Tonight's lead story
A diner that feeds the lost.
Today's Specials is a GM-less RPG about a traveling diner that lands wherever it's needed. One session, one job, four players or one. This is your menu.
The diner appears. Someone needs feeding, but you won't know what they need until you start cooking. That's the game. Build a job from four flips of a card. Walk out into wherever you've landed and find what you can. Pass the sketchbook around the table and shape the dish together. Pitch it. Read the reaction.
You don't need a referee. The cards are the oracle. The job is the constraint. The story emerges in the moment between ingredients.
Inside this issue
Where We Travel
Why the diner travels space-time, what the three seeds are, and how to set up your first session.
- Pg. 2 Introduction to Today's Specials What Today's Specials is and what it feels like to play
- Pg. 3 The World The traveling diner, the mystery sender, and how it all works
- Pg. 4 The Seeds Three mysterious objects in every kitchen: recipe cards, order tickets, and the chalkboard
- Pg. 5 Session 0 Before the first job: build your restaurant, create your characters, and find out why you cook.
- Pg. 6 Session 0 — Restaurant Name Flip a card. Red or black sets the column. Rank gives you the name.
- Pg. 7 Session 0 — Restaurant Tagline Flip again. Red or black sets the column. Rank gives you the tagline.
- Pg. 8 Game Loop A single-page diagram of the full session arc: Job → Explore → Cook → Present.
Tonight's Cooks
Pick a class, find your calling, and bring something nobody else can to the table.
- Pg. 9 Character Creation: Class Flip a card. Your suit is your class.
- Pg. 10 Character Creation: Personality Flip a card. Your rank is your personality.
- Pg. 11 Character Creation: Calling Flip a card. Your rank is your calling. Why you cook.
- Pg. 12 Character Creation Three card flips. Suit = class. Rank = personality. Rank = calling. Draw yourself.
Today's Specials
The complete session: build a job, explore, cook, present. The heart of the game.
- Pg. 13 Build the Job The diner has landed. The orders are on the rail. Build the job that's waiting for you.
- Pg. 14 Job Creation: Client Flip 1. Rank only. Who hired you?
- Pg. 15 Job Creation: Event Flip 2. Rank only. What's the occasion?
- Pg. 16 Job Creation: Location Flip 3. Rank only. Where are you cooking?
- Pg. 17 Job Creation: Urgency Flip 4. Rank only. How many exploration flips do you get?
- Pg. 18 Exploration Flip a card. Find out what's there. Draw it, act it, narrate it. Repeat until flips run out.
- Pg. 19 Exploration: Red Cards (Organic) Hearts and Diamonds. Living things. Suit determines disposition.
- Pg. 20 Exploration: Black Cards (Inorganic) Clubs and Spades. Built or constructed things. Suit determines condition.
- Pg. 21 Cooking Card flip → prompt → 30 seconds → pass the sketchbook. One round = one dish.
- Pg. 22 Cooking: Red Cards (Edible) Hearts and Diamonds. Something edible. Suit determines how much.
- Pg. 23 Cooking: Black Cards (Presentational) Spades and Clubs. Something that frames or finishes the dish. Suit determines prominence.
- Pg. 24 Presentation Hold up the dish, pitch in character, flip a card, get a reaction.
- Pg. 25 Presentation: Client Reactions One card flip. Rank = client reaction. Every result is a punchline.
Sides & Extras
Tables, generators, complications, and a sample story for when you need to look something up.
- Pg. 26 Misc Tables Dish name generator and complication table. Optional. Same mechanic as everything else.
- Pg. 27 Misc: Complication Table When something goes sideways. Red = person problem. Black = thing or situation.
- Pg. 28 Misc: Dish Name Generator Flip one card after cooking. Red = humble and warm. Black = formal and considered.
- Pg. 29 Example Playthrough A complete session shown in action. One group, one job, all four beats.
- Pg. 30 Credits Who made it, acknowledgments, and where to find more.
- Pg. 31 Play Examples in Different Worlds Optional inspiration. The same game in fantasy, cyberpunk, and cartoon worlds.