What constitutes cannibalism in a D&D world?

[Barendd Nobeard]

OK, we're in a dungeon and food is running low (except for my gnome PC who was the only one smart enough to bring a lot of rations). There's lot of dead fiendish things, but they don't taste good and aren't providing any nutrients. The only other dead things we have access to are orcs.

We all agreed that cannibalism was evil. But we could not agree on what exactly constituted cannibalism.

One player, playing a human cleric (LG alignment), said it was an evil act for a starving human to eat a dead orc. He also said that eating *any* humanoid was cannibalism. I, the player of a gnome cleric (LG alignment), said that a human or gnome eating a dead orc was not cannibalism, since it's a different race.

In terms of game mechanics, his stance was that eating the same "creature type" was cannibalism. Thus, any humanoid eating another humanoid was cannibalism (I guess animals can't eat animals--sorry, tigers and lions).

In terms of game mechanics, my stance was that eating something a good-aligned Ranger could not take as favored enemy was cannibalism. In other words--only your own race is "verboten" in this sense. So, an elf may not eat an elf; but she may eat a halfling.

Any other thoughts on this? Our DM made a ruling, so it's not an issue in our game. But we're low enough level that we can't commune with our gods yet, so we don't have any direct proof of what our respective deities may think on the issue. Yet.

I promised the group I would ask the question at EN World (I'm the only one who hangs out here regularly) and get some feedback. Should we go with a more restrictive definition (the Ranger rule) or a broader definition (the
Creature Type rule)? Or something different (playable PHB race = cannibalism, for example)?

The DM and players are awaiting your thoughts.


Thanks.

 

[Alchemist]

I would draw the line at sentience. That is, if it has greater than animal intelligence, it's cannibalism. Solves the animal eating animal issue, and just goes to show how evil many D&D creatures are.

 

[Azul]

In strict terms, cannibalism would be eating your own species.

However, I suspect that almost all good, most neutral races and even many evil races would have a strong aversion to eating any species that physically resembles their form. Civilized mammalian humanoids would consider eating other mammalian humanoids to be cannibalism and might possibly consider eating any humanoid shaped creature (e.g. humanoids, monstrous humanoids, giants, fey, some aberrations and outsiders) to be verboten. Reptillian humanoids might only consider eating other reptillians to be cannibalism (e.g. a kobold might be disgusted at the idea of eating a lizardman or a troglodyte but be fine with elfsteak). Survivalist type humanoids of neutral alignment, such as lizardfolk, might be less picky.

Good aligned races and more philosophically inclined neutral races would probably have issues with eating the flesh of any sentient being.

Very few races should make cannibalism a common behaviour, except as a form of extreme population control or as part of ritual behaviour. Even evil races will prefer to hunt other races instead of their own. Otherwise, they'll just kill their own race off.

Using the "same creature type" is probably a good starting point if you feel you need a game mechanic to adjudicate this, but I would suggest using a roleplayed (i.e. fluff) approach to this cultural question rather than a mechanics (i.e. crunch) approach. After all, the characters themselves don't stop and think in terms of "humanoid" versus "monstrous humanoid" versus "fey" when it comes to rough appearance (looks kind of human-like in form).

My gut feeling would be to use sentience as a limit for more intelligent PCs of non-evil alignment (or evil but dignified, such as a drow). A simple "if I can have a conversation with it or think it looks sexy, it's not morally ok to eat it" rule works for dumber PCs. Survivalist neutral and Evil PCs might be more driven by personal survival.

 

[haiiro]

Using the "same creature type" is probably a good starting point if you feel you need a game mechanic to adjudicate this, but I would suggest using a roleplayed (i.e. fluff) approach to this cultural question rather than a mechanics (i.e. crunch) approach. After all, the characters themselves don't stop and think in terms of "humanoid" versus "monstrous humanoid" versus "fey" when it comes to rough appearance (looks kind of human-like in form).

This seems like it would work just fine for individual characters, but what about pinning down a definition on a larger scale -- what do some/most nations consider cannibalism, for example?

If the traditional enmity between elves and dwarves exists in your campaign, would either race care about eating members of the other one? Is cannibalism inherently evil, or is that just a "human thing?"

Somehow, the idea that most "civilized" races wouldn't condone eating members of other civilized races -- but wouldn't care that much about eating evil humanoids, etc. -- feels right to me. That's a really mushy answer, though, so it's probably not very helpful.

Barendd, this is an awesome question. Much more thought-provoking than it sounded at first.

 

[Incenjucar]

Cannibalism, in the scientific realm rather than the cultural one, generally means you eat your own species. Trick is, species is usually determined by what you can breed with... and in D&D... well... Templates make us all cannibals.

 

[BOZ]

here's my take. yes, cannibalism is strictly defined as eating something of your own type. and, in fact, i would leave it at that.

however, in the real world, the only sentient race is the human race. there are no other speaking, intelligent creatures out there, so we have far less of a social taboo against eating other living creatures in most cultures.

i would say, as an add-on to cannibalism, that eating anything with an Int score of say 3 or higher as a racial average (as in the MM) should be a no-no to good-aligned creatures. you might want to set that higher if you as the DM don't mind people eating, say, a griffon or something. but definitely, anything with a demonstrable intelligence should be off limits.

however, you could go the route of Dark Sun halflings who eat other humanoid races and don't consider themselves cannibals because they don't eat other halflings.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

To continue with RW analysis, there are many cultures on the face of the earth that eat (or used to eat) those other species that are closest to us in intelligence- dolphins, whales, chimps, gorillas, etc.

Assuming, a la David Brin's Uplift Saga books, that those species were scientifically manipulated to have full human intellects, then there would doubtless be increased pressure to desist in consumption of those species.

I mean, its REALLY tough to eat something that can beat you in a debate!

So, to bring the analogy full circle- most people in a fantasy world with multiple intelligent species would find it abhorrent to consume something capable of having a culture.

And a culture that engaged in the consumption of sophonts (thinking beings) on a regular basis would be anathema to the general populace of the world.

 

[Sado]

I don't think it has anything to do with sentience technically. I think its the praying mantis female that eats the male during copulation, they call that cannibalism. Or when mama rats eat their babies when there's too many of them. I think they call it cannibalism when any animal eats one of its own.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I tend to lean toward communication as the cultural cue for cannibalism - if you can talk to the species eating it is 'cannabalism'. That said, not all cultures see cannabalism as taboo, in some cases it might be seen as doing honor to a worthy foe. Not merely sentience, but obvious sentience.

Eating within your species however is dangerous, bringing a seriious possibility of disease, from parisitic infestations to prion transmitters like mad cow disease or laughing sickness.

The Auld Grump, you! I'm bigger than you! I'm higher on the food chain!

 

[Sejs]

Cannibalism is eatting your own species. In settings that tote multiple sentient, sometimes inter-breedable races, it tends to get expanded to cover eatting other inherrantly sentient creatures.


However, as for being evil... that's one of those social "icky" type evils. It's not evil in the same way that rape or murder is evil. There is no wrong done to someone by eatting a dead guy - the only person who could be hard done by is already past caring at that point. Be practical, if the only two options are eatting some flesh that at one point used to belong to a sentient being, and starving to death, then slap on the bib and eat up.


You're free to feel all guilty about it when you're not in danger of dying from lack of food. Maybe do some community service or something, I don't know. Say a few extra 'Bless Us Lord Protector's next time you're in church, and drop a few extra coins in the poor box.