Chromatic Dragons: Good Eatin' or Stone Cold Cannibalism

[GPS]

So Squiddish, Jamgretter and I have been in a bit of an argument for a while about whether eating evil chromatic dragons is evil.

I say that it's not, as even though they're sentient, chromatic dragons are unconfirmed to have a humanoid form in this edition. They're neither humanoid nor bipedal, representing the appropriate amount of moral detachment, and therefore definitely good eatin'. Then there's the fact that if a chromatic dragon is evil, they were born fully evil. Any evil chromatic dragon is inately evil in this edition. Then there's the waste factor. Say there's a starving village here and 10,000 pounds of dragon meat just sitting there, you can't just wait for it to rot. Gotta jump on that opportunity while the jumping is good, or you just might be the real monster.

My compatriots' arguments are thus:
1. Humanoids can mate with chromatic dragons, and you don't eat something you can mate with.
2. Chromatic dragons are sentient, albiet evil, sentience is a sacred line that good eatin' should never cross. (Ironic, after the whole sentient goat barbeque, but ok)
3. Large amounts of chromatic dragons are inedible due to poison and other agents in your meat. (I personally think it's all about how you prepare them)

What are the community's thoughts? Are chromatic dragons good eatin', or is ol' GPS advocating a grave sin?

[Jacquerel]

I think it is immoral or at the very least impolite to eat a sapient creature, the difficulty being that even a metallic dragon probably has very few qualms about eating you.

This mostly probably just has to do with whether you view life as a hierarchy and where you are on it. I'd put thinking creatures at the top, with non-thinking creatures underneath, and maybe plants under that but they're basically also just non-thinking creatures.
A dragon would probably put itself at the top, other dragons underneath, and everything else under that. What gods would think about it depends on the god, although dragon gods would probably agree with the dragons so there's little chance they'd get punished for it, while I could reasonably expect a good-aligned human's god to frown on eating a dragon.

I don't think it's an issue necessarily of it being an inherently evil act to eat a thinking creature either but perhaps more about consent. If they came from a culture where you ritually consume your dead as a form of honour then it'd be fine.
I also wouldn't call it cannibalism unless the person eating the dragon was another dragon. I wouldn't even call it cannibalism if a human ate a halfling.

[Toofey]

I've always DMed it as only a few delicate parts of the Dragon are edible. I think meat in general is already an ethical compromise (I still eat meat however) and I don't see how this is very different. That said I would object to meat hunting most smarter animals, but in the case of chromatic dragons the meat is almost certainly not why the dragon is being pursued, and I would guess the majority of the time it's fights the dragon's start.

I don't think the dragon's alignment would matter. One's alignment is about one's own actions, not the previous actions of others.

[Sirithhyando]

Well, it's definitly not cannibalism.
I'd say in your example, to feed starving people, why not?

Though i understand the sentient part being less good but at the same time... a sentient monster is still a monster...
The good/evil part si a good argument though. They have the potential for good, which makes them closer to us than monster. In that aspect, a burial would be better than eating it.

Mmm, a very difficult question indeed.

I would go with it not being a good thing to do though since i've read "Dungeon Meshi", it would be a good try.

[nickl_2000]

It's not cannibalism, and I wouldn't scoff at a Half-Orc eating a goblin, so why would I care about one eating a Dragon. That being said, you could do a quest tag where other dragons can "sense" that the characters have eaten the first one and therefore hunt you down.

I would require an Arcana or Nature check to know what parts are edible and which parts aren't though.

[VoxRationis]

Well, it's difficult to say. Certainly it's not cannibalism in the strictest sense, as you are presumably not also a chromatic dragon. (Of course, that gets us into the species concept in D&D, which is tricky, but we'll try to ignore that.) However, one might be inclined to say that it is akin to cannibalism in the same sense that eating a dwarf would—this is a sentient being whom you may talk with, play chess against, even compare recipes, and if one of those recipes is "roasted you," we run into something of a problem. The dragon itself probably wouldn't have a compunction against eating you, but that's not necessarily an excuse. On the practical side, there is quite a lot of usable meat just lying there, but that's also true after you clear a dungeon full of orcs or human bandits.

[NecroDancer]

Depends on the settings lore, if chromatics are always evil than it's probably ok (but probably still unhealthy due to prions).

If the setting is more akin to Eberron (where any creature can have any alignment) than it's probably quite evil.

Then again a dragon would probably be ok with you eating it as they usually are ok with eating people. And a metallic dragon might be ok with people eating their corpses in order to survive.

[Sigreid]

Just tell them it's immoral not to eat what you kill.

[Jacquerel]

I've thought about this more since making my post and think I've changed my mind.
I don't think it's inherently evil to eat someone's corpse, it's a cultural thing. People and even gods may ostracise you for it, but I don't know that it would necessarily do anything worse than that (to be honest that is worse than a change of alignment anyway, alignment is invisible but reputation travels).
I wouldn't rule that someone who ate a dragon to avoid starving was doing evil, nor someone who played a neutral character whose established philosophy was that it is wasteful to not eat what you kill. I would ask some questions to a good character whose god I believe would disapprove of the act, but not everything that a god disapproves of is automatically evil.

I think that eating a sentient creatures corpse (any sentient creature's corpse) is neither inherently good nor evil, but the context matters and means that it is often evil. Killing people just to eat them is obviously evil, but if you just come across someone who died and you will die if you don't eat them, I don't know why that would be evil.
Then again, the list of actions that you can't sometimes justify isn't terribly long (though I think there are some things on there).

[Steampunkette]

Cannibalism as a term has the literal definition of eating a human being. By the literal definition it cannot be cannibalism even if the dragon were to have a humanoid form, as it would still be a dragon.

However. Human beings are the only sapient species on earth and you can bet your tasty when barbecued behind that if a human on Star Trek had gobbled down Spock in a literal (hopefully nonsexy) fashion Kirk would've called it cannibalism.

In a reality where humans are not the only sapient species, cannibalism would most likely be defined as the eating of a person or intelligent being.

In fact, the Book of Vile Darkness for 3e went into that issue, and ruled that cannibalism applies to sapients.

And also declared it evil.

[Temperjoke]

Well, let's look at it from a different angle.

Would you have a problem wearing armor made from dragon scales/hide? What using items fashioned from dragon bone? From a fantasy perspective, these things are usually seen as okay, whereas using another humanoid's skin or bones are usually seen as pretty evil. So if you don't have a problem using parts from dragons for items, why would you have an issue using their flesh for food? Granted, it's easy to say that it's largely not safe for consumption, such as black dragons having lots of acidity, or greens being poisonous. There could also be a benefit, for example, maybe your children will become draconic bloodline sorcerers, due to you eating from a dragon? There should also be consequences, maybe dragons will be able to smell the death of one of their kind on you, so it makes them more wary regarding you, less willing to cooperate with you.

[Maxilian]

I don't think eating any sentient creature is bad (it becomes more of a taboo if you do it to your same race, but not evil), the detail comes when you kill a sentient creature for the only sake of eating it. (In general, a Taboo is not, really, bad, its just a taboo, the same way a Chaotic good Lizardfolk can go around with a couple of fingers in its pockets for a snack later)

[NecroDancer]

I don't think eating any sentient creature is bad (it becomes more of a taboo if you do it to your same race, but not evil), the detail comes when you kill a sentient creature for the only sake of eating it. (In general, a Taboo is not, really, bad, its just a taboo, the same way a Chaotic good Lizardfolk can go around with a couple of fingers in its pockets for a snack later)

Chicken fingers?

[Honest Tiefling]

I'd say that in many cases, cannibalism as defined as the eating of sapient creatures, is rooted in moral issues of corpse desecration, evil or no. So if the setting depends on bodies being properly buried and cared for to ensure a good afterlife, it's pretty evil. Many myths are centered around disturbing a grave or burial site (such as dragur), so it wouldn't be surprising if this came up in at least a few DnD settings.

If this is not the case for the species in question, I think it is more of a matter of rudeness, respect, and practicality. Chowing down on a dragon in front of another dragon might upset the other dragon (who, if good aligned, shouldn't be killing sapient creatures just to eat), because it brings up the question of personhood. It could also be seen as a slippery slope, especially if dragons are good spell reagents. Where do you draw the line of a good cause to go out and kill a sapient creature to potentially save many people? Sure, it might be justifiable here and there, but magical creatures might get worried that the ends will justify the means...

In the case of a starving village, I think it's fine if that is what would happen to a human (or demihuman) corpse anyway. Context does matter and many cultures do excuse cannibalism for survival.

[Sigreid]

I'd say that in many cases, cannibalism as defined as the eating of sapient creatures, is rooted in moral issues of corpse desecration, evil or no. So if the setting depends on bodies being properly buried and cared for to ensure a good afterlife, it's pretty evil. Many myths are centered around disturbing a grave or burial site (such as dragur), so it wouldn't be surprising if this came up in at least a few DnD settings.

If this is not the case for the species in question, I think it is more of a matter of rudeness, respect, and practicality. Chowing down on a dragon in front of another dragon might upset the other dragon (who, if good aligned, shouldn't be killing sapient creatures just to eat), because it brings up the question of personhood. It could also be seen as a slippery slope, especially if dragons are good spell reagents. Where do you draw the line of a good cause to go out and kill a sapient creature to potentially save many people? Sure, it might be justifiable here and there, but magical creatures might get worried that the ends will justify the means...

In the case of a starving village, I think it's fine if that is what would happen to a human (or demihuman) corpse anyway. Context does matter and many cultures do excuse cannibalism for survival.

Well, there's also the fact that there are severe neurological illnesses that come from eating people that can easily be seen as divine punishment.

[HermanTheWize]

I don't see the problem...it's dead. Not like it cares anymore.

[HermanTheWize]

Though I will say, if it was a friend/ally it would kind of be uncool.

[KorvinStarmast]

Are chromatic dragons good eatin', or is ol' GPS advocating a grave sin? You are mixing genres. This whole "sentient being" deal is at root a SciFi, not a Swords and Sorcery, trope. I prefer the "if you won't eat your kill" view point in general -- and at least find someone/some creature who is hungry and who will if you can't. (Unless it's obviously poison ...)

[Gastronomie]

I don't see the problem...it's dead. Not like it cares anymore.I pretty much agree with this. Got absolutely no idea why people consider eating sapient creatures to be so immoral an act.

Hell, even cannibalism (humans eating humans) is not so very evil on its own. There's a lot of points in history where, due to famine or war, people had to eat the bodies of former family members or soldiers of the same squad to survive. I don't reckon that's evil.
The problem more lies in how cannibalism inevitably requires the death of somebody, and in some cases, the cannibalizer (if cannibalizer is a word) was to be held responsible for it.

Anyhow, I don't get how some people think that killing evil dragons is perfectly fine, and yet eating evil dragons is not.

[90sMusic]

It is silly to consider it "evil" to eat anything.

Even a human eating another human doesn't have to be an evil act, it could just be part of their culture. Perhaps a funeral custom where the deceased is devoured by their family/loved ones/whatever. Or in an extreme survival situation where you're starving and have no access to food of any kind and end up with an opportunity to eat another human (who is already dead).

There is nothing evil about it. It's mainly just social taboo which led to most places outlawing it. But cremation and burning bodies was considered taboo and "wrong" for a lot of cultures for a long time as well until fairly recently in the modern world where now cremation is kind of the standard instead of just throwing all the bodies in the ground. Culture is kind of stupid that way.

As far as eating an evil dragon, or any dragon for that matter, that should never be an act of evil unless you're eating them alive or maybe killing them specifically to eat them or something along those lines. But even in those scenarios, it isn't really the "eating" part that is evil, it's the pain inflicting and murdering that is evil.

[90sMusic]

Well, there's also the fact that there are severe neurological illnesses that come from eating people that can easily be seen as divine punishment.

"obvious" to who exactly? Those illnesses you are talking about only occur when you eat another person's BRAIN. You can eat the rest of their body with no consequences whatsoever. And science already knows exactly why eating the brain causes the problem. It isn't magical or divine in any way and again, completely avoidable by simply not consuming the brain.

[JackPhoenix]

"obvious" to who exactly? Those illnesses you are talking about only occur when you eat another person's BRAIN. You can eat the rest of their body with no consequences whatsoever. And science already knows exactly why eating the brain causes the problem. It isn't magical or divine in any way and again, completely avoidable by simply not consuming the brain.

I seriously doubt "science" in a typical fantasy setting knows that, or knows the problem stems from eating the brain specifically. And while the prion-based diseases stand out, as prions aren't destroyed by cooking, I'm sure there's other nasty stuff that may be transmitted that way. It may be less of a problem with dragons, because they may not serve as carriers for human-affecting diseases, unlike, by definition, other humans.

[Sicarius Victis]

To me, it all comes down to why you eat it. If you eat it because it's all you're able to eat at the time and you're starving, there's nothing wring with that. If you eat it just for the sake of eating dragon meat, that's pretty questionable, but not inherently worse than what most people do for "gourmet meat", since the world is typically better off without another Chromatic anyways. If you eat it because that's what you believe to be the best way to eliminate it, good on you for going that far to get rid of an evil dragon. If you eat it because you already killed it and don't want to waste the remains, that's actually quite respectful. If you eat it because you killed it and you just want a way to deal with the remains, though, that's kind of messed up.

Also, if you just eat it because it pissed you off, then that makes you basically a dragon yourself, and everyone knows that dragons get to make their own morals anyways.

[Dr. Cliché]

Personally, I wouldn't consider it an evil act.

I think, in order for it to be evil, you'd have to go and kill a dragon specifically for the purpose of eating it afterwards. And even then, I think most people would agree that the evil lies in the whole 'killing it' part - eating its body is just adding insult to injury, really.

However, if you kill an evil dragon in self-defence or to protect others and then choose to eat it later, I don't see that as inherently evil.

Sure, it may be frowned upon by society and/or by other dragons, but I don't see it as being objectively evil.


That said, I do wonder if there is an argument to be made in relation to Raise Dead. By eating the limb of a creature, you are preventing it from being revived wholly by this spell (which might be the only one available). Does that matter at all, do you think?

[Willie the Duck]

I seriously doubt "science" in a typical fantasy setting knows that, or knows the problem stems from eating the brain specifically. And while the prion-based diseases stand out, as prions aren't destroyed by cooking, I'm sure there's other nasty stuff that may be transmitted that way. It may be less of a problem with dragons, because they may not serve as carriers for human-affecting diseases, unlike, by definition, other humans.

To my knowledge, there's no documented cases of people of the tech levels represented by a typical fantasy setting realizing that a disease was tied to cannibalism either. That seems to have been a modern discovery. So the whole thing is hands-wavy 'putting-modern-knowledge-into-a-fantasy-setting.' Prion diseases absolutely could affect a dragon, if they act like real world prions (we can get mad cow disease, after all), although they'd have to eat cannibals (or dragons) to get it.

Cannibalism is seen so abhorrent mostly as a boogeyman. 'These people over there will capture and kill you so that they can eat you.' The eating part is just an after-the-fact thing compared to the killing. In a D&D universe where there are always things trying to kill you, I can see cannibalism=evil being less of a thing (which is why we have neutral lizardfolk).

[tsotate]

On the practical side, there is quite a lot of usable meat just lying there, but that's also true after you clear a dungeon full of orcs or human bandits.
True, but you can't preserve that whole pile of orcs and humans with a single Gentle Repose spell. Food storage of bigger creatures is just more efficient in D&D.

[Jacquerel]

To be honest I think there's far too much discussion of prions in this topic when we don't even know if this is a condition that would even exist in d&d, there's certainly no guarantee. There are several brains of other animals you can eat without contracting horrible neurological conditions and we aren't talking about eating humans.

I know people like to embrace believability but I think this is taking it too far, in a way that is not useful, interesting, nor for that matter even particularly realistic.
I would even perhaps go so far as to accuse some of it on just the general nerd urge to share the fact that you know something that not everybody does, even when the situation does not actually call for it ;)

[NRSASD]

For my vote, I don't think there's a problem with intelligent bipeds (elves, dwarves, orcs, whatever) eating dragons. Dragons are radically different in just about every way from bipeds, and it's only with the help of magic can the two crossbreed. I think most of the meat would be toxic, given that dragon scale equipment gains elemental resistant properties based on the scales' composition. Since dragons eat bipeds without hesitating, it's only fair.

Bipeds eating bipeds is another story. It's extremely taboo in most cultures, and generally anyone who violates that taboo is doing so for evil reasons. That being said, there could be an argument for a culture that does cannibalism as a sign of respect. Cannibalism for the sake of "food that can scream or beg for mercy tastes the best" is definitely an evil culture though.

Also, alignment has nothing to do with eating dragons. Whether you eat the Una bomber or Mother Teresa, it's still cannibalism. And still wrong

[Sigreid]

"obvious" to who exactly? Those illnesses you are talking about only occur when you eat another person's BRAIN. You can eat the rest of their body with no consequences whatsoever. And science already knows exactly why eating the brain causes the problem. It isn't magical or divine in any way and again, completely avoidable by simply not consuming the brain.

I didn't say obvious, I said easily. Bob ate his cousin, now bob is bat crap crazy and has the shakes. God is punish him is an easy call for a superstitious people to make. An easier call in a world where the gods really do directly punish people.

And I have heard of the serious neurological diseases. Not being a neurologist or a cannibal I'm not up on the details of how or why.

[Dr. Cliché]

I didn't say obvious, I said easily. Bob ate his cousin, now bob is bat crap crazy and has the shakes. God is punish him is an easy call for a superstitious people to make. An easier call in a world where the gods really do directly punish people.

To be fair, this might depend on how long it takes for the symptoms to emerge. If it takes a while, the people could think that Bob is being punished by the gods for something entirely different. :smallwink:

[Willie the Duck]

I didn't say obvious, I said easily. Bob ate his cousin, now bob is bat crap crazy and has the shakes. God is punish him is an easy call for a superstitious people to make. An easier call in a world where the gods really do directly punish people.

And I have heard of the serious neurological diseases. Not being a neurologist or a cannibal I'm not up on the details of how or why.

Kuru (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_(disease))is a neurological disease that we now know is caused by prions. The avenue of infection is consuming the neural tissue of another human. Historically, this occurred during funerary cannibalism among the Fore people of Papua New Guinea. While Kuru was thought to have been caused by sorcery or witchcraft until it was discovered to be a neurological disease, it was not considered a punishment for being a cannibal. That doesn't make sense, because if you think you will be punished by God for being a cannibal, you generally won't be a cannibal (except maybe in a starvation situation).

[Temperjoke]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that most documented cases of cannibalism as a regular practice (meaning not extreme survival situations), was largely as a religious ritual, and not for regular meals. So, like you'd kill an enemy and eat a piece of him as part of your worship, as opposed to what usually portrayed in media.

[Willie the Duck]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that most documented cases of cannibalism as a regular practice (meaning not extreme survival situations), was largely as a religious ritual, and not for regular meals. So, like you'd kill an enemy and eat a piece of him as part of your worship, as opposed to what usually portrayed in media.

That is correct. Lots of funerary rituals and the occasional scare the neighboring clan into leaving you alone with reputation as maneaters, and very little Gilligan ending up in the giant (cast iron) pot.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Skipped many responses, so it might have been said but: I think it is fair game to eat anything that would eat you given the chance. (Save humanoids, as that is too close to canibalism, even if they would eat you, as that just means they have no qualms with cannibalism)

[Honest Tiefling]

Well, there's also the fact that there are severe neurological illnesses that come from eating people that can easily be seen as divine punishment.

This is true for the real world, but dragons are reptiles. You'll have a lesser chance of catching anything from them (both due to being more biologically removed AND an assumption that dragons are more hygienic) then you would from a cow.

[90sMusic]

I seriously doubt "science" in a typical fantasy setting knows that, or knows the problem stems from eating the brain specifically. And while the prion-based diseases stand out, as prions aren't destroyed by cooking, I'm sure there's other nasty stuff that may be transmitted that way. It may be less of a problem with dragons, because they may not serve as carriers for human-affecting diseases, unlike, by definition, other humans.

It sounded like he was referencing the real world since D&D does not have, nor has it ever had to my knowledge, any rules about cannibalism making you gain neurological conditions. That is why I was telling it from a modern/scientific perspective. In D&D you shouldn't suffer any malady for eating other people, including their brains.

In fact I remember in pathfinder the witch class had an ability where they did in fact cook up dead bodies of humanoids and still there were no rules regarding it being unhealthy for you in any way.

So gods aren't going to punish you for eating sentient creatures in D&D unless it is 100% homebrew.

[Sigreid]

This is true for the real world, but dragons are reptiles. You'll have a lesser chance of catching anything from them (both due to being more biologically removed AND an assumption that dragons are more hygienic) then you would from a cow.

True enough. The group I play with tends to salivate over dragon steak.

[Honest Tiefling]

True enough. The group I play with tends to salivate over dragon steak.

Obtain alligator steaks and serve to set the mood for your next DnD game.

I'd like to point out that Pathfinder is done by a different company AND that class (the witch) has an ability to smell children in order to hunt them down. Not exactly the best class to start basing morality questions on, even if you can do the whole good witch thing with it.

[Sigreid]

Obtain alligator steaks and serve to set the mood for your next DnD game.

I'd like to point out that Pathfinder is done by a different company AND that class (the witch) has an ability to smell children in order to hunt them down. Not exactly the best class to start basing morality questions on, even if you can do the whole good witch thing with it.

Mmm Mmmm children.

[RSP]

First, no ones even asked yet if they taste good. Very tasty dragon=morally okay in my book.

Second, if there is an issue with morality: cast Nystul's on the corpse and make it a Beast. Now the gods won't be able to detect any wrongdoing with their divine senses.

[Sigreid]

First, no ones even asked yet if they taste good. Very tasty dragon=morally okay in my book.

Second, if there is an issue with morality: cast Nystul's on the corpse and make it a Beast. Now the gods won't be able to detect any wrongdoing with their divine senses.

I thought everyone knew dragons are delicious! They are without a doubt like a perfect steak wrapped in bacon!

[hamishspence]

It sounded like he was referencing the real world since D&D does not have, nor has it ever had to my knowledge, any rules about cannibalism making you gain neurological conditions.

It does however, have various interesting monsters that cannibals might turn into - ghouls, wendigo, etc, depending on the edition. Sometimes it's after death, sometimes the transformation begins earlier than that (wendigos in 4e I think).

So - if you've been eating dragons all your life, if all sapients are treated as potential triggers for ghoul transformation after death, you might turn into a ghoul even if you've never eaten a humanoid.

[wilhelmdubdub]

If a Kobold ate a dragon that would be cannibalism to me.
If you want to punish your players for eating dragon have them roll an Wisdom check: DC 2
On a pass they wonder if the dragon ate any of their kind in the past, as then the dragon meat would me made of the meat of their own race.

[Findulidas]

I think 5e does not value the whole alignment chart so much so I doubt this has much value beyond philosophical argumentation about morality. In a game you can also make your own morality if you want. Lets say the culture context is a lizardfolk one then eating the dragon is not a problem, infact its common practice.

I also think moral absolutism is stupid IRL and it hampers progress, I dont think this is the place for arguing about that though.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Fun fact: according to one 3rd edition Dragon Magazine article, dragon meat apparently resembles turkey meat in consistency, but is much stronger in flavor. The wings are said to produce some of the most succulent parts, as well as incredibly strong sinews and great masses of fat mostly rendered down as bear bait. It's a very rare and expensive dish, for obvious reasons.

As for whether or not it counts as cannibalism... I end up feeling neutral towards it. On the one hand, I view eating sapients as cannibalism in general. On the other hand, chromatic dragons tend to be incredibly arrogant and evil jerks who have no qualms about eating sapient beings themselves, so being eaten in turn is ironic and even karmic. It's not a good act, but it's not an evil one, either.

Hell, one character I have planned is a kobold obsessed with eating dragon meat as symbolic revenge on dragons for treating her own people as deliciously disposable mooks, despite how kobolds revere them.

[Unoriginal]

Do Metalic Dragons eat sapient humanoids who commit evil acts?

[Sigreid]

Do Metalic Dragons eat sapient humanoids who commit evil acts?

I'd say any monster with a bite attack has had some sentient flesh in their digestive tract.

[Unoriginal]

I'd say any monster with a bite attack has had some sentient flesh in their digestive tract.

And do dragons eat dragons?

[Pronounceable]

Turnabout is fair play.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

And do dragons eat dragons?

Yeah, they often do, especially chromatics. One particularly malevolent red dragon in Faerun is even infamous for his love of eating dragon eggs and hatchlings.

[Unoriginal]

So, if even the benevolent Metalic dragons have no problem eating sapient beings, including other dragons, why would sapient beings have problem eating dragons?

[Sigreid]

And do dragons eat dragons?

Well, when it comes to a carnivore the size of a dragon, a good full sized meal is hard to come by.

[hamishspence]

So, if even the benevolent Metalic dragons have no problem eating sapient beings, including other dragons, why would sapient beings have problem eating dragons?

In 4e a point is made of how some metallic dragon varieties will only eat Evil sapients, some won't eat sapients at all, and some will eat any sapient being that they perceive as their adversary.

But Metallic Dragons are on average "unaligned" in that edition.

Dragons are psychologically a bit different from humanoids though - just because a dragon is "comfortable with eating sapients" doesn't mean a humanoid typically is.

[Temperjoke]

You know, it really boils down to an individual/society's perspective. Lizardfolk are specifically called out as not having a problem with eating meat of any source, friend or foe. So, maybe one player's character has a problem with it, while a different one doesn't. Maybe a town has an issue with it, while another town that has been on the brink of starvation would be open to Dragon BBQ.

[Arcangel4774]

Personally, I wouldn't consider it an evil act.

I think, in order for it to be evil, you'd have to go and kill a dragon specifically for the purpose of eating it afterwards. And even then, I think most people would agree that the evil lies in the whole 'killing it' part - eating its body is just adding insult to injury, really.

However, if you kill an evil dragon in self-defence or to protect others and then choose to eat it later, I don't see that as inherently evil.

Sure, it may be frowned upon by society and/or by other dragons, but I don't see it as being objectively evil.


That said, I do wonder if there is an argument to be made in relation to Raise Dead. By eating the limb of a creature, you are preventing it from being revived wholly by this spell (which might be the only one available). Does that matter at all, do you think?

I like this thought process. Eating a dragon is not inherrently evil. Gluttony is.

You do also being up a point in the dnd universe that didn't at first occur to me. Death isn't permanent. This brings the morality of the being killed into question. If it's a evil being and not going to change, than eating them could be a good action as your essentially sealing away an evil. However if they could turn good or if they were good to start eating them may fall on the evil spectrum, as you are preventing a good from returning to the world.

[Scavion]

Heh. As a Dragonborn Paladin, our party was a frugal group. A free meal is hard to pass on. They saw me and the other Dragonborn cooking up the dragon to eat and were like "I guess it's okay. I've always wondered what dragon tastes like."

[Sigreid]

Heh. As a Dragonborn Paladin, our party was a frugal group. A free meal is hard to pass on. They saw me and the other Dragonborn cooking up the dragon to eat and were like "I guess it's okay. I've always wondered what dragon tastes like."

Since we couldn't eat it all in one sitting, we also made jerky out of our last 2 defeated dragons.

[Osrogue]

So Squiddish, Jamgretter and I have been in a bit of an argument for a while about whether eating evil chromatic dragons is evil.

I say that it's not, as even though they're sentient, chromatic dragons are unconfirmed to have a humanoid form in this edition. They're neither humanoid nor bipedal, representing the appropriate amount of moral detachment, and therefore definitely good eatin'. Then there's the fact that if a chromatic dragon is evil, they were born fully evil. Any evil chromatic dragon is inately evil in this edition. Then there's the waste factor. Say there's a starving village here and 10,000 pounds of dragon meat just sitting there, you can't just wait for it to rot. Gotta jump on that opportunity while the jumping is good, or you just might be the real monster.

My compatriots' arguments are thus:
1. Humanoids can mate with chromatic dragons, and you don't eat something you can mate with.
2. Chromatic dragons are sentient, albiet evil, sentience is a sacred line that good eatin' should never cross. (Ironic, after the whole sentient goat barbeque, but ok)
3. Large amounts of chromatic dragons are inedible due to poison and other agents in your meat. (I personally think it's all about how you prepare them)

What are the community's thoughts? Are chromatic dragons good eatin', or is ol' GPS advocating a grave sin?

I don't know what else has been said, but justifying that it isn't cannibalism because the dragons are evil is a fairly weak argument.

If humans spontaneously encountered a clearly sentient non-humanoid alien race, let's say they're all plant-people, there would likely be laws put in place to deter the killing and eating of them by your local/national government.

Number 1 is a good rule of thumb.

Number 2, yeah, that's kind of the hang up of cannibalism. It's not really the cannibalism part that people care about. It happens all the time in the animal kingdom and people don't really bat an eye. It's because of the whole sentience thing that people think eating people is wrong*.

*varies by culture/proximity to the brink of starvation.

As for number 3, fire-immune creatures aren't really cookable.

[Honest Tiefling]

If humans spontaneously encountered a clearly sentient non-humanoid alien race, let's say they're all plant-people, there would likely be laws put in place to deter the killing and eating of them by your local/national government.

I'm not so sure I agree. We're genetically similar to chimpanzees and whales are intelligent, but outside of laws regarding endangered animals, I really doubt there's much in the way of laws prohibiting eating them. And that's life similar to ours, let alone a plant based species.

If a plant-based species invaded, I'm willing to bet it'll only be a matter of hours before one is deep fried.

[Dappershire]

I've seen a lot of arguments along the lines of "well, the dragon would eat you if it could" and im not sure the two ideas compete. I don't think I've ever read of a Dragon chowing down on a dead adventurer, pulling a princess leg out of its larder, etc. Not saying they wouldn't, mind you. But the only mention of Dragons eating such beings was as part of an attack. Not like they wield crossbows. They eat you as an attack, and let digestion take care of you.

Personally, I figure it would be akin to the same weirdness scale of eating deepfried baby mice. Not something everyone would do, but that most would see as something people do. A delicacie that isn't for everyone.
On the danger scale, i'd say fugu. Not everything will kill you, but enough to make it fun.
On the Dragon Scale, i'd say treat it more like artichoke, than oyster.