And we're back again! In this edition, we're looking for good Underdark-themed food and drink items. So that everybody's on the same page, some guidelines:

• Grains and similar surface foods (apples, oranges, etc) are extremely rare luxury items, available at all only because they can be packed to survive the harsh journey into the Underdark.
• Rothe, fungi, and mushrooms are our basic staple food sources. Feel free to be creative, though.
• Don't include any special powers; just an item type, a rough price, a good description, and maybe the name of a good appearance.

Item: Spirit, Alcohol Drow Tears

Served in very small glasses, this kind of spirits will make even the vile drow cry. It's strong, bitter, foul smelling and very toxic in large doses. It has been known that in making other brews, some actually add a drop or two of Drow Tears for a bitter aftertaste.

Item: Spirit, Alcohol Lefar's Distilled Fungus Punch

Made in a seedy basement somewhere in lower Sanctuary, this drink packs enough of a punch to even throw the hardiest of adventurers of their chairs. The bottle says 'The utter finest blend of old socks and fungus!'.

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Item: Ale, Alcohol Orog Brew

Commonly refered to as the Orog Brew, this ale is not really produced by the orcs vile cousins. It's a mere local product with such poor quality you could almost swear it's nothing more than water and spit.

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Item: Ale, Alcohol The Free Drink

This Ale is usually given on the house to newly arrived ex-slaves. It is musty and sweet, somewhat similar to actually eating a meal. Perfect for the hungry stomach who has been on the run for several days.

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Item: Ale, Alcohol Sun Wine

A white wine, these expensive bottles have been said to been taken from the surface world down into the underdark with a large caravan heading for Traensyr. How they ended up in your hands is questionable, although it is still a very fine and tasteful wine.

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Item: Food Stonerock Breed Probably something the druegars could have invented, it is bread with actual rock in it. Making it very good for travelling food in the underdark. It is said that it won't rot for years upon end, one downside is that once you've eaten it you might encounter certain issues with digesting the hard bread.

- Item: Food Fungus Plate

Served in most establishments in Sanctuary and the near outposts, it's a plate with some stonerock bread and an array of fungus. One kind more rotten than the next.

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Item: Food Rothe Stake The staple food of Sanctuary, wild rothe is deliciously juicy and soft when prepared right. However, several cooks have been known to turn the good meat into something more similar to rocks.

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Item: Food Rothe Sandwhich Made with the meat that is left over when cutting out the stakes and fine pieces off the rothe. These sandwiches is the base food for any street urchin or beggar within sanctuary. Nevertheless it's a good snack.

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Item: Food Mushroom Stick Popular amongst all children of Sanctuary, this is the closest to real candy a dweller of the underdark gets. It's the sweetest mushrooms found chopped up in pieces and put on a stick. It is known to bring a smile to any dirty little pale face.

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Item: Food, (Maybe Alcohol properties?) Mushroom Cake A cake made out of delicious and sometimes hallucinative mushrooms, one has to watch out which kind you purchase. A favourite around the holidays.

- Dried Rothe Meat Item: Food A must if you are to venture far out into the underdark for some period of time. This wild rothe meat has been dried and salted to last for some time. Known to dry out adventurers who are not carefull, it is advised to drink plenty of water when eating it.

Maybe I'll write some more when I have time. Meh.

Dark Ale 2-5 gold This thick black and bitter concoction is made from the water pressed from the smaller grey mushrooms found in the Underdark. After being fermented for a number of months in small earthenware jars it is strained and diluted for drinking. Gets you drunk, but tastes like crap. Ahhh, for a real ale.

Brown Ale 5-7 gold This thick brown bubbly liquid is likely the closest thing you'll get to the taste and feel of topside ale, though in comparison is similar to the cheapest of the ales found in the sunlit lands. It is made by using the juices of the rarer and tastier small brown mushrooms.

Apple Cap Wine 10-30 gold This muddy green liquid is the result of the pressing of the apple cap mushroom and allowing it to ferment for a few months in large earthenware jugs. It has a slightly fruity taste to it, and is one of the Underdarks finer beverages.

Travelers Staple 2-4 gold Thin slices of rothe meat and large mushroom caps, both smoked and dried to preserve them for long journeys into the Underdark where food may not be available. Some of the fancier Staple is smoked by burning more expensive and fragrant lichen or fungi.

Rothe Stew 3-6 gold Found on every menu and in every household, rothe stew is a staple in the underdark diet for those who don't consume their fellow bipeds. Usually in a thick brown or grey mushroom sauce float thick chunks of rothe meat, with equally large chunks of the common grey mushrooms. In the finner establishments it can be quite tasty.

Thin Rothe Stew 1-2 gold Usually served in the seedier estblishments this stew is more sauce than anything, with small bits of dark, overcooked meat and mushroom floating in it. Atleast theres something substantial in the sauce, even though it's not truly identifiable as comming from a rothe.

Apple Caps 1-2 gold These green or yellow mushroom tops are about the size of a large ripe apple, just not as crunchy. They range in color from a deep dark green to a dull yellow, and as they grow in the wetter caves, are one of the Underdarks juicier finds.

Grey Bread 1-2 gold A staple in many houses, grey bread is made from drying the larger of the grey mushrooms and then pounding the dried caps into a paste. When mixed with a little water or apple cap juice and cooked it yeilds a small, flat and rather dense loaf, often eaten with stews or spiced meats.

Red Cheese 1-2 gold Made by agitating fresh Rothe milk in a bladder skin until curds form, it is then pressed into thick, solid slabs and allowed to age in some of the drier caves. The color is white until it ages and red molds grow into the cheeses imparting the color, and fortunatly not ruining the taste.

Rothe Whey 1 gold Fresh Rothe whey is a staple drink in the Underdark realm, providing both water and nutrients. It is the left over fluid from the pressing of the soft rothe cheese into the thicker slabs, and is usually stored in the cooler of the caves in or near town to preserve it.

*edited for spelling, if and when I find the mistakes

Underdark-themed foods

*added icon appearances/cost at the end of each description*

[Meats:

1)Rothe Meat: Rothe can be cut or butchered into a many variety of different styles including ground, flank and top.

-Rothe Flank Steak is the cut from the underside of the ribcage of a rothe, with little fat. It is not a higher cut of meat and is usually the most available and affordable. This average cut like most cuts from rothe, is bland and flavorless unless spices or a marinade is applied to the meat prior to cooking.(Cost: 10gp/Appearance Icon-iit_thnmisc_046)

-Rothe Ground Meat is meat from the leftover portion of a butchered rothe. When all the desirable cuts have been taken, the scaps and misused shapes of meat left are balled together and then chopped and diced into little chunks. Rothe Ground Meat is the cheapest of all cuts of Rothe and a staple ingredient in soups.(Cost 5gp/Appearance Icon-iit_midmisc_013)

-Rothe Top is the most desirable cut of meat from a rothe because there is no fat and it is tender. It still is bland by comparison yet is the cut that has the most taste. Because of this, rothe top is the most expensive cut of rothe one can purchase.(Cost 25gp/Appearance Icon-iit_thnmisc_017)

2)Bat Wings:

-Bat wings are just that. The wings from your average cave bat. There is very little meat on the wing of a bat but this popular food is most often served in bars and taverns. There are many different flavored bat wings as this little food absorbs just about anything it is rolled in for flavor. Just about everyone has their favorite kind of bat wing, their favorite flavor, and their favorite place to enjoy this food! Who can't eat a dozen or so with a friend and a a dozen ales!(Cost single 1gp, six 6gp, twelve 12gp etc/Appearance Icon-iit_smlmisc_035)

3)Blind Under-Fish:

-Underfish are a species(as there are not many below) who dwell in the underlakes, ponds and streams. The Under-Fish is massive and can reach weights of over 500lbs. And because of that, large quantities of filets can be taken from one animal. This fish has a spine that runs the length of it's body and sometimes the thin bones can be found in the edges of filets. But the taste, Ooh, it is almost lemon herb flavored by itself and is a prized food because of this. It is best cooked caught fresh and grilled over an open flame. Athough when fire is in short supply, one can simply eat it raw. And because fish are so rare and few in the Underdark, the denzions who make their home around bodies of water guard this source of nourishment with great measure and is a popular good for trade.(Cost 40gp/Appearance Icon-iit_midmisc_017)

Veggies, Shrooms and other plants

1)Deadwood Heart:

-The Deadwood is a bizarre tree. If one can call it a tree at all. It looks very much like a deadtree from the surface but is actualy hard and rough much like a stone. The contents inside are what are prized. The Deadwood Heart is the life force of this strange thing. The heart consists of three major portions. One is soft and sweet like a carrot , one is hard and filled with water like a potato, and the other section, mild, tastes similiar to a tomato. The Deadwood Heart is highly prized as a vegetable as veggies don't come around that often and this one provides lots of calories, minerals, and vitimans.(Cost 25gp a section or 100gp for the entire Deadwood Heart containing all three secions/Appearacne tag(s)-soft:iit_thnmisc_026, hard:iit_thnmisc_024, mild:iit_thnmisc_025.)

2)Pale Peppers:

-Pale Peppers are one of if not the only plant to grow in the waters in the Underdark. The stem roots itself in the bottom and at the surface a single lilly pad, also pale, floats. This is where the Pale Pepper grows. This single seed floats alongside the lilly. It is very light in weight and can reach a size of up to 6inches. Because there is no sunlight for this plant to use, how it survives is a mystery yet the pepper it produces is very spicy, adding some flare to ones tastebuds. It is very hard to harvest but high in protein.(Cost 20gp large 10gp small/Appearance Icon-iit_thnmisc_049)

3)Rock Cress Lichen:

-Rock Cress is a form of lichen. It's easily found clinging to almost any kind of rock. A very flat looking thing, the Rock Cress is completely flavorless. What it does add is a strong crunch to most dishes. It is often eaten uncooked though it is compatable with most other meals if it is cooked. One is reminded of celery or waterchestnuts when they first encounter this vegetable. It is high in fiber.(Cost 2gp/Appearance Icon-iit_smlmisc_050)

4)Green Mushroom

-The Great Green Mushroom is huge. It stands taller than any halfling and about neck high with a human. This fungus grows all over much like weeds used to on the surface. Thick and light, it tastes just as many of the surface varieties do except it has one inviting feature. It is salty. And with the amount of natural salt the glands produce, this food source is used often to salt not only soups, rothe meat, or other foods, but it can be mixed with just about any food source and adding a vaulable salt content so often lacking for consumption deep below the surface.(Cost 15gp/Appearance Icon-iit_midmisc_058)

Eggs and Dairy Products

1)Stone Lizard Eggs:

-The eggs from a Stone Lizard. Some say these reptiles give birth to live young while others say they hatch from eggs. Who knows which is correct as noone has ever seen them give birth. What is known is that they do lay eggs. But these eggs are always dormant and never hatch. Nevertheless, the Stone Lizard Eggs are extremely high in protein and rich in calories. A rich red fluid fills the center of this very tough yellow shell of an exterior. When cooked one is reminded of chicken eggs, only these eggs are much larger with a diameter of 1ft. Even the most hungry persons has a hard time eating one alone. They are found only in one place...yes you guessed it. In the nest of a stone lizard. The mother is never too far from the nest and will defend these eggs to her death. Because of the danger involved they cost a bit more than a chicken egg.(Cost 40gp/Appearance Icon-iit_midmisc_057)

2)Rothe Cheese:

-While rothe milk is a liquid, it can be turned into a form of a cheese. Something hardly EVER found in the depths below. The inner bladder is what makes the milk for their young. Rothe milk is rancid and sour and frowned upon by most. But the bladder is how this cheese is made. The inner bladder contains the milk that you or I friend don't want. The bladder itself is very weak and thin and tears easy. But if kept intact and heated in an open flame, the bladder seals itself. A simple ray of cold or frost then is cast to cool the organ. Once it is cooled it can be broken or cut into wedges or pieces. The once sour milk inside is now a rich cheese. And is sought after by anyone with class, or anyone who just misses the taste of a good piece of cheese. It goes well with any wine.(Cost Inner Bladder 50gp/Appearance Icon-iit_thnmisc_002) Cost Rothe Cheese 100gp/Appearance Icon-iit_midmisc_014)

Nuts and Seeds

1)Bat Seeds:

-These seeds are often called bat seeds because their true state of origin is unknown. Cave Bats often have these seeds in their area feeding on the rich oil filled shells. As far as anyone knows the bats carry them in to roost and feed their young with them. Its anyones guess as to where the bats find these seeds. They are found, to date, only in the nests of the bats and where one finds the bats for the tasty bat wings, one is sure to find the seeds. Rich in a fatty oil the seeds are a good source of nurishment (Cost 5gp/Appearance Icon-iit_smlmisc_040)

2)Chingok Floor Nut:

-The Chingok Floor Nut is found on the ground. Sometimes buried sometimes not, these nuts are often found growing alone-wthout a host-a most strange thing indeed. They have a very hard shell, and are very think and heavy. If one opens the shell, inside is a most wonderous and most tasty food. Chingoks are easy to harvest but hard to locate and seem to last and last and last forever even after you have had your fill three times over.(Cost 15gp/Appearance Icon-iit_smlmisc_021)

The Three Screams

Live baby rats or mice served in a thin brown sauce made from fungus. The first scream is when you pick them up, the second when you put them in your mouth, and the third is when you bite. The scream, of course, coming from the mouse.

Nest Wall Stew

This stew's main ingredient is harvested from the walls near the roosts of the Burrow Lark. A bird similar in build to a seagull. They are shades of dark brown and red. They dig with thier beaks to form holes in the sides of cave thermals. Cave openings that are vertical, aiding in air circulation. these flakes are chipped from the cave walls and cooked in the soup. It is like egg drop soup, often served with dry bread.

Axe Handle Whiskey

Whiskey aged in casks and transported three miles down and three miles back to this surface. The subtle tempature change accompanied by the rocky trip makes for a delicious flavor you cant mistake. The casks are then axe tapped and bottled

Not very good at this, but...

Beholder Eye:

Beholder eyes are not commonly thought to be eaten, but beholder eyes in flawless condition, such as this one, are known to be most expensive delicacies.

Illithid Tentacle:

This is a tentacle taken right from the face of an illithid itself. While some like to eat them raw, it is said they are a prized ingredient in many stews.

Fool's Water Ale - 20gp

Many beings new to the Underdark have come across what appear to be small springs of water. Experienced inhabitants have found that these are likely to be Fool's Water, a lesser type of acidic ooze. Veteran inhabitants have found that Fool's Water explodes when placed in contact with water. Insane inhabitants have found that the remnants make for a hell of a drink.

Khelgar's Fried Cockroach - 15gp

Khelgar, one of the first mages of Sanctuary, experimented with giant cockroaches as sources of food. Their ability to sense the vibrations he made when walking made them hard to capture, eventually provoking the mage into flinging a fireball after the fleeing insect. The oils that the 200-lb insect secreted resulted in an instantaneous deep-fry, prompting Khelgar to try selling the new dish. Not surprisingly, the meal never gained much popularity.

Rothe Roast - 3gp

This simple dish was discovered by Khelgar, one of the first mages of Sanctuary. The traditional method of cooking is a slow roast of a rothe flank over an open fire. The non-traditional method, first discovered by the same mage, involves one rothe, one knife, and one fireball. Many mages that claim to "live off the land" are proponents of the latter method.

Fire Lichen Chili - 7gp

Fire lichen is commonly refined, translating the heat the lichen thrives upon into a spicy additive for foods. This dish uses a fire lichen sauce, combined with ground rothe. Several establishments in Sanctuary will deliberately weaken the refinement process in order to give the chili some extra kick. Reports of spontaneous combustion from poorly refined fire lichen sauce are unverified.

Fish Eye Stew - 4gp

A slightly misleading name, fish eye stew is actually a basic stew created from one or more whole fish. The stew is nutritious, though not extraordinarily tasty. The name is something of a joke, as fish living in the Underdark without natural light sources no longer have eyes.

Zombie Salad - 4gp

Ripplebark, a common fungus, is the primary ingredient in this salad dish. The name is derived from the appearance of ripplebark, which is uncannily similar to that of rotting flesh. The parents of Sanctuary occasionally tell their kids that zombie salad is made from naughty children.

Sparking Catfish Stew - 8gp

This dish is a stew made out of an Underdark version of the catfish. The creation of the original dish is credited to Khelgar, one of Sanctuary's first mages, after a poor day of fishing. Khelgar, irritated with his luck, discharged a lightning bolt into the pond. His catch was reputed to be sparking even after being made into stew, but most subsequent versions of the recipe lack this effect.

Chilled Bat Soup - 8gp

A dark, murky soup with bits of sauteed bat added for flavor. The dish is served ice cold. The recipe is rumored to have originated with Khelgar, an early wizard of Sanctuary, after he encountered a room full of bats. A swift fireball rendered the bats edible but immobile, as they remained perched on the ceiling. Khelgar, infamous for his ingenuity, inverted an ice storm to rain on the ceiling. Unfortunately, gravity reasserted a claim on the spell quickly, burying Khelgar in chunks of ice and bat. Upon waking up several hours later, Khelgar found the ice had melted and mixed with the bats into the first version of this dish.

Thank you for all of the feedback. :)

Rothe Piss-1 gold, alcohol

"This drink smells like a roth but somehow even worse. Most people don't even want to think about what parts of a rothe they ferment to make it, but it is strong enough to be used in some smithies to help start the forge."