Has anyone touched on cannibalism in their games?

I was just reading this fascinating Vox article on the subject:
http://www.vox.com/2015/2/17/8052239/cannibalism-surprising-facts

And it immediately filled me with fodder (heh heh) for campaigns.

There are obvious interesting riffs one can use -- what if the 'treasure' of a given monster (or hero) is a heart, that you can consume for some effect?

Mmm all this talk of Cannibalism is making me hungry... I could MURDER and Indian right now...


Oh wait....

Quote from: Will;816291Has anyone touched on cannibalism in their games?

No.

Apparently, just you.

Of course, you could respond by saying, "Eat me!"  

I didn't recently find out that the founder of Jameson liquor bought a 9 year old slave girl in Africa just to give her to a cannibalistic tribe in return for getting to watch (and sketch in watercoulour) them dismembering and eating her). For a few handkerchiefs.


So...that happened.

In answer to the OP, no I haven't touched on cannibalism in my games. Just like rape, its just not a subject I find enjoyable or interesting to explore through play-acting. And I play RPGs for fun.

ghouls wanting to eat you count as cannibalism? goblinoids? giants?

i think that harely stroh mentioned that his next dcc adventure, journey to the center of aerth, will feature cannibalism rules. mmmmmmm...

also, tcho tcho bak bon dzhow!

It's a recurring theme among goblins, in my game world.
Enough so, that someone eventually opines that the number one killer of goblins, is goblins!

Doh. How did I manage to forget Lovecraftian Ghouls?

I guess I HAVE had cannibalism in my games before. Been a while.

Delta Green has an interesting bit where there's a schism between ghouls -- old traditionalists who see themselves as having a holy role as eaters of the dead, and some new upstarts who think that hey, everyone's going to be dead eventually, so why not hurry it along and get somewhat fresher food?

Shadowrun has several meta-varients that are cannibalistic.

In one of my settings, ritualistic (and mostly symbolic) canibalism is a part of one of the more prominent barbarian cultures: They eat a small morsel of flesh or blood as a token of respect for honored members of their clans or honorable foes they defeated, either in combat or as a part of a funeral rite. Members of these tribes even brag about the taste of their flesh and that at their funeral their won't be enough food for all the mourners.
(And no, they are not a particularly violent or "evil" tribe, but they do have that reputation).

i played a war-verteran once who, during a siege, had turned to cannibalism to survive. didn't have any great impact on the game except a few tasteless jokes.

Quote from: shlominus;816327i played a war-verteran once who, during a siege, had turned to cannibalism to survive. didn't have any great impact on the game except a few tasteless jokes.

I heard it tastes like pork

Quote from: Will;816291Has anyone touched on cannibalism in their games?

I was just reading this fascinating Vox article on the subject:
http://www.vox.com/2015/2/17/8052239/cannibalism-surprising-facts

And it immediately filled me with fodder (heh heh) for campaigns.

There are obvious interesting riffs one can use -- what if the 'treasure' of a given monster (or hero) is a heart, that you can consume for some effect?

I've done it a bit. In one of my settings there is a myth floating around that eating sorcerers gives you their powers, so people occasionally test this idea out.

In horror or exploration themed settings it may be an element.

And guess what? Wayyyyyyyyy back in Isle of Dread. Cannibal tribes.

Bemusingly thats a running gag with Jannets half-orc characters. She seems to invariably end up on the menu as the "piggy". In fact thats how we found out there were cannibals on the Isle. (The patron who found the letter describing the isle "neglected" to mention that little bit of datum.) Sure enough we landed near one of the cannibal tribes and Jan's half-orc (human fighter as the basis. Nothing extra) gets caught.

Also theres those damn halflings in Dark Sun. I despised them as a character and a player as we had to pretty much every encounter kill on sight.

As for ghouls. Technically not cannibals as they are supposed to only eat the dead. D&D Ghouls eat the living. Making them not really ghouls.

And on a macabre note. The town I moved into boasted having had a ghoul. Doesnt surprise me. The whole town could have fit in a Lovecraft story. Theres a reason why I put nearly a thousand kilometers between it and me.

One interesting thing from the article is how cannibalism has several different motives, and how often it becomes part of propaganda.

So in a game, you could potentially have, say, a shamanistic culture where funerals involve a ritual eating of some small part of the dead, but some other group spins lurid tales of the 'savages who kidnap children and eat them in their depraved rituals.'