Job System

Overview

Jobs are the core quest structure of Chef RPG. Each session = one complete job from selection through review. Players progress through a 5-star prestige system, unlocking harder jobs with better rewards as their restaurant gains reputation.

Reference: See Decision Log for locked decisions

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5-Star Prestige System

Tier Progression

Jobs are organized by restaurant prestige tier, represented by star ratings:

Progressive XP Curve

Higher tiers take more sessions to unlock, creating a sense of achievement:

• 1★ → 2★: 1-2 sessions
• 2★ → 3★: 2-3 sessions
• 3★ → 4★: 3-4 sessions
• 4★ → 5★: 4-5 sessions

Total campaign arc: ~10-15 sessions to reach 5-star prestige

(Exact XP/reputation requirements TBD - needs playtesting)

Yield Dice Progression

As your restaurant tier increases, ingredient gathering becomes more efficient:

*5★ bonus TBD - needs playtesting

Why this matters:

• Tangible, immediate reward for progression
• Simple to understand (bigger dice = more ingredients)
• Matches RPG conventions (dice progression feels natural)
• Stacks with success bonuses (+0/+2/+4 from Yes but/Yes and/Nat 20)

→ See Exploration Resolution - Ingredient Yield System for complete yield rules

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Grid Scaling by Tier

Job tier determines exploration grid size, directly affecting session length:

Key Principle: Percentage-based phase structure (40% Exploration / 30% Cooking / 15% Review / 15% Progression) remains constant. Session length varies naturally by tier.

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Face Card Tier System

Suit = Difficulty Tier

Face cards use suit symbolism to represent encounter difficulty, independent of numbered card meanings:

Face Card Types

Kings = Boss Battles

• Major combat encounters requiring strategy
• Often guard required job ingredients
• Difficulty determined by suit (Hearts easiest → Spades hardest)

Queens = NPC Side Quests

• Optional objectives with bonus rewards
• Social or task-based challenges
• Reward quality scales with suit tier

Jacks = Merchants

• NPCs offering items, ingredients, or equipment
• Inventory quality scales with suit tier:
  • ♥ Hearts Jack: Basic items (common ingredients, simple tools)
  • ♦ Diamonds Jack: Better selection (quality ingredients, useful gear)
  • ♣ Clubs Jack: Quality items (rare ingredients, specialized equipment)
  • ♠ Spades Jack: Premium/rare items (exotic ingredients, powerful upgrades)

Face Card Pool by Job Tier

As players progress, they encounter more diverse and challenging face cards:

Example:

• A 1★ food truck job might have 1 Hearts King, 1 Hearts Queen, 1 Hearts Jack (all Tier 1)
• A 5★ world-class job might have 2 Spades Kings, 1 Clubs King, 2 Spades Queens, 1 Clubs Jack (mostly Tier 3-4)

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Numbered Cards

Numbered cards (Ace-10) use suit for encounter type:

• ♥ Hearts: Ingredient gathering situations - easier/safer (see Red Cards - Ingredients)
• ♦ Diamonds: Ingredient gathering situations - harder/riskier (see Red Cards - Ingredients)
• ♠ Spades: Social encounters (see Spades Table)
• ♣ Clubs: Environmental events (see Clubs Table)

Key Points:

• Only face cards use suit for difficulty tier
• Numbered cards use suit for encounter type (Red = ingredients, Black = encounters)
• Red cards share the same situation prompts, suit modifies difficulty/context

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Difficulty Scaling

Ingredient Quality

Quality scales through player skill, not tier inflation.

• Higher-tier jobs do NOT automatically provide better ingredients
• Ingredient quality determined by:
  • Player’s d20 roll (skill)
  • Character bonuses (stats, equipment, upgrades)
  • Card result tables (same across all tiers)

Why this matters: Players feel their progression through improved stats/gear, maintaining challenge at all tiers.

Natural 1 Handling (Milestone Unlock)

Natural 1s are handled differently at 3★+ as a prestige milestone:

1★-2★ Jobs (Beginner):

• Natural 1 = auto-fail regardless of bonuses
• You’re still learning, critical fumbles happen
• Complication table applies

3★-5★ Jobs (Experienced Chef):

• Natural 1 = complication only if total succeeds
• Your expertise prevents complete failure
• Something funny still happens (chaos, mishaps)
• Maintains comedy without punishing skilled players

Example:

• 1★ chef with +2 Foraging rolls nat 1 (total 3) → Auto-fail, no ingredient
• 5★ chef with +8 Foraging rolls nat 1 (total 9) → Success, but ingredient is covered in mud / rival chef saw you / creature attached

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Open Design Questions

These require playtesting to validate:

Face Card Count

Option A: Fixed by tier (e.g., 3★ jobs always have 6 face cards) Option B: Percentage-based (e.g., 20-30% of cards are face cards) Option C: Hybrid (percentage base, adjusted by tier/difficulty)

Rewards Scaling

• How much money/reputation per star rating?
• Should 5-star review on 1★ job pay less than 3-star review on 5★ job?
• Or should star ratings be weighted equally across tiers?

Crowd Expectations

• Do higher-tier jobs have harder review thresholds?
• Is a 5★ crowd more critical than a 1★ crowd?
• Or does player skill (dish quality) determine outcome equally?

Job Selection

• How do players select jobs?
• Are multiple jobs available per tier?
• Do jobs unlock progressively or all at once per tier?

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What’s Not Yet Designed

• Job card template: Required dish, location, special requirements, rewards
• Starter job library: 10 example jobs across genres (fantasy, sci-fi, cartoon)
• Job unlock system: How jobs become available
• Exact XP/reputation formulas: How fast progression happens
• Rewards economy: Money and reputation earned per tier/rating
• Crowd expectations mechanics: Review difficulty by tier

Next Steps: Design Cooking Phase mechanics to inform job requirements (what dishes look like, what ingredients are needed).