Can you name a tabletop activity that is highly social, builds community, and has infinite possibilities? If you said dining with friends, you're right. If you said Dungeons & Dragons, you're also right! Today, some fifty million people have played the game; D&D-inspired shows and movies top the charts; licensed D&D products fill retail shelves (ahem); and video games based on D&D's concepts rule the screens. In short, D&D is everywhere—including the kitchen!
Initially published in 1974, Dungeons & Dragons was the world's first role-playing game and would go on to revolutionize all aspects of the gaming industry and pop culture alongside it. It introduced an array of now-pervasive gaming concepts, from leveling up to gamified role assumption, but it notably held on to some aspects of its war-gaming past. Born out of a gaming culture that prized realistic simulation, the notion of needing food was inherent in the earliest versions of the game, usually represented in the simple tracking of weekly rations. To have any hope of surviving a protracted excursion in the dungeon underworld, you needed to stay fed. Simply put, in D&D, you must eat to live. But adventurers also needed a place to meet, carouse, and gather information, and what better venues to place in front of them than taverns, public houses, and other places of food and drink?
As the game developed through different communities, food became a key part of the game's narrative experience. In many of the early modules, it was not uncommon for taverns to have long lists of food and drink from which adventurers could choose. For example, in the iconic Keep on the Borderlands, adventurers have the option of no less than five drinks and eight dishes, from honey mead and bark tea to pudding and roast joint. By the time the Forgotten Realms campaign world was in full force, there were entire books devoted to rating and discussing inns and dining establishments (thanks, Volo!). More cosmopolitan venues in the multiverse boasted restaurants that might seem worthy of a Michelin star or two.
Why so many options for an element of realism that could just as simply check the box? Perhaps it's because early designers realized that food could provide new avenues for the narrative experience. Would a haughty aristocrat be content with iron rations? How well can that halfling hold her drink and what does she do when she doesn't? This is to say, the unexpected, memorable, and hilarious moments of any given D&D session are as likely to come up over an in-game tankard of Neverwinter Nectar as they are while battling a feisty gaggle of kobolds.
In the first book, Heroes' Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook, we posed the question, "How can food elevate and enhance the D&D experience?" In Heroes' Feast: Flavors of the Multiverse, we ask, "How can cooking and dining play an essential part of the communal gaming experience?" The book that you are holding is both a guide to D&D food and a culinary companion to your game nights. It includes more than seventy-five delicious recipes, which you can enjoy alongside your in-game character. We've even created some food-loving characters of our own (once nameless adventurers taken straight from the cover of the first Heroes' Feast) whose madcap, multiversal adventures provide the locational basis for the dishes herein. Our hope is that this book not only adds a visceral and delicious element to your games but also becomes another avenue to connect with fellow gamers. So, in the immortal words of the original Player's Handbook, "enjoy, and may the dice be good to you."
About This Book: Cooking Fantasies
Dungeons & Dragons is a game based on imagination, and so is this cookbook. But, of course, everything is spawned by something else, and the worlds of D&D are no different. From bustling port-side cities to sprawling pastoral landscapes, the game is full of real-world influences, and this is also true of what adventurers may eat. Whether your character frequents the taverns of the Forgotten Realms, the castles of Greyhawk, or the forests of Krynn, there's a good chance you'll see something familiar on the menu. That's because roast meats, hearty grains, and seasoned vegetables are as ubiquitous in the D&D multiverse as they are in our world. The main differences come in the specific ingredients that are used and the way they are prepared.
One challenge that arises when trying to bring any aspect of D&D to life is feasibility. You may wonder, "Do I need spells, magical items, and mystical ingredients to make this stuff?" Rest assured, the answer is "no." The chef and author team have spent countless hours ensuring that each dish is true to its D&D world but also possible to prepare with ingredients and techniques available in ours. We've even consulted the great archmage Mordenkainen, who has assured us that our substitutions and alternate techniques "usually improve the dish" (he's a curmudgeon and that's high praise from the Lord Mage of Greyhawk). When the original recipe calls for rothé, we'll give you a reasonable analog, such as prime beef. Owlbear milk can be a bit hard to find in these parts, but not buttermilk, which offers a similar tang and texture. While the herring from the Rock of Bral may boast a unique flavor, North Atlantic smoked kipper is a suitable substitute. Ultimately, our approach to creating this collection of recipes was to collect and curate the most notable dishes in the D&D multiverse; adapt them for feasibility and flavor; and present them in a manner that even a first level chef might be able to prepare successfully. Accordingly, our master chef has not only conjured easy-to-follow recipes but also some helpful Cook's Notes, which will guide you through every aspect of the journey.
"Adventuring Gear"
Like a lich's lair, the road of culinary adventure has the potential for disaster and reward. Only with a fair amount of skill, perseverance, caution, and luck do you have a chance of survival. But before you embark on this journey, you'll also need the right gear. While fighters wield their swords and shields, and mages have their staffs and spellbooks, those who practice the culinary arts also require the proper implements to ensure a successful quest. Here are some tools that will help you complete this adventure and perhaps even level up along the way:
- Baking sheets
- Bench scraper
- Blender
- Cheese grater
- Chef's knife
- Cocktail shaker and muddler
- Colander
- Dutch oven or sauté pan
- Food processor
- Garlic press
- Loaf pan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Muffin tin
- Nonstick and cast-iron skillets
- Parchment paper
- Pastry brush
- Pie plate
- Saucepans
- Spatulas
- Stand mixer or electric handheld mixer
- Standard cooking utensils, such as cooking spoons, tongs, whisk
- Strainer
- Vegetable peeler
- Wire racks
Worlds of Flavor
Dungeons & Dragons comprises numerous campaign settings, and each is traditionally based on a single planet or realm rich with its own histories, mythologies, cultures, and, of course, culinary identities. Several locales from this vast multiverse are explored within this cookbook, forming the basis on which the recipes are organized. While each location is built for in-game action and intrigue, they also yield their own ingredients, traditions, and techniques that promise culinary adventure. These include:
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is an epic fantasy setting bursting with memorable characters, distinctive locales, and a deeply layered mythology. Created by Ed Greenwood, the Earthlike planet called Toril is home to this sprawling and diverse campaign world spread across several key continents, the most famous of which is Faerûn (beneath which the Underdark lurks). Each offers vast and eclectic topographies, dense with medieval-style cities and ports. Faerûn boasts some of the game's most storied regions, including the Sword Coast, Amn, Calimshan, Cormyr, the Dalelands, Icewind Dale, and Thay, as well as the legendary cities of Baldur's Gate, Calimport, Neverwinter, Waterdeep, and the infamous Underdark metropolis of Menzoberranzan. The cuisine of Toril is as varied as the settings themselves, from dishes inspired by medieval Europe to tastes derived from Asia as well as the Americas.
Dragonlance
Developed by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, Dragonlance depicts a dreamy, high-fantasy world of purple mountains; forested, evergreen trails; crystal lakes; and dragons of every color. Despite its natural beauty, Dragonlance's planet of Krynn is a world ravaged by war. Here, magic is rare and humanoids constantly find themselves at the mercy of dragons and dragonkind. Some seek harmony and cosmic balance, others crave control and domination. Ansalon is the most well-known of the planet's five continents, and it includes many of the famous locations from the campaign's bestselling novels, including Istar, Kalaman, Pax Tharkas, Qualinost, Qué-Shu, Silvanost, Solace, Solamnia, Tarsis, and Xak Tsaroth. The food of this lush world ranges from European tavern fare to vibrant flavors found throughout Asia.
Spelljammer
Its design originally helmed by Jeff Grubb, Spelljammer is a wholly unique setting that launched Dungeons & Dragons into the stars and cleverly allowed travel between the traditionally isolated sword-and-sorcery worlds of D&D. On board magical flying ships called spelljammers, players can traverse the Astral Plane, a vast expanse of interplanetary space, to celestial destinations untold. It not only provided canonical means for characters (and their stories) to migrate between planets but it birthed an endless ocean of new adventures, adversaries, and locations to explore—and with it, endless swashbuckling hijinks. Storied locales such as the Rock of Bral, an intergalactic spaceport orbiting the planet Toril, conjure a healthy dose of space fantasy tropes. With a cosmic "open sea" vaster than any planetary ocean, an explosion of cultures and cuisines are invariably on offer to enliven any campaign.
Greyhawk
The homebrew campaign setting of D&D co-creator Gary Gygax, Greyhawk is a grounded, sword-and-sorcery-style world rife with forbidden magic and perilous dungeons. This campaign is set on a sprawling, ocean-laden planet called Oerth, with medieval sensibilities and overt shades of Earth. Several continents cluster the surface of Oerth, including Hepmonaland, Hyperboria, and, most notably Oerik, which hosts an area called the Flanaess on its eastern part. The Flanaess is home to Greyhawk's most documented regions and kingdoms, including Perrenland, the Shield Lands, Urnst, Iuz, Veluna, Keoland, Sunndi, and Furyondy. Fabled cities and dungeons mark these areas from the Free City of Greyhawk, the Village of Hommlet, and White Plume Mountain to Saltmarsh, Blackmoor, and beyond. Greyhawk's cuisine culls its inspiration from feudal Europe, especially Britain, often with a fantastical twist.
Eberron
Eberron is a steampunk-styled world of swashbuckling adventure, where incredible machines and potent magic improbably coexist. Invented by Keith Baker, the planet consists of several continents, the most famous of which is Khorvaire. There, the eclectic Five Nations of Aundair, Breland, the Mournland (Cyre), Karrnath, and Thrane contend for supremacy over the ruined Kingdom of Galifar. From the shimmering towers of Sharn to the ruin-filled port city of Stormreach, this visionary, war-torn campaign boasts vibrant cuisine uniquely representative of the Five Nations. Eberron's tastes range from unpretentious feudal fare to exquisitely sophisticated epicurean creations made with a delightful blend of magic and many-geared machines.
Planescape
Designed by David "Zeb" Cook, the campaign setting known as Planescape fittingly takes place in the Outlands, which in the cosmology of the Outer Planes is the center of the Great Wheel. According to Jeff Grubb's 1987 Manual of the Planes, a mysterious shaft known as the Spire rests at the center of the Outlands; seven years later the Planescape campaign set atop it the famed city of Sigil. This City of Doors, as Sigil is affectionately known to multiplanar travelers, serves as a conduit to the myriad worlds that comprise the D&D multiverse. Considered to be "the center of the universe," Sigil is a multicultural nexus, which unifies these seemingly infinite, interdimensional magical portals to dimensions untold. Though numerous planes are connected to Sigil—such as the Astral and Prime Material Planes—Sigil cannot be accessed by conventional travel and can be entered only via one of the many gateways that lead to the different worlds and planes. A city unlike any other, Sigil is crowded with structures stacked and layered upon themselves, while new buildings, courtyards, and streets are constantly being constructed, perpetually altering the city's already eclectic landscape. It should come as no surprise that the cultures and flavors on offer are constantly evolving, ensuring that no two visits or meals in Sigil will ever be the same.
Plane Food
The D&D multiverse is made up not only of myriad worlds but of other dimensions or "planes of existence." The standard "reality" that most experience in these realms is called the Prime Material Plane, but this dimension is just the tip of the iceberg. It is believed that these worlds are surrounded by planes, some of which are "echo" realities that exist in the same cosmological space as the Material Plane, while others are spatially and conceptually much farther afield, such as the planes of the gods. Like the worlds they surround, each of these planar locales, from the Nine Hells of Baator to Seven Heavens of Celestia, has its own character, and even cuisine, including the Feywild and the Shadowfell.
The Feywild
Sometimes called the Plane of Faerie, the Feywild is a dreamy, haunting reflection of the Material Plane, known for its indescribable beauty. Bathed in eternal dawn, its verdant and alluring woodland landscapes are the native home to the fey and harengon, creatures of unparalleled wonder. The Feywild, much like its Shadowfell counterpart, is an echo of the Material Plane. But unlike the Shadowfell, it is a tantalizingly positive and vibrant place of joy, where each of its parallel locations is grander and more majestic. It is a rare locus of unrefined magic, unrestrained emotion, and unbridled passion, an ancient land birthed of love, laughter, and mischief. In the Feywild, scents are stronger, colors more vivid, sounds clearer, and flavors more remarkable, making any culinary experience that much more memorable.
The Shadowfell
The Shadowfell, commonly referred to as the Plane of Shadow, is a dark reflection of the Prime Material Plane. Unlike its "echo" opposite, the Feywild, the Shadowfell is a bleak, desolate region draped in an eternal twilight, veiled in gloom, and synonymous with death. Since its primary inhabitants are cursed creatures of the night, as well as the dead, the Shadowfell is largely void of life and hope. In its darkest corners, where sinister powers fester, the Domains of Dread lie in wait. These haze-shrouded demiplanes are places of unimaginable horror ruled by sadistic lords who consider these private domains their own perverse paradise. Many of the individual domains that make up the demiplanes were originally dragged from the Prime Material Plane and tethered to the Shadowfell by powerful magical mists. The same impenetrable mists that border these doomed areas prohibit travel to other planes through any conventional means. In the Shadowfell, and its Domains of Dread, one's primary senses are gradually muted, resulting in an insipid culinary experience regardless of what is consumed.
Ravenloft
Originally published in 1983 as an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module by designers Tracy and Laura Hickman, Ravenloft is both a campaign setting and the legendary castle of vampire Strahd von Zarovich, located in D&D's most famous Domain of Dread: Barovia. Accessible by way of the Shadowfell (and usually by mistake), this sprawling Gothic Horror landscape, which remains eternally shrouded in mist, has served up generations of nightmares courtesy of Strahd, his throngs of undead minions, and his dark hold on the demiplane.