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The apparatus of Kwalish is a magic item that allows its user to travel on land, in water, or underwater. It is also known as the apparatus of the crab.

Appearance[]

An apparatus of Kwalish appears to be a large, sealed iron barrel, but it has a secret catch that opens a hatch in one end. When activated, the apparatus looks something like a giant lobster.[1]

Properties[]

Powers[]

Inside the apparatus, the user finds ten levers. The levers perform various functions, including extending or retracting the legs, tail, pincers and feelers, covering and uncovering the portholes, moving the apparatus, snapping its pincers, opening and closing its magically-lit "eyes", rising and sinking in water, and opening or closing the hatch. Two human-sized characters can fit inside the apparatus, and the device can function in water up to 900 feet deep. It holds enough air for a crew of two to survive a few hours.[1]

Drawbacks[]

This section is incomplete. Please complete this section and remove this {{secstub}} notice.

Related items[]

This section is incomplete. Please complete this section and remove this {{secstub}} notice.

History[]

Creation[]

The apparatus of Kwalish was originally developed by the scholar Kwalish, after his discovery of the Barrier Peaks.[2] He developed it to explore the depths of the ocean, and make contact with intelligent aquatic life.[3]

Ancient history[]

This section is incomplete. Please complete this section and remove this {{secstub}} notice.

Recent history[]

This section is incomplete. Please complete this section and remove this {{secstub}} notice.

In other worlds[]

Dragonlance[]

The apparatus of Kwalish does not exist in Ansalon.[4]

Publication history[]

AD&D 1st edition[]

The apparatus of Kwalish first appeared in the original Dungeon Masters Guide (1e) (1979).

AD&D 2nd edition[]

The apparatus of Kwalish returned in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition Dungeon Master Guide (2e) (1989). The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition incarnation was updated for the Encyclopedia Magica Volume One (1994).

D&D 3rd edition[]

The apparatus of Kwalish appeared in the Dungeon Master's Guide (3.0) (2000) and Dungeon Master's Guide (3.5) (2003) as a wondrous item. The System Reference Documents for both editions renamed the item to the apparatus of the crab.[5][6]

Suggested uses for the Apparatus were described in the web article Tactics and Tips: The Forgotten Magic Cache (Part 3).[7]

D&D 4th edition[]

The apparatus of Kwalish appeared in Adventurer's Vault (2008) as a type of vehicle.

D&D 5th edition[]

The apparatus of Kwalish returned in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide (5e) (2014). The apparatus was described as a wondrous item of legendary rarity.

The SRD 5.1 once again renames the item to the apparatus of the crab.

Creative origins[]

In 2017, Tim Kask credited the invention of the Apparatus of Kwalish to Brian Blume, describing it as a "mechanical crawdad". The name Kwalish was based on a villain from a campaign Kask ran in Carbondale.[8]

Reception and influence[]

The apparatus of Kwalish appeared on Geek.com's list of "The most awesomely bizarre items of Dungeons & Dragons".[9]

As the apparatus of the crab, the item appeared in the Core Rulebook (2009) for the Pathfinder role-playing game, and appeared again in the sourcebook Ultimate Equipment (2012).

A homebrew version of the Apparatus that required 5 crew appeared in Episode 41 of the Dungeon Run, inspiring the episode name "Apparatus Operation", the episode originally streamed live on Caffine on April 1, 2020 and on Youtube on April 3, 2020.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Dungeon Master's Guide (5e) (2014), p.151.
  2. Lost Laboratory of Kwalish (2018), p.1.
  3. Adventurer's Vault (2008), p.20.
  4. Encyclopedia Magica Volume One (1994), p.57.
  5. System Reference Document (d20 3.0 SRD). Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  6. Wondrous Items (The Hypertext d20 SRD 3.5). Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  7. Tactics and Tips: The Forgotten Magic Cache (Part 3). 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  8. "For instance, the Apparatus of Kwalish, the mechanical crawdad; that's something Brian [Blume] thought up and then used the name of my bad guy from my campaign down in Carbondale to attribute it." A private chat for proboarders (2017). Tim Kask, YouTube. 1m 10s.
  9. The most awesomely bizarre items of Dungeons & Dragons (Geek.com). 2016-05-23. Retrieved 2018-01-20 (Internet Archive).
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