Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? And more importantly, can we pretend that the one falling from the sky will not bring cosmic horror along with it?

Quests of Doom 4: Awakenings is a 5e-compatible adventure crafted by Frog God Games for levels 1-3 and a maximum of 5 characters. It blends fairy-tale elements as animals start to behave like humans and gain magical powers, with a sinister explanation that involves cosmic horror.

Story

The story begins with the party witnessing a falling star leaving a red trail across the night sky. The party will investigate the impact site, driven by their own curiosity or after being hired by two potential patrons. As they begin their journey, they will hear rumours about animals behaving strangely, like walking upright, speaking and even using magic. It may sound like an amusing discovery, but it soon takes a darker turn.

I really like the contrast here. There is an entire community of these animals led by a large brown bear, the Bear King. These changes are made by an alien intelligence called the drift, which inhibits the animal minds and gradually awakens them into powerful and dangerous entities, only to let them rot as they will become reduced to biomass. Of course, the party’s animal companions will be affected, making the awakening more impactful.

Encounters

Travelling takes place using a hex map, and each hex is equivalent to half a day of travel. There are various locations spread across the adventure involving farms, settlements and wilderness. The characters will encounter animals that are far from ordinary and, of course, not all of them are friendly. For example, a highly intelligent elk called Jostrocles is travelling with other animals to pay homage to the Bear King. He welcomes the party to join them. On the other hand, a cat and its allies have taken hostage its own human family. Cat stuff, don’t ask.

The Bear King and its allies pose a serious threat, and the party may end up imprisoned. This part introduces Khotl, a jellyfishy creature that is not fishy at all, but an unexpected ally that shares valuable information about the drift. In the final part of the adventure, the party will face the alien intelligence itself.

The adventure does not exclusively rely on combat, something that I always appreciate. There are opportunities for exploration and negotiation, allowing the party to interact with the unusual animals and discover more about what is happening, without the GM having to turn every situation into a fight.

Layout & Art

The adventure follows the traditional 2-column layout. The information is presented logically, starting with an overview and adventure hooks before moving to locations and additional details about the encounters. Boxed text is used to effectively set the scene and help the GM describe each section.

There are two maps present, one for the overall land and one for the driftmass. Both maps aid the GM in keeping track of the character’s journey as they explore different locations. The individual locations are numbered and described with enough detail to make them easy to run.

A table of contents is also present, and in the appendix you will find the statblock for the belabra (aka the jellyfish). Apart from that, there are no stat blocks for the other encountered animals. Instead, their relevant information is given in the form of text.

As for the art, apart from the cover, everything is presented in black and white, which gives off a more traditional feel.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Quests of Doom 4: Awakenings uses an unusual combination, offering a nice change of pace from a straightforward dungeon crawl. I find the idea of animals gaining intelligence and magic very amusing, but the reason behind said transformation is a dark twist.

Stay crafty and watch out for falling horror,
Your new favourite author.

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