On Avoiding Starving at Low Levels
or The CthulhuMud Organic Cookbook (for Humans) - by Raymond
The major problem i encountered at low levels, when i still didn't have the Create Food spell, was finding something to eat in order to avoid death by starvation. These have been my solutions.
1. The Newbie Intro in Arkham!
This is a life-saving place. First, there is a bundle of fruits that appears each once in a while, so you can go there from time to time and collect it as future snack. Second, if you sleep in the newbie intro and Dream Walk, you should come to Forest Glade: go NE and you'll find a room where three large mushrooms grow. Don't try to pick up them (they'll evaporate), just eat them straight. They're very good! (I got overweight from eating them - no joke!)
Note: if you find yourself awake in Ulthar, you can go to the same Garden by sleeping in the room where Master Atal stands (in the Temple of Atal, from the fountain, go Up and East).
2. Apple Lane.
This road, located in north-western Arkham, has several apple trees. But beware, as when you leave Miskatonic U. from the northern door, if you turn west you could find a bad guy wanting to kill you, and he's a rather nasty encounter at low levels. When you arrive in Apple Lane, just try to take an apple from the trees there. As the lane is quite long, you should find at least 3 apples on the whole road.
3. Dead monsters.
Yuck. Yes, you can actually try to eat the limbs of dead monsters. I knew it only recently, so i didn't try this many times, but these are some general guidelines. Arms, legs and heart are ok; brains should be ok too, but i found only one to eat (it was a rat brain). AVOID eating guts, as they can be unhealthful. I enjoyed eating limbs from zoog and rats and i didn't get any problem; can't say for other monsters, maybe some of them may be poisonous?
4. Asking people.
For many experienced players, creating some food is not a problem. If you find yourself in danger of starving, try kindly asking someone to create some food for you.
5. Store excess food in your locker!
If you luckily find lots of food (or lots of anything else), i.e. more than you can carry, remember that you can store it in your locker. This way you'll also avoid losing it by dying in weird places. If you don't have a locker, try going in Miskatonic U., at the fountain, and go all South until you find a room with closed lockers and a boy who's in need of something... solve the quest and you will have a key to your personal locker (that's accessible from Ulthar too!)
6. Enjoy eating!
If you are often hungry, this is probably because when you receive the "You are hungry!" message, you only eat one thing. Actually, you can eat a lot more (even until you're "stuffed"... but beware of getting overweight!) so you'll be fed for more time.
That's all by my side! Enjoy!
