What do they eat down there? or the Secrets of Underground Gardening

[Terraism]

I always thought that sources of Underdark "meat" were never adequately presented. I meant...come on....do all those Drow eat just fungi?

It'd kinda explain why they're so beligerent all the time, wouldn't it?

 

[Snapdragyn]

I'm glad they mentioned the alternate energy source of farzness (sp?) in "Underdark". The whole 'oh, it's all fungi growing in the dark' thing is simply unrealistic. IRL, fungi depend on decaying matter to grow. No decaying plants means no fungi -- so there has to be some exterior energy source to fuel the growth of some sort of plant (either that or chemosynthetic life). Sure, you could have surface material drifting down in streams, but that would only carry down so far & fuel so much fungal growth; farz-whatsits & magic are really required for the significant ecology so often depicted.

 

[Piratecat]

They eat flumphs. With syrup.

 

[kenjib]

The nutritional needs of species that have adapted to life in underdark will probably also be different from the nutritional needs of surface dwellers. Perhaps, for example, their biology would have found an alternative to requiring vitamins D and C. So, a surface dweller spending large amounts of time in the underdark among a native race will develop scurvy, rickets, and other nutritional disorders unless they can bring in food from the outer world.

EDIT: They could also get digestive disorders from different kinds of bacteria present in the food that the natives are highly resistant to - kind of like Americans drinking the tap water in Mexico...

 

[Agback]

G'day

Never underestimate the potential of Stone to Flesh wands for simultaneously tunnelling and manufacturing spam.

Regards,


Agback

 

[KB9JMQ]

G'day

Never underestimate the potential of Stone to Flesh wands for simultaneously tunnelling and manufacturing spam.

Regards,


Agback

The mere thought of that is revolting.

 

[MerakSpielman]

I always thought that sources of Underdark "meat" were never adequately presented. I meant...come on....do all those Drow eat just fungi?

It'd kinda explain why they're so beligerent all the time, wouldn't it?

But if they only eat fungi, and they are what they eat, shouldn't they be fun guys?

ba-dump ching!

IMC the surface has been destroying, including all vegetation. Druids in the Underdark have discovered how to cultivate surface plants in large caverns and possess a monopoly on all non-fungus veggies... like, grain. This gives them a great deal of influence, despite their low numbers. The Drow in my underdark raise herds of Stench Cows (or more accurately, their slaves raise them) for meat and leather. Some of the lakes still have fish in them. Mostly, though, people subsist on vermin, mold, and fungus. That's just the way it goes when you're down there.

 

[RSKennan]

Don't discount aberrations... In my setting, there are these delicious little hopping critters called pit leeches. Better than chicken. : ) I imagine rust monsters are a bit like crab, and that debauched nobles in a distant land somewhere could have taste for chilled mind flayer brains with a dash of nutmeg.

To be honest, Agback's idea of stone to flesh, as revolting as it is , is something I've thought about. I imagine it would keep someone alive in a pinch.

Aside from fungi, there are protists like algae (if there are trees, why not algae?), which can be dried and used as flour, combined with monerans like certain yeasts to make 'deepbread'- or to thicken stews. This would also explain the dwarven love of ale... the ingredients for bread are also good ingredients for booze. Lichens (near cave openings) can fill a similar role. Bats, striges, grubs, worms, various creature eggs, and the occasional large creature can help to round out the diet.

Based on bat guano alone, fungi are justified, but if deep-dwellers also catch largely inedible fish and other creatures, these can be used as fertilizer. Over
the generations, the underdark could become very fertile. This isn't even accounting for magic, per se.

Edit: Excellent thread, BTW...

 

[frankthedm]

Weak meat, strong eat!

 

[Krieg]

edit:i don't sh....where i eat. do you? i don't expect them too either.

Can you say with absolute certainty that no organic fertilizer has been used to grow anything you eat?

Don't count on it.