Greetings, wonderfully patient players!
I sincerely apologize for the delay.
End-of-summer family fun and travels transitioned quickly into teacher-madly-getting-everything-ready-for-the-school-year craziness, which has now merged into first-couple-weeks-of-school chaos.
I still have what I hope is an exciting story that I would like to share with you in this game, when life calms down a bit. So I hope most of you will be able to hang in there and stick around for a bit more. I understand if you can't.
Peace and joy to you all! :)
Please make four rolls for me in this order, when you have a chance:
Craft
Profession
Charisma/Diplomacy
Perception
These will be for starting the Exotic Delights weekend, which I will describe soon.
Feel free to add some character description/interaction for the preparation, but don't move on to the Evening with guests yet.
Thanks!
Okay, your characters have no way of knowing this, but...
The weekly food themes somewhat mirror stages of this game:
Romance/infatuation/excitement/just getting into the game
Comfort/familiarity/are we getting stuck in a rut?
Exotic ...
... Well, I'm not going to spoil all my surprises ... Hang in there with me... ;)
You keep up the good work for the following three nights as well, and on the final night you receive either 100gp or 110gp, depending on whether or not you were on the winning team.
Please post character actions and reactions throughout the comfort food weekend, as well as any actions or particular conversation on your next two days off.
Don't roll your exotic delights checks just yet.
Game on! :)
The fancy guests sparkle and shine, hardly a 'comfort food' sort of crowd. The excitement is palpable. There are both repeat guests from last week and new faces, as the guest list is no longer limited to couples. Lovely ladies and noble gentlemen eagerly sample your food and proclaim it delightful. By the time orders start coming in, there is a fairly even split of guests ordering each team's meal. Everyone works to keep the food coming out at the right temperature and at the right time. All flows fairly well.
Toward the end of the first evening, you make your appearance to be thanked by Lord Schmultzfeather in front of the guests in the restaurant. No one faints this time!
To clarify:
Ashley thought he posted in gameplay yesterday. I said it wasn't there.
It probably got previewed but never submitted.
He got frustrated and posted angry faces in discussion.
Then he reposted in gameplay.
Interestingly enough, the perfect 20 he was upset about losing for his Profession check reappeared.
My suspicion is that since the rolls never posted yesterday, they got reused today.
Anyway, he's not reposting the fluff part of his post that got lost now. Maybe later.
You may all resume with the previously scheduled paranoid speculation. Carry on. ;)
You make your ingredient requests, and all are accepted.
Now, each person, please make a Craft check, followed by a Profession check, and then a Charisma (or Diplomacy) check.
These are for the Comfort Food feasts. (I'll have you roll the Exotic Delights checks later.)
The craft is for your specific food construction. The profession is for how you generally handle yourself in the Kitchen. The charisma is for conducting yourself personably with your fellow chefs and in the brief public appearances.
The chef who makes the highest Charisma (or Diplomacy) check for each team will also be called upon to be the person offering the guests the meal samples in the grand entry hall before the meal each night this week in order to sway them toward choosing that team's menu.
Also, feel free to describe a bit of how things likely go for your character this week, based on the three checks you make.
Comfort Food by Chefs Tessara, Vincent, Bahram, and Mimi
1 - Spinach and Mushroom Puff
2 - Creamy Macaroni and Cheese in Sourdough Bread Bowl
3 - Beef Pot Roast with Earthy Vegetables
Exotic Delights by Chefs Tessara, Vincent, Bahram, and Mimi
1 - Wild Greens Salad with Roasted Jack-in-the-pulpit Root
2 - Dragons Milk Gorgonzola Pizza Trieste with Apples.
3 - Dragon Turtle Stew with Vudran Naan Bread
So, does this look correct for Team KelPhilAshDin?
Comfort Food by Chefs Kehlysch, Phillip, Ashley, and Dinte
1 - Stewed Hare with Root Vegetables and Herbed Dumplings
2 - Deep-Fried Catfish with Corn-on-the-Cob and Spiced Butter
3 - Apple Cream Custard Pie
...all served with either Sweet Tea or Unsweet Tea (guest's choice) to drink...
Exotic Delights by Chefs Kehlysch, Phillip, Ashley, and Dinte
1 - Steak Tar-Tar
2 - Steamed Moray Eel with Caviar
3 - Chocolate Ricotta Stuffed Pear
...all served with Saki to drink...
Alright, guys, this is what I've got so far for your menus. Please take a couple days to clarify, expand, fix, and finish before I ask you to make the checks. Anyone on a team can speak authoritatively for the team now that you've had a chance to discuss. Thanks!
Comfort Food by Chefs Tessara, Vincent, Bahram, and Mimi
1 - Spinach and Mushroom Puff
2 - Creamy Macaroni and Cheese (w/Roasted Peppers?) in Sourdough Bread Bowl
3 - Stew OR Pot Roast with Vegetables (...please clarify which...)
Comfort Food by Chefs Kehlysch, Phillip, Ashley, and Dinte
1 - Stewed Hare with Root Vegetables and Herbed Dumplings
2 - Deep-Fried Catfish with Corn-on-the-Cob and Spiced Butter
3 - Apple Cream Custard Pie OR Stuffed Pear (Which?)
All served with Sweet Tea to drink?
Exotic Delights by Chefs Tessara, Vincent, Bahram, and Mimi
1 -jack-in-the-pulpit root or even perhaps actual marsh mallow, the plant derivative with Vudran naan bread?
2 - dragons milk(?) Gorgonzola Pizza Trieste with apples.
3 - ???
Exotic Delights by Chefs Kehlysch, Phillip, Ashley, and Dinte
1 - Steak Tar-Tar
2 - Steamed Moray Eel with Caviar (?)
3 - ???
All served with Sake to drink?
So, please continue planning with your team for both your comfort food meal and your exotic delights meal this week. Consider me mostly out-of-the-picture until next Tuesday, or shortly thereafter. Don't roll craft checks yet, but do plan out the details of both three-course meals, if possible.
Consider Bahram and Ashley probably mostly out of discussion this week, so don't wait for them to post to decide on your team's meals.
(Although, Ashley tells me he will probably suggest Sweet Tea for the Comfort Food meal and Sake for the Exotic Delights meal, so Dinte, Phillip, and Kehlysch can keep that in mind when planning the rest of their meals.)
Hey, Tessara, Mimi, and Vincent...
Bahram PMed me that he won't be able to post much, if at all, this week, so feel free to make some assumptions about what he's doing, and try to include some cheesy aspect of at least one of the courses of each of the two meals you plan.
When I call for the craft checks next week, he can roll it if he's back, or I can roll it for him.
Assume he's helping with whatever ideas the three of you come up with.
Thanks! :)
Well, darn. I'm not sure how to word that more clearly. Sorry it's confusing!
Here's Chef Sali's original wording:
"For the purposes of the next two weeks, Chefs Tessara, Vincent, Bahram, and Mimi will work together as a team, and Chefs Kehlysch, Phillip, Ashley, and Dinte will do so as well. Each team will collaborate to prepare a single three-course meal for that week. There are no restrictions as to who contributes how much to each course, or what exactly each course contains, as long as all four of you on the team contribute something to the meal. When the guests arrive in the grand hall, they will taste samples of the two possible menus (one prepared by each team), and each guest will choose between them, selecting one of the two options for dinner. The team that creates the best three-course meal overall, in the opinion of Lord Schmultzfeather, will receive a bonus for the week."
So, between the four of you on the team, you are designing a three-course meal. You will all work together to make many copies of that three-course meal. It's up to the four of you to decide what is in each course and which chef works on what. For mechanical purposes, for the competitive aspect, I'll simply be having all four chefs roll a craft and totaling the results, with a bonus given for any natural twenties and a penalty for any natural ones, and a possible boost for especially creative/evocative descriptions of the food. Does that help explain it?
I'd rather not give specific examples, since I'd like to see what all of you come up with. Don't worry too much about which kind of food is which. If you have something in mind, take a guess as to which category it best fits in, and present it as either "Comfort Food" or "Exotic Delight," and it will most likely be received as such. It really doesn't matter if a particular guest happens to have eaten your specific dish before, as long as your dish is exquisitely prepared and presented. Don't worry. I'm NOT going to pounce on you if you happen to use an ingredient a noble might possibly consider too peasant-like, or something. If most of your team agrees that a particular food seems like a "Comfort Food" or seems like an "Exotic Delight," then most of the guests will probably agree. You can go with variations of what a British/French/German/American person might see as traditional comfort food today, and consider dishes from other continents (or perhaps even made from monsters...although they still need to taste good and be appealing to eat) as being exotic.
EDIT:
Phillip is on the right track in his post above. :)
And if you can't post tonight, that's fine, too. No rush!
Like I said in gameplay, you guys have at least a full week to discuss and plan your meals for these next two challenges with each other while I'm out of town for a week starting Monday.
New challenge... challenges, actually ... up in Gameplay! :)
Phillip, that sounds cool. Would that be something you would want to learn when you guys eventually level up, or would that be something you would hopefully be spending your wages on to purchase and learn now? How much would the bonus be? How much would it cost? Make me a proposal that seems fair to you.
You each found 100gp in your pouches, and Dinte and Ashley found an extra 20gp in theirs. Feel free to spend or save.
I'm hoping to get a comment from Bahram and Vincent about how they spend their two days off before we resume with the next challenge.
Everyone, feel free to have more conversation or give more description of your character's actions.
With Mimi's high survival check and her knowledge of nature, the camping/foraging/fishing trip likely goes well. Kelysch, you may want to add a survival check of your own, and maybe a swim and/ or perception check.
Let's see how dangerous the critters you run into on the camping trip are ... You probably want this number low, or at least not above 80%... Forrest Critter Danger:1d100 ⇒ 68
Okay, Mimi and Kelysch, over the course of both days, you cross paths with some fish, squirrels, bunnies, and a herd of deer, but nothing really ferocious. Feel free to embellish the details as desired.
EDIT:
Phillip, if you want to suggest a reasonable extract or formula and a fair means of obtaining such a thing, I'm open to the possibility.
Eventually, Sunday evening rolls around.
The guests are all fed, no chefs faint, and the applause is strong.
The eight of you return to the Kitchen, relieved and tired.
Chef Sali awaits.
As the long days of this first challenge pass, time blurs together.
Your group generally performs competently, with notable improvements from Bahram, who manages to pack even more flavor into his stuffed shells with the addition of another tasty cheese, and from Dinte, who works like a man possessed to improve both the artistry and the flavor of his creations.
At one point, however, Chef Sali calls Phillip aside...
I will be taking a short trip out of town for the next two days, so I will most likely be moving us along in the story on Monday evening or shortly thereafter. Until then, please continue to RP, but don't expect too much from Chef Sali or Lord Schmultzfeather (or me).
(Fortunately, I was able to bring us to an RP-friendly spot this time, so have at it! :)
Game post is up! I will be aiming for at least one post each day for the next while, though I fully understand if not everyone can do that.
As for leaving you in a more RP-friendly spot when I need to take a break from the game, I understand the request and will definitely try! This past time was just a case of too much crazy life coming on too quickly, and I didn't want to entirely skip over the opening night crowd's reaction to your banquet or the introduction of Lord Schmultzfeather as an NPC.
Hi! Two weeks, as promised, and I'm back on the boards! It's been a crazy two weeks, but the family is more-or-less healthy, grades are in, and tomorrow is my last day at the school to wrap things up before break. I hope to be continuing our story tomorrow, and I hope you'll all be rejoining the journey. Thanks for hanging in there with me! :)
Hi, guys. Sorry for the momentum lag. I'm a teacher heading into the last two weeks of the school year, fighting a cold, nursing an infant, and working my way through a mountain of research paper drafts to give 80 students helpful feedback in time for final submissions. Plus, there are evening award ceremonies, baccalaureate, graduation, and we're going out of town for a big family celebration/reunion this weekend (with our infant and pre-schooler).
In other words, it might be two weeks before I manage to find the time and energy to properly sum up this cooking game challenge and move us along to the next one.
I'm really looking forward to it...I'm just not there yet.
In two weeks I should have SO much more time and brain space!
Please hang in there with me. Thanks. :)
... right, so, sorry guys. What he said. It's been a crazy week. I'ma gonna go sleep more. I have tomorrow off, though, so update should happen. My apologies for the delay.
LOL... Patience, please. :)
Headed to my students' award ceremony now, so update might not get done tonight.
Tessara could describe her recovery, though...
Everybody, please make a Profession (Chef) check to see how you generally handle yourself over the course of the evening. This should be rolled (not take ten) and it should be the first d20 roll in your post. If you roll low, feel free to describe your character's mistakes or missteps.
If you wish to do anything in particular other than make sure your dishes are ready in the Kitchen at the proper time, then please describe those actions and roll appropriate skill or ability checks. (For example, if Ashley wants to do tea ceremonies with guests who arrive early in the waiting area, he could say so and then roll a Diplomacy and/or Perform (Magic).)
Please make a post with one d20 roll Craft check to represent your work on this project.
Please add all relevant modifiers, explaining any unusual ones.
If you're not sure if something can be used to enhance this craft check, put it with a question mark and explain your uncertainty.
You cannot just take ten on this check. You must roll.
(Although, if you roll low, I will assume you take ten to fix up any botched food.
If you have the feat where you can take 12 instead of 10, please mention that in your post.)
If you roll low, feel free to describe your character's mistake(s).
Please do NOT put more than one d20 roll in your post. Any other desired rolls, such as Diplomacy for social interaction, or whatever, can be made in an upcoming post.
Feel free to mention any other actions your character takes before Thursday's taste testing/ grand opening.
Also, if you have not yet done so, please describe exactly what you're making to fill your half of the heart-shaped plate and what the presentation will look like.
Okay, as for the guest list/ symbols question ... I think it could be possible to obtain a guest list ... and, with a little research, the crests for many of the married couples could be obtained ... Some of the courting couples would still have two different crests ... And a few significant personages might not have a traditional crest, although perhaps for those a symbol of Shelyn, or somesuch, might be substituted. It is a bit questionable, whether all the crests could be found out in time for you, Dinte, to complete your artistic task before the restaurant opens. However, if you'd like to say Dinte works day and night to make it so, so be it. :)
Please continue to discuss your plans for the upcoming Shelyn's Day Banquet with your fellow chefs. Don't roll any craft checks for the final dishes yet, but do collaborate to determine the specifics of each course, then describe the appearance, texture, and flavor of your dish in detail, once decided. You may also describe your preparations and other actions for today (Wednesday). Enjoy!
@Kehlysch - The tub operation is probably not that modern, but, no big deal, either way, you take a bath. :) Also, you do find oysters stored in the basement.
@Phillip - You find what ingredients you will need in the basement.
@Mimi - The American Indian plant lore works for me!
@All - I made a potentially confusing timeline mistake above.
Here is the correct timeline:
You arrived at the tower on Tuesday, the Kitchen meeting is taking place Wednesday morning, and the restaurant opens Thursday evening.
Sorry for any confusion!
Please continue to discuss your plans for the upcoming Shelyn's Day Banquet with your fellow chefs. Don't roll any craft checks yet, but collaborate to determine the specifics of each course, then describe the appearance, texture, and flavor of your dish in detail, once decided.
Sorry! Mostly a side conversation. Feel free to skip if uninteresting. :)
Also, I realize now, I made a mistake that could be confusing.
I started the 9am Wednesday Kitchen meeting post after asking you to put any further chat from the previous night in "Wednesday Evening" spoiler tags. Oops.
that should have been "Tuesday Evening" spoiler tags.
You arrived at the tower on Tuesday, the Kitchen meeting is indeed taking place Wednesday morning, and the restaurant opens Thursday evening.
