Special Food Items

[the Jester]

So I'm working on an adventure for my party (The Bile Mountain Casino and Resort) and I'm going to give my pcs a chance to purchase a few special food items from a band of halflings. Some of these are similar to very minor alchemical items, some will be snake oil, some will be pretty cool just because they are extra tasty. All will be limited in supply, and many of them have to be cooked or brewed up by said halflings on the spot (so the pcs can't really just kill and loot to obtain them).

N.B. I do have a long tradition of halfling 'magical food' in my campaign; I had a mystic chef halfling-only prestige class in 3e, for instance (which I've converted to 4e as a paragon path, oh you better believe I have).

Anyhow, here is an example of the kind of thing I'm going for. I'd love suggestions for more of about the same power/drawback level (which is to say, generally very small but fun effects). (Note that while I totally recognize "regain a healing surge" as a powerful effect, "maybe regain a healing surge out of combat once a day" isn't that big deal to me, especially since it just promotes continuing to adventure.)

Blueberry Wine: 10 gp per bottle (extraordinarily good; they have 18 bottles on hand).

Marjoram's Cinnamon and Molasses Cookies: 1 gp per dozen (she can bake up to 4 dozen per hour).

Furry Bluecap Mushroom Extract: 25 gp per bag (eat a bag during a short rest, then make a saving throw; if you succeed, you regain a spent healing surge; cannot use more than one per day; the clan has four bags on hand)

Zora's Koncentrated Koffee Kabooms: 10 gp each (these are small, withered-looking, red-stained coffee beans; when you eat one, you get +1 to initiative for the next 5 minutes or until you take a short rest, but afterward, until you take an extended rest, you suffer a -1 penalty to speed; she has 25 of them on hand)

Extra Smooth Mint Dream Tea: 5 gp per teabag (“This will help you get the best sleep ever,” the halflings gush. It is nice tea, but not that great. They have 150 teabags on hand.)

Snakebite Salve: 75 gp for the jar, which contains 5 applications. (The halflings claim that it helps you throw off poison.)

Scented Scarves: 20 gp each; they have 14 on hand. (The halflings tell visitors that the scarves can help you avoid being overcome by the stench of bile; this may be referenced later on in this adventure.)

 

[BriarMonkey]

Ooooo!

I love the idea of magical foods. It allows for so much extra flavor. [big stoooopid grin] But seriously, it goes a long way to adding those special touches that make a campaign or adventure stand out.

With that said, you wouldn't happen to want to share your 3e version of that chef prestige class, would you?

As for similar foodstuffs, I'm not fluent in 4e, so I'll give you the 3e versions.

Halfstout Hot Toddy: An aromatic tea with a strong kick of brandy. When consumed, it warms the imbiber throughout, granting resistance to cold (2) for about an hour.

Pickled Goatsfoot: Akin to pickled pigs feet, and looking just as unappetizing, when a pair of these pungent feet are eaten, the consumer is granted a minor (+2) bonus to any balance checks for the next hour.

Fire-roasted Tongueswallow Chile Soup: The soup steams and roils, appearing more like a viscous reddish oil than a soup. When consumed, the consumer must make a fortitude save (DC 12) with the first spoonfull, or else the heat is simply too much to bear and they are unable to continue eating the soup. If however, they consume an entire bowlfull of the soup, they will have need for no more food until the next morning.


And, that's all I could find in any of my stuff at current.

Cheers!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Gorrim's Hot Shot Spirits: a high proof, highly peppered alcohol that has a special ingredient- an intensely hot magical pepper. Each shot causes you to belch a blue flame that does 1-2 points of damage to an adjacent target. Affects insubstantial creatures.

 

[Quickleaf]

River Hot Root Soup
From The Redwall Kitchen

Burns the sin right out of you! (make a save versus any possession or dominate effects with a +5 bonus)

 

[the Jester]

Ooooo!

I love the idea of magical foods. It allows for so much extra flavor. [big stoooopid grin] But seriously, it goes a long way to adding those special touches that make a campaign or adventure stand out.

With that said, you wouldn't happen to want to share your 3e version of that chef prestige class, would you?

Sure!

MYSTIC CHEF

Food is a vital element in the health and lives of all living things. Its powers are routinely underestimated by most races; only the halflings really have the full appreciation of it necessary to tap into its deepest mystical powers.

Hit Die: d6
Prerequisites: Craft (food) (8 ranks), Heal (4 ranks), Profession (cook) 8 ranks; Skill Focus (profession: cook or craft: food). Must be able to cast divine spells. Must be a halfling.
Class Skills: Alchemy (int), Craft (int), Diplomacy (cha), Handle Animal (cha), Heal (wis), Profession (wis), Sense Motive (wis), Wilderness Lore (wis). Skill points per level: 6 + int bonus.

Base Attack: Medium (as cleric)
Good Saves: Fort
Poor Saves: Ref and Will.

Level --- Special Abilities
1 --- Healing Food, Vitality (Food), +1 caster level
2 --- Antipoison Infusion, Resist Poison +1
3 --- Spicy Defense, +1 caster level
4 --- Restorative Meal, Vitality (Drink)
5 --- Healing Snack, Resist Poison +2, +1 caster level
6 --- Fortify +2
7 --- Just Desserts, +1 caster level
8 --- Resist Poison +3, Scent
9 --- Magic Food, +1 caster level
10 -- Fortify +4, Prepare Inedibles

CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A mystic chef gains proficiency only in kitchen and food-related items, such as the dagger or knife, flail (for harvesting), sickle, and scythe.

Healing Food (Su): The mystic chef can prepare a meal that has the effects of successful long-term care. The meal takes one hour to cook, plus 10 minutes for every person above four to eat of it. This ability does not stack with the Heal skill.

Vitality: The chef can cook up a filling meal that, as long as recipients stuff themselves, will keep them hale and hearty (as if well-fed) for up to one day per mystic chef level. This requires as much food as the creatures would consume in that much time. At fourth level the mystic chef can also prepare concentrated drinks in similar fashion.

Antipoison Infusion (Ex): This ability allows the mystic chef to use any liquid to aid a creature that has consumed an ingested poison, either by inducing vomiting or by diluting the poison within the body. This allows the victim to receive a bonus of +4 on their saving throws against all ingested poison for the next ten minutes. Additionally, if the poison victim’s save fails, all poison damage inflicted is reduced by 3 points.

Resist Poison (Ex): The mystic chef’s ability to resist poison increases as he advances in level.

Spicy Defense (Ex): As a standard action, the mystic chef can blow a packet of exotic spices at an enemy within 10’. The target must make a Ref save, DC 10 + class level) or be blinded for 1d4 rounds. The spices can be bought in any herbalist’s shop or garden, since any number of different combinations will serve. The chef can also gather enough herbage in one hour for one dose of the mixture with a wilderness lore check (DC20 or higher in unfavorable conditions).

Restorative Meal (Su): The mystic chef can cook a hearty meal (the time required is the same as for healing food) that will restore 1d4+1 points of temporary ability damage to the recipient’s most damaged attribute, as well as granting a +2 morale bonus to saving throws to remove negative levels for one day. Creatures can benefit from only one restorative meal per day.

Healing Snack (Su): With a fresh-cooked snack the mystic chef can heal 1d8 + his class level in hp to those that consume it. It takes ten minutes and a fire to prepare; every person over four to consume it adds one minute to the preparation time. Any given creature can benefit from a healing snack only once per day.

Fortify (Su): By feeding creatures a hearty stew, the mystic chef can grant them enhancement bonuses to Str and Con. The stew requires twice the cook time of healing food. The enhancement bonuses last for two hours per class level.

Just Desserts (Su): A 7th level mystic chef can make a sweet tasty cake morsel that provides a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls, a +2 morale bonus on saves vs. mind-affecting abilities, and a +4 morale bonus to saves vs. fear effects. It takes an hour to prepare for up to a dozen people, plus 10 minutes for each additional four people.

Scent (Ex): The finely-tuned nose of the chef gains the scent special quality.

Magic Food (Su): A 9th-level mystic chef can cook any spell with a range of touch into a meal. The meal takes one hour to “cast” and the spell must be one the chef has prepared or knows, as appropriate. The ingredients for the magic food cost 20 gp/level of the spell. The spell remains potent until eaten, or for one hour per class level. The first bite of the meal triggers the spell.

Prepare Inedibles (Su): Given an hour, a fire and some water, a 10th-level mystic chef can prepare any non-magical solid or liquid into a tasty meal.

 

[Unwise]

Very nice, do you have any 4th edition materials for that class available? I have a friend who would love it. Sounds like a good background theme too.

 

[the Jester]

Very nice, do you have any 4th edition materials for that class available? I have a friend who would love it. Sounds like a good background theme too.

Yes, it's a paragon path:

Mystic Chef
“Food is the secret to life.”

Prerequisite: Halfling

All living things need to eat and drink, but none hold the art of food in such high regard as halflings do. To a halfling, a good fresh loaf of bread can be worth its weight in gold. Instead of gems and jewels, rich halflings often convert their assets to spices, wine and exotic foodstuffs.

Amongst the priests of the halfling folk, there are those who mingle their faith with their ability to cook, seeing food preparation and service as a very high form of devotion to their deities. Melding your prayers with your cooking, you fortify your companions and enhance their recuperative powers with your food.

Mystic Chef Path Features

Chef’s Action (11th level): You may spend an action point to allow each ally within 5 squares of you to spend a healing surge as a free action.

Fortification through Food (11th level): As long as you spend at least one hour during each extended rest feeding your allies, every time one of them spends a healing surge to regain hit points during a short rest, they regain extra hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.

Overwhelming Fortitude (16th level): When you use a healing power on an ally that has been the subject of your fortification through food ability, that ally gains regeneration 5 (save continues).

Prepare Inedibles (16th level): You can cook normally inedible objects into delicious meals. You cannot cook poison, acid or similar substances.

Mystic Chef Prayers

Stuff to the Gills - Mystic Chef Attack 11
You call upon the power of your deity to make your foe feel the pains of overeating, bloating it with fullness.
Encounter Attack - Divine, Implement
Standard Action - Ranged 10
Attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
Target: One creature
Hit: 2d10 + Wisdom modifier damage, and the target is immobilized until the end of its next turn.
Aftereffect: The target is slowed (save ends).

Take the Edge Off - Mystic Chef Utility 12
You aid your allies in resisting the rigors of combat.
Encounter - Divine
Minor Action - Close burst 5
Target: Each ally that is under the effect of fortification through food in burst
Effect: Each target gains resist 10 all against the next attack that damages it before the end of your next turn.

Spray of Hot Pepper - Mystic Chef Attack 20
From your pouch, you pull forth a handful of hot spices and blow it at your foes.
Daily Attack - Divine, Fire, Implement
Standard Action - Close blast 3
Target: Each creature in blast
Attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
Hit: 3d8 + Wisdom modifier fire damage, and the target is blinded (save ends).
Miss: Half damage, and target is not blinded.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

You should make a Shardmind version for Psionic PCs, with a vaguely "Eastern" feel.*

Call it...IOUN CHEF!

"Tonight's secret ingredient...MIMICU!"

"Hmmm...I don't think anyone was expecting that!"







* as in, they can seemingly make something semi-edible out of any flora or fauna.