Cook (Draw Steel)

Skills

Definition

Cook covers everything from stretching trail rations into a real meal to running a feast kitchen, and it includes judging food: is this mushroom safe, has this meat turned, was this wine tampered with. It is a Reason skill because it depends on learned technique and ingredient knowledge. It comes up during respites, when foraging turns up unfamiliar plants, at banquets where poison is a risk, and whenever a good meal can open a conversation.

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How it works

**Characteristic**: Reason. **Skill group**: Reason skills. **Test**: 2d10 + Reason; 11 or lower is tier 1, 12 to 16 tier 2, 17 or higher tier 3. Training grants a benefit and unlocks attempts untrained heroes cannot make. **How it is used**: Tier 3 produces a memorable meal or a confident verdict on an ingredient. Tier 2 is edible and adequate. Tier 1 ruins the food or misjudges it, which with a suspect ingredient can hurt. **Edges and banes**: A proper kitchen, fresh ingredients, or a known recipe grants an edge (+2). Foraged unknowns, no fire, or feeding a large group fast imposes a bane (-2).

Tips

**Best for**: Heroes who like respite scenes to matter, and infiltrators who can talk their way into a kitchen. **Character concepts**: Farmer career cook, Sailor who ran a galley, polder innkeeper's child. **Synergies**: Alchemy for the same stills and scales, Nature for finding ingredients, Gather Rumors since kitchens hear everything.

Frequently asked questions

Does Cook give a mechanical benefit during a respite?

Not by default. Directors often reward a tier 3 meal with a small edge on the next day's first test or a social opening with hosts.

Can Cook detect poison in food?

Yes, when the poison changes taste, smell, or texture. Tasteless poisons may need Alchemy.

Cook (Draw Steel)

Definition

How it works

Tips

Frequently asked questions

Further Reading