Momma Pumpka – Encounter Edition

Adventure Collection (One-Shot)

Encounter Edition

Momma Pumpka is a dark fairy-tale adventure set deep within the Black Briar Forest, where whispered stories tell of a coachmanless flying carriage that steals people away to a hidden colony of living pumpkins. When Edmund Clopain, husband of the famous bard Papageno, disappears after the mysterious Jackomobi visits their secluded home, the heroes are hired to follow its trail and discover what became of him.

Their search leads through an enchanted forest to the Gateless Hedge, a living barrier that demands each traveler surrender an intrinsic part of themselves before allowing passage. Beyond it lies Momma Pumpka’s Pumpkin Patch—a gloomy sanctuary of towering gourds, strange plantfolk, overgrown graves, and unsettling rituals that are rarely quite as sinister as they first appear. The party must explore the Patch, determine who can be trusted, and decide whether its eccentric witch is captor, protector, or something more complicated.

At the heart of the mystery lies a difficult truth: Edmund was not abducted. Afflicted by the Curse of the Rose and slowly transforming into a dangerous beast, he willingly abandoned his old body and accepted Momma Pumpka’s transformation into a new plant life. Before the party can bring answers back to Papageno, however, they must earn Pumpka’s trust and defend her magical gardens from a ravenous Doom Slogg.

The adventure blends investigation, exploration, roleplay, eerie fairy-tale atmosphere, and combat into a compact one-shot built around appearances, grief, transformation, and the question of whether rescue always means bringing someone home.

Included

15 Adventure Miniatures and a 5e Compatible Downloadable Adventure

1x The Pumpka Jackomobi (Gargantuan, 100mm)
1x Momma Pumpka (Medium, 25mm)
1x Doom Sloggs (Large, 50mm)
6x Gourdsouls (Medium, 25mm)
4x Pumpkin Sprouts (Small, 25mm)
2x Pumpkin Knights (Medium, 25mm)
The downloadable adventure also includes digital battlemaps, VTT tokens, and printable paper miniatures.

Adventure at a Glance

LEVEL: 1
PARTY: 4–5 Adventurers
TIME: ~4–5 Hours
SYSTEM: 5e Compatible
SETTING: Black Briar Forest, Evermere • Easily adapted into an existing campaign
THEMES: Dark Fairy Tale • Transformation • Grief
PLAY STYLE: Investigation • Roleplay • Exploration • Social Encounters • Combat
INCLUDED RESOURCES: 22-Page Adventure PDF • Digital Battlemaps • VTT Tokens • Printable Paper Miniatures

The adventure is written for four to five 1st-level characters and is designed as a self-contained fairy-tale one-shot, though it can also be inserted into an existing campaign.

Choices Matter

The Pumpkin Patch is deliberately designed to make the party question what they see. Its inhabitants behave strangely, its customs appear macabre, and Momma Pumpka herself can seem threatening—but many of the horrors conceal far more compassionate truths. How the heroes enter the Patch and how they treat its inhabitants directly affects whether they are welcomed as visitors or confronted as intruders.

The final revelation offers no simple rescue. Edmund chose transformation to protect the man he loved, and he cannot simply leave without losing the new life he has begun. The party ultimately carries that truth back to Papageno, along with the choice to join Edmund in the Patch or say a final goodbye.

Content Advisory

Contains grave exhumation, animal harm, body transformation, and grief.