Campaign Overview

Feast of the Bound Goddess

In the city-state of Gourmandia, every building, carriage, and weapon has been born from an eternal banquet. Pilasters of pastry support confection conjurations, and vehicles glide on rivers of consommé. Here, the Goddess Gula—once an archfey of boundless appetite—has been imprisoned by her clergy, slowly fattened for a prophesied sacrifice. To the outside eye, Gourmandia is paradise: its citizens indulge in exotic dishes each granting ephemeral boons—from Inferno Pepper Breath to Gelatinous Cube Bounce. But every bite inches the divine plans forward, and overindulgence cripples bodies and wills, summoning ravenous Cravling mimics.

A delicate balance holds the city together: Gastronomic Points are earned by daring sampling challenges, but the Satiety Gauge looms overhead, threatening lethargy or monstrous outbreaks if filled. Conflict here isn’t solved by steel alone—it’s decided in flamboyant cook-offs, where swirling Ingredient Dice combine flavors in magical results: sweet cancels bitter, sour doubles acid for AoE splashes, and umami enhances healing. Players will tread this culinary tightrope, earning fame among the Priests of Gula, forging secret pacts with the underground Hunger’s Hand, and bargaining with the Merchant Guild for rare fey spices.

Beyond the gilded halls lie the Wild Edible Wastes—fermenting marshlands of spoiled feasts teeming with rot trolls and acid slugs—and below them, the Sporeshroud Fungus Halls, where telepathic mycelia guard Sporepearls vital for arcane cook-offs. In each region, heroes will unearth fragments of a forbidden ritual, harvest Visionary Mead, and decode fungal scrolls to assemble the full binding chant. When all is prepared, they must spark a culinary revolution: staging an epic cook-off rebellion at the Grand Banquet Hall, plate the fateful ‘Rediscovery Dish,’ and recite the chant to shatter Gula’s bonds.

This campaign weaves combat, exploration, and inventive role-play in high-stakes gastronomic challenges. PCs will negotiate with demi-gods, duel acid trolls with sharpened spatulas, and harvest hallucinogenic spores under bioluminescent mushrooms. Ultimately, they must choose between endless indulgence and mindful moderation: free a goddess at the risk of famine, or preserve current abundance and doom the divine. Will they rise as master chefs of revolution and topple the feast’s corrupt foundation? The call to adventure has been served—grab your ladle and take the first bite!

Starting Location

Gourmandia, the Eternal Banquet

Gourmandia is a city-state built atop the ever-shifting tides of a colossal feast table, its shining spires and glistening streets grown from sentient confections and savory stone. Pillars of crystallized sugar support archways woven from braids of golden pasta, while fountains once sprouting water now pour rivers of consommé. Carriages made from hollowed gourds glide along rails of candied ginger, propelled by steams of spicy broth. Every dawn, new districts rise when exotic dishes transmogrify into buildings: a cinnamon-rolled tower here, a molten-cheese palace there. Under the watchful eyes of the faithful, priests of Gula oversee the Eternal Banquet—an unending celebration where the joyous and the gluttonous gather to sample rare delicacies that grant fleeting powers. Market stalls overflow with fruits imported from far-off fey realms, each bite promising temporary feats: a hunk of Inferno Pepper might allow a blast of fiery breath, while a spoonful of Gelatinous Cube Custard offers a springy bounce across rooftops. But the city’s constant creation consumes more than mere ingredients. As the Satiety Gauge tips toward overindulgence, lethargy descends on citizens, and the hungry shadows shelter Cravling mimics—creatures that prey on bellies and souls alike. Smuggled whispers tell of a hidden truth: Gula herself, the great Goddess of Hunger, is bound and fattened for a dire sacrifice by her own clergy. Heroes are drawn into a swirling conflict: must they incite a culinary revolution, sparking scarcity to free the divine, or risk letting gluttony consume the realm?

Secrets

  • There is a secret rebel cell called the Hunger’s Hand hidden beneath the Grand Banquet Hall.
  • A smuggled famine recipe can nullify Gastronomic Points when consumed in private.
  • Head Priestess Seraphine maintains a poison-laced dish to test loyalists.
  • An abandoned cistern leaks broth that leads to forbidden catacombs.
  • A disguised portal in a cheese pillar leads to the elemental plane of gluttony.

Key Locations

Grand Banquet Hall

At the heart of Gourmandia stands the Grand Banquet Hall, a colossal chamber whose floor is a mosaic of glazed doughnuts and peppercorn tiles. Enormous tables carved from hams extend in concentric rings toward a massive dais cushioned with goose-down soufflés. Golden chandeliers fashioned from candied fruit hang overhead, dripping globs of sweet glaze that sizzle as they strike the marble of spiced milk. Priests in aromatic robes parade platters of enchanted dishes—all feeding the Satiety Gauge of the city, which is displayed in living runes above the dais. Mirthful music mingles with the hiss of simmering broth fountains, and the air is heavy with the scent of garlic, clove, and caramelized sugar.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) A hidden passage behind a rotisserie statue leads to an underground kitchen where forbidden famine recipes are tested. (2) A priest named Selari whispers under her breath—a member of the Hunger’s Hand rebel. Major Quest: “The Everlasting Course” begins here when the Head Chef entrusts the PCs to taste the First Dish of Liberation, earning Gastronomic Points and uncovering the first clue to Gula’s true fate.

Fondue Moat

Encircling the central hall is the Fondue Moat, a broad channel filled with molten cheese and chocolate that churns like lava under great paddles of candied wood. Spicy steams drift upward, luring patrons to suspended gondolas shaped like sliced baguettes. Each ride through the moat offers both delight and peril: one misstep in its depths leads to a gooey demise, while goblets of chilled fizzy cider lower back temperature and solidify the surface—temporary walkways for daring taste-trekkers. Along the banks, vendors roast marshmallow croutons and fish out rare soaked strawberries that grant magical bonuses upon consumption.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) A submerged vault at the moat’s deepest bend holds the legendary Ladle of Transmutation. (2) Cravling scouts lurk beneath the cheese-sheen, waiting to ambush careless diners. Major Quest: “Dip of Destiny,” where PCs must retrieve a Spice Scepter from the moat’s central cheese island, avoiding edible guardians and gaining temporary Gelatinous Bounce.

Spire of Spices

Rising like a sizzling column of flame, the Spire of Spices pierces the sky with its spiraling cornstarch ramp and brickwork of paprika-red salt. Windows of sugar filets house rare peppercorns harvested from fire salamander nests. Spire pilgrims climb its winding stairs, inhaling aromatic bursts that heighten senses. At apex sits the Chamber of Zest, where a thousand spice jars circle a crystalline brazier. Local legend says the Greatest Blend—a fusion of every pepper known—once imbued the spire itself, granting it sentience. Now it lies dormant, awaiting fateful tongues.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) Hidden in a false wall is a Fuse of Fuming Cinnamon, an ingredient for a potent inferno pepper roll. (2) An apparition of Gula is rumored to appear on solstice nights in the Chamber of Zest. Major Quest: “Crown of Coals”—scale the Spire, claim the Crown of Capsaicin, and earn Pepper Breath while uncovering clues to Gula’s binding ritual.

Market of Mirages

A sprawling bazaar where stalls appear and vanish like phantasms, the Market of Mirages trades in ingredients harvested from dreams. Ghostly fruits that dissolve on the tongue, spectral truffles that grant night-vision, and illusions of flavors long extinct fill the air with tantalizing haze. Merchants wear mirrored masks to reflect both buyers and dangers, for some wares can ensnare memories or transform purchasers into living exhibits. Haggling here is a performance: buyers must recite a tanka of taste, and vendors judge sincerity before revealing real stock amid shifting illusions.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) Beneath a shifting stall lies a charred recipe scroll telling of a method to strip Gula’s power. (2) A masked NPC, Mira the Mirage–Sayer, secretly works for the Priesthood to hunt rogue chefs. Major Quest: “Song of Sweets”—convince the market council to reveal three secret dream flavors to craft a dish that weakens the Satiety Gauge of holy constructs.

The Sibilant Smokery

Built at the city’s fringe, the Smokery belches ribbons of aromatic smoke that curl into shapes of mythical beasts. Slabs of cured bacon become giant conveyors that carry sausages seething with ember-fire. Inside, coils of fragrant wood smoke age hams in time loops, either rapid-aging them into mummified caches or reviving them to raw freshness. The constant hiss of blubber dripping onto hot stones echoes like serpent whispers, giving the district its name. Some say the smoke carries secrets from beyond, stitching divinations into the fat cells of meats.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) A secret door behind a hanging rack leads to a crypt containing the Morsel of Memory, a key to freeing Gula. (2) The smoke carries coded prophecies from the imprisoned archfey when the wind aligns. Major Quest: “Smoke Signal”—infiltrate the Smokery to steal a vial of prophetic smoke and decode the location of Gula’s prison.

The Wild Edible Wastes

Beyond Gourmandia’s gilded walls lie the Wild Edible Wastes: a vast expanse of spoiled and discarded food that stretches to the horizon. Here, once-majestic banquet remains ferment in churning quagmires of curdled milk, rancid oils, and overripe fruits. Bone-carved skeletons of abandoned carriages and candy glass shards glint beneath knee-deep slush. The air is thick with the odors of decay and fermentation, attracting rot trolls, carrion birds mutated by residual magic, and nomadic bandits armed with rusted forks and poisoned skewers. Some brave scavengers risk the Waste—searching for rare salvageable ingredients, secret rebel caches, or clues lost among the mold-grown ruins. Twisted vine mushrooms latch onto rotting structures, spitting acid when disturbed. Occasional gusts of wind carry clouded clouds of methane, igniting in spontaneous flare-ups that carve new gullies through the sludges. Amid the putrescent chaos stand solitary sentinels: statues of fallen diners, half-covered in sludge, their expressions frozen in gluttonous ecstasy. Lost artifacts from the early days of Gourmandian peace can still be found—tarnished gold cutlery, crystallized recipe tablets, or broken spice orbs hinting at powerful bygone culinary magics. Rumors swirl of a hidden enclave where rebels cook famine dishes from detritus, hoping to perfect a recipe that will cure Gula’s corruption. But every expedition into the Wild Edible Wastes is a gamble: surfaces collapse without warning, and creatures born of overindulgence roam in packs. Only those who can resist nausea, identify salvageable morsels, and fight with skills honed by necessity stand a chance of returning with treasures worthy of telling.

Secrets

  • The rebels bury famine ingredients in iron chests coated in mold to avoid detection.
  • An acid troll queen rules a roaming pack near the Caramel Crater.
  • A trapped elemental servant of Gula lurks beneath the wastes.
  • A secret channel carved in fungus tunnels leads back to Gourmandia.
  • The Jelly Fort, a hidden rebel stronghold, is protected by gelatinous goo walls.

Key Locations

The Spit-Roast Ruins

The Spit-Roast Ruins once honored the first Grand Chef of Gourmandia. Three concentric tiers of broken spit rods and smashed roasting pits surround a collapsed pavilion. Rusted skewers jut from mud, and acid rain has carved grotesque faces into roasted stone columns. Rebel graffiti—prayers to famine deities—appears in dried fruit paste along broken walls. Scavengers pick through the remains for edible bits of seasoned wood that might be re-forged into cooking utensils. Undergrowth of fungus and weed mushrooms thrives in the acidic runoff. Each tier echoes with the clatter of bone-skirting rodents and the hiss of acid droplets.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) Beneath the largest roast fossil lies a subterranean storeroom with rebel famine flasks. (2) Acidic mushrooms here can cure or worsen the Satiety Gauge if prepared properly.

Caramel Crater

A massive sinkhole filled with thick pools of crystallizing caramel, which glints like glass under sunlight. At its rim, jagged shards rise like cathedral buttresses. The crater’s edge is pitted with pockets of scorching steam, where the caramel slowly festers. Legend says that a giant sugar elemental slumbers beneath the center, stirring the molten sweetness with tremors. Slugs of congealed toffee drift along currents, and small groups of hunger-warped kobolds come nightly to fish for caramel shards to trade for survival.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) A caramel-coated gateway leads into an underground honeycomb labyrinth. (2) Kobolds worship the sugar elemental as a lesser god, offering sacrifice recipes.

Fetid Grain Fields

Endless rows of wilted wheat and barley stand knee-high in fetid, swampy ground. Heads of grain ooze with milky curd, ridden with larvae of acid flies. Occasional clean strips are tended by hungry hermits who ferment the curd into potent brew believed to cause prophetic visions. Rusted waterwheels still turn sluggishly, powering crude distillation apparatuses that glow with bioluminescent mold. Tattered scarecrows—stitched from old tablecloths—wobble among the stalks, attracting birds of prey mutated with hungry instincts.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) A hidden distillery under the fields stores vials of Visionary Mead. (2) Hermits guard an ancient recipe inscribed on a wooden mash paddle.

The Sporeshroud Fungus Halls

Deep beneath the Wastes lies the Sporeshroud, a vast network of subterranean caverns overgrown by sentient fungal forests. Glowing mushrooms tower like lampposts, their spores drifting in rainbow-tinted mists. Myconid colonies trade telepathic dreams for scraps of organic matter, while towering toadstools exude soporific gases to lure prey. Irridescent slime trails meander across the slick stone floors, betraying the paths of careerless adventurers turned meal. Here, echoes of drips and distant hisses accompany the faint pulse of Gula’s life force, rumored to flow through a central spore pillar. The halls are spanned by bridges of woven mycelium, leading to circular clearings where massive cap-arches form cathedral ceilings. Pools of bioluminescent brine hide carnivorous mushroomfish that leap to snap at careless hands. Extremely rare are the Sporepearls—gelatinous orbs containing condensed arcane energy used in high-level cook-offs. Illegal harvesters risk the wrath of the Suzerain Mycel Lord, whose hive mind judges trespassers by the flavors they exude. Legends tell of a hidden sanctum at the heart of the Sporeshroud, where a forbidden dish can reverse the binding of an archfey. Only those who master the fungal feast—balancing bitterness, umami, and toxicity—may survive the pilgrimage. Every inhale of thick spore-air threatens to corrupt the mind; every taste carries risk. Yet for heroes determined to free Gula, the Sporeshroud offers both the keys of salvation and the perils of eternal slumber.

Secrets

  • A network of fungal tunnels links directly to Gula’s prison beneath the Grand Banquet Hall.
  • The Mycel Lord’s hive mind has recorded the priests’ binding chant.
  • Deep in the furthest cavern grows the Black Cap Mushroom, source of mortal toxins.
  • Ghostly echoes of feasting nobles can be heard when spores are inhaled.
  • A hidden slime spring leads back to the Smokery sewers.

Key Locations

Mycelial Bridge Nexus

A tangle of thick fungal bridges connecting vast mushroom groves. Each bridge is alive, shifting subtly to guide—or trap—travellers. Beneath, pools of phosphorescent slime reflect hallucinogenic patterns. The air hums with telepathic murmurs of the Suzerain Mycel Lord.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) A false mycelial plank conceals a passage to the Sporepearl vault. (2) Whispered spores grant temporary shared telepathy but for a price.

Echoing Spore Cathedral

A cathedral-like chamber where enormous spores hang like chandeliers. Sound echoes unpredictably, amplifying whispers into roars. Myconid druids hold silent congregations here to exchange fungal prophecies.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) Beneath the central stalk lies a sealed rune that can halt the Satiety Gauge when activated. (2) The druids guard a recipe scroll etched on fungal membranes.

Sporepearl Vault

Hidden behind a shifting wall of fungus, this vault holds spheres of condensed arcane spore energy—Sporepearls used as catalysts in master cook-offs. The vault is warded by motes of toxic powder and concealed fungal traps that can instantly petrify an unprotected intruder.

Additional Notes

Secrets: (1) One Sporepearl contains the encoded signature of Gula’s binding ritual. (2) The vault’s lock reacts to culinary gestures, not keys.

NPCs in Gourmandia, the Eternal Banquet

Chef Piquant de Ruisseau

An exuberant master of flambé and feasts, Piquant wears fire-charred apron and a perpetual grin. He secretly yearns to topple the priesthood’s tyranny.

Role: Quest Giver Other Details: Gives the ‘Invitation to the Eternal Banquet’ quest.

Priestess Seraphine

A tall, serene figure in gilded robes, she enforces the Satiety Gauge with unwavering devotion—but fears the goddess’s true calling.

Role: Antagonist Leader Other Details: Monitors PCs with enchanted taste-testers.

Selari of the Hidden Larder

A whispered legend among cooks, Selari hides famine recipes that dampen magical fullness.

Role: Rebel Contact Other Details: Offers covert side quests to weaken the Feast.

Mira the Mirage-Sayer

Wears mirrored mask; deals in dream-ingredients that warp memory. Ambiguous allegiances.

Role: Merchant/NPC Other Details: Knows secret pathways in the Market of Mirages.

Guard-Captain Trussel

Broad-shouldered and stern, he commands the Sugar Guard with a sense of justice at odds with his orders.

Role: Potential Ally Other Details: Can be swayed by evidence of priestly corruption.

NPCs in The Wild Edible Wastes

Mance “Moldbreaker” Jaro

A scarred veteran of the Feast Wars, Jaro leads a band of wasteland scavengers and rebels. Skilled in salvage and subterfuge.

Role: Rebel Commander Other Details: Provides famine resources.

Anaelis Fermentine

Mushroom hermit and brewer of visionary meads. Her eyes glow faint green when mixing spores.

Role: Side-Quest Giver Other Details: Guards prophecy vials.

Trellis the Acid-Tongued

An acid troll chieftain obsessed with protecting the sugar elemental. Speaks in bubbling growls.

Role: Antagonist/Guardian Other Details: Hunts intruders with acid spit.

NPCs in The Sporeshroud Fungus Halls

Suzerain Mycel Lord

A vast, telepathic fungal consciousness that judges intruders by their tastes. Speaks in rhythmic pulses.

Role: Neutral Guardian Other Details: Accepts offerings of rare ingredients.

Druantia Sporeweaver

A myconid archdruid who tends the Echoing Spore Cathedral. Kind but unwavering in defense of her halls.

Role: Quest Ally Other Details: Can craft memory-encoded fungal scrolls.

Grix the Vault-Keeper

A stooped duergar turned fungal warden after a foolish heist. His hide masks fungal growths.

Role: Minor Enemy/NPC Other Details: Holds grudges and trade secrets for Sporepearls.

Factions

Priests of Gula

The Priests of Gula oversee every dish, measure the Satiety Gauge, and maintain the Eternal Banquet rituals. In gilded aprons and sugar-encrusted vestments, they preach that unending abundance is the truest expression of divine grace. Their hierarchy—led by Priestess Seraphine—controls both the architecture of confection and the politics of taste. Every citizen must submit to ritual tastings and Gauge measurements, ensuring the goddess’s favor is maintained. They guard Gula’s prison and enforce her slow fattening for the prophesied sacrifice.

Goals

  • Maintain perpetual abundance
  • Increase the Satiety Gauge to fund the sacrifice ritual
  • Eliminate dissenting rebels

Relationships

With Other Factions
View the Hunger’s Hand as heretics; tolerate the Merchant Guild only for supply of exotic ingredients.
With Players
Initially hosts their quests and cook-offs; become primary antagonists once their true aims emerge.

Hunger’s Hand

A secret insurgency dedicated to ending the binding of Gula. Composed of chefs, laborers, and disillusioned guards, they favor scarcity over endless surplus as the key to freedom. Operating underground kitchens and famine caches, they craft dishes that lower the Satiety Gauge and teach the populace to appreciate mindful eating. They believe that only by tightening appetites can they break the sacrificial cycle and restore Gula to her archfey glory.

Goals

  • Spread famine recipes to weaken the Priests of Gula
  • Decipher the full binding chant
  • Stage a culinary revolution during the Feast

Relationships

With Other Factions
Openly hostile to Priests; cautious allies with Merchant Guild for smuggling supplies.
With Players
Offer covert quests, resources, and crucial insights into Gula’s prison.

Gourmandan Merchant Guild

A powerful trade organization controlling the flow of ingredients, from common flour to rare fey spices. Led by a council of masked traders, they profit from fluctuations in abundance and scarcity. Officially neutral, they maintain business with both Priests and rebels, pushing stocks to maximize profit. Though they publicly sponsor cook-offs and festivals, hidden vaults reveal secret accords with the Priests of Gula and occasional arms shipments to the Hunger’s Hand.

Goals

  • Monopoly on trade routes and ingredient patents
  • Navigate political shifts to retain control
  • Leverage exclusive recipes as bargaining chips

Relationships

With Other Factions
Profitable dealings with all, but secretly fear the rebels’ push for scarcity will collapse markets.
With Players
Provide rare ingredients, sell items at high cost, and offer clandestine information for the right price.

Main Questline

Invitation to the Eternal Banquet

Given by: Chef Piquant de Ruisseau

PCs receive lavish invitations to the first Course of the Eternal Banquet. Invited into the Grand Banquet Hall, they must taste and critique dishes while earning Gastronomic Points. During the cook-off, they overhear a coded chant hinting at Gula’s imprisonment. Testing their mettle in combined culinary and social skill challenges, they gain allies in the Hunger’s Hand and discover a hidden recipe that cancels part of the Satiety Gauge.

Goals

  • Attend the cook-off
  • Earn at least 2d4 Gastronomic Points
  • Decode the overheard chant segment

Reward

  • 3 Gastronomic Points
  • Insight: Location of secret rebel larder
  • Item: Spoon of Everfull (Uncommon)

Secrets

  • The Head Chef is a silent rebel sympathizer.
  • A plate marks the hidden door in the Hall.
  • The first chant line is incomplete.

DM Notes

Emphasize roleplay in the cook-off; award bonus for creative Ingredient Dice combinations.

A Taste of Rebellion

Given by: Selari of the Hidden Larder

Now fugitives from the Banquet’s oversight, PCs deliver the cheat sheet to Selari’s secret larder beneath the Grand Hall. They must defend the stash against a Sugar Guard raid using famine dishes that weaken foes. Once secured, Selari reveals the existence of the Wild Edible Wastes and tasks the PCs to gather Visionary Mead, a key ingredient to decrypt more binding chant fragments.

Goals

  • Escort supplies to the hidden larder
  • Repel the Sugar Guard
  • Acquire Visionary Mead

Reward

  • Famine Rations (3)
  • Visionary Mead Vial
  • +1 Inspiration Token

Secrets

  • A Guard-Captain is on Seraphine’s payroll.
  • Another chant segment is hidden in the Sporeshroud.

DM Notes

Scale the guard encounter; include morale checks for NPCs.

Journey to the Sporeshroud

Given by: Mance “Moldbreaker” Jaro

Following the Mead’s insights, PCs venture into the Sporeshroud Fungus Halls. There, they navigate mycelial bridges, negotiate with the Mycel Lord, and retrieve a Sporepearl containing another fragment of the binding chant. Cravling ambushes and fungal hazards test both combat and puzzle skills as spores shift the environment. Upon returning, the chant reads as a partial ritual to free Gula’s essence.

Goals

  • Secure a Sporepearl
  • Decode the second chant fragment
  • Return safely

Reward

  • Sporepearl (Arcane Catalyst)
  • 2d6 Gastronomic Points
  • Permanent +1 to saving throws vs. fungal effects

Secrets

  • The Suzerain Mycel Lord has one final chant line.
  • Grix the Vault-Keeper covets the Sporepearl.
  • Inhaling spore dust yields telepathic echoes of Gula’s voice.

DM Notes

Use dynamic terrain hazards; reward clever scripts with Ingredient Dice.

Seal of Scarcity

Given by: Priestess Seraphine

Seraphine feigns crisis: the Satiety Gauge has inexplicably climbed. She offers the PCs a pact to retrieve three sacred famine artifacts rumored buried in the Fetid Grain Fields. In truth, the artifacts—Visionary Staff, Famine Bell, and Hollow Griddle—are keys to lowering the Gauge and freeing Gula. PCs must brave rancid swamps, acid trolls, and hermit alchemists, then decide whether to deliver artifacts to Seraphine or the Hunger’s Hand.

Goals

  • Locate and retrieve all three artifacts
  • Survive environmental hazards
  • Choose to side with rebels or priests

Reward

  • Hollow Griddle (Rare)
  • Famine Bell (Very Rare)
  • +2 to group persuasion checks

Secrets

  • Seraphine will betray them at the final ritual.
  • Artifacts must be combined in a specific feast tableau.
  • Cravlings swarm when all three artifacts are close.

DM Notes

Track artifact possession; force a moral choice that affects final confrontation.

Break the Banquet's Chains

Given by: Head Chef Piquant de Ruisseau

Armed with the completed chant and famine artifacts, the PCs infiltrate the Grand Banquet Hall during the Feast of Sacrifice. They stage a grand cook-off rebellion—using the Hollow Griddle to plate the Rediscovery Dish that dispels the Satiety Gauge. As Cravlings and Sugar Guard clash, the PCs must recite the full chant to shatter Gula’s bonds, confronting Priestess Seraphine and rescuing the archfey as the city’s architecture trembles.

Goals

  • Stage the cook-off uprising
  • Plate and serve the Rediscovery Dish
  • Recite chant and free Gula

Reward

  • Liberation Feast Recipe (Legendary)
  • Satiety Gauge resets permanently
  • Allies: Hunger’s Hand becomes a permanent faction ally

Secrets

  • Seraphine contains a final bitter twist in the feast menu.
  • Gula’s true gratitude transforms dishes citywide.
  • A final fragment of chant lies in the dissolved broth.

DM Notes

Epic battle and cook-off combined; alternate rounds of combat and Ingredient Dice cook-offs.

Side Quests in Gourmandia, the Eternal Banquet

The Croissant Caper

Given by: Selari of the Hidden Larder

Reports reach Selari that a new batch of croissants infused with bound sugars is killing starving children in the refugee quarter. She tasks the PCs with infiltrating a sugar mill under the Sibilant Smokery to swap the cursed flour for a benign famine variant. Along the way, they must avoid sugar golems, trick confectioner patrollers, and negotiate with desperate laborers. Success frees an oppressed district and yields rare ingredients for future cook-offs.

Goals

  • Gain entry to the sugar mill
  • Locate and swap the cursed flour
  • Escape without alerting the Sugar Guard

Reward

• 2d4 Gastronomic Points • Famine Flour (5 lbs) • +1 against sugar-based constructs

Secrets

  • The sugar mill owner is funded by Priestess Seraphine.
  • A hidden chamber contains a map to Gula’s prison.
  • One of the laborers is a Cravling spawn.

DM Notes

Encourage roleplay in disguises; trap options for creative sabotage.

Stew of Reconciliation

Given by: Guard-Captain Trussel

Trussel believes the chefs’ guild and fishermen’s union are on the brink of violent strike. He asks the PCs to broker peace by cooking a communal stew using fish and local grains, judged by both factions in a tense cook-off. They must source fresh fish from the Fondue Moat docks, gather barley from rooftop hydroponics, and appease stubborn union reps by adjusting flavors to their tastes—all under a watchful eye of Seraphine’s spies.

Goals

  • Collect ingredients
  • Win or diplomatically resolve the cook-off
  • Prevent sabotage

Reward

• 1d6 Gastronomic Points • Charm of Calm (Uncommon) • +2 standing with fishermen

Secrets

  • A fisherman leader plans sabotage.
  • Seraphine intends to poison the stew for leverage.
  • The barley silo holds a lost Spice Scepter fragment.

DM Notes

Use social skill challenges to simulate flavor negotiation.

Marshmallow Messenger

Given by: Mira the Mirage-Sayer

Mira needs a courier to deliver enchanted marshmallow pouches across the Fondue Moat at dawn, avoiding warming vents that will liquefy the cargo. The pouches contain illusions to distract roaming Cravling scouts. PCs must pilot a bread-boat through shifting currents of chocolate-rouladen cheese and dodge molten traps. This mission tests stealth, navigation, and ingredient preservation skills.

Goals

  • Pilot the bread-boat safely
  • Deliver pouches undetected
  • Retrieve any stray illusions

Reward

• 1d4 Gastronomic Points • Marshmallow Pouch (illusion charges) • Knowledge of moat’s hidden vault

Secrets

  • Mira is actually a half-fey spy.
  • The cargo holds a cipher for a secret recipe.
  • One pouch is laced with truth serum.

DM Notes

Map the moat currents; allow creative use of ingredient dice.

Soup for the Soulless

Given by: Priestess Seraphine

Seraphine claims a set of animated statues outside the Smokery have gone berserk. She demands a soup brewed from rare mythic mushrooms to pacify them. PCS must venture into the Citadel’s statue garden, harvest dangerous fungi from crevices, and simmer a calming broth on-site, all while avoiding snapping stone jaws and ethereal guardians. The quest tests combat, gathering, and brewing under pressure.

Goals

  • Gather mythic mushrooms
  • Brew and deliver soup
  • Survive statue ambush

Reward

• 2d6 Gastronomic Points • Cup of Serene Stew (resistance to fear) • +1 to Nature checks

Secrets

  • Statues are prison wards for a rebel ringleader.
  • Mushrooms grow from Gula’s spilled tears.
  • Seraphine plans to siphon the calming essence for herself.

DM Notes

Statue HP scales; allow brewing skill checks.

The Melon Masquerade

Given by: Chef Piquant de Ruisseau

Impersonate masked gourmands at a melon-ball gala beyond the city walls. PCs don carved melon helmets and vie in dancing, riddle-solving, and taste-blind trials. Each victory grants a melon rind token used to access a secret pantry beneath the Grand Banquet Hall. Social skill tests and puzzle challenges abound.

Goals

  • Secure melon helmets
  • Win three contest rounds
  • Claim rind token

Reward

• 1d8 Gastronomic Points • Melon Rind Token (grant access to hidden larder) • Insight to unlock one secret

Secrets

  • One dancer is a disguised Cravling.
  • Tokens also open a cache of ancient famine scrolls.
  • The gala is a trap laid by Seraphine.

DM Notes

Use performance checks and short puzzles to adjudicate rounds.

Side Quests in The Wild Edible Wastes

Rescue the Ration Courier

Given by: Mance “Moldbreaker” Jaro

A rebel courier carrying vital famine rations has been captured by acid trolls near the Caramel Crater. PCs must traverse unstable caramel fields, avoid boiling pits, and negotiate—or battle—the acid troll queen to free the courier. Time is short: if the courier’s stomach gauge maxes, he will hallucinate and destroy the rations vital for the famine recipe.

Goals

  • Reach the prisoner
  • Defeat or negotiate with the troll queen
  • Escort courier back safely

Reward

• 2d6 Famine Rations • +1 Acid Resistance Gauntlet

Secrets

  • The courier carries a stolen spice orb.
  • The acid troll queen can be reasoned with if offered fermented fruit.
  • Jaro’s orders conceal a darker sacrifice plan.

DM Notes

Use hazard maps for caramel flow; allow nature checks to predict safe routes.

Distill the Visionary Mead

Given by: Anaelis Fermentine

Anaelis offers fragments of an ancient prophecy but demands a sample of Visionary Mead produced in Fetid Grain Fields. PCs must secure clean curds, avoid larvae infestations, and protect distillation vats from marauding fieldscavengers. They must ignite or seal broken waterwheels to maintain proper temperature, adding deadline pressure. Success yields mead granting telepathic insight.

Goals

  • Collect curd samples
  • Repair the distillery machinery
  • Brew and deliver the mead

Reward

• 1 Vial of Visionary Mead • +2 Insight on secret locations

Secrets

  • The mead recipe references the chain binding Gula.
  • A watermark in the distillery code names the first rebel chef.
  • Scavenger tracks lead to a hidden catacomb.

DM Notes

Use tool kits for mechanical repairs; allow alchemy checks for brew quality.

Side Quests in The Sporeshroud Fungus Halls

Harvest the Black Cap

Given by: Suzerain Mycel Lord

The Suzerain requests a sample of the lethal Black Cap Mushroom to test outsiders’ worth. PCs must navigate toxic vent tunnels, evade petrifying moss, and negotiate safe passage with duergar fungus slavers. Success yields rare toxin vial and improves relations with the Mycel Lord.

Goals

  • Enter the Black Cap grove
  • Harvest an unharmed specimen
  • Survive the return trip

Reward

• Vial of Black Cap Toxin • +2 Resistance to fungal poison

Secrets

  • The Mycel Lord plans to weaponize the sample against Gourmandian elites.
  • Slavers have stolen part of the vault’s code.
  • A hidden fungus shrine records every theft attempt.

DM Notes

Include stealth and poison-resistance challenges.

Decode the Fungal Scroll

Given by: Druantia Sporeweaver

Druantia offers a fungal membrane scroll that holds part of the archfey-binding chant. To decode it, PCs must procure four spore inks—luminescent, acid, sleep, and hallucinatory—from different groves. They must risk inhalation hazards, trade with hive colonies, and solve spore puzzles in ancient glyph rings.

Goals

  • Gather all four spore inks
  • Perform ritual decoding
  • Present chant fragment

Reward

• Partial Binding Chant • Insight into Gula’s prison wards

Secrets

  • One ink source is cursed to reveal dark memories.
  • The chant fragment hints at a rebel mole in Seraphine’s circle.
  • Spore glyphs shift meaning at midnight.

DM Notes

Use puzzle mechanics tied to GI Stools and spore pH levels.

Encounters

Cravling Ambush

Medium

Suggested Level: 3-5

A pack of edible mimics leaps from a feast-laden alley to overwhelm unwary diners.

Creatures

  • 6 Cravling Pseudo-Clerics
  • 2 Cravling Rangers

Terrain Features

Rusty soup barrels, slippery gravy puddles, overturned bread-cart cover

Treasure

Cravling core tokens (trade for quest clues)

DM Notes

Use ambush tactics; consider morale shifts when core tokens are destroyed.

Toxic Spore Burst

Hard

Suggested Level: 5-7

While crossing the Spore Bridge, a hidden vent releases clouds of paralyzing spores.

Creatures

  • 4 Spore Myconids
  • 1 Suzerain Wisp

Terrain Features

Mycelial bridge sways, luminescent pools, collapsing sections

Treasure

Sporepearl shard (arcane focus)

DM Notes

Allow Constitution saves; reward creative use of fire/flame.

Sugar Guard Patrol

Medium

Suggested Level: 2-4

A quartet of armored knights built from caramelized sugar patrol a gallery.

Creatures

  • 4 Sugar Guard Knights

Terrain Features

Polished peppercorn floor, flickering bacon brazier

Treasure

Key to hidden larder

DM Notes

Knights crack brittle under thunderous attacks; offer non-lethal subdual options.

Acid Troll Duel

Deadly

Suggested Level: 6-8

Trolls that feast on fermented leftovers hurl acid bile while regenerating wounds.

Creatures

  • 2 Acid Trolls

Terrain Features

Congealed caramel pits, rotting scaffolds

Treasure

Troll acid sacs (alchemy reagents)

DM Notes

Regeneration stops if acid inflicted; highlight environmental hazards.

Famine Dish Showdown

Medium

Suggested Level: 4-6

Rebel chefs challenge PCs to produce a perfect famine stew judged by ghostly gourmands.

Creatures

  • 3 Ghost Gourmands

Terrain Features

Haunted kitchen, phantom ovens, shifting recipe parchments

Treasure

Recipe Fragment for Final Chant

DM Notes

Integrate performance and Intelligence checks; ghostly critics respond to stories.

Magic Items

Spoon of Everfull

Uncommon
A silver spoon that returns any edible portion you eat to the next meal intact.

Location

Reward from ‘Invitation to the Eternal Banquet’ quest.

Attunement

False

Apron of Spice Warding

Rare
An enchanted apron that grants advantage on saving throws vs. inhaled spice effects.

Location

Sporeshroud Fungus Halls.

Attunement

True (requires donning and tasting three spices)

Chef’s Blade of Carving

Very Rare
A chef’s knife that deals +1d6 slashing damage to constructs made of food.

Location

Fondue Moat central island.

Attunement

True

Ladle of Transmutation

Rare
This ladle can transform 1 lb of food into another edible substance once per day.

Location

Hidden vault beneath Fondue Moat.

Attunement

False

Peppercorn of Pyre

Very Rare
Crush to gain a 30-foot cone of fire-breath effect (DC15 Dex save) once per long rest.

Location

Crowned at the Spire of Spices.

Attunement

False

Gelatinous Gauntlets

Uncommon
Grants a bounce effect: whenever you land from a fall, you take no damage and move 10 ft.

Location

Market of Mirages.

Attunement

True

Plate of Plenty

Rare
Once per long rest, any food placed on this plate multiplies to feed up to six creatures.

Location

Gift from Hunger’s Hand.

Attunement

False

Marinade Vial of Gula

Rare
A vial containing marinated essence. Drinking it grants temporary resistance to all damage but increases Satiety Gauge by 2.

Location

Recovered in the Wild Edible Wastes.

Attunement

False

Glutton’s Sigil

Very Rare
A small token that lets you ignore one level of lethargy when your Satiety Gauge maxes.

Location

Reward from Seal of Scarcity.

Attunement

True (wear on belt)

Feastfang Horn

Legendary
Blowing this horn summons edible wolves for one minute that obey simple commands.

Location

Hidden chamber under the Grand Banquet Hall.

Attunement

True

Player Characters

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