Troll Steak (3.5e Equipment)

Troll Steak
There is a story that if one eats a troll, the troll will grow inside their stomach and burst free. This is a story half true, as troll steak can be very dangerous if cooked improperly and it does end up with a troll bursting forth. Fortunately most are able to cough up the growing mass of flesh before damage becomes severe, only to die by angry troll shortly after.

Troll steak is made from trolls and said to be an... acquired taste. Though sold as an exotic meat for a high price, troll meat (even properly cooked) is tough and rubbery. One cannot slow cook troll steak, as it will either not kill all the troll cells and result in a troll regenerating from the chunk, or it will kill them off too slowly and result in "overcooked" meat. Indeed, the appeal of troll steak appears to be its freshness, for the meat is alive even in its packaging right up until it is flash cooked and served hot.

A Craft Cooking check DC 20 is needed to properly prepare troll steak. If the check is failed, there is a 50% chance it is overcooked and loses its value, and a 50% chance it is undercooked. Uncooked meat is dangerous, for if ingested the troll cells will be too many and the stomach acid can't break them down fast enough, resulting in a rapidly growing troll. After 1 minute, the victim must make a DC 15 Fortitude save. A successful save lets them vomit up the contents, a foul mass of bubbling flesh that will grow into a full troll in 2d6 rounds. Failure means the subject takes 2d6 points of damage, and repeats the saving throw next round increasing the damage each time (4d6, 6d6, 8d8, 10d6, etc) until they vomit up the contents or die in a messy explosion of blood, producing a full grown troll immediately.

In spite of the danger, and the taste, troll steak remains a popular exotic food for the rich.

Harvesting troll steak from a dead troll requires a DC 15 Craft Cooking, Heal, Knowledge Nature, or Survival check. It must be kept in a tightly sealed container to restrict its growth.

Cost: Cost::125 gp.