Thinking Medieval: Magic cannot make food

by Me with Midjourney

-Mistress Estera, Pentarch of the Sabbatzarod Coven

 

"There isn't a specific metaphysical law 'thou shall not use magic to make food.' but every indiividual magical workaround attempt to make food hits a wall.   Items from the conjured from the astral plane are made of thought and ideas, and they gradually break down when in contact with the material plane. A Conjurer could thereotically create something that tastes like food, but not something that nourishes like food.

  All organic matter, including food, contains the essence of the four elements, fire, water, earth, and air. But elemental conjureration spells only conjure elements in a relatively pure form. Food and most other organic matter are very complex hybrids of the four elements beyond the ken of mortal magic.   Maybe the the Nine can conjure food out of the base elements, but I suspect even they can't. The Nine can reshape the Scarterra so that food is somewhat easier to produce, but I don't think they can food from nothing. They are bound by the rules of the universe that Turoch set into motion. I hope it's not sacriligious to say, but even Turoch had to work hard to produce food for himself in his own horrifying way.   Transmutation doesn't create things, it only changes things. I never bothered with it myself but I've read about other Transmuters have researched ways to cook food via Transmutation. This can work, but only if the items are close to food already. With my own eyes, I've seen a mage turn a pile of dough into cooked bread. I've heard tales of mages transmuting a pile of raw grain into cooked bread. You can't turn a piece of wood into a piece of bread. Or for that matter, you can't turn a spoiled piece of meat into a fresh piece of meat.   A spell that can turn any pile of raw ingredients into fully cooked meals would be nice to have, but the so called 'cooking spells' are very narrow. You need a separate spell to bake bread and a separate spell to cook fish, and a seperate spell to cook potatoes. On top of this, the food produced is not very tasty, barely edible. It's not worth the effort. I'd rather just cook my own meals like I did in my adventuring days.   You can conjure a minion and order your conjured minion cook your meals. The problem is astral creatures don't have to eat...at all. 'Food' is an alien concept to them. Astral creatures have intelilgence for problem solving and can learn new things, so you can teach an astral servant how to cook something, but they will never fundamentally grasp the core elements of cooking. At best, they can follow a recipes by rote. Not worth the time investment to teach a astral creature all that, especially when you factor in the short life spans of many astral creatures.  

What about theurgists with spirits? Well theurgists find it sacriligious to summon spirits to do grunt labor in normal circumstances. But spirits of the Nine don't need food either. Some spirits used to be living creatures so 'food' is not an alien concept to them, but food is something they've largely transcended, so they aren't likely to be great cooks even if they were willing to try it. Also, most spirits don't have opposable thumbs. Even a highly loyal and intelligent eagle can't make a pot of stew with his talons and wings.

Ragani summoning Sam the spirit eagle by Zeta Gardner

  Some mages have theorized that magic can enchant a mortal body so that it no longer needs food...or at least so it can function on a lot less food. There are spells that can modify a humanoid body so that it temporarily can survive naked in freezing snow for days on end. There are spells that can enchant a mortal body so it can go hours without needing to breathe. There are spells that can help a mortal endure horrific pain with no sensation at all. There are even spells that can let a human's skin stop a knife. But no one has figured a way to forgo the need to eat.   In fact, the opposite usually happens. A person whose body is enchanced by magic is going to burn calories faster just like with regular exercise. After an adventurer ends a battle in which case she has enhanced her body with several augmentation spells, usally the first thing she wants to is grab a snack. This also applies to magical healing and curse removal. After healing, the subject usually feels quite peckish."

by Eron12 with Hero Forge

-Marbuil Redscale, dwarf salt master

 

Magic can't make food out of nothing, but there are a number of spells that can make storing food easier. Some spells can slow spoilage directly. Using these spells diminshes the taste, but it doesn't diminish the nutritional value...at least not much.   More useful are spells that kill or repel vermin. A single rat is not going to eat very grain, but with it's feces it can easily ruin several dwarf sized portion of food with its feces if it's into a grain silo. Now imagine what a horde of rats can do. Any mage that can keep rats away is welcome in my hold.

  Magic can keep a variety of pests away too, but for some unknown reason, cockroaches are immune.   Cold enviroments preserve food longer than warm environments. Advanced Enchantment magic can make whole buildings cold as winter all year round. Relatively simple Transmutation and Conjuration magic can create blocks of ice which you can pack food in to extend it's useful life."

Baron Fyodor IV by Eron12 with Hero Forge

-Baron Fyodor Deorac IV

 

"Plant theurgy cannot make a plant immediately produce fruit or grains, but it can slightly improve the growth of a plant over months and it can keep the blight away. It's estimated that crops visited occasionally by plant theurgists produce 10% bigger yields than crops that are not visited by plant theurgists.   10% more grain is often the difference between a harsh year and a good year. A wise a Grain Baron always cultivates a good relationship with the Stewards and any other temple that happens to have a plant theurgist as one of their members. Weather theurgists too, but they are even less common."