Chacteristic foods of your campaigns?

[Hemlock]

An Imperial Legionnaire's daily rations in my fantasy campaign include,

During wartime,
2 lbs dried, salted meat (varies due to location, but can be beef, pork, chicken, goat, sheep, or whatever they can find). Weight of meat is based on pre-drying weight.
1/2 lb hard cheese (the Imperial 'brand' is specifically made in 1/2 lb bricks for ease of distribution)
1 lb dried fruits, vegetables and nuts.

During peacetime,
Halve all the above weights.

and they are accompanied by wagons of barrels of water (which is given freely to the Legionnaires)

Given that rations double during war ... most Legionnaires are itching for battle.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

With regard to English words for animals as food, I think it's interesting that "fish", "rabbit", "goose", "duck", and "goat" weren't replaced. Chevre might not have been favoured food for the rich, but fish and rabbit certainly were, and goose and duck I think were.

I wonder what the Old English word for "pigeon" was.

Duv or Duf.

Actually rabbit first appears in Middle English too, so it's also a replacement. Hare is attested in Old English, but I'm not sure if there were already a technical distinction. It's kaninchen in German, no help there.

Poisson *almost* caught on in English. Individual fish names did better - flounder, haddock and salmon are all Norman in origin for example.

[Dwarf99]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Dwarven Vodka is a staple in my fantasy, dating back to around 2001 or so when looking at the Earthdawn map we decided Throal looked to be somewhere around the Ukraine, so thus, Dwarven Vodka!

Mine is rum. It's Essential Dwarven Rum. Rather than having a safe drinking limit of ST/4 drinks (which come in shots), it's ST/12 (ya know... because it's essential) I also gave it a special property that when it is refrigerated it turns into a taffee, which is called Dwarven Rumcake and acts as either an explosive or propellant depending on conditions. I can't remember what REF I gave it... I figured that was enough to slap the Dwarven CF on Distilled Liquor from DF and call it a day.

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by Hemlock

An Imperial Legionnaire's daily rations in my fantasy campaign include,

During wartime,
2 lbs dried, salted meat (varies due to location, but can be beef, pork, chicken, goat, sheep, or whatever they can find). Weight of meat is based on pre-drying weight.
1/2 lb hard cheese (the Imperial 'brand' is specifically made in 1/2 lb bricks for ease of distribution)
1 lb dried fruits, vegetables and nuts.

During peacetime,
Halve all the above weights.

and they are accompanied by wagons of barrels of water (which is given freely to the Legionnaires)

Given that rations double during war ... most Legionnaires are itching for battle.

Is the low-carb thing a deliberate feature?

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Is the low-carb thing a deliberate feature?

Not to mention how much the lactose intolerant get screwed.
Rome wasn't just comprised of those few groups able to digest it as adults.

But low carb diets aren't unhealthy once adapted to. The low fiber amounts though will have negative effects long term.

[simply Nathan]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Someone's been playing NetHack again?

Not even once. In the one GURPS campaign I played there were a couple times where our party killed a monster in town and sold its remains; the next day, street vendors would be selling meat-on-a-stick for the same prices as always. My wizard could tell by the texture when he was eating giant acid-spitting snail on a stick as opposed to pterodactyl on a stick, and loved how both tasted with garlic.

He was an outdoorsy teenager with Low TL relative to the setting, and thus didn't mind eating these sorts of things. And as a prince of his tribe he also didn't mind others doing the cooking for him.

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Not to mention how much the lactose intolerant get screwed.
Rome wasn't just comprised of those few groups able to digest it as adults.

But low carb diets aren't unhealthy once adapted to. The low fiber amounts though will have negative effects long term.

I was mainly thinking that this is an unusual diet for any human society - most of which get most of their calories from bread - and probably logistically tricky. I'd also be surprised if the legionaries are getting enough calories full stop - especially in peacetime.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Hemlock

An Imperial Legionnaire's daily rations in my fantasy campaign include,

During wartime,
2 lbs dried, salted meat (varies due to location, but can be beef, pork, chicken, goat, sheep, or whatever they can find). Weight of meat is based on pre-drying weight.
1/2 lb hard cheese (the Imperial 'brand' is specifically made in 1/2 lb bricks for ease of distribution)
1 lb dried fruits, vegetables and nuts.

During peacetime,
Halve all the above weights.

and they are accompanied by wagons of barrels of water (which is given freely to the Legionnaires)

Given that rations double during war ... most Legionnaires are itching for battle.

Originally Posted by The Colonel

I was mainly thinking that this is an unusual diet for any human society - most of which get most of their calories from bread - and probably logistically tricky. I'd also be surprised if the legionaries are getting enough calories full stop - especially in peacetime.

And its a LOT of meat. in war time, these guys are eating like nobility. Consider how much meat the average american eats in a day -- its less than a pound, and one of histories notable meat heavy diets (and the sort of thing health experts and conservationists deplore).

You really do need a good starch here.

[Hemlock]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Is the low-carb thing a deliberate feature?

I accidentally omitted.

Water and ~bread~ are freely given to Imperial Legionnaires.

Each legion is followed by a small wagon train of water wagons (wagons with kegs/ casks of fresh water; usually filled at rivers and stream crossings) and usually at least one bakery wagon (a wood-fired oven on a wooden frame used bake bread on the go).

Due to the reliance on water, Legions often have trouble conquering desert environments and swamps (although swamps are filled with water, the water is often contaminated).

[Hemlock]

Originally Posted by ericthered

And its a LOT of meat. in war time, these guys are eating like nobility. Consider how much meat the average american eats in a day -- its less than a pound, and one of histories notable meat heavy diets (and the sort of thing health experts and conservationists deplore).

You really do need a good starch here.

Comparing these legionnaires to Average Americans is comparing apples to oranges.

Average Americans are sedentary and slobs.

Imperial Legionnaires on campaign are slogging along in armor (sometimes at a forced march) and have to be ready to fight against many different foes.

Also, during wartime, many Imperial Legionnaires use the 'excess' dried meat as trade bait to barter with locals for other provisions. The Legionnaires don't want for food; but the locals ... on the other hand may be willing to trade many 'concessions' for meat during a wartime situation. They turn it into a form of currency ... many a farmer has traded a night with his daughter to a legionnaire for a few pounds of dried, salted pork.

And Legionnaires don't collect their coinage income until AFTER the campaign ... if they live thru it. Dead legionnaires cost nothing.