Stab The Crab

An adventure starring Zidane Carmichael, Bartholomew Xalvador, and Guvo Strongfoot
==Setting==
The island of Karmic Hills, a tiny island not on most maps. It's east of McCail Island.
==Short Episode Description==
Bartholomew, Guvo and Zidane, as new members of the guild, offer to go rescue the sheriff of Karmic Hills and uncover a problem affecting the tiny town. Stab the Crab is an actual play podcast of Desperado Quickdraw Edition.
==Non Player Characters==
*Nulisag
*Nusi
*Jim Bob
*Atticus Birch
*Scarlett Thabet
*Hazel Thabet
*Josiah Prados
*Fuevo Strongmind
*
==Plot Summary==
Zidane, Bartholomew, and Guvo are approached by Nulisag about an urgent job that just came in. The small island town of Karmic Hills has lost its sheriff and needs help. The three adventurers accept the job and set out.
They need a boat to get to the island, so they speak with the dock master Jim Bob to access the port. After bribing him with an IOU, the three find a fisherman named Atticus Birch who would ferry them to Karmic Hills for a price. After agreeing to pay, they sail off to their destination.
On their way to the island, Atticus tells the party that Karmic Hills is known to be cursed, dealing karma to those who deserve it. As they approach the island, a mysterious light is seen behind the island’s silhouette. Once the three set foot on the island, Atticus promises to return in three days. The three set up camp and go hunting for food. They only find a ground pheasant before stumbling on the town walls. They approach the gate and announce their affiliation to the guard, Hazel Thabet. They’re welcomed into the town and notice all of the villagers afflicted with rotting limbs and various stages. The village elder, Scarlet Thabet, pleads to the party for help. For the past two weeks, she and the other villagers have been turning into undead, and she needs the party to find a solution to their curse. Bartholomew sympathizes with the village, stating that he faces a similar curse back home. As the conversation continues, the party begins to worry that something is amiss since the sheriff is nowhere to be seen. The party hastily leaves, promising to find a solution within the next few days.
After the first night, the party wakes up worse for wear. They are hungry and tired. Their second day is spent hunting for food and investigating the town for clues. While Guvo hunts for bugs, Bartholomew and Zidane approach the town, noticing that the rot is spreading further on everyone. They learn that the town lost two villagers overnight and buried them in the cemetery. It’s there that they find the grave of the sheriff. After Bartholomew compares the town to Summerfell Estate, the source of the zombie curse afflicting his hometown, he convinces the town to evacuate until the issue is resolved. After the villagers leave, the party investigates the graves for signs of foul play. They dig up the sheriff’s body and find the corpse rotted and holding its head, showing signs of being decapitated upon turning. After realizing the villagers were honest, the party sets out to investigate more of the island for answers.
As the sun sets, the party arrives on the other side of the island. There, they find a strange pentagram in the sand, and a frogfolk commanding a troupe of amphibious animals emerges from the sea, making their way to the pentagram. He commands five dolphins to stand at each point and begin chanting around a smoldering pile of pink goo. Upon seeing this, Guvo recognizes the frogfolk as his brother, Fuevo Strongmind. The two begin chatting it up, and after everyone introduces themselves, Fuevo reveals that he’s spent the past two weeks reviving Brachyura, the long dead giant crab. He explains that it’s his lifelong dream to control a legendary creature that size. As the dolphin chanting continues, they notice sparkling pink dust floating into the air over the island. The party realizes that the incantation is the reason the people on the island are turning undead. As the ritual seems to be near completion, the party agrees to let Fuevo complete the incantation so he can achieve his dream, while preparing for a fight in case things go wrong. The ritual ends, and Brachyura awakens!
Brachyura, a zombie crab larger than the island, rises from the sea! Fuevo and his amphibious troupe charge the undead crab. The party prepares themselves for combat. As Fuevo commands his animals to attack, Brachyura plods past them towards the island. Realizing the crab’s strength, Guvo rushes back to the beach with a plan to attack the pink goo that summoned it to hopefully reverse its summoning. Zidane attacks it with a charged fire spell, though it’s not very effective. Bartholomew aims a shot at one of its eye stalks, but as Guvo punches the pink goop, Brachyura rears up suddenly in pain. The pink goop burns Guvo’s arm and rots his hand like the villagers. Bartholomew changes his target to the crab’s underbelly and fires, opening up a wound that begins spilling out a pink dust similar to the dust from the summoning ritual. Zidane charges the crab and stabs it with his sword. After taking the blow, the crab begins to dissipate into dust, and Brachyura is defeated!
The party is relieved to have finished off the giant crab. Guvo reassures Fuevo that he still needs time to master his abilities before controlling such a powerful creature. Fuevo’s upset he wasn’t able to control Brachyura, but is driven to continue his endeavors, thanking the party for their help. The party relays to the villagers that the issue is resolved, and they pay the party for completing the job. Before leaving, Zidane notices the last names of those buried in the town to match his own.
Category:Episodes
Category:Season 2024