Crane (Wastelanders)

Crane is a Scorched kept hidden on the second floor of the Wayward in 2103.

Background
An adventurer who came to the region seeking the fabled Treasure of Appalachia, Crane had early success when he discovered what he thought was the location of the treasure in Gauley Mine. Crane managed to partially map its layout, even uncovering a code to access the secured storage of the RobCo auto-cache #001. While Crane was close to accessing the treasure, he was unable to get to it, as he required a Pip-Boy 2000 to register with the pre-War computers to give him access. While he was in Gauley Mine, Crane also awoke Scorched deep within and became infected with the Scorched Plague before he could get the Pip-Boy he needed.

He escaped, but the infection had already begun to transform him and when he arrived back The Wayward, his skin began to change in the night. He sat on the front porch until Duchess found him mid-transformation. Crane kept himself in control but knew he could not hold on for much longer before he would have become one with the Scorchbeast Queen's hive mind and let Duchess restrain him. Duchess then kept Crane restrained in the Wayward's second floor storeroom where he would completely succumb to the Scorched Plague and utter only a single phrase over and over again: "Boy is key!", still holding onto what he thought was the Treasure of Appalachia.

Duchess would keep Crane's fate secret from everyone else at the Wayward but have to deal with the fallout of other treasure hunters and opportunists looking for Crane, such as the Free Radicals. While escaping from Gauley Mine, Crane also inadvertently led the Scorched to the Wayward. Polly and Sol attempted to finish them off before the Scorched overran the Wayward, which in turn led to the vault dwellers having to save them and discovering the RobCo auto-cache. Duchess would reveal Crane's fate to the Residents upon their return and be the deciding factor on Crane's fate. Whatever the choice was, the Residents would be able to access the treasure using Crane's map and the RobCo experimental cache keycard he still had on his person.

Quests
The Elusive Crane: Crane is revealed to have been held in the Wayward's storage closet the entire time. After a conversation with Duchess and Sol, the player character can either euthanize Crane, let Solomon do it instead, or let Crane live. With any of the outcomes, the player character will either be given or loot Crane's map and the experimental RobCo key.

Appearances
Crane appears only in Fallout 76, introduced in the Wastelanders update.

Bugs
Crane may spawn already deceased, causing Duchess to admonish the player character even though they did not kill him.