering and hunting daily, if they don't cultivate or herd...
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Races of Stone: Dwarven Agriculture
- Thread starter Johnny Angel
- Start date
Dark Jezter
First Post
From The Complete Book of Dwarves...
So it looks like dwarves do indeed raise cattle and grow grains on the surface (or at least they did in the days of 2e AD&D).
Dwarves' Diet
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.
In high ranges, mountain dwarves keep animals more suited to subterranean existence: giant lizards and beetles. Deep dwarves and duergar also keep lizards and beetles, and these are selectively bred for cooking. Gully dwarves eat anything they can scavenge and rarely breed or maintain any animals for food. The few gullys who have tried were so wretched at it their animals sickened and died.
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 or halflings 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, but gully dwarves will eat anything. As a result, many gully dwarves suffer from indigestion and bowel disorders.
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 like halflings, few humans or elves can eat as much as a dwarf in a single meal.
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.
In high ranges, mountain dwarves keep animals more suited to subterranean existence: giant lizards and beetles. Deep dwarves and duergar also keep lizards and beetles, and these are selectively bred for cooking. Gully dwarves eat anything they can scavenge and rarely breed or maintain any animals for food. The few gullys who have tried were so wretched at it their animals sickened and died.
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 or halflings 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, but gully dwarves will eat anything. As a result, many gully dwarves suffer from indigestion and bowel disorders.
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 like halflings, few humans or elves can eat as much as a dwarf in a single meal.
So it looks like dwarves do indeed raise cattle and grow grains on the surface (or at least they did in the days of 2e AD&D).
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Dwarven Nations Trilogy
I base my vision of a typical Dwarven kingdom on the descriptions at the beginning of "The Covenant of the Forge" by Dan Parkinson (TSR, 1993). The city is located within the mountain and a fortified structure exists on the front of the mountain. For agriculture the Dwarves have the slopes of the mountain below farmed. Once per year they have a big trade gathering in the valley below their city where everyone is welcome. This is what I always envision when I thing of Dwarves. Having said that, if they seal the mountain door, they are able to exist quite happily, though without the creature comforts they would prefer. I'm actually working on an all dwarven adventure right now and Races of Stone has some very good information reguarding the way dwarves behave and think. This will be key for me to share with my players because they are all Elves (at least that is what they always play).
I base my vision of a typical Dwarven kingdom on the descriptions at the beginning of "The Covenant of the Forge" by Dan Parkinson (TSR, 1993). The city is located within the mountain and a fortified structure exists on the front of the mountain. For agriculture the Dwarves have the slopes of the mountain below farmed. Once per year they have a big trade gathering in the valley below their city where everyone is welcome. This is what I always envision when I thing of Dwarves. Having said that, if they seal the mountain door, they are able to exist quite happily, though without the creature comforts they would prefer. I'm actually working on an all dwarven adventure right now and Races of Stone has some very good information reguarding the way dwarves behave and think. This will be key for me to share with my players because they are all Elves (at least that is what they always play).
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