Since survival is suppose to be a big aspect of EfU, has adding a food system been considered to require players to eat and drink? I like the idea of making it a little tougher to "survive" even on a basic level. Especially if food in the Underdark is made a little more scarse and hard to find.

Making the Underdark harsher might be a step in the right direction to emphasize the setting, but I'm not too sure about eating.

I have a few game design books that make a heavy point out of this: getting real is dangerous. Emphasizing too many mundane features taken from real life can be harmful to the game experience, rather than helpful.

I think that making sure my characters stay well fed to ensure their survival might be pushing it. I have enough trouble as it is: role playing myself in real life to get enough food. :)

Personally food hasn't been a fun aspect of RPGs for me, unless you have no food and is stranded in the middle nowhere (which never happens).

Honestly, it is more of a nuisance then anything else. Forgetting to buy a bunch of 2g rations is just an annoyance that takes away from the fun elements. Since 2g doesn't really hurt anything, and unless the prices are increased more than that of Arabel (which is bad imo, due to gold shortages already), it just serves to be more problematic rather than adding a complex dimension to the server.

If this were implemented, everyone would want to be a druid with a rothe animal companion for the free milk. :D

It was considered, but ultimately rejected.

However, we do plan on implementing/automating a more subsantial "natural resources system" (herbs, crystals, and the like) out in the wilderness that will help give that survivalist feeling.

DMs can also run starvation/dehydration/asphyxiation scenarios during DM quests if those issues are particularly relevant (group gets trapped in a collapsed cave, or on an island, or in an airless plane, etc), but in ordinary play we're assuming for now that you have the essential food/water that you need and letting the food/drink items just add flavor to the module.

_Nightfire_ Personally food hasn't been a fun aspect of RPGs for me, unless you have no food and is stranded in the middle nowhere (which never happens).

Agreed.

I think Arkov's concept of how food and drink can come to play is really the way to go, no doubt. Perhaps some designs for a few survival missions could be done and run similar to preludes, since they would probably take a good chunk of time and good preparation as well.

This was a big discussion between the DM's in the design of things. Although food and water are limited resources, and a major part of survival, we decided against having an eating and drinking system.

However, a number of quests are resource driven. I can think of four off hand that related to food and water supplies.