Desolate Doomcakes

From: Accursed Rune of Desolation

Lore: Desolate Doomcakes are a creation steeped in melancholic lore and whispered tales of woe. It is said that a forlorn baker, driven to despair by personal tragedy, sought solace in the depths of desolation. Drawing upon the power of the Accursed Rune of Desolation, the baker crafted these somber pastries to channel and embody their own sorrow, creating a bittersweet delicacy that reflects the depths of their grief.

The Accursed Rune of Desolation, a symbol of sorrow and desolation, serves as the catalyst for this recipe. Combined with Ashen Flour, a specialized flour derived from charred grains, it lends a hauntingly pale hue to the cakes. Lingering Lament Extract, an alchemical infusion distilled from mournful essences, imparts a subtle essence of grief. Dark Essence Syrup, a viscous and potent liquid drawn from shadowy sources, adds a touch of dark enchantment. Finally, Mourningberry Jam, made from berries that grow in secluded and sorrowful places, provides a burst of tart sweetness that contrasts with the underlying melancholy.

Use: Desolate Doomcakes are consumable pastries that bestow both physical and mental fortitude upon the eater. When consumed, they grant temporary resistance against necrotic damage, enhancing the individual’s ability to withstand and endure such harmful forces. Additionally, the cakes bolster the eater’s resilience against fear-based effects, instilling a sense of inner strength and stability.

Tier One Stats:

• Necrotic Resistance: Grants temporary resistance against necrotic damage, reducing its effect by 50% for 1 hour.
• Fear Resistance: Provides a +2 bonus to saving throws against fear-based effects for 1 hour.
• Lingering Melancholy: After the effects wear off, the eater experiences a lingering feeling of emptiness and melancholy, resulting in a -1 penalty to Charisma-based ability checks for 1 hour.

Skills:

• Culinary Expertise: The preparation of Desolate Doomcakes requires proficiency in baking and culinary techniques, ensuring the proper blending of ingredients and the creation of a perfectly balanced flavor profile.

Preparation: Creating Desolate Doomcakes involves the following steps:

• Combine Ashen Flour, a specialized flour with a pale hue, with the Accursed Rune of Desolation, infusing the flour with the essence of sorrow and desolation.
• Mix the Lingering Lament Extract, a mournful essence distilled from sorrowful sources, into the flour mixture, imparting a subtle undertone of grief.
• Incorporate the Dark Essence Syrup, a potent liquid drawn from shadowy sources, into the dough, infusing it with dark enchantment.
• Bake the cakes until they achieve a soft and moist texture, ensuring they retain a delicate balance between lightness and melancholy.
• Once cooled, top the Doomcakes with a generous layer of Mourningberry Jam, adding a burst of tart sweetness that contrasts with the overall mood of the pastries.

Cost: Desolate Doomcakes, with their rare ingredients and unique enchantments, command a moderate price. The cost of these pastries typically ranges from 10 to 15 gold pieces for a set of four. The rarity and reputation of the baker, as well as the availability of the ingredients, can influence the final price.

Process Tags:

• Desolation-infused: The cakes are imbued with the essence of desolation, drawing upon the power of the Accursed Rune to evoke a melancholic atmosphere.
• Alchemical Concoction: The recipe involves the use of alchemical extracts, such as Lingering Lament Extract and Dark Essence Syrup, to infuse the pastries with mystical properties.
• Additional: Cursed Confectionery, Wistful Alchemy, Mournful Delicacy, Shadowbound Pastry, Elegy-Infused, Grief-Touched Treat, Funereal Flavor, Sorrowbound Sweets, Twilight Indulgence, Hauntingly Savory

Desolate Doomcakes can be found in specialized bakeries that cater to individuals with a taste for the macabre or those seeking temporary fortification against necrotic forces. These establishments are often located in eerie, dimly lit corners of cities, frequented by those who are not afraid to embrace the somber side of life. Adventurers, particularly those venturing into regions infested with undead or plagued by necrotic influences, seek out these pastries as a means of fortifying themselves against the dangers they may face.

Desolate Doomcakes are sold in specialized establishments known as “Gloomy Bakeries.” These unique bakeries cater to a niche clientele who appreciate the dark and melancholic aesthetics, as well as the occult-inspired culinary creations. Gloomy Bakeries are often found in secluded corners of eerie towns or in the outskirts of haunted forests, seeking to capitalize on the ambiance of their surroundings.

The interior of a Gloomy Bakery is dimly lit, with candlelight casting flickering shadows on the walls. The décor is adorned with Gothic elements, featuring black velvet curtains, antique candelabras, and macabre artwork. The atmosphere is deliberately designed to evoke a sense of sorrow and desolation, attracting individuals who find solace in such melancholic settings.

The end results of consuming Desolate Doomcakes are twofold. Firstly, the eater gains temporary resistance against necrotic damage. This makes the pastries highly sought after by adventurers who frequently encounter undead creatures or other necrotic threats in their journeys. The cakes enhance the eater’s ability to withstand and endure necrotic energies, providing a significant advantage in combat situations.

Secondly, consuming the Doomcakes also instills a sense of inner strength and stability, bolstering the eater’s resilience against fear-based effects. This can be particularly useful in situations where characters may face terrifying encounters or magical influences that seek to manipulate their emotions. The pastries imbue the eater with a sense of courage and fortitude, enabling them to resist and overcome fear.

The end results are used strategically by adventurers before embarking on dangerous quests or when anticipating encounters with necrotic forces. They may be enjoyed in the company of fellow adventurers, providing a moment of respite and fortification as they prepare to face the challenges ahead.

In some cases, Desolate Doomcakes may also be used as a form of symbolic gesture or offering in rituals or ceremonies related to mourning or remembrance. Their melancholic essence and the associated symbolism make them fitting for commemorating lost loved ones or paying homage to those who have passed away.

Due to the specialized nature of the ingredients and the craftsmanship involved, Desolate Doomcakes come at a relatively higher cost. A set of four Doomcakes may be priced between 10 to 15 gold pieces. The cost can vary depending on the reputation of the Gloomy Bakery, the availability of ingredients, and the skill of the baker who prepares them. The exclusivity and unique properties of these pastries contribute to their higher value, attracting those who seek a taste of the melancholic and a temporary reprieve from the perils of the world.

Lament of the Forsaken Baker

In the elder days, when shadow and light wove strange dances upon the earth, there dwelt a maker of flour-things, whose hands once knew the warmth of joy but later held only the chill of sorrow. Of name forgotten and face uncarved in stone, this one walked among the sorrow-breathing folk, yet found no solace, for the heart within was weighed with the heavy dust of despair.

In a moment neither day nor night, beneath the sky that held no stars, the baker, wrapped in lament, sought the whispered power of the Accursed Rune of Desolation. To it, the baker sang, not in words as mortals know, but in the language of the forgotten ache, the song of grief that no ear may bear to hear. And lo, the rune did answer. From the silent depths, it revealed the sacred ashes of ruined grain, the black-honeyed tears of mournful trees, the sorrow-borne essence of lost voices. With these, the baker wove a thing of taste and gloom, shaping it as one shapes regret, baking it in the fire that warms not, cooling it in air that stirs no joy.

When first the lips of the baker met the fruit of their own sorrow, a change did take root in the bones. No longer did fear gnaw the marrow, nor did the breath quiver before the dark. But in the trade of burdens, a new shadow grew, whispering emptiness where once sorrow had been whole. Others of the sorrow-breathing folk sought this boon, and the baker, in grief beyond grief, fed them. The cakes, blackened yet rich, spread from hand to hand, from tongue to tongue, and the baker’s lament was shared until none could tell where one sorrow ended and another began.

Of what end met the baker, the tales do not agree. Some say they walked into the silence, leaving only the recipe behind. Others speak of their sorrow unweaving, returning them to the world of breath and mirth. Yet all tales hold this truth—whoever eats the cake will stand strong against the creeping dark, yet in its wake, emptiness shall follow.

Moral: To unburden sorrow is not to destroy it, but to scatter its weight across many shoulders.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition) Adaptation

• Consumable, Occult Confection
• Effects: Upon consuming a Desolate Doomcake, the character experiences a brief yet profound sense of detachment from worldly fears, gaining the following effects for 1 hour:
  • Necrotic Resilience: Reduces damage from Mythos-related necrotic effects by half.
  • Fear Resistance: Grants a +20% bonus to Sanity rolls against fear-based effects, including Mythos-related horrors.
  • Lingering Melancholy: After the effect ends, the character suffers a -10% penalty to all Charm and Persuade rolls for 1 hour due to emotional numbness.
• Availability: Rare, found in occult bakeries or hidden among the belongings of those who dabble in unnatural forces.
• Cost: Approximately £10–£20, or a barter equivalent in mystical knowledge or artifacts.

Blades in the Dark Adaptation

• Fine Special Item (Consumable)
• Effect: When consumed, the Desolate Doomcake fortifies the mind and body against supernatural horrors, providing the following benefits for one score or downtime activity:
  • Shielded Mind: +1d to rolls resisting supernatural fear or psychic harm.
  • Ethereal Fortitude: When resisting physical harm from spectral entities or eldritch forces, reduce the level of harm by one step.
  • Haunted Aftertaste: The next downtime action taken to relieve stress provides only half the normal reduction due to lingering melancholy.
• Load: 1 (consumable item).
• Acquisition: Typically found in eerie apothecaries or secretive dealers of forbidden goods, requiring a successful Acquire Asset roll or dealing with cultists.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition) Adaptation

• Wondrous Item, Consumable (Uncommon)
• When eaten, the Desolate Doomcake provides the following benefits for 1 hour:
  • Necrotic Resistance: The creature gains resistance to necrotic damage.
  • Steeled Mind: The creature has advantage on saving throws against fear effects.
  • Lingering Melancholy: After the effects expire, the creature takes a -1 penalty to all Charisma-based skill checks for 1 hour.
• Crafting Requirements:
  • Ingredients: Ashen Flour, Lingering Lament Extract, Dark Essence Syrup, Mourningberry Jam.
  • Time: 4 hours.
  • Crafting Check: DC 15 Intelligence (Cook’s Utensils).
• Price: 10–15 gp for a batch of four.

Knave Adaptation

• Consumable Item (Rare)
• Effects (lasts 1 hour):
  • Necrotic Ward: Reduces necrotic damage taken by half.
  • Resolve of the Damned: Advantage on fear-related saves.
  • Sorrow’s Weight: When the effect ends, the character suffers -1 to all social interaction rolls for the next hour.
• Encumbrance: 1 slot (per batch of 4).
• Availability: Requires finding a hidden purveyor of arcane sweets (Weird Merchant encounter).
• Value: 15 silver per cake, 50 silver per batch.

Fate Core Adaptation

• Consumable, Arcane Confection
• Aspect: A Taste of Sorrow and Strength
• Effect: Consuming a Desolate Doomcake grants the following temporary benefits for the next scene (or 1 hour in narrative time):
  • Necrotic Resilience: The character gains +2 to defend against necrotic-based or despair-inducing supernatural attacks.
  • Steel Against Fear: Once per scene, the character may invoke this aspect for free to resist a fear-based consequence.
  • Lingering Melancholy: After the benefits end, the character suffers a temporary aspect Emotionally Drained for the next scene, which can be compelled to impose social difficulty.
• Availability: Rare, found in occult bakeries or as a high-cost trade among those who study forbidden arts.
• Cost: Typically one Fate point (or equivalent exchange in roleplay-based resources).

Numenera & Cypher System Adaptation

• Level 3 Consumable (Rare)
• Effect: When consumed, the Desolate Doomcake grants the following benefits for 1 hour:
• Necrotic Ward: The eater gains +3 Armor against necrotic or entropy-based attacks.
• Fearless Heart: The eater is immune to intimidation and fear-based effects during this duration.
• Sorrow’s Toll: When the effect ends, the character takes 2 points of Intellect damage due to lingering despair.
• Usable By: Any character.
• Acquisition: Found in hidden markets, ancient ruins, or as a reward from esoteric factions.
• Cost: 15-25 Shin per cake.

Pathfinder 2nd Edition Adaptation

• Consumable, Magical Food, Uncommon
• Desolate Doomcake (Level 4 Consumable)
• Effect: Consuming the Doomcake grants the following benefits for 1 hour:
  • Necrotic Resistance: The eater gains resistance 5 against negative energy damage.
  • Steeled Will: +2 item bonus to Will saves against fear effects.
  • Lingering Melancholy: After the effect ends, the eater takes a -1 status penalty to Charisma-based checks for 1 hour.
• Usage: 1 minute to consume.
• Crafting Requirements:
• Ingredients: Ashen Flour, Lingering Lament Extract, Dark Essence Syrup, Mourningberry Jam.
• Crafting Check: DC 18 Crafting (Cooking).
• Price: 30 gp per batch of four.

Savage Worlds Adaptation

• Consumable, Magical
• Effects (Lasts 1 hour):
  • Necrotic Resistance: The eater gains +2 Toughness against necrotic damage.
  • Fearless Fortitude: The eater gains +2 to Fear checks and rolls to resist Intimidation or terror effects.
  • Sorrow’s Weight: After the effects end, the character suffers a -1 penalty to Persuasion and similar social checks for the next hour.
• Rarity: Rare, usually found in dark alchemical shops or through trade with supernatural entities.
• Cost: 100 gold per cake.

Shadowrun (6th Edition) Adaptation

• Consumable, Magical Confection (Rare)
• Effects (Lasts 1 Hour):
  • Necrotic Resilience: The consumer gains +2 bonus dice on Body tests to resist necrotic or toxic effects.
  • Steel Against Fear: The consumer gains +2 bonus dice on Willpower tests against fear-based attacks.
  • Lingering Melancholy: After the effect ends, the character suffers a -1 penalty to Social rolls (Charisma-based tests) for 1 hour due to emotional numbness.
• Availability: 10R (Restricted)
• Street Cost: 2,500¥ per cake
• Special Notes: Available through talismongers and black-market alchemists. Some underground circles claim prolonged use alters a person’s aura, making them more susceptible to spirits of sorrow.

Starfinder Adaptation

• Consumable, Hybrid Item (Level 4, Uncommon)
• Effects (Duration: 1 Hour):
  • Necrotic Resistance: Grants DR 5 against necrotic or negative energy damage.
  • Fortified Mind: +2 morale bonus to Will saves against fear effects.
  • Mournful Aftertaste: After the effect expires, the consumer takes a -1 penalty to Diplomacy and Bluff checks for 1 hour.
• Usage: Single-use, standard action to consume.
• Bulk: L (Light)
• Price: 1,500 credits
• Special: Often found in black-market cyber-occult vendors or mysterious cult-run bakeries.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition) Adaptation

• Consumable, Unique Luxury Item
• Effects (Lasts 6 Hours):
  • Necrotic Endurance: The consumer gains +2 DM to Endurance checks against necrotic or entropy-based attacks.
  • Fear Resistance: +1 DM to Willpower checks against fear-based effects.
  • Despair’s Grip: After the effect ends, the character takes a -1 DM penalty to all Social skill rolls for 6 hours.
• Rarity: Very rare, often found in fringe colonies or eccentric nobles’ collections.
• Cost: 1,000 Credits per serving.
• Special: Some believe consuming multiple Doomcakes within a short period may lead to permanent personality shifts.

Warhammer (Wrath & Glory – 40K RPG) Adaptation

• Consumable, Forbidden Alchemical Confection
• Effects (Lasts Until Next Rest):
  • Necrotic Ward: +2 Resilience against Necrotic, Corruption, or Warp-based effects.
  • Fearless Conviction: +1 to Fear tests against Warp entities.
  • Weeping Soul: After the effect ends, the character suffers +1 DN to all Fellowship-based tests for the rest of the session.
• Rarity: Forbidden (Only acquired through obscure Chaos cults, rogue psykers, or heretical apothecaries).
• Value: 3 Wealth (Extremely difficult to acquire legally).
• Corruption Risk: Extended use may attract the attention of Chaos-aligned entities.