Monster-Cooking Rules

E
ver wonder what it might be like to eat a monster? Don't lie, of course you have. If you have proficiency in Cook's Utensils, a suitable corpse that hasn't been rendered inedible, and a questionable code of ethics, you can spend a short rest cooking the monster. You can prepare enough monster meat to feed six people, provided you have enough of it.

Servings by Creature Size

Size	Servings
Tiny	2 or less
Small	4
Medium	8
Large	16
Huge	32
Gargantuan	64 or more

Monsters can be eaten during the same rest in which they were cooked, or saved for later. They must be consumed within 3 days of killing, or the meat will lose its magical properties.

Non-magical meat, when properly cooked, restores 1 extra hit point per Hit Die spent during a short rest (as per the cooking utensils rules in Xanathar's Guide to Everything). Magical meat may restore more, depending on the type.

Monster Types

Some types of monsters are more suited for consumption than others.

Bonuses from monsters do not stack, and you can eat only one serving during a short rest. Any magical benefit or ability gained from eating monster meat expires after 8 hours, or if you gain another such ability from eating a different creature.

Aberrations are not meant for mortal stomachs. Make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a success, you gain 60ft. telepathy, and 2 extra hit points per Hit Die. On a failure, take 2d6 psychic damage and gain a random form of long-term madness, as described on page 260 of the DMG.

Beasts make nice, normal meals, that normal people eat. Beasts produce non-magical meat.

Celestials shouldn't be eaten. What's wrong with you? Regain 5 extra hit points per Hit Die, and temporary hit points equal to your level x 2. Other celestials will recognize you as an enemy on sight, forever- unless the Celestial was evil, or you obtain its forgiveness, or you consumed the meat unknowingly.

Constructs are inedible, unless you happen to be able to eat whatever substance the construct is made out of.

Dragons are the ultimate meat for any true monster chef. If the dragon is a true dragon, regain all hit points, and gain a one-use breath weapon equivalent to the dragonborn breath weapon of the same type. Otherwise, regain 3 extra hit points per Hit Die.

Elementals are inedible. You can drink a dead water elemental, but it won't confer any bonuses. It's just water.

Fey eat people all the time, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Regain 3 extra hit points per Hit Die, and you gain one casting of Misty Step.

Fiends usually dissolve into foul ichor when slain outside of their native plane, so a prospective fiend-eater will have to travel to the lower planes and eat a fiend there. If you somehow manage to pull this off, take 8d6 necrotic damage. You gain a one-use ability to summon a fiend of the DM's choice, in an empty space you can see up to 30 ft away, as an action. The fiend is immediately hostile upon summoning, and lasts for an hour or until reduced to 0 hit points.

Giants are at least somewhat intelligent. Try not to think about it. Regain 3 extra hit points per Hit Die, and gain one casting of enlarge/reduce. You can only use this spell to enlarge, and can only target yourself.

Humanoids definitely count as cannibalism, so you must succeed on a DC 10 Charisma saving throw or vomit up the meat (assuming you are a humanoid). This DC increases to 15 if the meat is from a humanoid of the same species as you. Regain 2 extra hit points per Hit Die, if you pass.

Monstrosities make up the bulk of a monster cook's dishes. Regain 3 extra hit points per Hit Die.

Oozes are inedible, and usually corrosive. Don't try.

Plants, if formerly monsters, grant 2 extra hit points per Hit Die, and you gain one casting of thorn whip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell. Normal plants produce non-magical "meat".

Undead are inedible, unless they were alive until very recently (and remain corporeal). In this case, use the rules for whatever type of monster it was in life, and take 2d12 necrotic damage as you consume the necrotic energy which suffuses the corpse.

Monster Meat in the World

Non-humanoids consuming monster meat might experience different effects. Most monsters have no qualms about eating humanoids, for instance. A fiend consuming a celestial might make it more powerful, a hag might receive a bonus from eating a humanoid, or a construct might be able to burn meat for fuel.

Monster meat is considered a delicacy by a rare few, and players may be able to find a noble or two willing to pay good money for it. Creatures like lizardfolk or the monstrous races rarely have qualms with eating monster. Larger and more powerful monsters, such as dragons, may even prefer monster meat over any other food.

Monsters are, more often than not, part of their local ecosystem. Bringing enough rations to these places to last months or years is difficult, so parties of wilderness explorers and dungeon delvers often learn to subsist on the local monsters.

Additional Options

Your DM may choose to allow some of these additional options.

Curing or otherwise preserving the dish can make its magic last indefinitely. The cook requires dry salt or brine for meat preservation.

Monster Eggs are often edible, should the party encounter a nest. Use the appropriate rules for the monster type. Eggs produce fewer servings than fully grown creatures, but tend to be found in groups.

Raw Meat is often unsafe to eat. If you happen to belong to a species that's able to eat raw meat with little trouble, regain no more than 1 extra hit point per Hit Die. Otherwise, gain no extra hit points, and the DM may inflict you with a random disease. In either case, you experience any other magical effect the meat has.

Seasoning, or adding certain herbs or spices to a dish, can enhance the taste of it. The dish restores 1 additional hit point per Hit Die.

Exceptional Monsters

Some mosters have special effects when eaten (in addition to the normal effects). Whether or not you use this section is up to your DM. Like above, effects last for 8 hours unless otherwise noted.

• Astral Dreadnought: If you eat the dreadnought's eye, you gain one casting of antimagic field.
• Basilisk: Make a DC 7 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, you are petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic. If the petrification effect is removed from the meat with a remove curse spell, you instead gain immunity to petrification.
• Behir: You gain resistance to lightning damage.
• Cloaker: If you succeed on the Wisdom saving throw, you gain one casting of mirror image instead of telepathy.
• Cockatrice: Make a DC 6 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, you are petrified for the next 24 hours. The petrification effect can be removed from the meat with a remove curse spell.
• Displacer Beast: You gain one casting of blur.
• Dragon, Shadow: Make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a success, treat the dragon meat as meat from the true dragon it is based on, and change the damage type of the breath weapon it grants to necrotic. On a failure, take 2d12 necrotic damage.
• Dragon Turtle: Treat as red dragon meat, but your breath weapon becomes steam. Being underwater does not grant resistance to the fire damage dealt by your steam breath.
• Gazer: Bizarrely, considered a delicacy. When you eat a gazer, use the rules for monstrosities. You have a 25% chance of a small eye stalk sprouting from your head, which you can control and see out of.
• Hydra: If you are decapitated after eating a hydra, you regrow two heads, which last until fixed with a greater restoration spell or other magic. Both heads have your personality, but act independently and control half your body. This can make moving around difficult.
• Korred: Your hair grows very long, and you can use it to attempt to grapple a creature within 5 feet of you as a bonus action. After the effect wears off, your hair remains long.
• Kraken: You gain one casting of chain lightning.
• Lycanthrope: Make a Constitution saving throw against lycanthropy, as if you'd been hit by the lycanthrope's bite attack. If the lycanthropy effect is removed from the meat with a remove curse spell, you instead gain immunity to lycanthropy.
• Medusa: Make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, you are petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic. If the petrification effect is removed from the meat with a remove curse spell, you instead gain immunity to petrification.
• Mimic: Your skin becomes the color and texture of the mimic. For instance, if you ate a wooden chest mimic, your skin will look and feel like wood.
• Naga: Drawing on the Naga's regenerative abilities, you have advantage on death saving throws.
• Neogi: If you succeed on the Wisdom saving throw, you gain one casting of suggestion instead of telepathy.
• Oblex: You can add 1d4 (if adult oblex) or 1d8 (if elder oblex) to all of your ability checks, as you access the memories of those consumed by the oblex.
• Remorhaz: You gain resistance to cold damage.
• Rust Monster: You gain the rust monster's rust metal ability.
• Salamander: When you eat a salamander, use the rules for monstrosities, and gain resistance to fire damage (or cold damage, if it was a frost salamander).
• Slaad: Make a DC 9 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, you are infected with either a slaad egg or the chaos phage, as described in the red slaad and blue slaad stat blocks (determine randomly). This effect can be removed from the meat with a remove curse spell. Roll a d8 when you consume slaad meat and take the result:
  1. Resistance to acid damage.
  2. Resistance to cold damage.
  3. Resistance to fire damage.
  4. Resistance to lightning damage.
  5. Resistance to thunder damage.
  6. 60 ft. telepathy.
  7. You regain 1d6 hit points every 10 minutes, provided that you have at least 1 hit point.
  8. You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
  Slaadi ignore the normal rules for aberrations. Instead, regain 1 hit point per Hit Die spent.
• Sphinx: You are immune to any effect that would sense your emotions or read your thoughts, as well as any divination spell that you refuse. When you consume the meat, you have a 5% chance of being teleported to a random plane of existence.
• Tarrasque: You gain 20 points in Strength and Constitution. You are healed to full and your Hit Point maximum increases appropriately.
• Troll: Your severed body members (fingers, legs, tails, and so on), if any, are restored after 2 minutes. If you have the severed part and hold it to the stump, the meat instantaneously causes the limb to knit to the stump.