Death Howl Quest Guide: All Side Quests, Solutions, and Rewards

Side quests in Death Howl reward hunter Ro with permanent upgrades, such as Teardrop skill points and unique totems, as she searches the Spirit Realm for her son Olvi. Most optional missions grant temporary quest cards that integrate directly into your deck, requiring specific battle objectives or puzzle interactions across the game's tactical grid.

Because active quest cards restrict key survival options like fast travel, managing your deck and knowing exact item locations is essential for completing every task across the four realms.

Quest Card Rules and Fast Travel Restrictions

Side quests throughout Death Howl frequently place dedicated quest cards into Ro's deck. Developer notes from 11 bit studios confirm an intentional mechanical rule: carrying active quest items or quest cards disables the fast travel system between Sacred Groves. This forces players to navigate regional paths and engage in combat encounters under specific deck constraints.

If you find yourself stuck at low health or facing an elite encounter you cannot beat while carrying a quest card, you do not have to restart your save file:

1. Open your deck and card crafting menu.
2. Locate your active deck list on the right-hand panel.
3. Select the active quest card and discard or remove it from the deck.
4. Fast travel will immediately re-enable, allowing you to rest at a Sacred Grove and return to the quest giver later to reacquire the card.

Realm of Distorted Hollows Quests

Flames of Vengeance

• Location: Forest of Howling Shadows
• Reward: Resin Totem

To begin Flames of Vengeance, travel to the northern section of the Forest of Howling Shadows and interact with a tree engulfed in flames. The burning tree instructs you to recover a blue bird. Travel southeast, navigating below the rightmost Sacred Grove near the riverbank to find the bird. Pick it up and fight your way back through the hostile grid encounters to the burning tree. Hand the bird over to finish the quest and claim the Resin Totem.

Balancing the Scales

• Location: Meadows of Delusion
• Reward: Pearl Totem (Balancing the Scales Achievement)

In the southwest lake area of the Meadows of Delusion, speak to an injured fish to start this recovery quest. You must track down five missing scales distributed along the river system connected to the fish's pool:

1. Located directly above the Sacred Grove situated to the right of the fish.
2. Follow the river north and west until you hit a log bridge; cross it to spot the second scale.
3. Continue heading west along the riverbank to find the third scale.
4. Walk just south of the third position along the same riverbank for the fourth scale.
5. The final scale lies on the far western edge of the region beside a nest, guarded behind an Elder Spirit battle.

Once all five scales are in your inventory, return to the injured fish to claim the Pearl Totem.

Realm of Piercing Winds Quests

Reap or Weep

• Location: The Breathing Chasm
• Reward: Opal Totem (Effect: Each turn, reduces the Mana cost of a random card by 1)

Head to the northeast section of The Breathing Chasm and interact with the large bird-like creature to trigger Reap or Weep. The creature requires you to recover its lost eyes.

Travel toward the northwestern Sacred Grove. Near the grove, speak with the Moose spirit (which also grants a Teardrop upgrade point), then interact with the adjacent rock wall to open a hidden cave entrance. Head inside and collect the Reaping Eye quest card. As you exit, a mandatory ambush battle triggers. Defeat the spirits inside the cavern, exit, and carry the Reaping Eye back across the map to the creature in the northeast corner.

Crafter (The Two-Headed Spear)

• Location: The Breathing Chasm
• Reward: 3x Teardrop upgrade points (Crafter Achievement)

Inspect the stone markings showing two brothers located on the western cliffside, northwest of the southwest Sacred Grove. This hidden quest requires you to forge a Two-Headed Spear:

1. Pick up the first Spearhead quest card near the nest at the entrance coming from the Meadows of Delusion.
2. Pick up the second Spearhead quest card just below the northwestern Sacred Grove.
3. Enter any standard battle. During turn one, play or drag one Spearhead card onto the second Spearhead card in your hand to fuse them into the Two-Headed Spear.
4. Win or complete the combat encounter.
5. Return to the wall markings above the southwest Sacred Grove and interact with the rock face.

A fissure opens, dropping Ro into an underground cavern against two rock spirits named Ruptite and Fragtite. One brother possesses 25 HP and revives the smaller 15 HP brother if left standing, while the 15 HP brother buffs to 30 HP if the primary target falls first.

• Combat Strategy: If Ro stands directly adjacent to both brother spirits simultaneously before they slam the ground, their AI defaults to standard melee attacks dealing 2 damage each rather than executing devastating multi-hit dash attacks. Use close-range block cards and whittle both targets down to defeat them across the same turn cycle.

The Laughing Face of Death

• Location: The Hidden Vale
• Reward: Thick Fur Totem (Effect: Once per battle, negates a single fatal strike)

Activate the central Sacred Grove in The Hidden Vale and inspect the nearby fallen spirit body. Complete a few encounters and rest at the grove again. A wooly spirit appears and throws itself off the cliff edge. Rest once more at the Sacred Grove to trigger further dialogue when it revives.

After a third rest, the spirit gives Ro the Boulder quest card, which inflicts a Freeze debuff upon being drawn into your hand. Carry the Boulder card to the designated mountain summit marker, fighting through four standard Spirit grid battles along the ascent. Place the boulder at the peak, then fast travel back to the central Sacred Grove to claim the Thick Fur Totem.

Realm of Gloomy Waters Quests

In Search of Beauty

• Location: Dead Roots
• Reward: Red Rock Totem (Effect: On Kill, restores 2 Mana)

North of the central Sacred Grove in Dead Roots, clear the Elder Spirit encounter and head into the cliffside cave to meet the Cave Painter. The painter gives you the Red Rock quest card (deals 4 damage and applies 1 Weak).

To complete the study, land the finishing blow on five unique enemy types using the Red Rock attack card. Elder Spirit variants count as distinct enemy types from their base counterparts, and your active quest menu displays which targets have been logged. After securing five unique kills, return to the painter inside the northern cavern to acquire the Red Rock Totem.

Saviour (Root Out Corruption)

• Location: Dead Roots
• Reward: 3x Teardrop upgrade points (Saviour Achievement)

Near the water on the eastern half of Dead Roots, speak with a withered red trunk named Trunkrot to receive the Twig quest card. Three essence locations will appear on your regional map marked with yellow indicators:

1. Interact with each designated corruption source to feed the card, upgrading the Twig into the Powerful Twig, and finally the Sinister Twig.
2. Rest and heal at a Sacred Grove before returning to Trunkrot, as turning in the Sinister Twig immediately triggers an encounter.
3. Fight and defeat Trunkrot, who possesses 100 HP. Trunkrot projects a four-directional beam laser, spreads poison within adjacent tiles, and summons root nodes that fire additional four-directional lasers when targets enter their lines of sight. Keep your distance with ranged attacks to complete the quest.

Entangled Relationship

• Location: The Wailing Marshes
• Reward: Algae Bubble Totem (Effect: Each turn, lose 1 HP and inflict Fragile 1 on a random enemy)

Near the northern bridge in The Wailing Marshes, interact with a beached Wounded Whale. Walk directly into the creature's open mouth and travel to the end of the corridor to inspect its beating heart.

Ro collects the Vicious Algae quest card from the heart, which instantly spawns three sequential spirit battles blocking the exit. Clear all three encounters inside the whale without resting to emerge outside, where the quest resolves automatically and grants the Algae Bubble Totem.

Cleanser (The Bowl Quest)

• Location: The Wailing Marshes
• Reward: 3x Teardrop upgrade points

Near the center Sacred Grove of The Wailing Marshes, interact with the water where Ro calls out for Olvi to receive the floating Bowl quest card.

The Bowl requires a blood sacrifice to activate, which strictly requires Ro's hit points to drop to 5 HP or lower (the dying condition). Engage a nearby spirit battle to lower your health below this threshold, then navigate to the stone altar located in the southeast corner of the map.

Pouring the Bowl into the altar restores Ro's health and forms an ethereal bridge leading to a secluded island. Cross over to challenge a mini-boss named The Soother. Whenever The Soother takes damage, it splits into two smaller entities, evenly dividing its remaining health pool. Defeating any split segment causes it to explode, dealing area damage to adjacent units. Eliminate all segments to secure the Teardrops.

Realm of Hostile Plains Quests

Scattered Senses

• Location: Valley of Desolation
• Reward: Amber Figurine Totem

Speak with the faceless stone visage missing its eyes and nose in the southwest area of the Valley of Desolation. Ro must travel across multiple previously explored maps to recover its four scattered senses:

• Tongue: Found in the southwest section of Dead Roots before reaching the Elder Spirits.
• Nose: Located near the southern cavern entrance in the Meadows of Delusion.
• Ear: Located on the western half of The Hidden Vale among the rocky coves.
• Eyes: Resting beneath the uppermost Sacred Grove in The Wailing Marshes.

Return all four sensory organs to the stone head in the Valley of Desolation to complete the ritual and receive the Amber Figurine Totem.

Water Bearer

• Location: Valley of Desolation
• Reward: 3x Teardrop upgrade points (Water Bearer Achievement)

Interact with the beetle statue situated at the high point of the Valley of Desolation. Ro must gather three beast components from local combat encounters: a serpent's head, a goat's eye, and a beast tooth (ram/snake/tooth parts).

Head south to the water basin where a beetle perches atop a stone. Throw the harvested components into the pool as an offering. A cutscene triggers, draining the lake bed and opening an underground chamber containing Bisti the Water Bearer. Bisti has 20 Hitpoints and 20 movement capability, closing distance rapidly across the grid while attacking for 4 to 6 damage. Utilize ranged strikes and defensive block tools to burst Bisti down and complete the quest.

Uninvited Sorrows

• Location: Moors of Withered Memories
• Reward: Crystallized Ox Heart Totem (Uninvited Sorrows Achievement)

Near the central Sacred Grove in the Moors of Withered Memories, speak to a thorned entity to accept Uninvited Sorrows. Ro receives the Oxheart card, which restores 5 HP once per battle at a cost of 0 Mana.

To break the entity's curse, Ro must defeat every single standard enemy encounter across the Moors of Withered Memories without resting or healing at any Sacred Grove. Clearing the hidden cave on the left or the egg encounter on the bottom right is not required. Use the Oxheart card during every battle encounter to sustain your health across consecutive fights. Once the regional map is cleared, speak to the thorned creature to claim the Crystallized Ox Heart Totem. Note that completing the quest prompts the region's enemies to respawn.

Side Quest Overview and Rewards

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can I not fast travel between Sacred Groves in Death Howl?

Fast travel is disabled whenever Ro holds an active quest card or quest item in her deck, such as the Boulder, Oxheart, or Reaping Eye. To regain the ability to teleport, open your deck crafting screen and manually click the quest card in your active deck list to discard it. You can pick the quest back up later.

How do you combine the Spearhead cards for the Crafter quest?

In The Breathing Chasm, collect both Spearhead cards from their respective locations near the entrance nest and the northwest Sacred Grove. Enter any standard battle encounter and drag one Spearhead card directly onto the second Spearhead card during your turn. They will merge into the permanent Two-Headed Spear card needed to breach the brother spirits' chamber.

What are the health requirements for the Bowl quest altar in The Wailing Marshes?

Ro must have 5 Hitpoints or fewer to interact with the altar in the southeast corner of The Wailing Marshes. If your health is above 5 HP, the blood sacrifice cannot be made. Enter a standard enemy grid battle, allow your HP to drop below the threshold, retreat or finish the encounter, and immediately inspect the altar to form the bridge.

Do normal enemies respawn after finishing Uninvited Sorrows?

Yes. Defeating every enemy in the Moors of Withered Memories without resting at a Sacred Grove finishes the Uninvited Sorrows quest line, but turning in the card to the thorned entity automatically triggers a map-wide enemy respawn.