Novalyst.
Spoiler-aware compendium Sign in
Library/ This Inevitable Ruin
Reading position Whole book
Whole book
← The Compendium
Generic item illustration for Tran's Crab Body
item

Tran's Crab Body

Mechanical Crab Body · Tran's Wheelchair · Tran's Battle Armor

Two-part automaton rig giving Tran mobility: a nightmarish mechanical crab chassis plus a full-plate exoskeleton.

Story so far

Katia built Tran's two-part "wheelchair" from a recipe taken out of Carl's automaton manual, repurposing it for a crawler who cannot walk. The base form is a small mechanical crab body that looks like something out of a nightmare — all there is when Tran is simply moving around — which can climb walls and run at incredible speed for short distances.

The second part is the battle armor version, which Tran wears at the Southern Front: a secondary exoskeleton that covers the crab legs and crawls up his body, encasing him in full-plate armor and a helmet Carl finds reminiscent of poor Paz from the previous floor. The trade-off is severe — Tran is so encased in metal that he cannot carry any ranged weapons, or the system will label him as "armor." His helmet can be stowed into his inventory at will. Katia plans a similar rig next for Jamal.

Appearance

A small, nightmarish mechanical crab chassis with spidery legs, overlaid in battle mode by a full-plate exoskeleton and enclosing helmet.

Role

Tran's mobility and combat platform, and the prototype for Jamal's future rig.

Relationships

Tran — The crawler it was built for and who fights in it.
Katia — Its builder, working from Carl's automaton manual.
Jamal — Intended recipient of the next version.
Paz — Whose armor the helmet resembles.
Sources — 1 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 28
  • Two-part automaton rig giving Tran mobility: a nightmarish mechanical crab chassis plus a full-plate exoskeleton.
Character portrait