Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Direach Aug 03, 2015 13:17:45	Hopefully this is a simple question: what skill is used for cooking in 5E? Survival? An ability check? Best guesses and opinions are welcome if there's no written rule for it.
#2 jaelis Aug 03, 2015 13:30:01	What are you trying to do? I don't think you need a check to just prepare food. If you're trying to win a cooking contest, I would probably use a Wisdom contest. If you're trying to impress with some fancy knife work like a ginsu chef, I'd use Dex.   And of course you can be proficient with cook's utensiles to add your prof bonus.
#3 Direach Aug 03, 2015 13:44:51	I took "Cook's Utensils" as my tools/proficiency more for fun and flavour than anything else, but I was curious if there was a skill that was intended to govern the activity of cooking. Most likely I'll just describe the outcome without rolling in play, but if there was a rule or suggestion I'd missed, I figured someone here would know.
#4 TheCriticalFail Aug 03, 2015 14:05:22	Tools and crafts in general are really badly defined by the rules and are basically up to DM fiat. My personal complaint is musical instrument proficiencies... they give no bonus that isn't already encompassed by the performance skill!   But yes, personally I'd say wisdom or dex as the stat (possibly both), with intelligence if it was related to recalling ancient recipes or ingredient knowledge. The Tool proficiency I'd let add to any related check to cooking.   No actual skill though. Not that you need it with the tool proficiency. Dex + Prof for preparation of difficult ingredients/knifework etc, Wis + Prof for experience, cooking times, taste testing etc, and Intelligence + Prof for recognising ingredients in food, understanding recipes or anything else of that type. That's the closest you're going to get,   But basic answer... ask your DM what he/she wants or thinks.
#5 jaelis Aug 03, 2015 14:43:51	TheCriticalFail wrote:
#6 iserith Aug 03, 2015 18:18:25	Direach wrote:
#7 strider13x Aug 03, 2015 20:44:04	so you cant cook without cooking utensils, therefore the appropriate tool proficiency applies. as to which ability, well that depends on what your stated intent is...   as to the musical instrument/performance comment there is a difference! Tools are required to play an instrument. none are required to perform an act. think Led Zeppelin and KISS, which ones had which proficiency? what was the appropriate ability check when they recorded or played on stage?
#8 Rya.Reisender Aug 04, 2015 0:25:41	I'd personally just use Wisdom (Survival) because that's what Foraging requires which results in you getting edible food. The foraging rules are in the DMG.
(Reply to #7) Meta4ic	strider13x wrote:
#10 Cooperjera Aug 04, 2015 10:34:35	After my players characters killed a dragon.  The indicated they wanted to start a fire and cook the dragon.  I asked for a Wisdom (Survival) check to determine if the meat was satisfactory and not deadly.
#11 strider13x Aug 04, 2015 16:56:51	Meta4ic wrote:
#12 RobotElder Aug 05, 2015 11:08:35	Prificiency with cooking tools.... and I have been using wisdom as the appropriate stat.   My half-orc fighter is a chef... she dual wields a cleaver and a cooking hammer.    What's a cooking hammer, you ask? You must not be familiar with orcish cuisine. People don't know much about it 'cuz it's so underground.
(Reply to #12) OoftaMeg	RobotElder wrote:
#14 juengel Aug 16, 2015 1:54:01	I would actually do a nature check for cooking. Have to know about what you are cooking. survival could aslo work, but to get really good things you would need nature I would imagine as it is all knowing their ingredients.
#15 Orethalion Aug 16, 2015 7:07:38	I would use wisdom for cooking.  I would even give proficiency bonus if the player wrote cooking into the PC's background.
#16 shintashi Aug 16, 2015 13:27:28	Artisan: Cook, Survival would also allow you to skin animals and roast them, and forage for some other stuff. When you combine the two, you could probably make roast boar. Cook probably includes chef and baker aspects.   if the meal you are making requires lots of speed, like making a whip cream, use Dex if the recipe is really complex, use Intelligence if the food you are making requires alot of manual labor, like baking 100-200 lbs of bread, use Strength if the recipe is intended to cure or comfort, like chicken soup or apple pie, use Wisdom if the food is decorative, like a wedding cake or elegant arrangement, use Charisma   food can do miraculous things, and should probably gain/give benefits with things like Healing. Food can be a Bardic focus, actually, complete with dice bonuses, although i haven't seen anyone house rule that yet. Maybe it could be a Bard Variant.
#17 Veleria Aug 16, 2015 18:18:18	I would simply use Tool proficiency: Cooking (wis) This would only be relevant if cooking the food could result in a meaninful failure. If the appropriate cooking utensils are available allow proficiency bonus, otherwise a non proficient wisdom check.   Meaningful failure would be situations like making poisonous creatures edible (Blowfish sushi) or impersonating the king's personal chef to slip a toxin into his favorite dish. Failure would mean you made the dish wrong and the king notices.   Cooking a rabbit on a spit in camp would generally be an auto success for any character. You are not trying to impress, just trying to heat it until it's not pink.
#18 Saeviomagy Aug 16, 2015 19:18:56	I don't understand why so many people think wisdom is the cooking stat. Cooking seems closest to wizardly spellcasting to me (ie - here is a book full of strange rituals that produce something I want).   Of course I suppose people might just be praying that their food comes out right...
#19 AaronOfBarbaria Aug 16, 2015 19:34:10	As a person who has made a living by cooking, I think the ability score used depends on exactly the type of cooking being done. Intelligence for trying to follow a recipe strictly, Wisdom if improvising something and only guiding yourself by tasting, or even Constitution if you are simply trying to maintain a certain quality for each dish served when cooking for large numbers of people and long hours... but in every case I stick to the cooking utensils proficiency rather than some skill or another because the knowledge needed to cook is very specific and limited in nature despite direct relation to other tasks like identifying plant life or finding animals.
#20 Orethalion Aug 16, 2015 21:46:53	AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
#21 Slagger_the_Chuul Aug 16, 2015 21:52:36	Saeviomagy wrote:
#22 Loswaith Aug 17, 2015 1:05:09	AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
(Reply to #20) AaronOfBarbaria	Orethalion wrote:
#24 Cyber-Dave Aug 17, 2015 12:19:14	Ok, so, now I really want to play a ranger who dual wields a cleaver and cooking hammer. Probably a halfling in a Dark Sun game (or else a Planescape game, in which case my halfling would still come from Athas)...
#25 Orethalion Aug 17, 2015 18:20:40	Cyber-Dave wrote:
#26 ArialBlack Sep 10, 2015 21:01:49	I'm making a spy (rogue/monk) for PotA, who has proficiency with cooking utensils (going undercover as a chef). I envision her as specialising in complex presentation utilising precision knife skills. I'd use Dex as the governing ability.   More generally, which ability would govern the task would depend on the task. The rules already allow you to use alternate abilities for some skill checks even though they have an ability aready attached (Str for Intimidation, instead of Cha), and since the tool proficiencies don't even have an ability officially tied to the use of particular tools, there is nothing to worry about.