The Dungeons & Dragons cookbook, Heroes Feast, was so successful that it spawned two sequels (Flavors of the Multiverse and Puncheons and Flagons). It also spawned a very popular TV show that no one saw because it was on Plex, which is a shame because it looks like a lot of fun.
The reason this worked, of course, is that everyone needs to eat, even fantasy creatures. Gathering around the table to eat is a thing that folk do all the time. D&D fans will also gather around the table to play D&D. And then eat. Sometimes, at the same time as playing D&D, the genius behind the D&D cookbooks is that they add enough fantasy flair to each recipe while also providing solid recipes that aren’t difficult to make and are very nice to eat.
And yes, that means you can play D&D whilst eating food that’s also part of the game, which is 100% a fun thing to do. Heroes’ Feast: The Deck of Many Morsels makes the idea of cooking these recipes a little less daunting by slamming 50 of the recipes onto cards. These are reasonably wider than Tarot card-sized affairs, with a beautifully photographed example of the food on the front and a decent summary of the recipe on the back.
The cards are sturdy and will survive a mild spill as any other card would. The recipes mainly focus on snacks, sweets, drinks, and the like, as well as light tavern food, which will look nice on the gaming table and get hoovered up by the players. It doesn’t simply take a cheese board and rename it as an Underdark Forage Board; it literally adds fresh ideas so such a thing actually works as both as an in-game prop and a recognisable snack. Though yes, you will be able to recognise what a Halfling Tea Sandwich is.
The cards also have a dual purpose; Dungeon Masters can have this deck on hand to illustrate to players what their characters are eating. It’s the sort of trick you’d expect to find in a Beadle And Grimm’s goodie box, a quick and clever way to help you imagine events in a game.
Overall, a brilliant addition to a Dungeon Master’s arsenal, and a wonderful way to (literally) add spice to the gaming table.
