The Bread Must Rise

The Bread Must Rise is a 450,000-word, entirely text-based comedy, fantasy, baking and eldritch horror novel. You play as one of six contestants in the Great Godstone Bakeoff, competing to become a celebrated baker in a city of a thousand bakeries. You can play as male, female or nonbinary, and choose to be gay, straight, bi, pan or asexual. You can also select omnivore, vegetarian or vegan mode.

The Great Godstone Bakeoff

Godstone’s Queen Undying is a necromancer rumored to have a taste for human blood. Her presence has filled the city with terror, while the robe-shrouded Carb Freeon cult threatens bakers with impunity. The City Council is another source of mystery: its shadowy members are so elusive that nobody remembers seeing them.

You are one of Godstone’s top bakers, running a small business and carrying a mysterious confectionary legacy from your late parents. Your former best friend stole your recipes to make a name and fortune, giving you another rival to face as you compete for the top of the profiterole tower. Then the Queen Undying appears at your bakery, makes you her thrall and commands you to serve as her baking assistant.

Bake your way to the top

You use breadcraft magic to improve lackluster bakes, try to persuade the judges to award you the win or rely on hard work. You manage your budget to stock your pantry with magical and mundane ingredients. The Queen Undying’s necromancy can help you raise the dead, complete a recipe or take down a rival.

As the tournament advances, you can court the press, win over fans and choose how to deal with the Carb Freeon cult: challenge it or join it. You can also sell out to the realm’s biggest bakery franchise or try to succeed as a small business owner. Your progress reveals clues about your parents’ lives and deaths, as well as the City Council’s plans for Godstone.

Characters and choices

You can pursue a romance with Godstone’s fanciest food critic, a feared necromancer, a former adventurer, the Bakeoff’s charismatic host or your former best friend, now your worst enemy. The story also lets you gaze upon the horrors of eldritch dimensions.