The Hunt for the Gigaguana

***The Hunt for the Gigaguana*** is a 2023 Post-Apocalypse adventure. It is the directorial debut of T. Cass, featuring trademarks of the Post-Apocalypse genre, such as tribalism, societal collapse, anarchy, warfare, religion and prophecy, and lack of resources. In the adventure, a wedding between the Champion of a large desert tribe and the princess of a large dome society is due to take place when an ancient omen unearths itself to threaten the ceremony, and thusly the trade deal between the two colonies. The adventure stars Puck Toon, Deandra, and Grandcryptor Grebley.

## Building Phase

A cataclysmic event destroyed the plant life on Planet Earth, forcing societies to move into large eco-domes where the atmosphere was still habitable for life. Those who live outside the domes face a harsh existence, where evolved Lizardfolk pillage and hunt, and where the environment is wholly inhospitable due to the extreme heat and weather, poor quality earth for growing crops, and lack of oxygen.

The King of Grishana, a large dome settlement, has betrothed Princess Helena to Bantun, Champion Warrior of the Barbarian tribe, Dawnwing. The marriage will ensure great prosperity between the Dome and Desert people, allowing oxygen and fuel to flow freely in return for protection and knowledge of the plains.

## Plot

Puck Toon, the crippled squire to Dawnwing Champion, Bantun, is smelting a beautiful Onyx wedding ring when the arrival of a large War Rig arrives into the camp. War Rigs are large heavily armoured lorries, that are accompanied by a convoy of smaller vehicles, and the arrival of such a goliath engine can only mean that the Princess Helena has arrived from Grishana. Bantun and Puck, along with some of Bantun's men, board the War Rig and meet with the representative for the Grishana Royal Family, Grandcryptor Grebley. The War Rig soon pulls out of the Dawnwing village, and heads towards Grishana.

On the road to Grishana, the War Rig is attacked by an ambushing force made up of rival tribes, the Witches and the Doomravens. Deandra, driver of the War Rig, expertly manoeuvres the lorry into a ramming position, and charges the engine at high speed towards the enemy line. Deandra expertly drifts the War Rig, knocking every enemy vehicle and solider off the ridge into the canyon below, managing to time it perfectly so that War Rig doesn't join the dead below.

The War Rig continues on the road to Grishana, but stops when Deandra discovers a large crater in the road that wasn't there this morning. Worried that Princess Helena's life is in danger, Grandcryptor Grebley suggests the convoy head straight to Grishana with haste as he believes the crater is actually a footprint. Puck, sensing that the crater is the footprint of the Gigaguana, a prophesised beast that brings bad omens for the wedding, suggests to Bantun that they must stop it or the trade deal will fail. Bantun agrees with Puck, and the convoy follows the tracks and makes its way towards the Gigaguana.

The Gigaguana comes up in the distance as a hulking silhouette on the horizon. Deandra slows the War Rig down, allowing the convoy time to prepare. Puck gets to work on ensuring that Bantun's Roadsign armour is ready and secure, whilst also checking that the M60 pieces in his bag are all clean and present and that Bantun's ArKar, a Kalashnikov rifle with a great axe blade on the end, is sharp and unjammed. Grandcryptor Grebley, master of Grebleyonics, rides with a scout vehicle and begins working on a charming spell that will calm the beast whilst Deandra climbs atop it with two Boomsticks.

The battle begins, and Grebley's soothing pipes work a treat. The beast is soon docile, and Deandra leaps from the War Rig and begins her ascent up the beast's back. As she climbs however, the beast's scales pull back and a hoard of Lizardfolk clamber out from the Gigaguana's body. Deandra, who has been hiding a half-human-lizard heritage, is approached by her mother. Her mother calls her a traitor for siding with the humans, and Deandra pleads with her mother to call off the attack. The plea is unsuccessful, and the Lizardfolk warriors jump down onto the War Rig to confront Puck and Bantun. Deandra flees her mother, and keeps climbing to the head of the Gigaguana. Unfortunately, Grebley is unable to hold the beast for long, and it begins to wake up.

On the War Rig, Bantun deftly dispatches hoards of Lizardfolk. Attempting to find courage to support his liege, Puck begins to put the pieces of the M60 together, but fumbles in panic and drops crucial parts off the edge of the War Rig into the dirt below. As two Lizardfolk approach the cripple, Puck escapes into the War Rig and juryrigs a trap that electrocutes them. The electrocution trap is quickly attached to the towrope of the War Rig. Puck, climbing into the driver's seat, fires the towrope at the legs of the Gigaguana and begins to pull the beast over. As he does so, Deandra manages to stick a Boomstick in the ear of the Gigaguana and detonate it. With its balance shot, the Gigaguana barely fights back against the War Rig and collapses in a heap. The beast is slain.

In the battle, Bantun is crushed by the falling beast. Puck rushes to his side, and performs Grebleyonics on Bantun, saving his life. As such, the War Rig manages to head back to Grishana with minor losses. It is here where the wedding between Princess Helena of Grishana and Bantun of Tribe Dawnwing is a great success, ensuring peace and friendship between the Desert and the Dome.

As years go by, the peace upholds. Deandra, who is found out to be half-Lizard, is forced to continue living in secrecy but neither Puck nor Grebley out her identity as thanks to her valour in battle. Grandcryptor Grebley, in his old age, bestows the role of Grebleyonics on Puck Toon for his work in the field, and dies of old age peacefully soon after. Puck is seen as an equal by Bantun and no longer works as his squire, but as his friend.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* **Puck Toon** - A master Smith and squire to Bantun, Champion of Tribe Dawnwing. Puck Toon has a crippled leg and deformed arm as a result of the years of service to Bantun. Puck rarely speaks of his own volition so as not to insult Bantun's authority, often asking permission to speak.
* **Grandcryptor Grebley** - Grebley is an elderly human, with pasty white skin. Despite being a great alchemist who coined his own field of study, Grebleyonics, he is deadly allergic to most of the chemicals he works with. Grebley is also a stickler for authority, only speaking when addressed by his title. He is the aide of Princess Helena.
* **Deandra** - Her role as a driver is what got Deandra involved with the Royal Wedding. She is a half-lizard, half-human who lives in the Dome, unbeknownst to the humans that live there due to the deadly racism they harbour against Lizardfolk. Deandra is highly acrobatic thanks to her lizard legs, and incredibly muscular due to intense training.

### Supporting Cast

* **Bantun** - As Champion Warrior of Tribe Dawnwing, Bantun was the natural choice to marry Princess Helena. He is a mighty melee combatant, and equally as handy with a gun.
* **Princess Helena** - Daughter of the King of Grishana, and Bantun's Bride-To-Be. She spends a lot of time screaming and being scared.
* **Deandra's Mother** - One of the Lizardfolk people that ravage the wastes. She harbours strong hatred for Humans, and especially Deandra who has chosen to live with her human side despite what they think of Lizardfolk.
* **Janit Tor** - Bantun's right hand man. Not incredibly intelligent.
* **David** - One of the convoy's other drivers.

## Skillset

1. Smithing
2. Stealth
3. Socialising
4. Running
5. Leaping
6. Ignoring Pain
7. Fighting
8. Climbing
9. Grebleyonics
10. Chemical Resistance
11. Seeing
12. Lore
13. Sabotage
14. Scrapping
15. Driving
16. Tracking

## Influences

### Environment

* The Mad Max series
* Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)
* Otoh Gunga from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
* Tatooine from Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

### **Lizardfolk and Gigaguana**

* Kobolds, Dungeons and Dragons (1974)
* Godzilla (1954)