Xen’drik’s Vegetarians?

Whether you are a vegetarian, a vegan, or just a plain-old om-nom-nomnivore such as myself, you still gotta eat.

Part of the move towards immersion in-game is to make it seem as though the characters need to eat and drink, as well (although I recall only seeing two bathrooms in the game).  Most of the time, this is accomplished through tavern fare, but also through the portability of the Tasty Hams line.  A random flash got me thinking, though:  most monks are at least vegetarian, if not vegan, to maintain the purity of their body;  what sort of vegetarian options are there for toons to chew on in DDO?  After all, the broccoli is apparently for crafting…

Warning!  What follows is utterly useless information for actual gameplay!

So I took a look at what was available and compiled a list of, as far as I can tell, the only ‘vegetarian’ fare available.  Just for giggles.  Of course, as the rules for what constitutes vary depending on who you ask, so this isn’t infallible, or even important, for that matter.

•         Stale Bread (Well Fed I)
•         Pea Soup  (Well Fed II)
•         Cornmeal Porridge  (Well Fed III)
•         Leek and Potato Soup  (Well Fed IV)
•         Tropical Fruit  (Well Fed II)
•         Dried Fruit  (Well Fed II)
•         Bread and Hummus   (Well Fed IV)
•         Wild Mushroom Stew   (Well Fed II)
•         Goodberries (from a druid, Well Fed level varies depending on druid level)

What can we glean from this?  Out of twenty-two foods available for purchase as tavern fare (not counting Goodberries and the Tasty Hams, just tavern foods), there are eight offerings that could be considered to be at least “mostly vegetarian.”  That’s a 36% ratio, which shows that in spite of Turbine’s obsession with ham (that I get and totally support), the vegetarian community is actually pretty well-represented in taverns.  If you think otherwise, start taking a look at restaurants you visit and see how many have more than a handful of vegetarian offerings.  Then think about over a third of the menu being vegetarian.  That’s quite impresesive.

On the other hand, let’s take a peek at the quality of the vegetarian offerings.  One, right off the bat, even informs you that it is stale and therefore not recommended for consumption!  There aren’t any “rotten fish” options for the carnivores.  In addition, you may have noticed that not a single vegetarian offering passes Well Fed IV;  this provides 90 hit points over three minutes.  The first meat offering, Poached Sunfish, restores 50 hit points in just a minute.  That’s an increase from ½ hit point per second to 0.83 hit points per second, a 66% increase in healing power between the best of the veggie dishes and the worst meat offering!  Trying to compare the top-tier veggie dish with the top-tier meat dish is laughable.  (Disqualifying the enchanted rations for magical cheating and using the boar shank, it’s a 1,000% increase in healing power per second, for you number crunchers out there.)

So what is this saying, really?  The clear subliminal message is that vegetarians are welcomed and accepted, but given an array of sub-par meals to choose from.   Now, as I’ve stated before, I am an omnivore and am not on some social or moral tirade (about chow in a fictional environment, even);  just merely stating what I’ve found in my completely pointless research.   I will also confess that the idea of a Mystic Tofu item dropping which compares to Kargon’s Tasty Ham would probably not make me squee – unless I was highly intoxicated.  But, just to toss a bone to the veggie-eaters, couldn’t they have at least one dish that’s above Well Fed IV?  After all, isn’t that supposed to be “healthier,” anyway?

I dunno.  It’s something to muse about whilst I fry up another pound of bacon.