Cook's Utensils
These special tools include the items needed to pursue a craft or trade. Proficiency with a set of artisan's tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make using the tools in your craft. Each type of artisan's tools requires a separate proficiency.
Adventuring is a hard life. With a cook along on the journey, your meals will be much better than the typical mix of hardtack and dried fruit.
Ingredients
As with all crafts, cooking requires the proper materials to create a meal.
Main Dish
In general, the primary food of a meal fits into one of several groups: Fish, Fruit, Grain, Meat, Pastry, Poultry or Vegetable. Based upon the food group it falls into, the meal will have particular effects and have a different base cooking DC, as presented in the Main Dish table.
If an item in the Ingredients table fits into one of these categories, it can be used as the primary ingredient of the meal. If it normally has an additional effect or alters the creation of the meal in some way, it does not do so when used as the primary ingredient.
Additive Ingredients
Any other ingredients included in the creation of a meal, such as additional foods or spices, may potentially alter or add to the effects of the meal. The Ingredients table presents possible ingredients to add to a meal, providing a description of each one's effects, the DC modifier for the cooking check (if any), the type of food group it falls into (if any) for the purposes of serving as the main ingredient, and the typical market price per pound of each ingredient. Unless otherwise noted, using the same ingredient as an additive more than once has no additional effect.
Foraging for Ingredients
Many ingredients might be found out adventuring in the wilds. However, some are native to particular areas, hard to come by, or need to be manufactured in advance. As such, the most surefire way to acquire ingredients to use for meals is to buy them in bulk from civilized lands.
For those that are braving the wilderness and wish to acquire ingredients, they can attempt to forage or hunt for them. Foraging or hunting for ingredients requires at least one hour of work in a dedicated area, which can be done as part of a short or long rest, followed by either an Intelligence (Nature) check for foraging or a Wisdom (Survival) check for hunting, adding your proficiency in cook's utensils to the check if you are not proficient with the relevant skill. The DC of the check and the amount recovered is based upon the abundance of flora and fauna in the area, as determined by the DM.
On a success, you manage to recover ingredients, the type of which is determined by the DM. On a failure, you do not manage to scrounge up anything significant or edible, If you roll a 20 on the d20 for your check, you automatically succeed
and also recover one ingredient of your choice from the Ingredients table, in addition to any others determined by the DM. If the ingredient you choose is not normally found out in the wild, you miraculously happen upon a stash of supplies left by someone else that contains it.
Foraging/Hunting Check
| Food and Water Availability | DC | Ingredient Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Abundant food and water sources | 10 | 2d4 lbs |
| Limited food and water sources | 15 | 1d6 lbs |
| Very little, if any, food and water sources | 20 | 1d4 lbs |
Creating a Meal
Once you have the ingredients, you can use them to begin preparing a meal. Creating a meal requires an hour of work, followed by an Intelligence or Wisdom check using your cook's utensils proficiency, with a cooking DC established by the type of meal and added ingredients. Each meal requires a number of pounds of food serving as the main dish equal to the number of creatures eating it. You can also mix in up to a number of additive ingredients equal to your proficiency bonus, requiring a half of a pound of each one per instance used.
Any meal that has a total crafting DC less than or equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence or Wisdom modifier (using the ability score you use to create the meal) may be crafted anywhere. Otherwise, cooking the meal is too complex to do on-the-go and must be done in a more properly established kitchen environment, such as one at a home or inn.
On a successful cooking check, you skillfully cook a delicious meal. On a failure, you manage to cook a filling meal using all of the ingredients, but it does not provide any benefits beyond sustenance for a single day. If you roll a 20 on the d20 for your check, you automatically succeed and end up creating a gourmet meal instead. A gourmet meal takes half as much time to consume and its effects when consumed instead last for a number of Long Rests equal to your proficiency bonus.
A meal remains fresh for 24 hours. Consuming it later than that will still provide sustenance, provided it has not passed its expiration (as determined by the DM), but will not provide any of its other effects.
Consuming a meal
The consumption of a meal can be conducted safely over the course of one hour, or as part of a short or long rest. This period includes the time spent serving the food to everyone, eating and carousing, and finally cleaning the mess afterwards. Once consumed, the meal provides each creature who participated certain benefits based upon the ingredients used until the next Long Rest. Regardless of the type of meal, consuming it restores 2d6 hit points. This restoration increases by 1d6 when the chef reaches 5th, 9th, 13th and 17th level.
If you consume a meal prepared using these rules while still under the effects of another, you lose the benefits of the previous meal.
Speed Eating
| Time | Fulfilling DC | Stomaching DC |
|---|---|---|
| 45 minutes or less | 10 | 8 |
| 30 minutes or less | 15 | 12 |
| 15 minutes or less | 20 | 16 |
| 5 minutes or less | 25 | 20 |
A meal may be eaten faster than one hour, and each creature can declare how quickly they wish to attempt consuming it. Any creature that does so must make a Constitution saving throw, the DC and result of which is determined by the Speed Eating table. A creature that passes the Fulfilling DC gets the full benefits of the meal, and a creature that passes the Stomaching DC only receives the benefits of consuming the main ingredient and ends up taking the full hour to complete the meal. A creature that passes neither DC receives no benefits from the meal, takes the full hour to complete it, and suffers the effects of being Poisoned until they successfully complete a short rest following its conclusion as they recover from bad digestion.
Main Dish
| Food type | Effects | Base Cooking DC |
|---|---|---|
| Fish | Choose one of Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma. You gain a 1d4 bonus to that saving throw whenever you make one. | 12 |
| Fruit | You regain an additional 1d6 hit points. Whenever you regain hit points, add 1d6 to the total. | 10 |
| Grain | Choose one of the following: weapon attacks, spell attacks, ability saving throw DC or spell save DC. Your associated attack bonuses or saving throw DCs is increased by 1. | 12 |
| Meat | You gain 2d4 temporary hit points, and you gain the same amount each time you complete a short rest. | 10 |
| Pastry | When rolling a d20, your range for critical successes on attack rolls and death saving throws increases by 1, from 20 to a 19-20 as an example. | 13 |
| Poultry | You gain a 5 foot bonus to your movement speed. | 11 |
| Vegetable | Choose one skill or tool proficiency. You gain a 1d4 bonus to any checks that make use of it. | 12 |
Ingredients
| Food | Market Price | Type(s) | Cooking DC Modifier | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apples | 2 cp | Fruit | +1 | You are immediately given an additional saving throw against one disease currently affecting you, and you have advantage on saving throws against disease. |
| Beef | 3 sp | Meat | +2 | You gain a +1 bonus to your armor class. |
| Black Pepper | 2 gp | - | +1 | The effects of the meal last for an additional long rest. Black Pepper may be added to a meal multiple times, with each instance increasing the time the effects last. |
| Butter | 1 gp | Pastry | - | Consuming the meal takes half as much time as it normally would. Butter may be added to a meal twice, with the second instance cutting the time to consume the meal down to a quarter. |
| Carrots | 2 cp | Vegetable | +1 | If you would have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks, you may instead roll normally. |
| Cheese | 5 sp | - | +1 | The meal has enough portions to feed additional creatures equal to the cook's proficiency bonus. The richness of the cheese makes it more filling. |
| Chicken | 8 cp | Poultry | +1 | Your maximum jump distance is increased by an amount of feet equal to the cook's proficiency bonus. Chicken may be added to a meal multiple times, with each instance further increasing jump height. |
| Chocolate | 5 gp | Pastry | +2 | Once after consuming the meal, when you roll a 1 on a d20 you may choose to reroll it and must use the new result. Chocolate may be added to a meal multiple times, with each instance allowing for one additional reroll. |
Ingredients (continued)
| Food | Market Price | Type(s) | Cooking DC Modifier | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinnamon | 2 gp | - | +3 | The bonus granted by the main dish increases by an amount equal to its original bonus. If the main dish would allow you to choose between different effects, you may choose the same one or a different one. Cinnamon may be added to a meal multiple times, with each instance further increasing the initial bonus granted by the meal. |
| Clams | 6 sp | Fish | - | You have advantage on saving throws against being Charmed. |
| Crab | 1 gp | Fish | +2 | You have advantage on saving throws against being Paralyzed or Restrained. |
| Eggs | 1 gp | Pastry or Poultry | +2 | You gain a bonus to your Initiative rolls equal to half the cook's proficiency bonus (rounded down). Eggs may be added to a meal twice, with the second instance increasing the Initiative bonus to be the cook's full proficiency bonus. |
| Lettuce | 2 cp | Vegetable | +2 | Your passive ability checks are increased by an amount equal to half the cook's proficiency bonus (rounded down). Lettuce may be added to a meal twice, with the second instance increasing the bonus to be the cook's full proficiency bonus. |
| Oats | 5 sp | Grain | +1 | Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, one of the damage rolls is increased by an amount equal to the cook's proficiency bonus (once per roll). Oats may be added to a meal multiple times, with each instance allowing the damage bonus to apply to one additional damage roll of the spell. |
| Pears | 3 cp | Fruit | +1 | You require half as much food and water to satisfy your daily needs. |
| Pork | 8 sp | Meat | +2 | You gain temporary hit points equal to the cook's proficiency bonus. If you would gain temporary hit points from another source, this amount may be added to that total, rather than replacing it. Pork may be added to a meal multiple times, with each additional instance increasing the temporary hit points granted by half the cook's proficiency bonus (rounded down). |
| Rice | 5 cp | Grain | +2 | Whenever you make an attack roll that uses Dexterity, you gain a bonus to the damage roll equal to half the cook's Proficiency Bonus (rounded down). Rice may be added to a meal twice, with the second instance increasing the damage bonus to be the cook's full proficiency bonus. |
| Salmon | 6 sp | Fish | - | You have advantage on saving throws against being Frightened. |
| Salt | 5 cp | - | - | The meal can go unconsumed for an additional 24 hours before no longer having an effect. Salt can be added to a meal multiple times, with each instance further extending the time. |
| Sausage | 5 cp | Meat | - | Your base carrying capacity is increased by a number of pounds equal to 5 times the cook's proficiency bonus. Sausage may be added to a meal multiple times, with each instance increasing your carrying capacity again. |
| Sugar | 1 gp | Pastry | -1 | Sugar has no special effect, instead reducing the Cooking DC of the meal. Sugar may be added to a meal multiple times, with each instance further decreasing the DC. |
| Tomatoes | 1 sp | Fruit or Vegetable | +1 | You are immediately given an additional saving throw against one poison currently affecting you, and you have advantage on saving throws against the Poisoned condition and poison damage. |
| Turkey | 1 sp | Poultry | +1 | Your maximum jump height is increased by an amount of feet equal to half of the cook's proficiency bonus. Turkey may be added to a meal multiple times, with each instance further increasing jump height. |
| Wheat/Flour | 2 cp | Grain or Pastry | - | Whenever you make an attack roll that uses Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll equal to half the cook's Proficiency Bonus (rounded down). Wheat or Flour may be added to a meal twice, with the second instance increasing the damage bonus to be the cook's full proficiency bonus. |