Fria Ligans forum

Hello to you, GMs of the Forbidden Lands!

I've been cooking up a supplement that introduce new rules around preparing meals.

Tastes of the Wild is an RPG supplement for the Forbidden Lands RPG.
It provides a few ideas to extend gameplay around cooking and gathering ingredients. In this supplement you will find:

• Advanced meals: a complete set of rules to create exquisite meals with extraordinary properties.
• Some ideas for out-of-the ordinary ingredients.
• A selection of recipes that will certainly delight your characters.
• Legendary utensils for daring chefs.

You can download it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12Jj7jg ... sp=sharing
Please, don't be shy.

But there's one thing though: it was made over a weekend for an online RPG supplement contest. I am contemplating the possibility of working on a more polished « V2 ». At this point, I'd like to submit it to the community workshop.

If you like the concept of this supplement, you could help me a great deal! See, not only was it written in limited time, but it's also my first time trying to write something that would be remotely useful. Also it's a pretty quick read, so I hope I'm not asking too much.

Once you've read through the document, here are a few things you could help me with:

• Mechanic and balance (p3-6): I was rather pleased with the basic concept of advanced meals, but in 48h, you bet I didn't have much time to playtest… I'd like to hear what you think might work or not, what could be improved, based on your experience of the game.
• Meal effects (p4): I fear it's a rather weak part in the supplement. I wanted simple, but interesting effects, I think I've got neither. What would you suggest?
• Ingredients, recipes and utensils (p7-11): What do you think of those in the supplement? Which is your favourite one? Which one(s) do you dislike? Do you have any crazy ideas of yours? I'd LOVE to hear them!
• Typos/odd phrasing: I know there are a tons of those (english is not my mother tongue). I'll probably rewrite some parts of the document, so don't bother too much with that. Still, if you have recommendations, I'll gladly hear them out.

And, that's it!
Thank you and enjoy!

Sounds cool, I will have a look over the weekend, and give feedback.

This is good, Like very good. I was just finishing my "brewing potions" thing and noticed this and jumped right into it.
At first I thought that NOURISHING was a bit too powerful, since RAW don't allow lost point recovery that much.
Then again the ingredients usually are so hard to find that imo PC's have earned their dinner if they have gathered it.
The exception was roast venison with mustard sauce but even then the mustard can be made hard to find so it's not a big problem. Smoked fish I would probably reconsider.

Really like the flavour (no pun, seriously) of the artifacts as well as the ingredient descriptions. Zoyds Spice Box looks maybe a bit too powerful imo, but we all know what good spices do to food so it is understandable. I might consider a smaller die though but will see after testing.

Overall will definitely take this into playtest in two weeks when ouir FBL campaign starts!

This is good, […]

First, thank you for your kind words. I am really pleased you enjoyed the overall tone and concept of the supplement.

At first I thought that NOURISHING was a bit too powerful, since RAW don't allow lost point recovery that much. […]

I certainly agree with you on that one. Nourishing is the first effect I came up with because it is simple and thematic. That's probably why you see so much of it in the recipes.
Yet, as you rightfully emphasized, it's probably too convenient for the players. Some potentials adjustments:

• Lower the effects of Nourishing, but that may require changing the effect entirely.
• Make Nourishing meals less prominent in the recipes (maybe have more Inspiring meals, new effects…).
• Definitely make ingredients involved in nourishing meals "feel" more dangerous to acquire. I can definitely picture players plotting the safest possible mean to get lifetime supply of rock salt, and then spending the rest of their lives eating smoked fish.

Zoyds Spice Box looks maybe a bit too powerful imo, but we all know what good spices do to food so it is understandable.

Well, to be honest, I'm not too pleased with the effects of the spice box… I wanted to have a "higher-end" item (it requires chef rank 2 I think), and… I could not come with anything smart or that felt related to the item. So I just gave it a big gear dice. I'll probably rewrite the effect of the spice box for something a bit more flashy and unexpected.

I was just finishing my "brewing potions" thing and noticed this and jumped right into it.

I hope we'll get to see that soon! It definitely piqued my interest.

I grabbed a copy but it'll be some months before I have a chance to test these out in play.

That looks very interesting.

I'd love the special ingrediants to have a cost and availability. Chefs don't often procur their own materials after all!

I'd love the special ingredients to have a cost and availability. Chefs don't often procure their own materials after all!

Actually, I have made quite a different design choice, which is hinted at in « Collecting ingredients as an adventure seed » (p7). The ingredients described are intended to be fantastic and damn near impossible to come across. For that reason, I certainly don't want to give them an availability rating.

For the sake of it, let's take a peek at the rubble mustard (p7 as well). It does not seem very conspicuous, yet « it is told one can only find them near ruins. » Why does it matter?
Well, I'm hinting at the kind of obstacles one might encounter. Who and what dwells in ruins? Not honest folks, I can tell you! Bandits, ghosts, a death cult, vampires… Pick your poison!
The point is: this is something that you should fight for and earn, not buy off the shelf.

I'd love the special ingredients to have a cost and availability. Chefs don't often procure their own materials after all!

Actually, I have made quite a different design choice, which is hinted at in « Collecting ingredients as an adventure seed » (p7). The ingredients described are intended to be fantastic and damn near impossible to come across. For that reason, I certainly don't want to give them an availability rating.

For the sake of it, let's take a peek at the rubble mustard (p7 as well). It does not seem very conspicuous, yet « it is told one can only find them near ruins. » Why does it matter?
Well, I'm hinting at the kind of obstacles one might encounter. Who and what dwells in ruins? Not honest folks, I can tell you! Bandits, ghosts, a death cult, vampires… Pick your poison!
The point is: this is something that you should fight for and earn, not buy off the shelf.

That's true. However, as a caveat, players who are not cooks could hunt these ingrediants for others and if there was a cost or worth associated with them, it makes it a quest object.