Questions on the Barbarian Feast Ability

When using the L3 Barbarian Feast ability, the barbarian can “consume twice as much food or drink during camp to insulate himself from the hungry and thirsty condition.” Now, the questions:

  1. Can he only do this during camp? Or can he feast during the adventure phase?

  2. My first thought on this was that it might be a good way to prolong the fresh condition. However, if eating while you’re not hungry/thirsty serves no purpose, you need to be hungry/thirsty to eat, which would cancel out the fresh. Now, the only advantage I can see to this is that eating twice as much might possibly free up a small amount of room in inventory. (If he is carrying two fresh rations and feasts on both, it empties a slot, where if he just ate one now and one later, it wouldn’t be freed until then.)

  3. I swear I had a third question, but I’ve lost it now. I’ll add it later if I think of it.

Otherwise, are there other advantages to this ability that I might be missing? (Wouldn’t be the first time.)

  1. During camp. Like it says.
  2. Yeah it helps to travel light. It also insulates you against double-conditions, ie: getting a condition due to the grind at the same time as getting a condition from a failed test. Normally you get hungry and thirsty and then go right to exhausted because you have no time to eat or drink anything.

Imagine a horde of barbarians that spend the night before a battle feasting. That means they can go 8 turns before the Grind affects them. It’s also easier to eat meals in camp than deal with rations or waterskins in the adventure phase. Just have your halfling thrall make an ob 5 Cook test (he can do it).

Got it. Thanks for the quick response.