Run it as (my version of) a Skill Challenge. Something like the following:
COLD-IRON CHEF
Complexity: 4 (10 successes required)
Duration: 3 rounds ("prep," "cooking," "presentation")
Description: This is a performance cooking competition between the attendants of Feylord Hellekin and the player characters. For the fey, this is an extremely serious affair, equivalent to gladiatorial combat--and actual lives may be on the line. However, just because it is serious does not mean it cannot also be silly or humorous; indeed, Lord Hellekin prefers a circus to accompany his bread, though he frowns upon those who grub for advantage rather than discovering it on their own.
Skills: Survival, Medicine, Nature, and History all have some bearing on the process of cooking a meal. Medicine, Nature, and Arcana can be used to identify signature ingredients, or to aid others in their efforts. The presentation round benefits from a theatrical bent, such as Acrobatics, Performance, or Diplomacy. The Feylord appreciates creativity and ingenuity, however: if a player offers a novel interpretation that makes sense to you, give +2 to the roll, but only for the first such attempt, as he finds repetition boring. At all stages, defense against the attendants' interference and spying (Athletics, Insight, Perception, etc.) may be useful.
Complications: This is, at root, a
performance before Feylord Hellekin. In truth, the food itself might be the best dish ever cooked, but if it was dull to watch it being made, he may rule against the party. An entertaining failure that leads to heightened tension might actually be beneficial in the long term, perhaps allowing a later, creative recovery to grant 2 successes instead of 1. Conversely, a failure that is both important and yet
boring is a serious issue, and may reduce the number of successes by 1. Creativity, spontaneity, and panache are essential, and Hellekin's attendants will absolutely be trying to sabotage the players' efforts. Skirmishes or wrestling matches breaking out between the two teams can split the party or divide their attention, making it harder to complete their dishes; conversely, spying on the opponent team or correctly predicting their moves can get the party ahead of the game and cast his attendants in a bad light (making them seem lazy or derivative.)
Full success: Feylord Hellekin is duly impressed with the party's panache and potables. As they have already paid him with both a good meal and a good show, he will be inclined to grant them a boon, so long as it does not significantly harm his house or his political position within the Seelie Court. Should the party go above and beyond, he may even grant them personal favors in addition to their core request, as a gesture of friendship earned.
Partial success: If the party falls only just short of 10 successes, consider the following options.
- Hellekin enjoys the show, but spits out the food, declaring it inedible filth. To cleanse his palate, he demands another show: the players must now turn their steel against his attendants...in the middle of the kitchen!
- The performance bores him, but the food is cooked to perfection. Since he does not usually watch his chefs prepare his meal, he wants the players to teach his attendants how to cook the food as they just did, and will give his aid once they have done so.
- The competition is interrupted before it can be completed by assassins from a rival Seelie courtier, hoping to make it look like the adventurers had poisoned Hellekin. The party must save Hellekin's life, and preferably capture (rather than kill) at least one of the assassins for questioning later.
- The competition is so fierce, Hellekin cannot decide who the winner is. Until a winner is decided, he is unwilling to offer aid--so he sends the party out to a neutral arbiter with a sense stone, containing his impressions of the event. Though he may imply otherwise, even if the arbiter chooses his attendants, he will aid the party if they dutifully carry out this mission, out of respect for their sense of fair play.
Failure: Hellekin is unimpressed with the party's actions, and while he will remain a gracious host, he will require a substantial service rendered before he will consider actually helping the party. Perhaps he has a political rival he wants taken down a peg, or a brash young scion of his house needs protection while she goes out on some venture even he considers ridiculous. Whatever the situation, the party has made no friends in the fey realm yet, and their position is precarious until they do--meaning other, more nefarious interests may offer their aid...for a price.
