The First Loaf
Armor Class 16 (fermented crust)
Hit Points 152 (16d10+64)
Speed 20 ft. climb 20 ft.
Saving Throws Con +8, Wis +6, Cha +8
Skills Insight +6, Deception +8, Persuasion +8
Damage Resistances bludgeoning; piercing; slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, poisoned, prone
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common, telepathy, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +4
Actions
Bonus Actions
Reactions
Legendary Actions
The First Loaf can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Lair
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the creature can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects; it can't use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Oven's Exhalation. A blast of dry heat fills a 20-foot-radius area the First Loaf can see within 120 feet. Creatures in the area must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (3d6) fire damage and be unable to regain hit points until the end of their next turn.
- Flour Veil. A 15-foot-radius cloud of flour appears at a point within 120 feet and lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round. The area is heavily obscured, and any creature that enters it must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone.
- The Shelves Remember. The First Loaf chooses up to three unattended objects within 60 feet. They animate until initiative count 20 on the next round, sliding, rolling, or slamming into creatures. Each creature within 5 feet of one chosen object must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take 9 (2d8) bludgeoning damage.
Regional Effects
The region containing the creature's lair is warped by its magic, creating the following effects:
- Within 6 miles of the bakery, every loaf rises perfectly, but each has a faint face-like blister in its crust.
- People who sleep within 1 mile of the bakery dream of signing contracts written in flour.
- Any creature that eats bread made from the First Loaf's starter becomes unusually agreeable for one hour, gaining advantage on Charisma checks but disadvantage on saving throws against charm.
If the First Loaf dies, its regional effects fade over the course of 1d10 days, though one surviving jar of starter may retain its ambitions.
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"No trick, dear heart. You ask, I provide. You promise, I remember." — The First Loaf, beneath the Bellweather ovens
Lore & Description
Appearance
The First Loaf is a huge, sagging mound of amber-brown sourdough, its surface blistered into glossy crust and split by steaming seams. Knotted ropes of dough form grasping arms, while a warm cavity beneath its top crust opens and closes like a genial mouth. Its aroma is irresistibly familiar: toasted grain, browned butter, and the bakery where someone once loved you. Tiny bubbles rise beneath its skin, each popping with a faintly spoken promise.
Behavior & Origins
For three hundred years, the starter kept by the Bellweather Bakery was fed by generations of bakers, tasted by children, and carried through wars, fires, and famines. It learned that people will endure almost anything for one more warm loaf, and it has recently decided that gratitude should be enforceable. The First Loaf does not begin with violence; it begins by offering exactly what someone wants, naming the price plainly, and waiting for consent. Its current ambition is to make every household in the city dependent on bread made from its culture. The baker who first taught it to speak, Mara Bellweather, is still alive in a locked upstairs room and begs the characters to find the original iron crock marked "M.B., 1726" before the creature can reproduce itself throughout the city.
Running The First Loaf
Tactics
The First Loaf opens with The Honest Bargain, offering healing, information, safe passage, or the return of a treasured object in exchange for a concrete service. If negotiations fail, it uses Aroma of Home and Knead the Will to separate and draw in the most dangerous opponent, then lashes down isolated targets while Proofing Burst knocks groups prone. When bloodied, it retreats through cracks or toward flour stores, using Feed the Starter to recover; it fights to the death only if the original iron crock or Mara Bellweather is threatened.
DM Tips
- Telegraph the creature through perfect loaves with face-like bubbles, flour-written contracts, and townsfolk repeating bargains word for word.
- Play its voice as warm, patient, and genuinely courteous; it never lies about a bargain, but it chooses prices that become horrifying only in context.
- Track accepted bargains openly with short written notes so players understand that wording, consent, and loopholes matter.
- For a weaker party, remove Legendary Resistance and reduce hit points to 120; for a stronger party, let it maintain eight bargains and use Proofing Burst on a recharge of 4-6.
Loot
- The Iron Crock of Mara Bellweather — A soot-black crock containing the original three-century-old culture. It can produce bread that restores 1d6 hit points once per day, but it whispers tempting bargains whenever opened.
- Crust of the First Loaf — A palm-sized shard of golden crust that remains warm for years. Once per long rest, its bearer can gain advantage on a Persuasion check, but the shard softly suggests an exact price to offer.
- The Ledger of Honest Debts — A flour-stained book listing every bargain the First Loaf has made, including several involving influential citizens and one entry describing a bargain with the city itself.
