A few months ago, I noticed a new D&D blog coming up called Quest Chests. When I checked it out, I immediately noticed that it looked very slick.
The moment I saw the “Download Free Adventure” button in the center of the screen, I was hooked. You don’t have to sign up for the newsletter to get the three free adventures, but I can say that there are solid handouts and tools for both players and DMs.
So I took the plunge and asked the group if they wanted to do a one-shot.
I’ve been putting my group through the wringer lately. Fortunately, they have endured many playtests to mixed reviews. I needed something to boost morale. It’s fun and has plenty of potential for laughs, but it’s still a fully fleshed out adventure.
Then, I noticed the cover art of a goblin and three chickens popping out of a treasure chest. Needless to say, I was already impressed with Clucks of Despair.
Synopsis without spoilers
Clucks of Despair is a role-playing heavy adventure module for parties of 3-5 3rd level characters. The group is asked by a group of local farmers to investigate a goblin cave where a chicken fight is taking place. Goblins are stealing farmers’ chickens and attracting criminals and shady characters to the surrounding area.
The party is tasked with breaking up chicken fights and returning as many chickens as possible to their rightful owners. This will not be an easy task, as the caves are infested with goblins, mercenaries, bugbears, and traps.
Our heroes must find a way to break into the cave and convince the goblins to end the battle forever. Will they draw their weapons and charge in, or will they take a more diplomatic approach?
The rest of this review contains spoilers. Please tread carefully!
Pre-match preparation
There are multiple ways to read the module, two of which involve two different styles (1 page and 2 page) included in the PDF.
Another option is to use the online interactive version of the quest. It includes a number of additional features such as sound effects, links, and pop-ups such as creature stat blocks and NPC cheat sheets.
I didn’t care for the interactive version, but when it came time for the game I found myself using the PDF. I found the fonts to be a little smaller in the interactive version and the zoom feature to be a little more powerful than I needed. If I had been able to zoom in using the mouse wheel, I probably would have stuck with the interactive version.
There is also a table of random encounters and NPCs exclusive to the interactive version. I wish it had been included in the PDF version, as it would have been useful, especially for those who don’t want to use a laptop or tablet at the table to run the game.
Background information
setting
This entire module takes place inside a filthy cave system with all the creature comforts you’d expect from a goblin. Chicken feathers, bones, blood, and trash. There’s also a bar, a prison, and of course an arena for chicken fights.
One of the great things about this setup is that lighting plays an important role within the module. Entry into areas that are not lit is prohibited and it is against the rules. Rules are strictly enforced and there are dire consequences for those who disobey.
The surrounding local setting is also mentioned, but only as a setting for the story. Amber Valley can be replaced with any small farming village, and Leo Grove Forest can be replaced with any other forest. This module does not attach any meaning to these two locations.
This makes it easy to use Clucks of Despair as a sidequest in the game or a one-shot within canon. For me this is a big plus. The less work you have to do to incorporate this into your campaign, the better.
Featured NPCs
There are a small number of named NPCs throughout the module. Most of these are important to the story, but you won’t miss much if the party doesn’t bother to interact with them.
However, there are three NPCs that are very important for the party to at least have a conversation with. They are the protagonists of the story, so to speak.
The first is Kruk, the goblin boss who created and organized the battle. He is charismatic, vulgar, and has a severe allergy to chickens. He rules with an iron fist and has a list of four rules that he enforces on goblins and bugbears.
Oh, and he’s also ridiculously rich, and not just by Goblin standards. He can control where the money goes because he settles fights by having a few trusted subordinates hurt chickens before the fight. He has a secret treasury filled with riches.
The second is Kruk’s archenemy, Magotans, who vows revenge on Kruk for setting a trap that permanently disfigures Magotans. This drunken goblin will eagerly join your party if you take care of Kruk.
The last notable NPC is Jameson Cook. An animal activist and drifter who uses a magic bag to rescue chickens. how? He doesn’t understand anything. But with some direction from the Party, they might be able to use his holding bag to their own advantage.
campaign hook
One great thing I’d like to point out is that Clucks of Despair includes some hooks for modules. There are two plot hooks that provide alternative ways for the party to begin this quest, such as encountering a group of drunken bandits just emerging from a cave.
There are also five campaign hooks that can be used to call back to your adventure later in the campaign. These hooks are more or less useful depending on what the party does, who they talk to, and the success of their efforts.
battle map
The cave complex map was probably one of the highlights of Clucks of Despair for me. There are five different variations of the map available. There’s a “player safe” option with no labels or secret rooms, a fully labeled map for the DM, and options with and without a grid.
As I’ve said many times, my group is spread out all over the place. We don’t all live in the same country. Therefore, the only viable option for playing RPGs is to use a virtual tabletop program, in this case Roll20. I was very happy to see that it included instructions for uploading maps to VTT.
It was great that I didn’t even have to ask the creator about this. It was included in a folder in PDF format with all versions of the map and two versions of the adventure. One PDF is a 1 page view of the adventure and the other is a 2 page view.
Having lots of options to support different playstyles and tastes is a major theme of this adventure, and this seems to hold true for the other two Quest Chest adventures as well.
Executing the module
The writing in Clucks of Despair is quite loose. There’s a lot of background information to give the DM information about how different characters and creatures behave. In fact, this is the bulk of the module. The adventure part is only about 5 pages long!
That said, this writing style is appropriate for the type of game the module encompasses. It’s a role-playing heavy adventure.
Trust me, role-playing opportunities abound and there’s plenty for players to do, whether it’s gaining intel to thwart Kruk or forming an alliance with some crazy person to join the fight.
It makes no sense that this is a linear dungeon crawl style game. There are too many enemies that can destroy your party. They have to act cool, talk, and sneak their way through the adventure, but doing so opens up a ton of doors for the DM to keep track of.
I didn’t find this module difficult to run. The backstory and background information was very descriptive and gave us all the information we needed to embrace the characters and set up various traps and guard posts in the cave.
Time to complete
I can say that this module was completed very quickly. This was not intentional, but my group progressed through the module without resorting to role-playing. That certainly would have taken a little more time.
All in all, this adventure took just under three hours to complete, which is slightly less than the length of a typical gaming session for us.
If they had put a little more emphasis on role-playing instead of stealth-playing, and I had done more than a chicken fight or two, the module would have lasted a little longer. Mileage will vary depending on your group’s playstyle.
Abundant options
As mentioned previously, there are many ways for the party to approach this issue. Finding solutions while role-playing is the most obvious solution to closing the cave (Krouk is charismatic, but his plans are full of holes), but it’s the only solution. Not.
After meeting Kruk and taking a tour of the cave, my party decided to explore the cave. This was against the rules, of course, but they were able to secretly thin out the goblin horde and gain a lot of valuable information about the layout of the cave.
They were then thrown in jail for fighting and wandering outside the permitted area. But even inside the prison, you will have the opportunity to role-play and find new companions who will help you escape and complete your quest.
Every time there’s a setback in a module, there’s at least one way for the party to get out of it and move forward.
Combat is still a valid option
The villagers don’t particularly care how the battle ends. They only care that they are. The group is not tasked with bringing Kruk back to life.
Fighting and killing Kruk himself is certainly one way for the Party to end animal abuse and return the chickens to their rightful owners. However, Kruk is a smart person and always tries to get an upper hand in the game.
It is possible to find a way to separate Kruk from the crowd, but it will be difficult to approach Kruk alone without the protection of the rest of the goblin clan.
As a DM, be careful not to alienate your Kruk, as a significant part of his combat strategy relies on having other goblins around him that can be used as bait. He is a formidable warrior in his own right, but can only cause trouble if he has a few allies nearby.
Final thoughts on Cracks of Despair
I thought it was a solid module. It’s a bit short, but it’s also one of the three modules included in the free adventure set. Also, I don’t think it was missing anything despite its length. It’s just that if the party plays it right the first time or makes a few good rolls, it can be completed quickly.
My only major criticism concerns locking the NPC random table and random event table behind the interactive version of the adventure. It’s certainly more convenient to use it in that format, but it would also be nice to be able to use it in PDF as well. Even if it’s just an appendix at the end of the module.
The entire module essentially takes place within one small cave system, making it easy to incorporate adventure into any game. Customization is also fairly easy. It’s built with the intention of the party not trying to fight an entire cavern of creatures at once. Feel free to enhance it and throw this on higher level characters!
As it is, this is a fun sidequest for a group of third-level adventurers heading off on their next big adventure. I highly recommend Clucks of Despair to groups who prefer role-playing to classic dungeon crawling, or groups of adventurers trying to save chickens.
