Yosakani Crabs

The Giant Enemy Crab Thing

"Y'know, sometimes it feels like every other animal I come across is an apex predator three times my size that immediately wants to throw hands on sight. I thought I finally got a break. But then mating season rolled around and the crabs got horny, so now I'm once again fighting for my life.

I'd say the ranger life is full of surprises, but I'm not surprised in the slightest."

— Calico

I

f there's one thing mother nature excels at, it's taking a regular animal, no matter how much of a little guy it might be, and making it big. Really big. Sometimes so much bigger that its actually kind of fucked up how much bigger they are compared to how big they should probably be. Usually that also comes with the added bonus of hyper-aggression, but for the most part these crabs are actually an exception. For the most part.

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Eastern Origin

Here the crabs are referred to as Yosakani, and by here I mean along the Eastern Coastlines mostly, y'know, 'cause that's where they live. You might be able to sniff out that the name is Elven but not have any idea of what it means, so for people like you and I they're called Fortress Crabs. Does it sound as cool? No. But maybe our version sounds cooler to the Elves here, I wouldn't know and it's not like I'm gonna just ask them that. I don't even speak Elven so I couldn't even if I wanted to. The only reason I know any of this info is 'cause a friend I'm staying with can translate.

Crustaceous Tanks

Appearance-wise I feel like they lean more towards lobsters than crabs, and "Yosakani Lobsters" rolls off the tongue just as well. Maybe even better in my opinion. They rarely stray from red or blue in color, but as far as I know there's no relation between the color and its sex. The most distinctive features are the claws, they have no right being that big. If I were to describe them, I'd probably compare their overall shape to heater shields, but a lot more concave.

This is where you can differentiate males and females, though. Males have a dominant claw significantly larger than their non-dominant; the dominant is used for crushing, communicating, and attracting a mate whereas the non-dominant is used for, uh, actually now that I think about it I don't know. Probably holding things? Females on the other hand have proportionally similar claws but a much larger, tankier main body.

And since this is probably relevant information, their average size is about that of a grizzly bear. Average is the key word here. Because of how molting works, like for lobsters, the Yosakani are theoretically immortal and will just keep growing. Though what eventually kills them is the exhaustion of molting. According to the locals, the largest recorded Yosakani rivaled a Runeclaw and was affectionately named Kyojin.

Gentle Giants

Yosakani fall into the genre of "large animal that chills so hard an entire ecosystem grows on its back." Most of their time is spent chilling in the tidepools along the Eastern Coastline, you'd think you'd be able to spot one on your travels but the wildlife that usually sets up shop on its back is enough to act as a sort of camouflage. Sometimes it's so seamless you don't realize you've stepped on one until it rises from the water to check you out.

For most of the year, Yosakani are incredibly gentle, curious, and even friendly to anything not resembling their normal diet. Which is probably an important distinction to make if the person reading this happens to be a Beast Type Knight who's evolved to look like a part of its normal diet. I wouldn't say you're in danger necessarily, these crabs are way more intelligent than we give 'em credit for, but you might need to give it some caution. At least until the curiosity wears off and it realizes you aren't food.

That being said if it's mating season then treat tamed Yosakani with caution and do not so much as approach one in the wild under any circumstances. No need to thank me, just lookin' out for ya.

Oniran    Wilderness      Ranger's Handbook for Beasts & Wildlife      Yosakani Crabs

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Combat Strategies

I'm actually going to start this bit by explaining what situation you might find yourself having to fight or hunt one. See, these crabs are gentle and friendly on one condition: it's not mating season. 'Cause it's during that season where the males become aggressive and the females decide that fish alone just isn't filling enough at the moment. So while I personally would never go out of my way to hunt one, if it tries to engage in fisticuffs to the death then you gotta do what you gotta do.

The first thing to remember, they are a lot faster than you think they are and they aren't limited to walking sideways like regular crabs. The best thing to do is retreat to an area that will restrict its movement. Since you're probably on the coastline, the jungle is perfect. And for the love of all that is good and holy stay the fuck away from the claw, if it grabs you then you might as well be a stick of softened butter.

For offense, your best bet is magic and alchemy. Don't even try to use swords or knives, you're up against decades worth of chitin made for the explicit purpose of not being pierced. An axe might work if its heavy enough, but if melee is your only option then bludgeoning is your ticket to win it.

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Potential Loot

Yeah yeah obviously the shell would make a really strong suit of armor or a cool shield and the claw would make for a nice weapon, we all knew that so I'm not gonna bother elaborating. That being said, holy shit the meat is delicious. During my visit to this region I was lucky enough to try some Elven-prepared crab meat and goddamn, they know what the hell they're doing. Would highly recommend.

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Concept Art