Can anyone tell me how long iron rations last in fifth ed? I need to know for Tomb of Annihilation purposes.I’d say a month
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) January 30, 2018
Can anyone tell me how long iron rations last in fifth ed? I need to know for Tomb of Annihilation purposes.I’d say a month
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) January 30, 2018
A month?! That’s absurd! Way too short a time period!
In reality, iron rations were canned and preserved, and were intended to be kept on a soldier for as long as they were in the field – years, if necessary. They were intended as a personal emergency food stock if a soldier got cut off from supplies, and weren’t meant to be eatten and restocked on any sort of regular schedule, so they had to last a very long time.
Even in a fantasy world without canning technology, you could still produce jarred, pickled, or otherwise preserved foodstuffs that could easily last years. Even tribal societies with extremely limited technologies can produce pemmican, which can last decades if properly stored.
Even low grade iron rations in D&D should last at least six months without spoiling, if not a year or longer.