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We were working on 5e the other day, and a question came up. Do the party members get anything special for eating monsters according to the rules?

I know rations are the main food source on the road. But for instance, you run out of rations and are forced to eat something like a kobold or a goblin. Would that cause sickness or disease? On the other end, would eating certain monsters give a positive bonus?

doppelgreener
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Thatguy
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  • I've revised this to do a few things, but in particular, it's no longer asking how to cook (that's a different question entirely, and may come up if it's relevant to answering this question), and it's asking about the rules (because we can't reasonably facilitate “here's my cooking homebrew” as it's an idea-generation question at that point). I suggest avoiding saying “just a random question” as well -- that adds noise to the question text and you have a perfectly fine legitimate question. – doppelgreener Feb 13 '18 at 14:29

1 Answers1

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This is not specified in the rules, therefore is up to the DM

If you are the player, ask your DM. If you are the DM, make a ruling. The main goal is you and your players having fun:

Rules enable you and your players to have fun at the table. The rules serve you, not vice versa.
(DMG page 235)

You see, 5th edition empowers the DM in ways that 3rd, 3.5, and 4th did not. While rule zero has always applied, 5th edition chooses not to explicitly codify many things. If the DM says you gain a temporary regeneration after eating a troll flesh piece, it happens. If the DM says you get a disease, you get a disease. The DM can also ask you for some kind of a check — let's say, Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom (Survival) — to determine, what monster flesh is actually edible. This might depend on the adventure though.

An example from the Out of the Abyss book

@guildsbounty pointed to the Out of the Abyss supplement, page 20, "Foraging":

many creatures the adventurers might meet and kill can be butchered. but the meat they yield spoils after a single day if uneaten. Eating spoiled meat might require a Constitution saving throw to keep the meal down. a Wisdom saving throw to avoid acquiring a level of madness from the awful experience (see "Madness" latter in this chapter), or both.

Keep in mind that "monster" is just a creature you fight with

Player's handbook uses the word "monster" in two different contexts, see About monster definition and distinctions :

The term "monster" is used throughout this work in two manners. Its first, and most important, meaning is to designate any creature encountered

A "monster" usually means any creature you can fight with. Aside from the "monstrosity" creature type, there are no other special "monsters" in 5e — a horse is considered as a "monster" when PCs fight with it. And yes, people normally eat horses.

enkryptor
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