Soylent Green?

[Inks]

What is the general populace's view on consuming the corpses of the dead? I know it's taboo but is it totally illegal? Seems practical and even necessary in some areas, where food is scarce and people will fight over a dead rat.

Would love some feedback.

[Riev]

I'd bet if you asked the right people, they'd turn it into something nice, and pay you for the effort.

[BleakOne]

The poorest of the poor do it out of desperation, a few do it out of twisted desire, and some races do it for cultural or racial reasons.

So yes, cannabalism happens. In fact, it's even codedly possible.

Allanakis would consider it distasteful, I'd think, but would understand that sometimes circumstance could drive you to it. Sort of like eating rats, leaving the gates, or dealing with elves - you don't want to do it, but you do if you absolutely have to.

Tulukis would likely not consider it, or speak of it. Food is more plentiful in the north, and to resort to such measures is obviously crude and barbaric.

Some tribals might have cultural ceremonies which include it. Others would abhor it.

[gfair]

What's the Zalanthan term for long pig?  In addition to some Zalanthan cultures being known for their cannibalism, I'm willing to bet the desperate have more than once cooked up some of their own species, or similar.

The weak are meat, an' the strong do eat!

[Inks]

Codedly possible? But you can't go all Reijek Hidesman and skin corpse, although I havn't tried so I could be wrong. So you don't have to wish up if you are eating a body to survive/ etc?

[LauraMars]

The weak are meat, an' the strong do eat!

One fine day a predatory world shall consume itself.

[Fredd]

What's the Zalanthan term for long pig?  In addition to some Zalanthan cultures being known for their cannibalism, I'm willing to bet the desperate have more than once cooked up some of their own species, or similar.

The weak are meat, an' the strong do eat!

Nakki Goudra.

[HavokBlue]

The poorest of the poor do it out of desperation, a few do it out of twisted desire, and some races do it for cultural or racial reasons.

So yes, cannabalism happens. In fact, it's even codedly possible.

Allanakis would consider it distasteful, I'd think, but would understand that sometimes circumstance could drive you to it. Sort of like eating rats, leaving the gates, or dealing with elves - you don't want to do it, but you do if you absolutely have to.

Tulukis would likely not consider it, or speak of it. Food is more plentiful in the north, and to resort to such measures is obviously crude and barbaric.

Some tribals might have cultural ceremonies which include it. Others would abhor it.

It's not codedly possible without special apping or staff-spawned food items.

In the North, it would probably be considered subhuman and barbaric.

If I were upper-crust in the south, I'd be repulsed by cannibalism, and unsettled by what it portends. As we've seen before, widespread cannibalism amongst the lower class can and has occured in Allanak.

In the Labyrinth, it's probably pretty common, but the one time I played a Rinthi cannibal, I was treated like the worst psionicist sorceror mul to ever exist so... your mileage may vary.

I imagine desert elves would probably be revolted by it and associate it with the gith.

[Inks]

Really appreciate all the feedback guys, that was weird to be treated like that in the rinth considering stuff. Meat's meat when you can keep your kids alive for another day. Plus couldn't be any fresher.

[tiptoe]

It's not codedly possible without special apping or staff-spawned food items.

In the North, it would probably be considered subhuman and barbaric.

If I were upper-crust in the south, I'd be repulsed by cannibalism, and unsettled by what it portends. As we've seen before, widespread cannibalism amongst the lower class can and has occured in Allanak.

In the Labyrinth, it's probably pretty common, but the one time I played a Rinthi cannibal, I was treated like the worst psionicist sorceror mul to ever exist so... your mileage may vary.

I imagine desert elves would probably be revolted by it and associate it with the gith.

Some d-elf tribes actually eat the hearts of their fallen tribe mates. Some eat(ate) the hearts of their enemies, too, I believe. But munching on someone's arm would probably be less accepted.

I can imagine in the North cannibalism would be associated with halflings (though halflings only ate OTHER races), and probably have more negative connotations.

[Bluefae]

Really appreciate all the feedback guys, that was weird to be treated like that in the rinth considering stuff. Meat's meat when you can keep your kids alive for another day. Plus couldn't be any fresher.

     ^May be new, but gets the game spot-on.

     By the way, Inks, you warmed the cockles of my black heart with the "couldn't be any fresher" observation.  Thanks. 

[BleakOne]

Codedly possible as in you can wish up, and there's actual physical objects of human meat. 

Just like how you can de-limb corpses with a bit of staff help.

[jigglypuffs]

Really appreciate all the feedback guys, that was weird to be treated like that in the rinth considering stuff. Meat's meat when you can keep your kids alive for another day. Plus couldn't be any fresher.

If you ask me, it's not terribly weird, considering both the effects on the society and the body of the consumer. Even in countries with famines killing large portions of population, e.g. the 1990 North Korean famine or the Ukrainian 1932 famine, this practice was very much looked down upon, not solely due to traditional distaste for eating human meat, but the ramifications of you acquiring it. You would essentially have two options, killing someone for the purpose of getting their meat, which is essentially murder and is dealt with rather harshly in every society, or eating someone who has passed away for other reasons. If you don't get killed by the friends and family of whoever you've killed in the former version, you would probably die from whatever killed the individual your character consumed in the latter. Ignoring such exotics as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, essentially you would be willingly infecting yourself with every contagious disease and parasite the host might have. While it is obvious that medicine is fairly primitive in Zalanthas, this is the sort of thing people have figured out quite some time ago in the real world.

I know that the 'rinth is supposed to be this harsh and unforgiving place, but, let's face it, if everybody was killing each other on a daily basis as some might imply, it would simply die out rather promptly. It's not a sustainable model for any society for a longer period of time.

About the only group in which I could see cannibalism occur would be tribals and only those who have their elders propagating this practice for purely ritualistic purposes. Even so, if you look at the cultures that have sprung up across the globe you would find that only a very tiny fraction took up the practice.

EDIT: Actually, to amend that, there could be some secretive, ritualistic cannibalism within the City States as well. There could well be some cannibal cult.

[Inks]

Oh god, character ideas flooding my mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFDgSKbapzY

By the way, Inks, you warmed the cockles of my black heart with the "couldn't be any fresher" observation.  Thanks.  

I love you too, new friend.  

EDIT TO ADD: Bluefae your sig is ridiculously relevant and amazing.

[musashi]

What's the Zalanthan term for long pig?  In addition to some Zalanthan cultures being known for their cannibalism, I'm willing to bet the desperate have more than once cooked up some of their own species, or similar.

The weak are meat, an' the strong do eat!

Soft scrab.

[AreteX]

I have had a character eat pieces of someone before.

Things happen in the 'Rinth.

[Fujikoma]

More fun bugs... Well, folded proteins...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_%28disease%29

Course if you don't eat the brain, imagine you might be ok.

[AreteX]

More fun bugs... Well, folded proteins...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_%28disease%29

Course if you don't eat the brain, imagine you might be ok.

Every prion is just really bad

Mad Cow disease and all of that.  I don't know if many of them are curable.

[Fredd]

What's the Zalanthan term for long pig?  In addition to some Zalanthan cultures being known for their cannibalism, I'm willing to bet the desperate have more than once cooked up some of their own species, or similar.

The weak are meat, an' the strong do eat!

Soft scrab.

I still like Nakki Goudra.

[Morrolan]

More fun bugs... Well, folded proteins...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_%28disease%29

Course if you don't eat the brain, imagine you might be ok.

As mentioned in the article, those who clean (skin corpse or craft head into tasty brains) the dead are actually much more likely to suffer prion infection than those who simply eat the brain.

[musashi]

I still like Nakki Goudra.

Doesn't roll off the tongue.

[Kismetic]

I still like Nakki Goudra.

Doesn't roll off the tongue.

Oy, soft scrab has that je ne sais quoi.

[Fredd]

I still like Nakki Goudra.

Doesn't roll off the tongue.

Oy, soft scrab has that je ne sais quoi.

Bah. Everyones a critic.

[DustMight]

I could see this as some 'naki noble's secret fetish.  Or semi-secret fetish. 

[Bluefae]

By the way, Inks, you warmed the cockles of my black heart with the "couldn't be any fresher" observation.  Thanks.  

I love you too, new friend.  

EDIT TO ADD: Bluefae your sig is ridiculously relevant and amazing.

     Why thank you, Inks.  That quote has continued to inspire me for many years now.

     As to the prevalence of cannibalism, I think it would vary quite a bit from place to place.  Recall that in Zalanthas, there is no "inherent dignity of the individual" undercurrent, so I personally believe many of the objections to why it wouldn't be practiced fall by the wayside.  As to catching infectious diseases, if we're talking the 'rinth here, I don't know that that would dissuade someone who is literally wasting away.  On the other hand, I agree that it couldn't be that common, or as our poke-commentator Jigglypuffs rightly pointed out, the whole thing would have auto-cannibalized itself to oblivion at some point (mm, auto-cannibalism, now there's a word that just doesn't get enough play).

     From a more thematic perspective, I think the idea of eating someone else to sustain yourself is kind of the ultimate expression of the (pun unavoidable) "dog-eat-dog" world we're attempting to portray here.  Arm. isn't always Low Fantasy, but it almost is Dark Fantasy, and for the most part, we like that.