[Rq-rules] Re: Cooking

[Tom Cantine]

I appreciate the inclination not to require a roll for everything, and 
by and large, I'm in agreement that there should not be a Cooking roll 
every meal or even every day. However, it seems to me that in the 
interests of keeping the game system integrity, it makes sense to speak 
of preparation of a meal as calling for a Cooking roll, and then 
acknowledge that most of the time the GM will waive this requirement.

I've been thinking about a way to integrate Cooking rolls (in 
principle, whether or not they are waived) into my house fatigue rules 
(which are also subject to being waived, of course), and I think I have 
found a way that works out to my satisfaction.

I posted a description of this fatigue system some time ago to this 
list, but to recap, there are two basic variables: Daily Fatigue 
Maximum and Current Fatigue Level. The Current Fatigue Level varies up 
and down through activity and rest (and being awake too long, etc.), 
limited by the Daily Fatigue Maximum, which is recalculated whenever 
the character wakes up from sleep. The recalculation of DFM is pretty 
simple; it's usually the previous day's DFM, -1 if a certain threshhold 
of negative factors is exceeded (too little sleep, food, water, 
shelter, etc.), +1 if all necessary positive factors are satisfied 
(lots of food, rest, water, comfort, etc.), to a maximum of CON/5 
rounded down.

Now, the solution to the cooking issue that I've come up with is in 
these factors for recalculating the DFM.  One of the necessary factors 
for DFM to go up by one was getting more than the subsistence level of 
food. I'm amending this to also require that food to be the result of a 
simple success on a Cooking roll. As well, a special success counts as 
one more requirement, so (for example) one can increase one's DFM even 
if getting up after less than 8 hours sleep, if breakfast is good 
enough. And a critical counts as two additional requirements.