Steam 1.0 check in progress · Core progression is being compared with the full release.

Coverage →

Opens Pumpkin SeedFarmingProgression QuestCrafting

The Skull Chalice Quest Guide

Craft the Giant Skull Chalice, then open Pumpkin Seed at the Farming Shop

Steam 1.0 check in progress

This route is based on the previously confirmed farming progression and is being checked against the full release.

The Skull Chalice is Farmer Hans’s next farming quest after The Farmer’s Path, but it does not appear the moment you hand in the Wheat. It has its own start point, so the first thing this guide fixes is the quest that never showed up. Once it is running you craft one Giant Skull Chalice at a Workbench from smelted bars and Bones, return to Hans, and finish with Pumpkin Seed added to the Farming Shop and three new recipe items in the Recipe Shop.

The Skull Chalice — Quick Answer

Quest giver
Farmer Hans
Starts at
Farmhouse
Requires
Complete The Farmer’s Path
Quest appearance
Its own start point after The Farmer’s Path — not instant
Objective
Craft 1 × Giant Skull Chalice
Craft at
Workbench
Materials
4 Copper Bar · 2 Iron Bar · 1 Gold Bar · 5 Bones
Return to
Farmer Hans at the Farmhouse
Unlocks
Pumpkin Seed at the Farming Shop
Also opens
Three recipe items at the Recipe Shop
Next quest
A Fast Food Fiend — Day 21 or later

Pickaxe route

You do not need the Mall Mine to find the ore

The three ores this quest needs are all recorded as normal spawns in the Farm Mine. The recorded reason to visit the Mall is different: its mine holds the Mining Shop, and the Mall’s first-floor hallway is the recorded best source for Gold Ore. Everything else you can gather where you already mine.

Don’t Have The Skull Chalice Yet?

Almost every player who searches for this quest is stuck before it starts. These three things are separate, and mixing them up is what makes the quest look broken.

Requirement — decides if it can appear at all

Complete The Farmer’s Path

The quest is recorded as requiring The Farmer’s Path. Until that earlier quest is finished, Hans has nothing new to give you.

Trigger — decides when it appears

The quest’s own start point

The task has its own trigger after The Farmer’s Path, so it does not appear in the same conversation where you hand in the Wheat. The exact gap is not recorded.

Objective — decides when it ends

Bring 1 Giant Skull Chalice

Crafting the chalice is not the end of the task. You still have to return to Farmer Hans and finish the conversation.

Stuck before the quest?

Hans has no new quest after The Farmer’s Path
Check the earlier quest first: The Farmer’s Path has to be fully closed out. Then accept that The Skull Chalice has its own start point — the data records it as eligible after that quest, not as an instant hand-off. The exact delay is not recorded, so there is no single action (a specific number of rests, a specific day) that the data can promise will make it appear.
I finished The Farmer’s Path and nothing happened for a long time
The only recorded requirement is The Farmer’s Path. The quest has no recorded day gate, so there is no “come back on Day X” step for The Skull Chalice itself. Keep the farming chain moving and check back — the next farming step that does have a day gate is A Fast Food Fiend, and that one waits for Day 21.
Do I need to rest, or wait for a letter?
No letter, mail, rest or day step is recorded for this quest. The only recorded condition is that The Farmer’s Path is complete; the task then becomes eligible at its own start point. Treat any “wait for a letter, then sleep” advice as unverified.
  1. Step 01

    How to Start The Skull Chalice

    Close out the earlier farming quest, then pick this one up from Farmer Hans at the Farmhouse. Keep this sequence in mind so you are not standing in the wrong place waiting:

    Finish The Farmer’s Path

    Grow and harvest the Wheat for Hans and complete the quest.

    The Farmer’s Path guide →

    Complete the reward conversation

    Talk to Hans again after the turn-in so the quest is fully closed out, not left mid-dialogue.

    Wait for this quest’s own start point

    The Skull Chalice becomes eligible after The Farmer’s Path. It is not an instant follow-up, and no rest, mail or day step is recorded for it.

    Accept it from Hans

    Come back to the Farmhouse and take the task.

What You Get When The Quest Starts

This is where the game changes what you can make — not where it hands you materials. Nothing in the recorded reward data gives you a Furnace for starting this quest.

If you accepted the quest and the recipe is still not in your crafting list, the first thing to check is that the task is actually active in your journal — the recipe is tied to this quest’s start, not to owning the materials.

  1. Step 02

    Prepare Your Mining and Smelting Setup

    This quest turns raw ore into bars, so you need two things working before you travel: something to mine with, and a Furnace to smelt the ore into bars.

    The recorded tool tiers are simple. The Rusty Pickaxe you get from Helping Molly is a Mining Lv 1 tool. The Basic Pickaxe is Mining Lv 2 and is sold at the Mining Shop in the Mall Mine.

    Tool
    A pickaxe (Rusty Pickaxe from Helping Molly is the free one)
    Upgrade
    Basic Pickaxe — Mining Lv 2, Mining Shop, Mall Mine
    Processor
    A placed Furnace for smelting ore into bars
    Station
    A Workbench for the final craft
  2. Step 03

    Collect the Crafting Materials

    Four materials go into the chalice. Two of them — Copper Bar and Iron Bar — are smelted from ore you can gather in the Farm Mine. The bottleneck is usually Gold, because Gold Ore has a narrower set of recorded sources.

    Where each Giant Skull Chalice material comes from
    MaterialNeedRecorded source
    Copper Bar×4Smelt Copper Ore in a Furnace. Copper Ore spawns in the Farm Mine; it is also sold at the Forge Shop after Helping Molly.
    Iron Bar×2Smelt Iron Ore in a Furnace. Iron Ore spawns in the Farm Mine, and Scrap Metal can also be smelted into an Iron Bar.
    Gold Bar×1Smelt Gold Ore in a Furnace, or pick one up in the Farm or Workshop. Gold Ore’s recorded best source is a buried treasure in the Mall first-floor hallway.
    Bones×5Picked up in the world and dropped in the Catacombs. Bones are not a mining material, so you may need to leave the mine for this one.
  3. Step 04

    Craft the Giant Skull Chalice

    Take the finished bars and Bones to a Workbench. Ore does not count here — only the smelted bars do.

    Recipe

    Giant Skull Chalice Recipe

    Craft at: Workbench

    Every ingredient links to its own Item Finder page, so this guide never goes stale when a source changes.

    Ready to craft?

    Iron Bar
    need 2
    Gold Bar
    need 1
    Bones
    need 5
    Workbench
    Not checked

    Check What I’m Missing →

  4. Step 05

    Return to Farmer Hans

    Bring the Giant Skull Chalice back to Farmer Hans at the Farmhouse and finish the conversation. This is the step that actually completes the task.

    Crafting the chalice is not the final step. Complete the record before you go looking for your reward.

    Where
    Farmhouse
    Return to
    Farmer Hans
    Bring
    1 × Giant Skull Chalice
    Why
    The completion is the conversation, not the craft

Do You Need the Mall Mine for This Quest?

This is the single biggest time-waster on this quest, and the honest answer is narrower than most guides imply.

Recorded as true

  • All three ores — Copper Ore, Iron Ore and Gold Ore — have normal recorded spawns in the Farm Mine.
  • Gold Ore’s recorded best source is a buried treasure in the Mall first-floor hallway, which needs a Treasure Map and a Shovel rather than a pickaxe.
  • The Mining Shop inside the Mall Mine sells the Basic Pickaxe. That is the recorded Mall route for this quest.

Not supported by the data

  • Not that you must farm the Mall Mine for the bars. The ores are recorded in the Farm Mine, so the Mall is an optional detour rather than a required one.
  • That one specific pickaxe tier is required for a specific ore. No per-node mining level is recorded, so no ore is documented as needing a higher-tier tool.

Practically: mine Copper and Iron where you already do, and treat the Mall as the place you go for the Gold Ore treasure and for a pickaxe upgrade if you want one.

Basic Pickaxe

Mining Shop · Mall Mine · 150 gold · Mining Lv 2

Requires reaching the Mall Mine and talking to the vendor. The Mining Shop also stocks the Small Mine Key, Whetstone and Perfect Opal, so it is worth a visit even if you keep using the Rusty Pickaxe.

Ore Is Not Enough — Bars vs Ore

Helping Molly was about mining ore. This quest is about smelting it. The single most common craft failure here is standing at a Workbench with a bag of ore.

Correct

What the recipe wants

  • Copper Bar ×4
  • Iron Bar ×2
  • Gold Bar ×1
  • Bones ×5

Wrong

What players bring instead

  • Copper Ore — raw rock, not a bar
  • Iron Ore — raw rock, not a bar
  • Gold Ore — raw rock, not a bar
  • Bones — this one is already correct

Smelt each ore in a Furnace first. The recorded processing step is the matching ore plus the Furnace, with no extra fuel item listed.

Smelting and crafting steps
StepInputStationOutput
SmeltCopper OreFurnaceCopper Bar
SmeltIron OreFurnaceIron Bar
SmeltScrap MetalFurnaceIron Bar
SmeltGold OreFurnaceGold Bar
CraftThe four bars and Bones aboveWorkbenchGiant Skull Chalice
How much raw material to bring
Finished materialRecipe needsRecorded input
Copper Bar×4Copper Ore ×4 smelted in a Furnace
Iron Bar×2Iron Ore ×2 smelted in a Furnace
Gold Bar×1Gold Ore ×1 smelted in a Furnace
Bones×5Gathered directly — no processing step

The processor record lists one matching ore per bar and no additional fuel, so the table above is the recorded ratio. Bring a spare ore of each if you want a buffer.

Don’t Have a Furnace?

If you are stuck at the smelting step, this is almost always why — not because the quest failed to give you one.

A Furnace is recorded from two places, and neither of them is The Skull Chalice. The free route is the Workshop: finishing Helping Molly opens the Workshop and puts a Furnace there for you to pick up.

If you already have a Workbench, you can also craft one — the recorded recipe is Copper Ore plus Stone, made at the Workbench. Furnaces can be placed on your Farm, so you can smelt without walking back to the Workshop.

Where Do I Craft the Giant Skull Chalice?

There is exactly one recorded station for this recipe, and it is not the Furnace.

Crafting station

Workbench

The recipe is recorded at a player Workbench. Any Workbench you own works, so you do not need to travel to a specific one. Furnaces and Forges are for smelting ore into bars — they cannot make the chalice.

If the recipe is not listed at your Workbench, confirm that The Skull Chalice is active in your journal. The recipe belongs to this quest, not to the general crafting list.

Check What I’m Missing →Where to Get a Workbench →

Why Can’t I Craft the Giant Skull Chalice?

Work through these in order — each one is a different failure, and they look identical in game.

The recipe isn’t in my crafting list
The recipe is tied to this quest’s start. Check that The Skull Chalice is active in your journal, then open a Workbench rather than a Furnace or Forge. If the quest is active and you are at a Workbench, the recipe should be listed.
I have the materials but the button is greyed out
You most likely have ore, not bars. The recipe wants Copper Bar ×4, Iron Bar ×2, Gold Bar ×1 and Bones ×5. Smelt the ore in a Furnace first — ore is not counted toward the recipe.
I can’t find one of the bars

Gold is the usual one. Gold Ore’s recorded best source is a buried treasure in the Mall first-floor hallway, and you can also find ready-made Gold Bars in the Farm and Workshop. Copper and Iron Ore both spawn in the Farm Mine, and Scrap Metal smelts into an Iron Bar.

Check Gold Ore sources →
I can’t find 5 Bones
Bones are recorded as world pickups and as Catacombs drops, not as a mining material. If you have been living in the mine, that is why you are short — you need to gather these elsewhere. There is also a later crafting route that produces Bones at a Witching Mortar.
I’m at a Furnace and nothing happens
The Furnace smelts ore into bars; it does not make the chalice. Move to a Workbench for the final craft.

Hans Won’t Take the Giant Skull Chalice

If the craft is done but the quest will not close, check these before assuming a bug.

Make sure the item is actually on you when you talk to Hans. The data does not record a separate hand-in condition — the objective is recorded as crafting the Giant Skull Chalice and reporting back — so the safest routine is to carry it rather than leaving it in a chest on the Farm.

Also confirm you are talking to the right character at the right place: Farmer Hans at the Farmhouse, with The Skull Chalice still showing as active.

Item
Giant Skull Chalice — crafted, not bought
Where
In your inventory when you talk to Hans
Who
Farmer Hans, Farmhouse
Quest state
The Skull Chalice still active in the journal

The Skull Chalice Rewards

Read this part carefully: the quest does not hand you seeds or recipes. It changes what two shops can sell you, and that is a different thing.

Main unlock

Pumpkin Seed enters the Farming Shop

Completing The Skull Chalice adds Pumpkin Seed to the Farming Shop at the Farmhouse. It becomes something you can buy — it is not dropped into your inventory by Hans.

Pumpkin Seed details →
What changes after you complete the quest
ShopWhat appearsCostHow you get it
Farming ShopPumpkin Seed20 goldBuy it — added to the shop’s stock
Recipe ShopRecipe: Pumpkin Pie100 goldBuy the recipe item
Recipe ShopRecipe: Pumpkin Muffin100 goldBuy the recipe item
Recipe ShopRecipe: Special Donut200 goldBuy the recipe item

Because these are shop entries, nothing is added until you visit the shops and buy them. If you finished the quest and your inventory looks unchanged, that is expected. If the stock itself is missing, make sure the completion conversation with Hans actually finished.

Open Pumpkin Seed in Item Finder →Farming Crops Guide →

Pumpkin Seed, and What to Plant Next

This quest exists to open the Pumpkin crop, so here is what you actually unlocked and why it matters.

Pumpkin Seed
FieldValue
SellerFarming Shop, Farmhouse
AvailabilityAdded to the shop’s stock by completing The Skull Chalice
Buy price20 gold
Growth time8 days
SeasonNo season restriction is recorded for this seed
Used forPumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Muffin and Special Donut

Pumpkin itself is the vegetable behind all three cooking recipes the quest opens, so the payoff for this quest is a crop you can turn into food rather than a one-off item. If you are deciding what to plant next, Pumpkin is the crop this quest was pointing you at.

See Farming Crops →Where to Get Pumpkin →

What Comes After The Skull Chalice?

The next farming quest is A Fast Food Fiend. Unlike this one, it has a real day gate — and that is what catches most players out.

Day 21+A Fast Food Fiend needs The Skull Chalice complete and Day 21 or later. Finishing this quest early does not open it early.

  1. The Farmer’s Path

  2. The Skull Chalice

  3. Pumpkin Seed + recipes

  4. Day 21+

  5. A Fast Food Fiend

  6. Corn Seed + recipes

Why isn’t A Fast Food Fiend starting?

I finished The Skull Chalice and there’s still no new quest
That is expected if you have not reached Day 21. A Fast Food Fiend is recorded with two gates: The Skull Chalice complete, and a minimum day of 21. The day gate is the one that keeps it closed after this quest.
I’m past Day 21 and still nothing
Confirm The Skull Chalice is fully finished rather than only crafted — the new quest requires the earlier one to be closed out. This quest has no recorded mail or delivery step, so there is nothing else to wait on beyond the day gate.
Where does A Fast Food Fiend take place?
It is recorded at the Mall Kitchen, and it is a combat task: you defeat a named enemy there rather than delivering an item. Treat it as a different quest type from this one.

A Fast Food Fiend Guide →See the farming chain →

The Hans Quest Chain

Where The Skull Chalice sits, and which parts of the chain are quests versus unlocks.

  1. Start farming with Farmer Hans

    Already done

    The first conversation that opens the farming track.

  2. Grow and harvest Wheat for Hans. This is the recorded requirement for The Skull Chalice.

  3. The Skull Chalice

    Current page

    Craft the Giant Skull Chalice and return to Hans. No day gate is recorded for this one.

  4. An unlock, not a quest: the Farming Shop and the Recipe Shop change their stock.

  5. A Fast Food Fiend

    Triggered later

    The next farming quest. Day 21 or later, and it is a combat task at the Mall Kitchen.

  6. Corn Seed + recipes

    Triggered later

    The unlock that follows A Fast Food Fiend.

The Skull Chalice FAQ

How do I start The Skull Chalice?
Complete The Farmer’s Path first. The Skull Chalice then becomes eligible at its own start point and you accept it from Farmer Hans at the Farmhouse. It is not an instant follow-up in the same conversation.
Is there a day requirement for The Skull Chalice?
No. This quest has no recorded day gate. The farming quest that does gate on a day is A Fast Food Fiend, which waits for Day 21.
What is the Giant Skull Chalice recipe?
Copper Bar ×4, Iron Bar ×2, Gold Bar ×1 and Bones ×5, crafted at a Workbench. Note that these are bars, not ore.
Does the quest give me a Furnace?
No. The Furnace is not part of this quest’s rewards. You get one free from the Workshop by completing Helping Molly, or you can craft one at a Workbench from Copper Ore and Stone.
Do I need the Basic Pickaxe to finish this quest?
No per-ore mining level is recorded, so nothing in the data marks this quest’s materials as out of reach for a Mining Lv 1 pickaxe. The Basic Pickaxe is a Mining Lv 2 upgrade sold at the Mining Shop in the Mall Mine, and it is an optional convenience rather than a recorded requirement.
Where is the best place to get Gold for the Gold Bar?
The recorded best source is a buried treasure in the Mall first-floor hallway, which needs a Treasure Map and a Shovel. Gold Ore also spawns in the Farm Mine, and ready-made Gold Bars can be picked up in the Farm and Workshop.
Does The Skull Chalice give me Pumpkin Seeds?
No. It adds Pumpkin Seed to the Farming Shop so you can buy it for 20 gold. The quest changes the shop’s stock; it does not put seeds in your inventory.
Are the three new recipes learned automatically?
No. Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Muffin and Special Donut are recorded as recipe items in the Recipe Shop, not as recipes you already know. You buy them for 100, 100 and 200 gold respectively, then they appear in your cooking options.
Why is Pumpkin Seed still missing from my shop?
Return to Farmer Hans and finish the completion conversation. The shop stock is unlocked by completing the quest, so crafting the chalice and walking away is not enough.
What unlocks after The Skull Chalice?
Pumpkin Seed at the Farming Shop and three recipe items at the Recipe Shop. The next quest in the chain is A Fast Food Fiend, which also needs Day 21 and opens Corn Seed afterwards.

The Skull Chalice Checklist

Convenience steps for tracking your own progress, including the smelting stage that catches most players out.

0 of 14 done · Your progress is saved in this browser.

Continue Your Farming Progression

Check What I’m Missing →Back to all quests →