Three Golden Lands - An Exalted Story of Agriculture, Inheritance and Duty

[X]* She can spin and weave and is actually pretty good at it and she's deft at embroidery (Cotton-Fingered Weaver Style 2, Jupiter's Embroidery Style 1)
[X]* Her mother says her hot sweet green curry is far better than her sister's and is even better than hers! (Fire-Mouthed Cook Style 3)
[X] She might not be able to dance like Bayda, but she has a very good voice and her aunt likes her to sing for the spirits (+1 Expression, Spirit-Charming Supplicant Style 1)
[X] She's a smart girl who has a gift for telling the weather (Weather Witch Style 1, +1 Cognition)

My reasoning is similar to Aleph's. However, I switched out Blacksmithing for the increased Expression and Spirit-charming supplicant style. My reason for this is that it gets us an Ability dot, which means that we are at the 'trainee' level for every field of artistic endeavor in existence, from painting to singing to dancing, and it gives us a needed style for being a priestess, which is one of my life goals for this quest.

Edit: dammit ES y u close vote so fast?
 
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So. This is the full list of Wasima's Styles to date. She has 14 dots of Styles, incidentally, which is not atypical for mortals under this system - mortals are usually going to have rather more dots of Styles than they do of Abilities because Styles are a) cheaper and b) cover what they really want to do better.

Styles:

Earth-Striding Titan Style (Presence, Melee)

Also known as Superlative Size Style, these techniques are the ones which come innately to the sort of people who are unusually tall or bulky and learn to use their size to settle arguments. Both force and sheer physical presence are techniques in this style. It is not a particularly sophisticated Style, but sometimes a big guy is all that's needed to make people shut up and listen to them. The benefits of this Style only apply when used against people less physically imposing than the character.
1. +1 when attempting to manhandle or grapple a valid target
2. +1 when attempting to intimidate a valid target
3. +1 when attempting to draw the attention of a crowd


Flowing-River Disputant Style (Presence, Politics)
Like the river, it is often easier to say and go where one is expected to go - and only rarely expand beyond one's banks. Practitioners of this style remain within the bounds of social propriety and divert conversations to their goals rather than outright dam them. It is the reasoned arguments of one lacking in power who explains what they did was what was ordered all along and the excuse justified by social mores. Without knowledge of what is expected, this style is much less effective.
1. +1 to persuading another party that one's deeds were or will be justified based on cultural expectations.
2. +1 to reading another party and working out what they want from the practitioner
3. Ignore one point of MDV provided by negative Principles, provided that the practitioner conforms to their perceived social role.


Wide-Eyed Cat Style (Awareness)
Consider the cat. Is there any other creature who sees so well in places of darkness and who so unfailingly tracks its scurrying prey who try to flee? By emulating the cat the character hones their vision acuity and their capacity to notice small details around them, especially in the hours of twilight. This Style is often studied along with Twitching-Ear Cat Style, and can be taught by housecats.

1. +1 to vision-based rolls in low light conditions
2. +1 to vision-based to notice details about moving objects
3. +1 to see characters using Subterfuge to physically conceal themselves


Tengese Housewife Style (Bureaucracy, Special)
Matters of the spirits, care for the household, and raising of ones children - these are the duties of the women of An Teng. Land and wealth passes down the female line, but a woman's husband acts and speaks for her in public and she will rarely stray too far from where she lives once she is married. This Style represents the core skillset of a Tengese peasant woman such as food preparation, honouring her family's ancestor spirits and the house gods, treatment of common ailments, managing a small household budget, and other such things. This is explicitly a generalist Style and offers a wider spread than most styles in return for reduced depth. It does not apply to circumstances outside the range of situations a Tengese housewife might commonly encounter - for example, while she may know how to deal with the flu, she will be completely lost when trying to treat Green Sun Wasting.

1. +1 for running a household
2. +1 when making 'suggestions' to one's husband.
3. +1 when teaching and disciplining your children


Cotton-Fingered Weaver Style (Occult)
In the South West, silk is the preserve of the wealthy - all others dress in cotton. Weaving is a basic craft which is taught to many when they are young and in rural areas most will dress in clothes made by a family member. The very finest weavers can make garments so fine they feel like silk and through the use of carefully chosen dyes and thread create clothes of surprising elegance and beauty - among the peasants, such a skilled weaver is an important person. This Style is a trade skill covering the production of cotton garments and associated mercantile activities.

1. +1 to the repair and maintenance of one's loom
2. +1 to the production of dyes from local materials
3. -1 difficulty to the production of complex layered garments.

Jupiter's Embroidery Style (Occult)
The sumptuary laws of An Teng forbid the peasantry from wearing ornate jackets or robes, save for a small range of permissible events such as funerals and religious ceremonies. To counter this, therefore, the method of decoration known as Jupiter's Embroidery Style has developed over the centuries, prizing intricate styling of undergarments and the inner linings of clothing which are only ever displayed in private family environments and are believed to scare off faeries, demons and ghosts. In more lax regions of the Shore Lands these clothes are worn openly, but in the conservative inner heartlands the old traditions hold force. The highest art is working with golden thread, which is sacred to the Golden Lord and is used for the decoration of blue mariage robes and purple burial gowns.

1. +1 when working on garments not intended to be seen in public
2. +1 when incorporating religious iconography or symbolism
3. -1 difficulty when working with gold thread.


Fire-Mouthed Cook Style (Occult, Survival)
There is a folk tale in An Teng that says that the Immaculate Dragon of Fire was born in the principalities and as a baby was given chillies to teethe on because even before his Exaltation he spat fire. This is less unbelievable than many other folk tales, given that Tengese cuisine typically requires an iron gullet for others to enjoy. Tengese cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a fiery spicy edge. It is known for its complex interplay of at least three and up to four or five fundamental taste senses in each dish flavouring the mainstay rice.

1. +1 to feeding large numbers of people
2. +1 when provided with fresh fruit or spices
3. -1 difficulty when creating dishes which rely on interplaying flavours

Iron Handed Labourer Style (Occult)
The ring of hammer on hot metal is a constant refrain in the foundries and workshops of Creation. Such is the way of the blacksmith, who knows how to placate the least gods of the iron and shape metal. This style applies whenever the character works with iron or iron alloys, with the appropriate tools.
1. +1 to rolls to resist tiredness from the character's work.
2. +1 to rolls when making functional or utilitarian goods.
3. +1 to social rolls with gods whose domain relates to the character's current project.

Shining Silversmith Style (Occult)
Jewellers and craftsmen of the Tengese High Lands prefer to work in silver, for it is a metal much-beloved of beauty. Such smiths take care to bring out the aesthetic beauty of their pieces, often working precious stones or priceless gems into the designs. This Style applies whenever the character works with silver to create beautiful or decorative pieces.
1: +1 to haggling over prices when equipped with example pieces.
2: +1 to creating items in one's personal area of expertise (not yet chosen).
3: +1 to cutting and setting precious gems in silver.


Weather Witch Style (Awareness, Presence)
A keen eye for meteorology is all a backwoods weather-witch needs at first. Compared to the thaumaturgists of the Realm with their tools and devices and mathematics, a weather-witch listens to the whispers of the gods and the howls of wind elementals to know if there is a storm coming. They read the little marks the divine leaves in the world, and interpret them. They learn which chimage pleases the rain gods and how to persuade a thunderbird to spend its fury harmlessly - knowing all too well that all they can do is nudge the spirits and hope they do not take offence at their presumption.

1. +1 when noticing a change in the weather before it arrives
2. +1 when attempting to influence weather gods and air elementals
3. +1 towards weather-affecting thaumaturgy
 
[X] She has learned some of the secrets of her family from her parents (+1 Occult, Iron-Handed Labourer Style 1)

[X]* She can spin and weave and is actually pretty good at it and she's deft at embroidery (Cotton-Fingered Weaver Style 2, Jupiter's Embroidery Style 1)
[X]* Her mother says her hot sweet green curry is far better than her sister's and is even better than hers! (Fire-Mouthed Cook Style 3)
[X] Um… she doesn't want to say it because it might be prideful, but she thinks she's sort of better at the forge things than Elder Sister (Iron-Handed Labourer Style to 2, Shining Silversmith Style 1)
[X] She's a smart girl who has a gift for telling the weather (Weather Witch Style 1, +1 Cognition)

For the inheritance crisis. Which should be great because small town politics are the dirtiest fucking fights you ever see. Shit runs like game of thrones.
 
Well, guess what?

Since Wasima has just sort of maybe a little bit declared herself to be the best cook ever, her grandmother has taken that as a challenge and ordered her to prepare lunch - with a look in her eyes which imply that she'll be watching and waiting for her to slip up.

No pressure.

Cooking is a Reaction + Occult + Applicable Style roll - which Wasima is going to use Fire-Mouthed Cook Style rather than Tengese Housewife Style because, duh. She has access to fresh spices and that gives her the Style dice extra bonus

So roll me 8d6e4.

In addition, stunted appropriate recipes or dishes for a lunch which she can prepare can earn you a +2 dice stunt (if more than just dish names and with some actual content provided). Tengese cookery is probably best compared to Thai/Vietnamese/Rural Chinese cooking if you want earth comparisons.
 
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A 2-die stunt would give us an extra success on average, so let's refrain from rolling until someone can come up with one.

Don't be hasty.
 
Grandma wants us to impress her? Then we'll really impress her. We have fresh spices in abundance, so let's make a Tengese Hot Pot - garlic, ginger, mushrooms, bean sauce and enough chillies that we can't even see the bottom of the pot! We may not have any meat handy, but we can add some more mushrooms to make up for that, and maybe some tofu if that's a thing here.

Mmm.

 
Dicing

Edit: I assumed Aleph stunt was worth 2 dice. Not that it matters much, given the result.
Broken25 threw 10 6-faced dice. Reason: 8 Total: 26
6 6 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 2 5 5 2 2 3 3 1 1
 
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So since it's summer and we are of peseant stock, we should be making something that combines different characteristics of foods. For example liangfen/liangmian. Cold rice noodles, light soy, tofu, chili paste, sesame paste, shredded cucumber, carrot and peanuts. Hot pot is more a winter thing.

EDIT: Also hotpot is pretty imbalanced as it is served hot, is spicy and has a bunch of meat Vietnamese and Chinese cooking but more Vietnamese deals a lot with balance between components of dishes, or to correct imbalances in the consumer.

Goddammit Broken.
 
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Disclaimer up front, I am far from an expert cook, even with my home country cuisine, but I do like Szechuan food.

I propose one of my favorite Szechaun dishes, Szechuan-style green beans. Probably not a meal in itself, but they are a delicious side. Pretty simple to prepare as well. Copying one recipe below.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Rinse and drain green beans;trim off and discard stem ends.
  2. Cut green beans into 2- to 3-inch lengths.
  3. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chili flakes, and white pepper.
  4. Set a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over high heat.
  5. When pan is hot, add green beans and 1/4 cup water.
  6. Cover and cook, stirring once, until beans are bright green and slightly crunchy to bite, 3 to 4 minutes.
  7. Uncover and cook until any remaining water has evaporated.
  8. Add oil, garlic, and ginger to pan stir until green beans and garlic are slightly browned, 1to 2 minutes.
  9. Stir soy mixture and add to pan; bring to a boil and stir until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce thickens and coats the beans, 2 to 3 minutes.
  10. Pour into serving dish.
  11. Serve hot or cold.


They don't take particularly long to cook, and based on what I know of the real-life produce of the relevant regions, don't require any particularly rare or expensive ingredients. Tasty, simple, and go well with pretty much anything. Plus they're loaded with chilies and garlic. What could be better?
 
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Oh man, we Shokugeki no Soma now?

Right. To writing then. While hoping at least the last two dice are going to be dropped off Broken's roll because assumptions are stupid.
 
The roll isn't too bad? Unless I misunderstood what reduced dificulty means, don't 3's count as successes here?

e4 in the roll code means that 4+ is a success, and since messing with target numbers does weird things, I don't think ES is going to let anything, except maybe some Sidereal stuff, change that.

So... 2 successes. When 10 dice should normally give 5.
 
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Wasima isn't cooking in her family's household.

When Wasima started, while the steely gaze of her grandmother was uncomfortable, she went into the familiar motions of gathering the ingredients and preparing the cookery for Tengese Hot Pot. Enough to feed grandmother, and offer seconds and thirds besides! People always wanted more of her food!

Then she began.

Wasima isn't cooking in her family's household.

Wasima doesn't know the quirks of the shrine's household gods.

It was a terrifying thing to realize. They weren't the small gods she knew perfectly. When she drew water from the well, she had to take two trips from how much spilled from the bucket, despite her careful movements. The fireplace was greedy and slothful, but like the boulder atop a steep hill, its force was awesome once pushed to life. The metal ladle grew hot in her hand when she left it dipped into the pot too long, or it would have, if she didn't know the ways of metal spirits from the forge!

And even then, it feels like it could be worse. The household gods surely approve of her not listening at the doorway, but Wasima knows she must be fast burning through that goodwill with her clumsy intrusion.

Wasima can't fail this. Not with grandma watching!

Wasima whispers soothing words to the small gods of the ingredients. She stirs the pot to entice them to union. She prays and begs and desperately tries to figure out how to please these unfamiliar gods.

Delicious smells pour from the pot when she opens it. But not mouth watering. Not how she'd make at her family's household.

Wasima momentarily considers forcing the matter, continuing to cook the pot, to force the gods-

"It's done!" Wasima says aloud, taking the pot off the fire. No, forcing the gods to your will is foolishness and hubris on an awesome level... But perhaps for the Immaculate Monks, if the stories were true.

Wasima isn't an Immaculate Monk. She prays it's enough.
 
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The dice gods hate us. Well, not really, but it's disappointing to fail in this. Ah well. I do hope we can increase the Tengese Housewife Style at least one more point. If we get married, it'll be really important to have it at two for...reasons!
 
Wasima isn't cooking in her family's household.

When Wasima started, while the steely gaze of her grandmother was uncomfortable, she went into the familiar motions of gathering the ingredients and preparing the cookery for Tengese Hot Pot. Enough to feed grandmother, and offer seconds and thirds besides! People always wanted more of her food!

Then she began.

Wasima isn't cooking in her family's household.

Wasima doesn't know the quirks of the shrine's household gods.

It was a terrifying thing to realize. They weren't the small gods she knew perfectly. When she drew water from the well, she had to take two trips from how much spilled from the bucket, despite her careful movements. The fireplace was greedy and slothful, but like the boulder atop a steep hill, its force was awesome once pushed to life. The metal ladle grew hot in her hand when she left it dipped into the pot too long, or it would have, if she didn't know the ways of metal spirits from the forge!

And even then, it feels like it could be worse. The household gods surely approve of her not listening at the doorway, but Wasima knows she must be fast burning through that goodwill with her clumsy intrusion.

Wasima can't fail this. Not with grandma watching!

Wasima whispers soothing words to the small gods of the ingredients. She stirs the pot to entice them to union. She prays and begs and desperately tries to figure out how to please these unfamiliar gods.

Delicious smells pour from the pot when she opens it. But not mouth watering. Not how she'd make at her family's household.

Wasima momentarily considers forcing the matter, continuing to cook the pot, to force the gods-

"It's done!" Wasima says aloud, taking the pot off the fire. No, forcing the gods to your will is foolishness and hubris on an awesome level... But perhaps for the Immaculate Monks, if the stories were true.

Wasima isn't an Immaculate Monk. She prays it's enough.
I do like having an excuse for our poor roll.
 
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