Hey Everyone, Rick Hershey here. . . owner of Empty Room Studios and AD for Adamant Entertainment.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm wrapping up layout and art on the updated Pathfinder edition of Cooking with Class. I guess you might be wondering what this book is about?
"Food occupies a strange place in RPGs. On the one hand, it’s universal: everyone has to eat. (Except undead. And constructs. And elementals. And . . . okay, maybe not so universal.) On the other, almost no one actually pays attention to it.
Think about it. How much time does your average adventuring party spend on food? Ten seconds to roll survival to scrounge up something? (Emphasis on thing, by the way.) A minute to browse a bazaar? Three seconds to stop by a tavern for dinner? I’ve played entire campaigns where the characters apparently went months without even a bite of bread. Inns seemingly exist to provide plot hooks and farmers plant fields to give local Nasty Things a place to hide. As for the Pathfinder system, all known food items consist of bread, cheese, meat, ale, and unidentified “banquets” and “meals” whose contents are probably best left undescribed. Flour, chickens, cattle, salt, and spices are simply “trade goods,” to be bartered around when gold and silver are just too small and convenient.
There’s a good reason for this, of course: roleplaying isn’t about food. Food is garnish, a bit of color thrown out to make things look pretty. And like that little sprig of parsley on the side of your plate, most people think that if it’s not part of the meal, why bother putting it there at all?
Simple: flavor. Just like minuscule portions of seasonings can change the flavor of an entire dish, creatively using food in your campaign can bring a whole new feel. Food shouldn’t be the focus any more than you should make a dish mostly out of cinnamon, but a pinch of culinary flavor here and there can make the entire world come alive. Think about the different impressions you get if the farmers raise amaranth and quinoa instead of wheat and barley, or if most food is flavored with turmeric and cloves instead of pepper. Neither of these change the direction or even the content of the campaign, yet they each add their own distinct flavor, a feel to the world that’s difficult to get otherwise.
That’s what this book is for. In here you’ll find dozens of such seasonings you can throw in to your campaigns, from typical grains and vegetables to alcoholic drinks to how to eat things like purple worm and dragon (and the proper etiquette for doing so). While some could be the focus for an entire campaign—such as a magic blight destroying the kingdom’s staple food supply—most will simply add flavor and variety to your game. So take a pinch from here and a dash from there, sprinkle liberally with adventure, and see where they take you."
This book is fun. Not only does it give you loads of information about food, spices, and alcohol, it also provides tons of food related adventure hooks, cooking methods and exotic ingredients, etiquette, new poisons, 3 prestige classes (Adamantine Chef, Synergistic Chef, and Toxicant), new feats, new magic items, magic drinks, new spells, sample menus for eating establishments (done in the style of our Tavern Menus product line), sample locations with backgrounds and npc's, and some new food themed monsters. . . huff!
From writer Jason Wallace, with art by Rick Hershey. The first in our relaunched Knowledge Check product line.
Go to Empty Room Studios on Facebook to see some previews of the art.
@Dark_Mistress, thanks I do also and hopefully we can do more.
@Stereofm, I should have layout and art wrapped up tonight and then off to Gareth, where he'll put the release date :)
@Alzrius, Thanks for buying the 3.5 version! It actually sold pretty well. This version features a lot better layout, conversions, new artwork through out, new creatures, etc.
And if it does well, we actually have 2 other books not released for the set. A book on funeral rites and death practices, and another on medicine and health care. Both are written and just need converted.
Book is finished and has been handed over to Gareth for pdf release. Expect it on sale this week.
Book is finished and has been handed over to Gareth for pdf release. Expect it on sale this week.
KA-ZING!
Gamer culture meets Foodie culture! COOKING WITH CLASS is now available!
This is just crazy enough that I'm interested.
Can we get a quick run down / summary on the prestige classes? After seeing the announcement a few weeks ago, I was thinking about changing my assassin character into an assassin chef.
This is just crazy enough that I'm interested.
Can we get a quick run down / summary on the prestige classes? After seeing the announcement a few weeks ago, I was thinking about changing my assassin character into an assassin chef.
Adamantine Chef: an elite (and questionably sane) group of culinary artists for whom the mundane is simply passé. Whereas other chefs place orders or make do with what is on hand,
adamantine chefs actively seek out the most exotic and unusual ingredients.Synergistic Chef: Possessed of the secret knowledge of combining ingredients to produce miraculous results, from fighting off poisons and disease to healing wounds in record time.
Toxicant: Masters of undetectable poisons.
...So I'm guessing that your Assassin would make a great Toxicant!