I recall that the 2E Draconomicon told us exactly how edible dragon meat was, and it varied by species. Red dragons were very spicy, for example. I think green dragon was hard to digest, black dragon was like vinegar-soaked, white dragon lacked a lot of flavor, and one of the metallics tasted like chicken. In the end, if you kill it, you should eat it :)
I imagine it's fine to eat most dragon flesh, like the muscle and fat. Eating snake flesh is just fine, so long as you're not an idiot and try to swallow the venom glands or anything. So, stay away from the lungs and digestive tract and you're good.
The more important point, however, is that you're eating a sentient, very intelligent creature whose mental capacity dwarfs that of your average citizen. You are eating a person, and that's bad.
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I imagine it's fine to eat most dragon flesh, like the muscle and fat. Eating snake flesh is just fine, so long as you're not an idiot and try to swallow the venom glands or anything. So, stay away from the lungs and digestive tract and you're good.
The more important point, however, is that you're eating a sentient, very intelligent creature whose mental capacity dwarfs that of your average citizen. You are eating a person, and that's bad.
But's A-ok to skin them and wear the skin as armor. Just don't eat them, and leave the rest of the carcass to rot.
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I imagine it's fine to eat most dragon flesh, like the muscle and fat. Eating snake flesh is just fine, so long as you're not an idiot and try to swallow the venom glands or anything. So, stay away from the lungs and digestive tract and you're good.
The more important point, however, is that you're eating a sentient, very intelligent creature whose mental capacity dwarfs that of your average citizen. You are eating a person, and that's bad.
Y'know, ignoring the fact that many, if not most, of them also eat people. When something tends to consider you good with a light balsamic vinaigrette, you tend to want to return the favor.
@Imbicatus: I'm a firm believer in the 2E / Skyrim idea of "this whole damned critter's body is magical components/trophies" and such.
@Nocte ex Mortis: not if it's an ooze. Or a demon. Or a zombie. Or a hag. Or a tendriculous. Or just another humanoid cannibal / crazy person.
But's A-ok to skin them and wear the skin as armor. Just don't eat them, and leave the rest of the carcass to rot.I imagine it's fine to eat most dragon flesh, like the muscle and fat. Eating snake flesh is just fine, so long as you're not an idiot and try to swallow the venom glands or anything. So, stay away from the lungs and digestive tract and you're good.
The more important point, however, is that you're eating a sentient, very intelligent creature whose mental capacity dwarfs that of your average citizen. You are eating a person, and that's bad.
Well, honestly, you should dispose the carcass the way you'd normally deal with a person's carcass. (If your funerary customs for people include eating people, then okay. If you're actually hunting people specifically for the sake of eating them, then not okay. Heh.)
In a world where spontaneous undeath is a thing, failing to properly dispose of your vanquished enemies is just asking for trouble.
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I have a tiefling Pathfinder Society PC with a bite attack and Profession: Chef. When I bite enemies, I make jokes about what type of sauce they'd go well with. And I try not to let dead meat go to waste, regardless of species.
The first time I played him, the GM let me cook up some giant bugs that we killed, but called it cannibalism and an alignment infraction for evil-ness when I tried to cook up the minotaur boss at the end. When I asked about it here on the forums (in the PFS section), we got into a whole big debate about whether it's immoral/evil/against PFS rules to do things with the dead bodies of sentient enemies.
Ironically, I'm a vegetarian IRL for exactly the same reason that I don't see it as evil for my PC to eat anything/anyone he kills. I have a moral problem with killing anything with a mind (including dumb animals), but once something's dead, who cares what happens to the body?
I would think it would primarily be a question of age.
Consider cows, most beef that we eat comes from cows that are 36 months old, or younger. Domestic cattle have a lifespan of about 15 years, so that's pretty young. You can butcher an older cow, but the meat isn't very good unless you fatten them up first.
Dragons are flying creatures, so they would tend towards being quite lean. A fat dragon wouldn't fly very well. It also means that their muscles would get a good work out with every flight.
Dragons are also quite old creatures. Now, large creatures tend to live long natural lives. Whales regularly reach into their 80's or 90's, while mice 2-3 years. Dragons would naturally probably trend towards 80-200 years of max age, depending on final size, but their magical nature extends that into the thousands.
Meat gets tough, gamey and stringy, the older it gets.
I think a good approximation would be to try some elk or moose. See what you think of that. Then imagine something several orders of magnitude tougher and gamier. I've had elk, I like it. It's extremely lean, very gamey and can be tough and dry if you don't treat it right. Just a couple weeks ago I made elk burgers, but I ground up some bacon to mix into the meat to add a little fat and I still put cheese and prosciutto on top to add some more fat to the finished product.
C'mon folks; this is a FANTASY game! Let's not measure dragon's meat like that of common animals. Dragons actually improve with age, like a fine wine. I posit that their flesh actually becomes more flavorful.
Centuries of just lying around on coins softens parts of them, allowing for fat marbling. Sure they're old, but their body is steeped in amazing arcane energies. I say that "dragon steak" would be better then the best beef in existence.
Yes, they're sentient. They're also delicious. I've had dragons on the menus of my gameworlds since I was a wee child. Dragon scale jerky is as hard as a rock but it'll last nearly forever. Red Rump Roast is a crowd pleaser at the Green Gryphon; a single spark to the meat and it basically cooks itself! Greenwing was a feature in a horror-themed game; the wings of a green dragon, slow roasted over low heat for nearly days until the flesh was melting from the bones. The resulting flesh was then cast into a stew as were tail bones, the marrow of which was intoxicating and hallucinogenic.
I mean really just make up your own stuff, based on the color or breath weapon. I say really go nuts with it. The heart of a dragon, eaten within 1 minute of death, grants either a permanent +2 on Fort saves or a +4 versus Fear or something. Black dragon liver, roasted with spring vegetables harvested in the swamps produces a mighty vigor granting 24 hours of +6 to Strength. Boil the eyes in a stew for senses; dragon's tongue simmered in a beer-broth for 24 hours and then served with a cornucopia gives up to four feasters a permanent +1 on Diplomacy AND Intimidate.
I think most of the fun comes from all the different ways to prepare the meat.