Pig

Pigs, also called hogs and swine, were a kind of animal raised as livestock, generally for the sole purpose of being eaten. Farmers who raised pigs were often called swineherds.

Male pigs used for breeding were called "boars" while the females were called "sows". A newborn was called a "piglet" until was weaned, at which point it was a "shoat". Most male shoats were then castrated, ensuring that they grew to be fat and docile.

Description
Pigs were usually tall at the shoulder.

Uses
Domestic pigs were important as sources of pork, and especially as sources of cured meat that was durable and could travel, including salted or smoked cuts such as bacon or ham. Whole roasted adult or suckling pigs were major centerpieces of many cultures' feasts and festivals  as well as big draws at inns and taverns. Pigs' ears were a delicacy in some parts of Faerûn.

Pigs' organs, including intestines and brains, were also used for food or cooked into gravy. Their bladders could be used as sausage casings or to make sugar bladders (a sort of confection).

Pig fat, sometimes known as lard, was used in cooking and to make pastry dough. Pig fat was measured by the "knife" when cooking.

Some pig parts also had non-culinary uses. Their bladders could be inflated or filled with water to create children's diversions known simply as bladders. Pigskin could tanned to use as upholstery, such as for cushions, although this was seen as a low status material. In certain cases, pig fat could be applied to a naked human to allow them to squeeze into spaces intended for smaller races.

In magic, certain profane rituals and curses, such as those performed by the anchorites of Talos in the late 15 century DR, involved the use of pigs' hearts or blood. Fatty pieces of pig skin, also known as the rind, could be used as a material component in the grease spell.

Behavior
Domestic pigs were gentile creatures, although they were known to be both more stubborn and more intelligent than other forms of livestock. They were perhaps best known for their appetites as they would eat nearly anything and were known to crowd around their feeding troughs greedily.

While usually docile, pigs could become irritable when underfed and swineherds risked nasty bites and kicks, especially from breeding males which might also have tusks. As a result, it was not uncommon for swineherds to wear leather armor and leather gloves, or something similar.

They were not fans of the cold of winter nor of the heat of summer, the latter of which just made them seek to wallow and sleep in the mud.

Combat
Most pigs&mdash;domestic or wild&mdash;did not attack humanoids unless they felt threatened, were compelled by magic, or were badly underfed. They would attempt to bite, headbutt, or trample an enemy. Their thick, fatty skin made them surprisingly resistant to venomous bites or other efforts to inject them with poison.

Society
Domestic pigs were raised as food and were almost never used for labor, unlike other livestock such as cows. Pigs were generally slaughtered before the winter, and then carved into desirable cuts, chopped into quarters, or "dressed", meaning their heads, skin, hooves, and organs were removed and the carcass then washed with salt water. Live pigs were also a valuable trade commodity, and were often transported by horse-drawn cart or ship.

Faerûn
Pigs were a staple in north Faerûn since the days of ancient Netheril, and were kept everywhere from the Sword Coast North and Dessarin Valley in the west to the Bloodstone Lands in the east. They were raised all over the Moonsea region, including Thar, and notably in Zhentil Keep, the Winterspear Vale near Hulburg, and the countryside near Phlan, Hillsfar, Elventree, and Mulmaster (where it was common practice for the city to give cadavers to pig farmers to be used as pigfeed). Pigs were also common in the Vast, where herds were allowed to range and graze on mushrooms, acorns, and roots as well as small snakes and birds They were notably raised in places such as the lands of the Liontower and Yarvandar families, at Hog's Hill north of Raven's Bluff, and around the town of Hlintar, which was renown for its muddy pig farms and the high-quality bacon which they produced. In the North, hill giants were sometimes known to raise their own pigs, such as at Grudd Haug.

Pigs could be found throughout the Moonshae Isles, including on Alaron, Oman's Isle, Norland, and the larger islands of the Korinn Archipelago, where they were a major export. Whole roast pigs were served at Northlander feasts. Pigs were much less common on other, more barren islands in the Trackless Sea, such as Ruathym.

In the Eastern Heartlands, pigs were raised in Cormyr and across the Dalelands. Most notably, they could be found in Battledale near Hap, in Daggerdale within Anathar's Dell, in Featherdale especially around Wright's Ferry (although the entire dale was known for its pigs), in Scardale (notable for its pig farmers allowing their herds to forage freely in the woods, and for using the smell of roasted corn to lure them back home), and in Mistledale (where some pigs at Sharin Freehold were bred to have wings strong enough to let them fly short distances to avoid predators).

In the Western Heartlands, pigs were raised across Elturgard from the Fields of the Dead to Berdusk. They were also found in the Sunset Vale, notably around Corm Orp, where they freely ranged the hills east of town.

Further south, pigs were kept in Tethyr, Amn (notably in the grasslands of Riatavin), and in Manshaka in Calimshan. An Amnian delicacy was pig's head. Pigs were also raised in the Border Kingdoms, notably in the Barony of Blacksaddle and the Realm of the Ready Sword.

In the east, herd of pigs were kept in Mulhorand, especially in the Great Vale, and in Thay, where the Red Wizards often used them to feed their pet monsters and guardians. Pigs were rare in Chessenta, resulting in pork being a much sought-after import. Peasant families kept pigs in the Hordelands, notably in Ra-Khati and Khazari.

Comparing someone to a pig was an insult in Faerûn, and was generally meant to imply greediness, gluttony, or stubbornness.

Kara-Tur
Pigs were commonly eaten throughout most of Kara-Tur, and whole roast pigs were served as the centerpieces of festivals in places like Akari. Peasants often raised pigs in Shou Lung, where the family swine were allowed to run free in small yards and to sleep beneath homes. Pigs were also raised in the Plain of Horses, notably in Jugicha where the Tsu-tsu tribe were known to be uniquely proficient in pig breeding. Among the Nubari of Malatra, the Simbara tribes often raised pigs, although calling one of their warriors a "pig herder" was seen as an insult. The korobokuru were known to keep pigs.

In Kara-Turan magical tradition, the pig was the animal correlate of the element of water.

Comparing someone to a pig in Kara-Tur was an insult meant to imply a lack of honor.

Zakhara
Pork was eaten in Zakhara and, as in other continents, likening someone to a pig was derogatory. Pigs were also the subject of a Zakharan maxim: "A butchered pig has no need to fear the oven."

A prominent feature of the Zakharan desert were steep, rocky ridges known as hogbacks, so named because of their resemblance to wild pigs.

Other Planes
Beyond Toril and the Prime Material plane, pigs were raised in Sigil where they were bought, sold, and bartered for in the Market Ward, including a two-headed variety. They were also raised in the plane of Arcadia.

Domestic Pigs
Domesticated pigs lived either with individual families or on pig farms. A complete farm would include pigsties or pigpens &mdash;usually with each containing a trough and a manger &mdash;and a muddy place for the pigs to wallow (which could double as a conveniently disgusting place for a farmer to hide their valuables). Pig farms in general were famous for how horrible they smelled.

Pigs were fed everything from mushrooms, plants and grains to eggs, fish, and small animals to insect larvae, worms, and garbage, sometimes including the leftover solids from cider-making or even human remains. That said, it was common wisdom that pigs produced better meat when allowed to forage rather than being fed grain or trash. Swineherds wielding special crooks and calling "sooooeeee!" would often oversee a foraging herd as it ranged out from their farm, but in some cases pigs were allowed to forage unsupervised before being summoned back for slaughter.

Domestic pigs were popular prey for everything from wolves to wyverns to roving ogres and giants, who were prone to steal them from farms. They were also a favored host of tatterdemanimals, and their pigsties were often home to rats. In Kara-Tur, pigs were popular prey for goblin rats.

Whole pigs were fed to domestic catoblepas to keep them docile, and were used as bait for young ankhegs, which would gorge themselves to death on a suitably large pig carcass.

Wild Pigs
While the term "wild pig" could occasionally be used to describe boars or warthogs, it was also used to describe a class of smaller wild swine and escaped domestic pigs. They tended to eat a varied and omnivorous diet, mostly vegetation like roots, tubers, or grains, but also including things like insects and stirge eggs. They were hunted not only by humans but by lizardfolk and wemics.

Wild pigs were common in the Eastern Heartlands. They could be found in Cormyr, including in the mountains of the Storm Horns and Thunder Peaks, as well as in the Stonelands, the Goblin Marches and the marshlands. They were common in the Dalelands, notably in Mistledale, and in the surrounding Cormanthor forest. They could also be found in Sembia.

In Kara-Tur, wild pigs were known to inhabit Mad Monkey Island near T'u Lung.

In Zakhara, wild pigs were a popular food of serpent lords.

History
A colony of dwarves once spent 50 years trying and failing to raise pigs in the Glaun Bog in Cormyr.

In Ches of, a ship called the Bloody Umber heading for Scardale disappeared on the Inner Sea with a cargo of live pigs.

In the late 15 century DR, an expedition of the Order of the Gauntlet to Chult brought along live pigs for food, however their herd soon died out.

Notable Pigs

 * Lewy Jons' hog was the prized pig of farmer Lewy Jons of West Harbor on the Sword Coast North in the 1370s DR.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Bloodstone Pass (adventure) • The Mines of Bloodstone • Ochimo The Spirit Warrior • Mad Monkey vs the Dragon Claw • Marco Volo: Journey • A Blight on the Land • The Fiends of Tethyr • Grimjaws • The Raiders of Galath's Roost • Scourge of the Sword Coast • Dead in Thay • Storm King's Thunder
 * Swords of the Iron Legion • Ninja Wars • Blood of the Yakuza • Easy Money
 * Swords of the Iron Legion • Ninja Wars • Blood of the Yakuza • Easy Money


 * Novels
 * Corsair
 * Corsair


 * Short Stories
 * "Spin a Yarn: Jantharl's Surprising Journey"
 * "Spin a Yarn: Jantharl's Surprising Journey"


 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights 2 • Baldur's Gate III


 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * Drums in the Marsh • Bane of the Tradeways • The Malady of Elventree
 * Drums in the Marsh • Bane of the Tradeways • The Malady of Elventree