Food, Eating, and Cooking
Optional rules for eating and cooking food.
Mostly intended for roleplaying bonuses, but also provides mechanical advantages so that players are encouraged to eat. Eating also sinks a small amount of the party's resources.
Overview
- PCs must eat, or they will eventually starve.
- PCs can cook food, using a Craft (Cooking) check. There is cooking equipment to make this easier. Fire helps.
- Eating food occasionally gives minor mechanical bonuses.
Eating
You must eat, or you will starve to death.
- Going one day (24 hours) without a meal makes you fatigued.
- Going two days (48 hours) without a meal makes you exhausted.
- Every day after that, you suffer 1 point of CON damage until you die.
However, eating too much is also bad.
- You can eat up to three meals a day.
- If you eat more than three meals in a day, you are sickened.
- If you eat more than six meals in a day, you are nauseated.
You are what you eat. Basic food is adequate, but better food will make you stronger. See Food Bonuses below.
Note: It isn't intended that the point of CON damage is immediately healed every night, per the healing rules - suggestions for better wording are welcome.
Cooking
You can prepare meals using a Craft (cooking) check.
- More expensive food is better for you, but harder to cook (higher Craft DC.)
- Better cooking equipment gives a bonus to your Craft check.
- Cooking requires a fire or other heat source. If you don't have heat, you can only eat cold food i.e. trail rations.
Table: Food Values
| Food value (per serving) | Craft (cooking) DC | Food benefit | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cp or less | DC 0 | Averts starvation. | Saltrice porridge. |
| 5 cp or less | DC 5 | 5% chance | Saltrice porridge with a kwama egg. |
| 5 sp or less | DC 10 | 10% chance | Kwama egg, crab meat, and scuttle pie. |
| 5 gp or less | DC 15 | 20% chance | |
| Over 5 gp | DC 20 | 40% chance |
Table: Food bonuses
| d20 roll | Benefit |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | +1 temporary HP. |
| 6-7 | +1 Will save |
| 8-9 | +1 Fort save |
| 10-12 | +1 Reflex save |
| 15 | +1 all STR-based checks. |
| 16 | +1 all DEX-based checks. |
| 17 | +1 all CON-based checks. |
| 18 | +1 all INT-based checks. |
| 19 | +1 all WIS-based checks. |
| 20 | +1 all CHA-based checks. |
All bonuses are morale bonuses and do not stack with other morale bonuses, including those from bardsong, consuming multiple meals, or spells like Aid.
Bonuses to 'ability-based' checks include all d20 rolls that are modified by that ability, such as saves, attack rolls, skill checks, etc.
Note: If these rules are too complicated, just award +1 temporary HP.
Table: Craft (cooking) skill bonuses
| Craft (cooking) bonus | Condition |
|---|---|
| - | No cooking equipment. (You are improvising using your helmet as a pot, your dagger as a knife, etc.) |
| +1 | You have basic cooking equipment (1 gp, 5 lb). Includes pot, frypan, chopping board, knife. |
| +2 | You have a bigger set of cooking equipment (10 gp, 10 lb). Includes a few different sizes of pots and pans, a few different knives, etc. |
| +4 | You have a full set of kitchen equipment (200 gp, 100 lb). Includes numerous pots and pans, a full set of chef's knives, specialised kitchen gadgets, and a literal kitchen sink. |
| - | No heat source. You can only eat food that is edible without cooking. |
| - | Open fire. You can cook without penalty. |
| +1 | You have a stove (1 gp, 100 lb). |
| +2 | You have a stove with an oven. (2 gp, 200 lb). |