Skill
| Image |  |
| Description | You've developed a bit of a taste for flesh… human and otherwise. |
| Effects | Allows you to gain Energy from flesh devoured when you use techniques that involve eating their flesh. Decide whether you want to from your character sheet (click your name in the left pane). |
Sources
Possible reward for the Problems on the Docks quest. Use Ghoul Bite (or any other eating technique) with the Bone Scepter equipped.
Use Text
When used from your character sheet, you receive this message if the skill is not currently active:
You have started having strange urges to eat flesh. You're relatively sure it'd serve as a fine food source.
Now to decide whether you want to eat the flesh of your enemies…
If the skill is active, you get this message:
You've decided to start eating the flesh of your enemies. You can stop any time, though. Really.
In either case, you may choose "Eat their flesh":
You decide to give in to your ghoulish urges.
or "Hold off":
You decide to hold off on eating flesh for now.
You can eat your enemies after combat, if:
- You have the skill activated
- You used an Eating Technique (of a valid form — air filter and some other conditions often invalidate some forms of a technique) at least once during the fight
- The technique used was not fully evaded by an Evasion Technique
If all the above conditions are met, you get one of the following messages:
| Condition | Message | Results |
|---|---|---|
| [Default] | You feast on <opponent's> flesh, regaining <x> Energy. | Gain Energy (see below) |
| Eating: - humans* |
(same as above) 2 Evil | Gain Energy |
| Default when fighting opponents that do not have the No Organs flag, with Undying Heart | You feast on <opponent's> flesh, savoring the organs and regaining <x> Energy and HP. | Gain Energy and HP (see below) |
| Eating: - Boxed Nightmare - Writhing Mass |
You feast on the mass's tentacles. Your wounds seal with tender new flesh as you eat, restoring <x> Energy and HP. | Gain Energy and HP (see below), even without Undying Heart |
| Eating: - electric opponents |
You try to feast on <opponent>, but just end up with a mouthful of broken plastic. | Gain 1-2 (?) of: frayed cable, circuit fragments, polysteel (does not cost Hunger) |
| Eating: - crunchy opponents (note: electric takes priority if also crunchy) |
You crunch down on <opponent>'s form, regaining x Energy. | Gain Energy |
| Eating - Snowmen |
You gulp down a mouthful of the snowman, swallowing a mass of ice and snow. | You learned a new technique: Frost Breath (does not cost Hunger) |
| Eating: - Drone Statue - Twisted Hound |
You try to eat the hound, but just get a mouthful of crystalline dust. It absorbs before you can cough it out, causing a strange prickling all over your skin. | Gain 5 duration of Bone Spikes (does not cost Hunger) |
| Eating opponents with Writhing Flesh active: - Sewer Mutant - Subway Dweller - Gang Warfare (PvP) opponents, if they have it active |
[no special message] | Default results, and gain as many Energy of Writhing Flesh as you got Energy and/or HP |
| Eating: - Chained Ghoul - Ghoul - Square Maw |
The irony is not lost on you. | (Displayed in addition to the standard message) |
| Eating: - Aristocratic Specter - Spectral Damsel - Spectral Miner - Spectral Patient - Spectral Sailor - Burning Specter |
You gulp down a mouthful of the specter, only to find a horrible chill spreading through your body. | Gain 10 duration of Spectral Curse (does not cost Hunger) |
| Eating (with Fae Sight active): - Mushroom Harvester - Mushroom Scout - Mushroom Warrior |
Mmmmmmm. Reminds you of wandering through sunless caverns. | Gain 5-6 (?) energy |
| Eating (with Ocean Sight active): - Foreign Shark - Ruins Octopus |
Mmmmmm. Reminds you of swimming in primordial seas. | Gain 5-6 (?) energy |
| Eating: - Pain Gremlin |
You feast on the representation of your own pain. Oddly, you feel better, restoring <x> Energy. | Also gain as much duration of No Pain as you got Energy |
| Eating: - Dazzling Cloud |
Maybe sticking your face the cloud's form wasn't such a great idea. You stumble back into the crowd, dazzled. It's still strangely invigorating, though, restoring x energy. |
Also gain as much Party Lights as energy |
| Eating - Dark Specter |
You gulp down a mouthful of the specter, but find choking smoke instead of sustenance. | Gain 5 turns of Dark Smoke (does not cost hunger) |
| Eating: - Living Sludge |
You slurp down some of the slime. It's surprisingly filling, restoring x Energy, but probably not very good for you. | Also gain as much Slags Poisoning as energy |
| Eating: - Skull in the Flames |
You devour the burning mists, feeling x Energy surge through your veins. The world around you cracks like a mirror as the mists begin eating back into you. | Also gain as much Broken World as energy |
| Eating: - Phoenix - Firework Spider |
You gulp down a mouthful of the phoenix. It feels like it'll burn out your innards, but you feel a surge of x Energy. | Gain Energy |
| Eating: - Fireworks Serpent |
You gulp down a mouthful of the serpent. Your tongue burns like it's about to rip itself from your mouth, but you regain 5 Energy. | Gain Energy, Fire Serpent |
| Eating: - Force Beast |
You feast on the beast's form, feeling the energy flow through you and restore x Energy. | Gain Energy. |
| Eating: - Faceless Worker - Overgrown Cubicles - Vine Confluence |
You tear apart the <opponent>'s vines, savoring the sweet sap within as you regain x Energy. | Gain Energy. |
| At zero Hunger (for results that consume hunger - eating spectres, robots and twisted hounds still work) | You devour your enemies, even though you do not need their flesh for sustenance. | Triggers Cool Coin? |
* See Opponents Testing for an exact list of opponents that are evil to eat.
Notes
Eating an opponent always uses 1 Hunger (except where indicated above). The minimum energy gain is 2 (?) and the gain caps out at giving 4 or 5 energy per fight. The energy gains from consuming opponents scale, probably following the "level" formula that old coins follow ($\frac{n}{10} + 3$, where n is equal to your averaged buffed stat).
It is not necessary to use the Eating Technique on the last round of combat—as long as you use it at least once during a fight you may consume your opponent if you win. If your opponent blocks or avoids all damage, thought, the technique does not count.
If you eat several opponents during a single combat, only the last one will count. (For example, if you eat a spectral sailor and then a twisted hound, you only get the Bone Spikes and not the Spectral Curse.) Eating an opponent several times during a single combat has no effect.
Eating enough opponents in gang warfare grants the Cannibal Avatar:
History
Until May 11, 2010 the skill description read:
You've developed a bit of a taste for flesh… human, animal, robotic, or otherwise.
and the message for using the skill after combat, regardless of your opponent, was:
You feast on the flesh of your enemies, regaining <x> Energy.
Mid 2018, the morality of cannibalism was revamped; before that update eating certain more-intelligent creatures was considered a level-1 Evil action. Now it is a neutral action. Eating humans still counts as a level-2 Evil action.