Tyromancy

[Mistwell]

Tyromancy: Divining by the coagulation of cheese — “The Word Museum: The Most Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten” by Jeffrey Kacirk.

During the Middle Ages, Tyromancy was used to predict the future by looking at the shape, number of holes, pattern of the mold and other characteristics of the cheese. It was also practiced to prognosticate love, money and death.

Tyromancy was also used by young maidens in countryside villages to predict the names of their future husbands. They write the names of their prospective suitors on separate pieces of cheese and the one whose name was on the piece of cheese where molds grew first was believed to be the ideal love mate.

Another method involves writing the possible answers to a question on separate pieces of cheese and placing them in a cage with hungry rodent. The piece that the mouse ate first will be the answer to the question. This form of divination was related to Myomancy.

Omens were also drawn from the patters and designs formed by the coagulation of cheese.

Here's what I'd like from folks reading this: Come up with some creative and inventive means of working Tyromancy into a game. As a class, an NPC class, a profession, a series of spells, a divine suite of powers, a magic item, a huckster, whatever you can come up with.

I feel like we need more cheese divination in our lives! Oh, and I am prone to giving positive rep to anyone who contributes

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Magic Morsel: a cantrip that makes a hunk of cheese into an appetizer that always hits its consumer's favorite flavor combination. Also known as Charm Wealthy.

Limburgerball: a fireball that affects all within its area as if by Troglodyte stench.

Holes in your Plan: for 1d4 rounds, makes all foes within AoE roll twice for all rolls, taking worse result. Material component: a piece of Swiss cheese, which is eaten by the caster. Special: caster cannot cast spells or use any ability or skill requiring his mouth during spell's duration- he is chewing.

 

[Celebrim]

0th Level: Churn – By using magic to animate and transform the milk, you can produce butter, yogurt, or cheese from raw milk in only a minute of effort – turning up to 6 gallons of milk into the desired product. You still must make a Craft (Dairy) check to determine the actual quality of the food stuff and you must have all additional ingredients you wish to use – salt, wax, rennin, etc. - on hand to begin.

1st Level: Soft Cheese – Once per attack action you can summon a soft ripe cheese from the dairy farms of the outer planes. These cheese radiates good or evil and penetrates DR of the appropriate type, depending on from whence you summon it. The soft cheese spell acquires the alignment descriptor accordingly. You can throw the cheese as a ranged touch attack that does 1 nonlethal damage to any target plus provokes a Fort save or be stunned 1 round from the overpowering smell of the cheese. Additionally, evil outsiders that fail their save are nauseated 1 additional round by good cheese and take 1d6 sacred damage per round for up to 3 rounds or until the cheese can be removed (which requires a standard action and reflex save or suitable assistance), while good outsiders that fail their save are nauseated 1 additional round by bad cheese and take 1d6 profane damage per round for up to 3 rounds or until the cheese can be removed. You can summon up to 1 cheese per caster level. Casting another spell before soft cheese is ended ends the spell. If not thrown, each cheese provides a meal for 1 medium-sized humanoid, but the cheese must be eaten within 24 hours or it will fill with maggots and lose nutritional value to any creature not capable of digesting carrion.

2nd Level: Hard Cheese – Once per attack action you can summon a hard aged cheese from the dairy farms of the outer plans. This cheese can be hurled as a thrown weapon with a range increment of 10’. These cheeses radiate good or evil and penetrates DR of the appropriate type, depending on from whence you summon them. The hard cheese spell acquires the alignment descriptor accordingly. The cheese are likewise magic for the purposes of penetrating DR. Each cheese does 1d4 bludgeoning damage. Additionally, if a good cheese strikes an evil creature it does a bonus 2d6 sacred damage, while bad cheese that strikes good creatures do 2d6 bonus profane damage. You can summon up to 1 cheese per caster level. Casting another spell before soft cheese is ended ends the spell. You can summon up to 1 cheese per caster level. Casting another spell before hard cheese is ended ends the spell. If not thrown, each cheese provides a meal for 1 medium-sized humanoid. Cheese of this sort is as enduring as iron rations if stored properly.

3rd Level: Cheese Wheel of Death: You conjure a great cheese wheel of death, with which you crush and scatter your enemies. The cheese is 8’ wide and 10’ high, and moves rapidly out from your position in a straight line of your choosing out to medium range or until it crashes into a solid obstacle or a large creature or object, ending its career. Once the cheese comes to a halt, it returns to the demi-plane from which you conjured it. Until that point, all in its path must take 3d10 damage, Reflex save for half damage. Those that fail their saves are also pushed tangentially to the path of the cheese to the nearest square outside the cheeses path and knocked prone. If the cheese enters the square from a square of higher elevation, as if by moving down a slope or stairway, it does a bonus 4 damage, the effective caster level (for purposes of SR and the like) is increased by 2, and the DC to resist the save is increased by 2 as well. However, if a cheese falls suddenly rather than descending a smooth slope, it shatters and halts in that square. If the caster level is 10 or greater, the cheese increases in size so that it can overrun even huge creatures and objects. And if the caster level 15 or greater, the cheese can overrun even gargantuan creatures and objects.

 

[Mistwell]

I should have done this National Cheese Lover's Day, which is January 20. Ah well, maybe I will necro the thread next year for that. For now, loving the ideas so far, and please keep them coming!

 

[I'm A Banana]

Tyromancy (Ritual)
Prerequisite: Cheesemaking proficiency

When you make cheese, you can perform Tyromancy on it. Your cheesemaking check must result in a cheese worth at least 25 gp for this to be effective. If successful, your cheesemaking process acts as if you had cast the Augury spell. The cheese is consumed in the casting of this spell.

Improved Tyromancy: This more powerful variant will allow you to use Divination instead of Augury when you make cheese. It still must be cheese worth at least 25 gp to power the magic.

Variants: Many forms of divination emerge from crafting objects, and these rules can be used as guidelines for other kinds of craft-divination as well.​

 

[howandwhy99]

String Cheese - binds your foes in four days worth of conjured rations.

 

[Umbran]

Variants[/COLOR]: Many forms of divination emerge from crafting objects, and these rules can be used as guidelines for other kinds of craft-divination as well. [/INDENT]

Shouldn't that be Kraft-divination?

Behold, the power of cheese!

 

[Savage Wombat]

Lactose Intolerance (Wiz 2) - 1 target/level within 30' of each other become sickened if they have consumed dairy products within the last 24 hours.

Feat: Curdling Gaze - your evil eye power has the additional effect of spoiling milk as if casting putrefy food and drink.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The Camembear- an animated, soft-cheese shaped like a vicious (viscous?) bear.

Detect Gouda- self-explanatory

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Shouldn't that be Kraft-divination?

Behold, the power of cheese!

Liquid Gold: conjures bowl of Mac & cheese, so you can eat like that guy you know.

Queso the Profane: (Book of Exalted Cheese, p. 45)

Your mightiest attacks scald evil foes.
Prerequisite
Power Attack (PH) , Resounding Blow (BoED) , STR 13, ability to cast any conjuration spell
Benefit
Whenever you deal a critical hit to an evil creature using a melee weapon with which you are proficient, your opponent must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Cha modifier) or take 1d4+1 points of additional damage from ectoplasmic melted cheese. A monk's unarmed strike is considered a melee weapon for purposes of this feat.