The table below shows how much meat an inexperienced butcher may be able to harvest from a creature, especially after a battle may have ruined some of the meat (i.e. burned, frozen, poisoned, etc.). If a whole creature's carcass is brought to a butcher, the butcher may pay 4x the value rolled in the chart below for the carcass (if the butcher even WANTS this kind of creature - DM discretion). Of course, carrying a heavy carcass can be difficult, and the creature's bacteria that kept it alive will begin to ruin the meat, spoiling it within a day.
| Beast Size |
DC |
Meat |
Weight (x4)† |
Expire ‡ |
Value (x2sp)⋆ |
| Tiny |
5 |
1 |
4 lb. |
1 day |
2 sp |
| Small |
5 |
1d4 |
4-16 lb. |
1 day |
2-8 sp |
| Medium |
5 |
2d6 |
8-48 lb. |
1 day |
4-24 sp |
| Large |
5 |
6d6 |
24-144 lb. |
1 day |
12-72 sp |
| Huge |
5 |
8d12 |
32-384 lb. |
1 day |
16-192 sp |
| Gargantuan |
5 |
8d20 |
32-640 lb. |
1 day |
16-320 sp |
† The weight of a raw piece of meat is 4 pounds. And one slab of meat (4 lbs.), can be used to make 1 dried ration (2 lbs.).
‡ Raw meat has a very short shelf-life, and will go bad within a day if it is not refridgerated or cured.
⋆ The table above uses a standard price of 5cp per pound for regular a piece of animal meat (such as cattle or deer). The value of meat can vary drastically, depending on the quality, rarity and the creature it is sourced from. For example, dragon meat could cost 10x more than standard livestock meat, while insect meat could cost only a copper or two per pound. A DM can decide if that is adequate, and if certain meat is worth more or less.
Meat and Creature Types
Some creature types have meat that is inedible (i.e udead), while others carry some sort of stygma (cannibalism, distasteful, unholy). For example, eating a celestial may be considered a vile, unholy act; while eating a monstrosity may be considered disgusting and distasteful; in addition, giants are too similar to most medium-sized humanoids and are often considered inline with cannibalism. Of course, while buying meats with a stygma is forbidden and possibly illegal in most places, there are always people willing to buy illegal goods (although they may be hard to find).
| Creature Type |
Edible |
Possible Stigma |
Sellable |
| Aberration |
N |
Inedible |
|
| Beast |
Y |
N |
Y |
| Celestial |
Y |
Cannibalism, Holy Creature |
N |
| Construct |
N |
Inedible |
|
| Dragon |
Y |
N |
Y |
| Elemental |
N |
Inedible |
|
| Fey |
Y |
Cannibalism, Worshipped |
Some are inedible |
| Fiend |
N |
Inedible |
|
| Giant |
Y |
Cannibalism, Disgusting Creature |
N |
| Humanoid |
Y |
Cannibalism |
N |
| Monstrosity |
* |
Disgusting Creature |
N |
| Ooze |
N |
Inedible |
|
| Plant |
N |
No meat |
|
| Undead |
N |
Inedible |
|
* Some monstrosities have meat that is edible (DM Discretion)
Eating Meat
Cooked meat can be eaten safely. Cooking meat requires a campfire or oven. Eating raw meat requires a DC 10 Constitution Check. A successful check results in a filling meal. A failure results in debilitating stomach cramps, causing 1 level of exhaustion (disadvantage on ability checks).
Drying Meat
The meat can be dried using salt, spices, heat and time.
Drying Method Time DC Notes
Oven 6 hours 5
Smoke Hut 2 days 7 Smoking must be maintained periodically (can't be left alone for days)
Sun 16 hours 15 Must be in direct sunlight, in over 85°F. Set on a hot stone, or hanging from a rack. Higher chance of spoiling.
