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//Context: This session was written for Thanksgiving, 2017. My mother hosted the meal, and my cousin wanted me to run a one-shot of some kind or another. At first I considered trying to find a quick and easy “Here’s a dungeon in Faerûn, let’s do this” adventure, but I decided to challenge myself. First, the theme was going to have to be holiday related, so, Thanksgiving, and by proxy, food.
I used some food celebrities for familiarity for the audience as well as a nod to my mom’s love of The Food Network, and when I settled on Guy Balori for the baddie, the enemy types basically spoke for themselves. The biggest trick was making the storyline as kid friendly as possible for the young players, and limiting the degree of “You are NOT prepared!” a veteran DM sometimes wants to throw into encounters. I focused it more on the RP, investigation and storytelling, while having light (though still challenging) combat encounters that I could dynamically adjust for however many people wanted to play.
When the table was cleared and the character sheets were picked out, we actually wound up with a lot more of my family playing than I thought, but we kept the narrative moving along and had an uproariously good time.
//

 

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Session Tango Delta

The Fall Harvest Feast and the Case of the Missing Kitchen

Aunt Nancy’s Tavern

The adventurers are in a tavern in the wilderness, Aunt Nancy’s, just in time for the fall harvest feast. Having consumed their fill of delicious meats and veggies, the matron of the establishment has gone to the back, to her Blessed Kitchen, in order to fetch the made-to-order fruit pies, reported to be the greatest tasting desserts in a thousand planes of existence!  (Each player adds 10+1d6 HP, and has three “Miraculous Saves” – advantage on a saving throw, consumable)

Only… they’re missing. And not just the pies, either! The whole of Aunt Nancy’s kitchen has vanished! Her shriek echoes through the tavern, alarming those present, who follow through the back door into … the empty night. All that’s left is a wooden table with a light dusting of blessed flour; where the kitchen was attached to the building there is now naught but burnt lines in the grass, and a smell of rotten eggs in the air. Aunt Nancy’s husband, the retired Paladin Knight Commander David, curses and swears this must be the work of daemons. Aunt Nancy shushes him, saying that not everything magical and wrong is daemonic in origin.

“Surely this must be the work of Ramsay’s, the rival tavern just down the way! We’ve had friendly competition over the years but nothing so nefarious as this… I know their business was suffering and they just recently brought in some kind of bizarre “consulting expert” who was supposed to help them. Didn’t meet the fellow but we sure heard some stories. Might be he was some sorta wizard type that could pull off such a heist. Morton’s tavern is just down the road a bit, right on the edge of Sapori, the next nearest town. They deal mostly in lumber, furs, and leathers, but they’ve always been good to me and David. Might find someone there that could tell you more!”

The Town of Sapori / Ramsay’s Tavern

Arriving at Ramsay’s half an hour later, the tavern is in worse shape than Aunt Nancy’s – it’s a burnt out husk. Further information can be found in Sapori, from the local tanner, Alton. They can be directed to him by either Anthony, who makes boards from lumber, or from Joy Juliasdottir, the local hunter. The consultant showed up just two days ago; he was staying with the family, but after just a single day, folks heard loud and heated arguments from the house and the tavern, between Morton and the consultant.

The consultant was some foreign culinary expert, a short fat fellow with spikey blonde hair who had a vague smell of sulfur about him; the townsfolk weren’t sure if it was because of strange spices he used, or just a lack of bathing or eating too much greasy food. He described himself as a fiery guy who liked to ‘help whip things into shape’. He seemed to have lost the will to help Morton with his failing tavern because he disappeared the morning before the fire; the Ramsay family, Morton, his wife Jamie, and their son Oliver all lived in the house behind the tavern – a house mysteriously empty since the fire. No bodies were found, and the people of Sapori assume that Morton burned the place down and fled with his family to escape whatever debts he might have owed on the property.

Investigating Ramsay’s place turns up little in the way of clues: most of the building is just ash and cinder. There are your standard utensils and cooking accoutrements, all rendered worthless by the blaze. A successful investigation check (20) reveals that the fire didn’t originate from the stove, oven, or fire pit, and that there’s no natural or alchemical accelerants used. A further insight (20) check indicates that this was therefore likely magical in origin, and a final arcana (20) check reveals that the blaze came forth from infernal flames.

The house further supports this theory while also dismantling any chance that the family fled – all their belongings are still inside. In a locked back room used for extra storage for the tavern, there’s a broken salt circle on the ground, with infernal hoof prints burnt into the wood nearby, as well as fiery whip lashes on the walls. The hoof prints descend into the basement; the cellar door is shut, but the latch is broken, and an orange glow casts long shadows on the ceiling as the adventurers head below.

In the basement they find a portal to Hek, the Infernal Plane of daemons that Knight Commander David once fought against. As the group takes this in, three daemons emerge to stop our heroes! (Fight three Diner Daemons)

The Plane of Hek

Hek is a fiery plane, mostly desolate with the exception of the staple crop of this infernal realm: the foul smelling Devil’s Egg Plants; they’re thorny vines on which the fruit grows in a hard, mottled yellow shell; you know they’re ripe when they start to crack and rotten brown mustard leaks from the outer layer. Any non-demon eating one takes 1d6+1 necrotic damage.

Oliver

Entering into the portal, our plucky band finds Oliver, Morton’s son, being carried by two Diner Daemons, who are accompanied by a Drive-In Daemon in his chariot, and a Dive Daemon floating up above. Defeating these four, Oliver exasperatedly points out which pathway he saw the daemons take his mom, and explains more about the consultant. Morton claimed that he “sent for” the expert, who spent more time complaining about the food “where I come from” than offering any type of cooking assistance; he grew tired of Morton’s food by the first night, and they fought over how awful Ramsay’s fruit pies were; Ramsay vented that he wasn’t Aunt Nancy and didn’t have the Blessed Kitchen, at which point the consultant became suddenly very curious and inquisitive. Learning that Aunt Nancy was a good woman, pure of heart, and married to a retired Paladin, the expert grew angry once more, and Oliver could swear that he could see smoke coming from his nostrils.

The next day, he came into the pantry while Oliver was gathering ingredients for his father, and asked if Oliver could scoop up some of the blessed salt that was spilled on the floor in the corner; no sooner had Oliver gathered a single pinch of it than the consultant let out a wild scream, and Oliver fainted as the room filled with a foul stench and a deep orange glow. Next thing he knew, he woke up in Hek, with his mother Jamie being carried off in front of him.

Jamie

Going down the path that Oliver pointed out leads the party to where Jamie is being kept: the daemons guarding her are insisting that she make them pies. Every time they ask, she tells them that she doesn’t have ingredients, that Morton and “the big guy” have the Blessed Kitchen, and that she just wants to get her son and go home. The daemons respond by throwing Devil’s Eggs at her.

There are two each of the three classes of daemon around Jamie; when she is rescued she can provide any additional context for the quest if asked. She also has [# of players] Honey Baked Apples from Aunt Nancy’s, which can act as a basic Healing Item (1d4+1 HP).

Jamie doesn’t have all the answers, but she knows a lot: Morton summoned and bound a great Daemon of Hek in order to gain forbidden knowledge and save his tavern. Growing up in Sapori and having a lifelong passion for food, he assumed that he would become the Master Chef and be granted the right to be the first cook in the Blessed Kitchen in several generations; unfortunately his passion was never matched by talent, and worse, when Knight Commander David retired from the Imperial Army, he and Nancy moved to Sapori.

Nancy didn’t have any acclaim or background in fine cooking, but she poured her love into every meal, and soon she had a small business going out of her house kitchen, and Ramsay’s already slow business sunk even further. Then, the village elders of Sapori told Nancy that they felt she must be the Chosen One, and they gave her the Blessed Kitchen.

Jamie doesn’t know too much about it because it always seemed a bit silly to her, but supposedly the Blessed Kitchen was in fact some ancient relic of legend, and it had been over a century since the Village Elders last deemed someone worthy of its use. Ramsay, although disappointed, never wanted to steal the Blessed Kitchen, fearing that doing so would wreak havoc and dishonor his family. What he did hope was that summoning the Daemon would give him the culinary might to prove to the Elders that he was the better chef, thus giving him the Blessed Kitchen and their adoration.

However, the Daemon came to the Material Plane for an entirely different reason: he answered Morton’s summons because the only food in Hek is Devil’s Eggs, and he wanted something better. After being let down by the food offered at Ramsay’s Tavern, he began to berate Morton, which is when the lesser chef let slip the truth about Aunt Nancy’s talent and her Blessed Kitchen. The next morning, he tricked Oliver into breaking the summoning circle, which let him assume his true form and powers. Now a towering daemon of immense might and magic, he demanded Morton show him to the Blessed Kitchen. Ramsay initially refused until the daemon threatened Oliver and Jamie. He proved his malice by burning down the tavern, so Morton finally relented, telling the hoofed monstrosity where to find Aunt Nancy’s, hoping that Knight Commander David would slay the beast while it tried to figure out how to take the Kitchen.

Unfortunately for all involved, the Balor knew that such an item would have a magical command word, and he used dark magic to extract that secret from Morton. He bound the whole family in the basement, then left to take the Blessed Kitchen. Returning an hour later, he held in his hand a flat piece of rock, and had a look upon his face that was simultaneously confused and enraged. He demanded that Morton show him how to use the Kitchen, opened a portal to Hek, and had his minions separate the family.

Jamie feels that Morton should have known better, but that he doesn’t need to suffer the way the Balor plans; she points them to a long tunnel leading further into Hek, telling them that she heard the booming voice of the daemon and the meek voice of her husband off in that direction.

Morton

          Reaching the final area, the party finds the Balor, Guy Balori, screaming angrily at Morton: it looks like the best the Blessed Kitchen will make for Guy is flat bread. Guy is furiously demanding that he be given something with “some actual flavor!” At this, Ramsay locks eyes with the party, then turns to face his tormentor: “Well, turn in your apron, because these heroes are here to cook up a whupping!”

“Well, this is just off the hook! Let’s do this: all aboard for a journey to pain-town!”

Epilogue

            With the Blessed Kitchen returned to Aunt Nancy’s tavern and the Ramsay family safely returned to the village of Sapori, life has returned to a semblance of normalcy. Morton volunteered to teach Nancy what he knew of the Blessed Kitchen and its powers, finally accepting that her natural talent meant she was chosen for the sacred culinary prophecy.

In exchange for his aid, Aunt Nancy helps Morton and his family rebuild their tavern, and it becomes an extension location managed by Morton but with food provided by Nancy. They name it Hek’s Kitchen in memory of the adventure that brought them together not as rivals, but friends.

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The Daemons of Hek

Diner Daemon, Small

Magic Resistance: advantage on saves vs spells and other magical effects.   Resists cold, fire, and lightning damage.   Immune to poison damage and condition.

Claws: +4, 5′, 1d4+3 piercing & DC10 CON vs 1d4 Poison.

Infernal Greasy Spoon: can consume a Devil’s Egg and regain 1d4+4 HP as an action, or feed an ally within 5′ for the same effect.

Drive-In Daemon, Medium

Magic Resistance: advantage on saves vs spells and other magical effects.   Resists cold, fire, and lightning damage.   Immune to poison damage and condition.

Claws: +4, 5′, 1d4+3 piercing & DC10 CON vs 1d4 Poison.

Headlights: Can flash headlights to cause 1d4+4 fire damage to one target within 30′ – DC10 DEX to shield eyes and take ½ damage.

Dive Daemon, Small

Magic Resistance: advantage on saves vs spells and other magical effects.   Resists cold, fire, and lightning damage.   Immune to poison damage and condition.

Claws: +4, 5′, 1d4+3 piercing & DC10 CON vs 1d4 Poison.

Dive Bomb: Descends 30′ and hits ground, causing 1d4+4 bludgeoning damage to each surrounding tile – DC10 STR vs prone & ½ damage.

Guy Balori, Huge

Magic Resistance: advantage on saves vs spells and other magical effects.   Resists cold and lightning damage.   Immune to fire, poison damage and condition.

Fire Aura: At the start of Guy’s turn, each creature within 5′ takes 1d6 fire damage. Any creature touching Guy or making a melee attack against him within 5′ makes the same roll.

 Multiattack: Attacks once with Sword, once with Whip. All of Guy’s weapon attacks are Magical.

Sword: +6, 10′, 1d8+4 slashing & 1d8 lightning.     Whip: +6, 30′, 1d6+3 slashing & 1d6 fire, DC20 STR vs being pulled up to 25′.

Teleport: Guy can move up to 120′ into any unoccupied space; this does not provoke any reactions.

Legendary Actions  O  O  O

Legendary Meal: roll a 1d4. Guy Balori ‘whips up’ a legendary meal from the table below and throws it at the target (+6, 30′ / 60′)

1 – Overcooked Meal: 1d6 (B) & 1d6 (F), DC15 DEX vs Ignition (1 fire damage at end of player’s turn unless action used to put out flames)

2 – Undercooked Meal: 1d6 (B) & 1d6 (Po), DC15 CON vs Poisoned Condition (1d4 turns, repeat save at end of player’s turn)

3 – Eldritch Tentacle Soup: 1d6 (B) & 1d6 (N), DC15 WIS vs Frightened Condition (1d4 turns, repeat save at end of player’s turn)

4 – Flat Bread: 2d8 (B), DC15 STR vs Prone Condition