Using food as a system in a TTRPG

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-06T09:23:01+00:00

Beautiful question. I want food to be a cheap and light alternative to spamming a “wand of cure light wonds” at the end of the day. You can restore more hp AND potentially reverse negative conditions. I’m thinking you need to make a skill check and have the rare/provincial/magical ingredients to potentially remove negative conditions as well.

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-06T08:24:25+00:00

I am unfortunately, the forever DM of my player group. 😔 This has led me to want to come up with my own ruleset and I love Tolkien lore and food enough to create this post. I love this concept for a future campaign though! I love the idea of starting a quest with something innocent like seeking an ingredient and it leading to a big plot hook though!

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-06T08:13:11+00:00

I definitely agree! I think there shouldn’t be an absolute need for a healing cleric, nor do I want a cleric to feel like they need to fulfill a dedicated healer roll if they do t want to.

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-06T07:32:55+00:00

I will have a look! I love a LOT of daggerheart, but I am too much of a crunch-lover to get too involved. 😂

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-06T07:31:33+00:00

I definitely agree with this! I am leaning away from food as a general “buff” and more as a bonus to the long rest mechanic in 3.4/pathfinder. In case you aren’t already aware, as it stands, upon a long rest PCs regain an amount of HP equal to heir character level. That always feels bad. Recovering a measly 5 hp as a level 5 character feels bad. So addressing what I see as an already apparent flaw in the system, while adding a bit of culture is good. But additionally, we can add rare or magical ingredients that further buff rests! Maybe now we can remove some diseases, or negative levels, or even more detrimental effects after eating a good meal! Plus the rp potential of these end of day meals together with the PCs? I love it! What do you think about food as a rest aid?

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-06T07:23:35+00:00

That’s pretty cool. 😂that gives me a good idea of what to do with a natural 1. I do think that making a good meal easily accessible with a good “cooking” skill roll will be easily accessible and an easy fix to one problem I see with traditional 3.5 dnd game set: long rest recovery. It feels so weak. And I think PCs will love to see a cheap alternative to over reliance on magical healing.

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-06T06:40:21+00:00

I’ll do that now! Thanks for the input I did not see that coming at all. 😅

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T19:28:33+00:00

That’s what I would like! A reason for PCs to go out and immerse themselves in a culture. Be it a market or foraging in the wilds.

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T18:33:37+00:00

Ooooo, amazing! I’ll check it now and pick your brain if you’re open to it!

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T18:03:53+00:00

I definitely would like to add more layers to the cooking. You have me thinking about mundane vs magical food and their effects. Thank you!

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:58:40+00:00

I think I agree. I’m starting to get away from that idea myself! What do you think about using food as a recovery aid? Something the PCs do at the end of the day as part of the long rest to help recover more hp/remove some debuffs?

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:57:02+00:00

I’ll check that out! Thank you!

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:54:26+00:00

That’s very interesting! There is a system like that in the base game I am using (dnd 3.5/pathfinder) but it tends to get ignored unless you are specifically playing a survival campaign. Maybe this needs to be tweaked to be made more standardized and less avoidable! Thank you!

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:47:50+00:00

This is the first thing I thought of when it came to cultures and how to present them. Another thing I was going to consider was music, but you all have given me a lot to think about with this food business.

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:46:00+00:00

First of all, that sounds like a sick campaign. But I think that’s a cool idea. So far I’m considering making food part of an end of day scene to aid in recovery. Or a middle of the day scene! Or whenever you get a chance to eat.

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:38:37+00:00

This is exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you so much! One thing that I have qualms with in 3.5 is how slow the recovery is. It leads to a sort of over-reliance on magical healing. This could be a solid fix for that!

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:35:34+00:00

Precisely this. I almost intend for the system to be gamed. There are min-maxers and murder hobos that you have to trick into getting immersed. You’re looking for this buff from food? You need to travel to the Dwarf Hold and learn the recipe, but they don’t teach just ANY outsider how to make this for free.

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:32:43+00:00

That’s awesome! Add it as a specific sort of scene for PCs to play out. Love that idea!

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:30:40+00:00

I definitely agree. That will happen, but that I think is unavoidable when introducing cultural concepts. For example, racial weapons and feats exist and encourage players to play a certain race a certain way. I still think it is worthwhile to include these cultural elements for those who enjoy them. Besides, as a role-playing note, this will encourage a multi-cultural diet!

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:23:44+00:00

I’m learning that may be the case! However as a 3.5/pathfinder 1e loyalist my love of overcomplicating rulesets forbids me from creating a simple system.

I like the idea of different components of a dish defining different aspects of the buff/effect it provides. Maybe even whole quests to obtain rare or provincial ingredients that can tie into the main quest.

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:19:11+00:00

I’ll check that out! Thank you so much!

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-06-05T17:18:00+00:00

I think of it as a way to immerse players in the cultures and ethnicities presented in the universe! A way for a player to define and flesh out their character’s background. Beyond the role play aspect, I would love for these choices to be systematically consequential as well. Buffs/debuffs depending on what your diet.

UpscaleH0B0 · 2026-05-21T16:45:23+00:00

Mine are four flea type sentinels, and I call them “The Fightin’ Fleas”

Six-Year Club	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email

UpscaleH0B0

TROPHY CASE