Agan and Ryar, the Vroc Brothers, were born into a monastery, the children of a student and one of the monastery’s acolytes. Their parents were thrown out, but the children were raised within its walls, first as staff, and then later as students after they showed an interest in learning the various disciplines that the monastery offered those that came seeking enlightenment. The one thing they did not show an interest in was the bland, tasteless food that the cooks prepared daily. They did not agree with the philosophy that food was simply fuel for the body. They firmly believed that it needed to be appealing and delicious for it to be a worthwhile endeavor. They were punished many times for sneaking into the kitchen after hours to prepare something more in line with their personal philosophy on food.
They finally chose to take their leave of the monastery after they reached adulthood. The younger twin, Ryar had begun to exhibit full blown magical tendencies as he underwent puberty and lost interest in the strict and regimented structure and discipline the monastery preached. Agan simply wanted to see the world beyond the monastery’s walls. The brothers did the standard adventurer thing for a few years, gaining some power and reputation while seeing a lot of the world. However, they quickly found that the adventuring life was not for them. Sure, it was a potential path to fame and riches. But more likely it was a path to an early grave and forgotten bones. They hatched a plan, and when they had banked enough treasure from their expeditions, the put it into motion.
During their down time between their various adventures, they had experimented with new recipes and cooking techniques. Their favorite one was grinding up the meat of a steer and forming it into small patties that were then grilled over an open flame and dressed like a sandwich. It was around this idea that they would start to build their food empire and make their mark on the land. They found and purchased a food stall on the edges of the market of a major city and put a lot of their money into renovating it. When it was once again presentable, they put together a menu and opened Vroc Brothers Burgers to the public, partnering with local farmers to get the freshest ground beef and vegetables possible for their burgers.
The idea was popular, but it wasn’t quite enough for Agan and Ryar. They felt that they could do something a little bit extra with their menu and their preparation. Then it struck them – Ryar came up with a special recipe for a burger and wove his magic into the to the patty, drawing out the natural flavors of the meat to unheard of levels. Agan focused all of his concentration into grilling it perfectly, using the focus and discipline that he had learned all those years ago at the monastery to grill it to just the perfect temperature – brown on the outside and still pink in the middle, with perfect char lines. They topped this burger with the freshest vegetables and then topped their creation with bacon and a special sauce that they spent an untold amount of time perfecting, a recipe that they jealously guard. The result was a delicious, if expensive burger. They didn’t sell many of them, but the ones they did helped them to push their name farther and farther.
It wasn’t until several of their former teachers and fellow students from their days at the monastery happened by that the true magic of the food was discovered. When these monks ate the burgers that were so rigidly and dogmatically prepared they felt a power well up inside of them. It seemed that the magic laced in the burger combined with the discipline it was prepared with was enough to empower those that lived their lives by such structure. As the monks left to wander the lands, they spread the story of the Vroc Brothers’ Bacon Chi Burger. While they still don’t sell many of them today, any traveling monk knows that he must stop at this stand when he finds himself in the city and partake in one of these earthly delights.
The Bacon Chi Burger
Wondrous item, common
This burger is made up of a fresh, never frozen all beef patty and topped with the freshest vegetables grown by local farmers. It is topped with two strips of freshly cooked bacon and sandwiched between two halves of a sesame seed bun, baked fresh daily. It is finished off with a drizzle of the stand’s famous “secret sauce” which many consider to be a wondrous item in its own right. Others will tell you that it’s literally just thousand island dressing with a little bit of hot sauce mixed in. When you eat one of these burgers, you feel full and satiated for the next 8 hours. The burger is perishable unfortunately – not even the magic within the meat can stop that. If it is not consumed within 24 hours, the meat spoils and a character who eats it must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned until he completes a long rest or receives medical treatment.
However, when Monk of at least 2nd level eats one of these burgers they feel a new reservoir of energy appear inside of them. Eating one of these burgers grants them a temporary Ki Point that they can use to power their abilities. Once that Ki Point is spent, it is gone. If they do not spend the Ki Point before they take a short or long rest, it is lost. A single character can only gain this benefit once per day. They must complete a long rest before they can enjoy the benefits of a second burger.
Considering that this menu item costs possibly several months’ worth of wages for the common person, they tend to sell relatively few of these burgers. However, their stall is a common sight at festivals, fairs, and other places where adventurers and those with more disposable income than common sense tend to gather.
Ben Erickson
