You were a cook in an establishment that served the public or perhaps a chef in a private home. It was hot and busy work that provided a meager but steady income. There was no aspiration of fame to motivate you to cook. Public houses and Inns are hot, crowded, busy places to work. Serving as a private chef to a wealthy noble could be a more comfortable job in a more comfortable environment, but it could also be a nightmare where you were treated like a slave.
Skill Proficiencies: Perception, plus your choice of one from among Insight, Nature, and Sleight of Hand
Tool Proficiencies: Cook’s Utensils, choose one from Brewer’s Supplies and Herbalism Kit
Starting Equipment: A mess kit, a set of cook's utensils, a bottle of cooking oil, a spice kit, a recipe book, a tinderbox, an iron pot, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 5 gp.
Feature: Through Their Stomachs
You can earn a modest living during your downtime by working as a cook. Oftentimes, you may be able to gain an audience with a person of interest by cooking them a meal. You also know how to procure certain ingredients and foods at a reasonable price, which oftentimes can allow you to buy rations and other food at discounted prices.
Suggested Characteristics
Many things can influence a person's life long love affair with food. Maybe you were starving and lost and rescued by a traveling chef. Perhaps you inherited your love from a parent who showed you tried and true recipes passed down through generations. You might even have been a beggar that dreamed of dining on the choice cuts of meat in decadent sauces that only the rich were privy to and decided to only dine on the best. Whatever the reason, food is your passion!
Variant Cook: Barkeep
Instead of being a line cook or noble's chef, you served the general populace food, drinks, and information as a barkeep. You may have worked in a seedy location or someplace reputable and clean. You are often a hub in the rumor mill of your community. You usually know or have heard about most of the faces in a small or even medium sized village. In a town, you are sure to know the movers and shakers within your slice of the social strata.
Strangers will tell a bartender their stories, sometimes even secrets, when they have a drink in their hand. As a bartender, you know how to chat up patrons or other bartenders to get a rundown on the local rumors. You can also get dirt on almost anyone if you sit around the bar and buy the right person a drink or two. This replaces your Through Their Stomachs feature. In addition, you may replace one of your skill proficiencies with Persuasion.
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