Draw Steel skill
Cook
Cook is a skill in Draw Steel: Preparing food that keeps a party fed and happy, and telling safe ingredients from spoiled or poisoned ones.
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Key facts
- Characteristic
- Reason
Overview
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.
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 and playstyle
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.