ShortQuests Kickstarter Launches March 2026 for Five Pocket-Sized D&D Adventures

The Business of Emotion — Paul Oklesh (levels 2–3)

EN Publishing and a group of independent designers are backing ShortQuests, a Kickstarter launching in March 2026 that “contains 5 ShortQuests designed to start you on your way!” The series is billed as digest-sized, A5 (half letter) adventures, and the project copy promises most ShortQuests books are 20 pages or less — exactly the kind of compact one-shots I parcel out to new groups or to plug into an ongoing campaign when a session goes sideways.

Paul Oklesh’s The Business of Emotion sits at levels 2–3, which makes it a natural mid-campaign side job or an onboarding adventure for players who skipped the Starter Set. Because each ShortQuest is designed to run in one or two sessions, you can prep this one with minimal reading and hand the players clear stakes. If you run a cautious table, treat it as a two-session module — split exploration and social beats into session one and a short climax in session two — and use the A5 layout as an excuse to print a player-facing handout or two.

The Haunting of Calrow Ruins — Aaron Infante-Levy (levels 2–4)

Aaron Infante-Levy’s Haunting of Calrow Ruins covers levels 2–4 and falls squarely in the “quick horror or mystery you can drop into a town” lane. GamingTrend’s lead captured the value plainly: “If you're ever in a pinch as a DM, these smaller adventures may come in handy while you figure out what to do after your players killed that ever-important plot NPC: …” That’s exactly the use case here — a 20-page (or shorter) A5 module that runs a single spooky arc without derailing your main campaign.

Practical note from someone who’s run dozens of short modules: keep your clues punchy and your map throughput high. With a leveled 2–4 bracket, this ShortQuest will need flexible encounter design to survive divergent party compositions; bring an extra minion or two, or be ready to drop a combat if the table leans roleplay-heavy. The Kickstarter blurb promises these are “ready to plug into your existing D&D games,” and Calrow Ruins looks tailored for that exact fast-swap moment.

Winterheart — Esper (level 4)

Winterheart is the single-level entry in the set, pegged at level 4 and authored by Esper. A single-level ShortQuest like this is handy when you want a full-session challenge for a party that’s just hit 4 — think of it as a reliable clockwork encounter you can run between longer campaign beats. Because the series is explicitly “Designed for your Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition games” and claims compatibility — “These books are compatible with both D&D 2014 and D&D 2024” — Winterheart should slot into either rules baseline you’re using, though you’ll want to verify any mechanic quirks once the Kickstarter posts sample pages.

From my experience, a level-locked ShortQuest is perfect for skill-testing puzzles and a single, satisfying boss encounter. Keep initiative simple, prepare two or three read-aloud beats, and treat the A5 format as a cue to trim text: if it reads like a tight short story in your hands, you’ll be able to run it cold with minimal improv.

Croaking Sirocco — Kyle Carty (level 5)

Kyle Carty’s Croaking Sirocco jumps up to level 5, giving you a mid-tier ShortQuest that can challenge a party with more subclass options and stronger spells. Because the ShortQuests line spans levels 2–7 overall, Croaking Sirocco is one of the modules positioned toward the top end of the set’s intended progression, and it’s likely to include encounters that leverage third-level spells and multi-attacker tactics.

For DMs: plan for resource management. If you’re inserting Croaking Sirocco into an ongoing campaign, account for caster slots and legendary-ish pacing in a single session — you may need to shrink an encounter to keep the adventure to one session, or lean into a two-session structure where the first session is about setup and attrition, and the second is the payoff. The A5, sub-20-page promise will make formatting compact and table-friendly; print it double-sided and slip it into your DM folio for quick reference.

Don't Wake Dretchlor — Kiel Chenier (levels 5–7)

Kiel Chenier’s Don’t Wake Dretchlor is the broadest-level entry (5–7) and, on paper, the most complex to slot into a campaign because of the wider level range. It’s the ShortQuest you reach for when your table is mid-to-high tier but still wants that bite-sized delivery: the Kickstarter framing stresses that each adventure can be played “as a one shot adventure over one or two sessions, or can be plugged into your own existing campaign.”

Because the sources leave several logistical details blank — the Kickstarter is only promised for March 2026 with no exact launch day, no funding goal, no pledge tiers, and no estimated delivery dates included in the supplied copy — expect the initial campaign page to provide the specifics you need: sample pages, backer rewards, PDF versus print options, and any stretch goals. EN World forum threads are already discussing ShortQuests — user conversation included names like Morrus and others — which shows community appetite, but the practical questions about physical prints, interior art, and whether “most 20 pages or less” has exceptions will be answered only on the Kickstarter.

Final take: ShortQuests looks exactly like what EN Publishing and a network of independent designers pitched — compact, A5, mostly under 20 pages, and designed to be “ready to plug into your existing D&D games.” For DMs who run on a tight schedule or keep a stack of “emergency one-shots,” these five modules (The Business of Emotion; The Haunting of Calrow Ruins; Winterheart; Croaking Sirocco; Don't Wake Dretchlor) are worth a close look when the Kickstarter goes live in March 2026. Keep an eye on the campaign for sample pages and pledge details; if they deliver what the blurb promises, ShortQuests could become my default insert when the table needs a fast, satisfying night of D&D.