Food and drink idea: Cravings

[Frank_Stein]

There's been a lot of ideas over time about exactly how to make food and drink something valuable. A couple ideas I've seen before have involved bonuses for individual items, having a "favorite" food or drink specific to your character, or having a hunger system.

I think I've got an idea that simplifies all of that while combining the best elements.

Occasionally, your character would get a craving for a specific food or drink. However, they only get a vague hint about what it is. It's completely ignorable, but satisfying it will confer a bonus. The trick is, you don't necessarily have to satisfy it with the specific item, but how close you are to it increases the value of the bonus

An example: A craving for a burger might give the message "You could go for something savoury"

Weak bonus: Any food
Okay bonus: Any food with a meat component
Strong bonus: Any food with a meat component thats sandwich based
Full bonus: Specific item

Cravings are random, as well as the bonus it gives. There's also room for the chef and bartender to do some creative thinking in trying to match food to people