The Burnt World of Athas

The official Dark Sun website


By Tom Slattery originally posted on the Unofficial Dark Sun Pages (Web archive)

A menu from The Halfling's Spoon, an Athasian eatery.

Foods

Meat and Protein

Meat Skewers;- Meat is a staple in the diet of those who live in the Tyr region. A skewer of baazrag, erdlu, jankx, kip, or z'tal meat served with a small hunk of unleavened bread is daily fare.
cost: 2 bits (one skewer and a hunk of bread)

Steaks- For the more wealthy, a juicy mekillot or inix steak can make an excellent meal.
cost: 3-5 cp (one steak)

Meat Delicacies- Mouth-watering, rarely offered meats include cloud ray and cha'thrang. These meats are very expensive, a treat reserved for the nobility.
cost: 3-10 sp (one steak)

Erdlu Eggs- The eggs of the large, flightless erdlus are a common food in the Tyr region.
cost: 1 cp (one egg)

Agafari nuts- These are edible nuts from the agafari trees of the crescent forest.
cost: 1 cp (one lb)

Fruits and Vegetables

Grall Fruit- The bulbous fruit of the grall cactus has a strong, bitter taste.
cost: 2 bits (one fruit)

Faro Fruit- The faro tree produces fruit once in a decade and each piece of the delicious, sweet fruit is worth almost as much as the tree itself.
cost: 10-20 sp (one fruit)

Geja Fruit- A soft-skinned fruit which is only ripe for a few days per year. When ripe, geja is extremely sweet and delicate. When dried, it retains much of the sweetness.
cost: 5 cp ripe or 1 bit dried (one fruit)

Welela Gourd- Long and thin, welela gourds are prickly on the outside, but the inside is very sweet and contains a great deal of moisture.
cost: 3 bits (one gourd)

Scuppernong Berries- Rough skinned berries.
cost: 1 bit (handful)

Bulis Berries- These berries have a thick, hairy, brown skin that makes them very difficult to peel. They have a small, sweet, purple center.
cost: 1 bit (handful)

N'ku'ru'ma- The finger-sized n'ku'ru'ma;ma pods take on a slightly sweet flavor when roasted over an open fire.
cost: 3 bits (4-5 pods)

Oleracea- The dull yellow leaves of the oleracea plant can be eaten raw or cooked and served with meals. They are flavorless, but quite nutritious.
cost: 3 bits (2-3 leaves)

Neep- An orange root vegetable. It has a very bland flavor and is often served mixed with other foods rather than by itself.
cost: 2 bits (each)

Breads and Grains

Bread- A common bread is made with grains, faro flour, water, and kank honey. The small, sweet, unleaved loaves are sold in a bundle.
cost: 2 bits (bundle)

Beverages

Alcoholic

Broy- A mead made from fermented kank nectar. It is sometimes spiced and other times left unspiced.
cost: 2 bits (one mug)

Water-Broy- A watered down broy, which helps to slake one's thirst a bit more than thicker, sweeter broy.
cost: 1 bit (one mug)

Blue Cactus Ale- This cheap, heavy ale is made from the fruit of the grall cactus.
cost: 1 bit (one mug)

Beer- Common beer made from fermented grains.
cost: 1 cp (one gallon)

Scuppernong- Thick, bitter, and silvery-colored, scuppernong is the favored drink among elves.
cost: 1 cp (one jug)

Bulis Wine- Made from from fermented bulis berries, bulis wine has a bluish-purple color. It is rather inexpensive and is mainly purchased by the working class Athasians.
cost: 1 cp (one jug)

Asticles Wine- This tart, dry wine is favored among the nobility. It a very fine drink and as such is very expensive.
cost: 8 sp (one bottle)

Non-Alcoholic

Water- While water is definitely a commodity on Athas, it is quite common in the cities and is available for little or no cost.
cost: free or 1 bit (one cupful)

Kank Honey- This sweet liquid is produced in globules on the abdomen of the large insects.
cost: 1 cp (cupful)

Filtered Jalath'gak-blood Nectar - Another sweet nectar.
cost: 3 cp (cupful)

Kola Tea- Made from kola nuts which are ground into a fine powder and then steeped in water. Kola tea is a tasty beverage which stimulates the mind and wards off sleep.
cost: 3 bits (one mug)

Snacks, Arena Concessions

Red Cactus Grubs- These are usually consumed by slaves or indentured servants. Some pop the heads off first, others eat them whole.
cost: 1-2 bits (4-5 grubs)

Sun Dried Kip- Sold in dried strips, kip-meat jerky is rather tasty.
cost: 2-3 bits (3 strips)

Renks- Harmless, tasteless slugs that store water inside their bodies. Each holds approximately 1/2 cup of water.
cost: 1 bit (5 renks)

Sun Dried Jankx- Similar to kip, although a bit tastier and usually slightly more expensive.
cost: 3-5 bits (3 strips)

Restaurants, Inns, and Taverns

Tyr

The Golden Inix Inn- Located midway along the Caravan Way in Tyr, the Golden Inix Inn is a long, brick building. The aroma of sweet broy and frying inix can be smelled from outside. The sign above the entrance shows a golden inix on the left and a bottle on the right. Inside the door is a half-giant doorman with a stone morning star. The room is filled with tables and the half-elven proprietar, Mila, is seated behing an L-shaped counter. Serving girls enter and exit through a curtained doorway.
Food and Drink Served: Several meat dishes, broy, Tyrian ale, Asticles wine.

The Red Kank- A wineshop in Shadow Square with reasonable prices. The Red Kank is a two sotry building. There is a terrace on the upper floor where customers may eat and drink while looking out over the square.
Food and Drink Served: Various wines, breads, cheeses, and snacks.

The Happy Dwarf- A tavern located in Shadow Square which serves the widest variety of ales in all of Tyr. The specialty is "Cactus Blue".
Food and Drink Served: Cactus Blue, broy, water-broy, beer, scuppernong, bulis wine.

The Rats' Nest- Also in Shadow Square, the Rats' Nest has the cheapest wine and ale in town and that is reflected in the quality. This tavern is also rumored to serve as a fencing operation for stolen goods.
Food and Drink Served: Water-broy and various other watered-down wines and beers.

The Weeping Widow- A Shadow Square tavern aimed at attracting gladiators. Stuffed and dried trophies of arena battles are displayed around the tavern.
Food and Drink Served: Various ales and beers.

Midnight Sands- Another wineshop in the shadow square. Midnight Sands has much more of an atmosphere than the other wineshops. There are large, cushioned booths, silk curtains, scented oil lamps, and beautiful serving girls. The prices are much higher, but the nicer environment attracts a great deal of business.
Food and Drink Served: Various wines.

The Drunken Giant- A less pretensious tavern in the Shadow Square, the Drunken Giant still boasts good food and drink at affordable prices. The owner is rumored to be friendly with the Veiled Alliance.
Food and Drink Served: Broy, water-broy, beer, meat skewers, bread.

The Crystal Spider- A gambling hall at the edge of the Bard's Quarter in Tyr, the Crystal Spider also has a bar at the rear and serves some of the most exotic foods in Tyr.
Food and Drink Served: Broy, Asticles wine, scuppernong, beer, steaks, rare meats, n'ku'ru'ma, faro fruit.

The Hungry, Hungry Halfling- This inn is run by a thri-kreen and a halfling. It is said they stalk the back alleys to find recently dead elves and half-elves. Fresh elven stew is always available for those who desire to consume some.
Food and Drink Served: Broy, elven stew, meat skewers.

The Ladle- A stall in the Arena Market of Tyr run by a half-giant named Tah. Three casks of differently spiced broy dilluted with water are available to choose from. For a bit, Tah will serve a ladle from whichever cask you choose.
Food and Drink Served: Water-broy (3 varieties).

Sweet Bread- This small tent in Tyr's Arena Market has no sign, but can easily be found by the smell of burning bread coming from within. The bakery is run by a rather antisocial halfling couple, La and Cha, who bake sweet, unleavened bread loaves day and night. A small bundle of the bread makes suitable daily rations for a human-sized individual.
Food and Drink Served: Bread.

Split-Pit- Another stall in the Arena Market, this one serving roast meats. Sa-rea oversees the roasting and smoking of z'tal and kip meats over a special herbal wood. She sells generous cuts of these meats for one bit, served in a tropa husk. For a slight additional fee, Sa-rea will smoke or roast meats and pack them for a traveling caravan.
Food and Drink Served: Broy, Asticles wine, scuppernong, beer, steaks, rare meats, n'ku'ru'ma, faro fruit.

Raddu

Original creator of The Burnt World of Athas back in 1995 or so… Join me @Raddu76 Play Dark Sun with me on Patreon.