If there is one thing that the Halflings are known for, it is cooking. The Moot abounds with restaurants and in most cities in the Old World there will be several Halfling establishments, often located near each other so that they can co-operate if one Chef runs out of one ingredient or if another is short-staffed and needs a dishwasher. Halflings returning from a hard day’s work (or whatever they like to call it) are guaranteed to find entertainment in this bustling corner of the city, and usually members of other races are welcome.
What with the Moot having a less-than-impressive military reputation (entirely undeserved, as many Halflings will expound), culinary achievement is usually the main contribution a Halfling makes to the great wars and fierce battles which rage across the continent at times. It goes without saying that the contributions of the (successful) Halfling spies and assassins are unrecorded.
This does not mean that all Halflings are devoted only to subterfuge and seasoning. Some take up arms and attempt to make their way in the wider world outside the Moot and the cities, having learnt how their skills will assist Warriors. Occasionally, for one reason or another, a Halfling Chef will leave his hearth and home, polish off the bow hanging above the door, and head out looking for adventure. A strange sight with his small form covered in pots and pans, he is a welcome sight to badly-fed Warriors everywhere.
| Wounds | 2D6 |
| Move | 4 |
| Weapon Skill | 2 |
| Ballistic Skill | 4+ |
| Strength | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 (3) |
| Initiative | 3 |
| Attacks | 1 |
| Pinning Roll | 4+ |
The Chef never leaves a settlement without stocks of food, primarily, expecting to have to feed hungry mouths every evening, regardless of whether or not he’s in company at the time.
At the beginning of each adventure he will have 2D6 Provisions. These will expire at the end of the dungeon as normal, but he will always have 2D6 more at the beginning of the next, in addition to any he buys.
A Chef also follows the tradition of roving Halflings and carries a lunchbox. Once per turn he may delve around in his Lunch Box for a suitable snack. Roll 1D6 at any time during the turn. On a roll of 4, 5 or 6 he finds something tasty and heals 1 Wound. The Lunch Box is rather large so there is no limit to the number of times he can do this. He can do this even when he is on zero Wounds.
Halfling Chefs carry a Short Bow to help them deal with any trouble that might arise, as well as to bag a few rabbits for the pot if the occasion arises. It causes 1D6+1 damage.
For hand-to-hand combat, a Chef will use the first utensil or bit of cooking apparatus that comes to hand. This might be a rolling pin, saucepan, vegetable knife or full-blown cleaver. Whatever they use does 1D6+2 damage on a successful hit.
No Halfling Chef will willingly leave his kitchen for any extended period without making sure his pots and pans are safe, and the best way to do that is to carry them. Without an apprentice or mule, a Chef will tie his pots, utensils and containers of ingredients onto strings and festoon his small body with them, sometimes to the extent of making him appear like a walking heap of iron. As well as their normal cooking dishes, most Halfling Chefs have a great respect for their cooking pot, and the apprentice who inherits the crock of the master will usually take over running the kitchen. Perhaps this is why roving Chefs, tend to wear it as a makeshift helmet. As well as this, the quantities of ironwork hanging from their pack in utensils, saucepans and secondary pots make a physical blow less likely to hit Halfling flesh (although it might dent an antique pan, which is in some ways worse!)
The pots and pans, especially the one worn as a helmet, give the Chef +1 Toughness.
It goes without saying that a Chef is good at cooking, and is sometimes able to craft meals out of the oddest things. As they travel through the Old World they are constantly collecting ingredients from whatever fields, pastures and occasionally pantries they pass through, with little regard for ownership. This is partly an unconscious action, which makes it hard to keep track of what ingredients a Chef carries at any one time, as he also discards any that go rotten as he travels. Generally he will have a rough idea but on occasion a Chef has had to make do with nothing more than a sackful of onions after he’s promised to cook a meal.
At any point, the Chef may choose to prepare something to eat. He will whip out a pot and start adding ingredients, building a fire if appropriate and whistling a merry tune. Whenever there are no monsters on the board, the Chef may forego movement to cook. He will do this for the whole turn. If he wishes, he may serve up the meal then. His companions declare whether they wish to partake or not and he rolls 1D6 and adds the Power Dice, looking up the result on the table below. The Power Phase determines the random quantity of ingredients. There is nothing magical about this process (despite what some Chefs might hint!), but the Power Dice represents the vague idea of how much food the individual Chef is carrying.
If he is not ready, he may continue cooking. If he does so, the entire of the next turn is taken up with food preparation, and again at the end of the turn he must decide if the meal if ready. If it is, those who are going to eat must declare so. He then rolls 2D6 and adds the Power Dice of the first turn, but not the second.
He may continue to take more time for as long as he likes. For each additional turn he may roll 1 more dice, but only ever add the Power Dice from the first phase. In addition, the longer he spends, the more time that something goes wrong. If ANY of the dice he rolls comes up as a 1, the entire meal counts as Food Poisoning.
Field Kitchen Table
| Result (1D6 + Power Dice) | Meal Cooked |
| Natural Roll of 1 |
Food Poisoning! Each partaker loses 1 wound unmodified. |
| 2-3 |
Sparse fare Each partaker recovers 1 wound if they roll 4-6 on 1D6 |
| 4 |
A modest offering anyone eating regains 1 wound |
| 5-6 |
A sound meal anyone eating regains 1D3 wounds |
| 7 |
Well-seasoned anyone eating regains 1D6 wounds |
| 8-9 |
A fine feast those eating recover 1D3+3 wounds |
| 10-11 |
A culinary triumph partakers regain 1D6+5 wounds each |
| 12+ |
A meal fit for a king anyone eating is restored to full wounds |
If the Chef is interrupted by a Monster Attack while he cooks, the meal is wasted as the Warriors scramble to defend themselves.
If the Chef or another Warrior wishes, they may improve the stock of ingredients by yielding up Provisions. Each Provision adds +1 to the eventual result. In the event of Food Poisoning or of a Monster Attack, these Provisions are wasted.
Note also that although Warriors have the opportunity to refuse to join in the meal (for example if they are on full Wounds or do not want to risk Food Poisoning), other Halflings must roll a 4+ on 1D6 to refuse; otherwise their stomachs decide it’s time to eat.
If the Chef so wishes, he may charge a fee of 5 gold per wound healed by his food. Warriors who contribute ingredients in the form of Provisions need not pay this. IF the Chef does NOT charge, then he gains +5 exp per wound healed. Most Halfling Chefs do not charge unless they are cooking for a special occasion or to paying customers. If they are preparing food for friends and allies it is considered that the reward the Chef receives is the enjoyment of the cooking process and of a meal with friends.
Finally, if there should be two (or more!) Chefs working together, they may not contribute to each other’s cooking. ‘Two Many Cooks Spoil the Broth’ as the ancient adage goes, and Halfling Labour Laws as well as natural pride mean that while Chefs might compete, or serve a more advanced Master, they seldom cooperate.
The Chef has the same item restrictions as the Halfling Thief.
A Halfling will never give food to anybody unless he considers he has enough left for an adequate meal. Whenever you want to heal another Warrior with provisions from your store you must first roll ID6. If the total is under the number of provisions you have left you may heal the other Warrior as normal. If the result is equal to or more than the number of Provisions you have left the Halfling hides his food and claims he has only a 'few crumbs' left.
Once the Halfling has decided he is down to the minimum he may not give up any provisions for the rest of the adventure.
A Halfling may always eat; it is an instinctive reaction that sets his hand reaching into his bag to grab some food. This means a Halfling may attempt to heal himself with any kind of food, even if he is at zero Wounds. He must still roll a 4+ to be successful in his attempt, just as if another Warrior was trying to heal him.
| Skill | List |
| 11-13 | Dodge Ignore an attack on 6+ |
| 14-16 | Iron Constitution Years of eating meals prepared in haste or unsanitary conditions has hardened the Chef’s stomach. The Chef can ignore the effects of any non-magical toxins, poisons, diseases or blights on a roll of 3+, or 5+ for those magical in origin. This test is taken before any that might be specified in the rules. |
| 21-23 | Great Gut His body, bloated by an excess of fine cooking, takes a lot to stop it. When the Chef is wounded by an attack, on a roll of 6+ he may half the number of wounds he receives, after deductions. Round up fractions. |
| 24-26 | Sureshot the Chef is not just a dab hand in the kitchen. One missile attack per turn can be re-rolled if it misses. |
| 31-33 | Run Mustering reserves of energy that he didn’t know he had, the Chef quickens his pace. If he can roll 5+, he may escape Pinning and double his movement for the turn. |
| 34-36 | Duck! The Chef is adept at avoiding the attacks of the Monsters. Attacks against him are at -1 to hit. |
| 41-43 | Forager Even when separate from civilization the Chef doesn’t go hungry. If ever the Chef runs out of Provisions, he may spend 1D3 turns looking for new things to eat. At the end of the time period, he has 1D3 Snacks, which are each worth 1 wound, and count as Provisions, expiring at the end of the Adventure. He may use this skill as many times per adventure as he has Battle Levels. |
| 44-46 | Spice Fiend The Chef has acquired a large grinder filled with a potent blend of exotic spices of his own concoction. The slightest dash is sufficient to add flavour to any meal, but it can also be used once per adventure, to fill an entire room with a blast of fiery particles. If the Chef decides to do this, every Monster is paralysed for 1D3 turns as they suffer watery eyes and stinging sinuses. The Undead and Daemons are unaffected by this skill. |
| 51-53 | Field Medic Armed with a small bottle of pungent smelling salts and some nutritious goodies, the Halfling Chef is better equipped to assist his fellow Warriors. When attempting to revive a Warrior on 0 wounds, the attempt only fails on a roll of 1. |
| 54-56 | Hunter’s Arm When determining damage with a Shortbow, the Chef uses his own Strength, rather than the standard Strength 1 of the bow. |
| BL | Gold | Title |
M |
WS |
BS |
S |
DD |
T |
W |
I |
A |
L |
WP |
Pin |
Skills |
| 1 | 0 | Apprentice |
4 |
2 |
4+ |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2D6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
4+ |
2* |
| 2 | 2000 | Cook |
4 |
3 |
4+ |
2 |
1 |
2 |
+1D6 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4+ |
3 |
| 3 | 4000 | Cook |
4 |
3 |
4+ |
3 |
1 |
3 |
+2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4+ |
3 |
| 4 | 8000 | Cook |
4 |
3 |
3+ |
3 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3+ |
4 |
|
| 5 | 12000 | Chef |
4 |
4 |
3+ |
3 |
2 |
3 |
+1D6 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3+ |
5 |
| 6 | 18000 | Chef |
4 |
4 |
3+ |
3 |
2 |
3 |
+2 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3+ |
5 |
| 7 | 24000 | Chef |
4 |
4 |
3+ |
3 |
2 |
3 |
|
5 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3+ |
6 |
| 8 | 32000 | Chef |
4 |
5 |
3+ |
4 |
2 |
3 |
+1D6 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3+ |
7 |
| 9 | 45000 | Master Chef |
4 |
5 |
2+ |
4 |
3 |
3 |
+2 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
3+ |
7 |
| 10 | 50000 | Master Chef |
4 |
5 |
2+ |
4 |
3 |
3 |
+1D6 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
3+ |
8 |