Sapients of Aporue: Crustfolk

 

Two different species - the lobstermen (crayfolk) and the crabmen (crabfolk) - but with the same general basis and culture. They look like humanoid versions of their animal namesakes (though lobstermen use four legs for standing and walking, making them somewhat centaur-like in body shape). Some external nicknames they've gained include “Crustfolk”, “Crusties”, “Crays”, “Shellers”, etc.

They live along certain seacoasts of various landmasses, including the coasts of Aporue. Lobstermen and crabmen usually utilise coastal caves as shelters and settlements, be they flooded or accessible on dry foot. Despite what many naysayers claim, their material and artistic culture is not all that primitive - they are capable of making simple tools from stone, bones, seaweed and driftwood, and their geometrically-themed cave paintings and rock carvings definitely betray a deeper and more spiritual form of creative sapience. Unlike other sapient spieces of the setting, their language is very alien in its articulation and structure (and also actually rather uncomplicated when compared with the languages of other species).

Their livelihood is very sea-focused: They hardly ever venture beyond the beaches, cliffs and caves of the seacoasts to search for additional sources of nourishment. Fish, molluscs, smaller crustaceans, sea plants and even just plain old seabed detritus is all fair game for them. They are purely hunter-gatherers and do not have any sort of recognisable agriculture, not even domesticated sea creatures or aquaculture (fish-raising). However, several naturalists graced with the chance to study lobstermen or crabmen tribes have discovered that the two species tend to build simple stone water tanks, in which they temporarily store fresh catch, such as fish and tasty molluscs.

As already mentioned, these peculiar beings have had a bit of a bad lot for a big chunk of their history. To other species, their language was alien and they were frequently dubbed as hideous and little more than smarter pests. In the past, they were often either hunted as animals (due to not being regarded as particularly sapient or due to being regarded as abominations) or captured and enslaved by other coastal and maritime cultures, particularly the sea branch of the ottermen species.

The latter example has led to a lot of lingering tension between the two groups, with many ottermen and many lobstermen/crabmen sharing mutual prejudices and fears towards each other even to this day. In the olden days, many ottermen slavers and nobles regarded lobstermen and crabmen as little better than thinking livestock that constantly chirps and clicks a string of unintelligible gobbledygook. Chances are, when an otterman and a member of the crustacean beastpeoples meet nowadays, things are bound to get heated or ugly very quickly.

The lobstermen and crabmen don't have overly cordial relations with humans either, given the humans' ingrained views of the two species as coast-dwelling humanoid game, or catch-stealing, coast-squatting monstrosities. Presently, though most places have banned the enslavement and hunting practices of the past, the lobstermen and crabmen are still not welcome with open arms by others, and thus tend to mostly keep to themselves. Some are more eager to do so than others - certain tribes are so infamously paranoid and distrustful of other sapient species, that they attack (and often even kill) their tresspassing members on sight.

The crustfolk languages of the lobsterfolk and crabfolk are little understood, and of an entirely different nature than those of the mammalian sapients of Aporue.

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Author's note

Granted, these two species are quite out-there and outwardly alien, but I think it's a fair comparison to call them a crustacean equivalent of Neanderthals. As noted above, their tech and culture is something of a sea-themed version of the real world human Paleolithic. They're hunter-gatherers, their tools are primitive, but they can make decent tools when they have a need for them.

Physically, I like to think that the lobstermen in particular have a sort of centaur-like body plan, with at least four main legs (and several other auxilliary legs) serving their walking needs on dry land, and the front part of their torso, with pincers and head, sticking out more vertically from a horizontally held body. This gives them a morehumanoid-like appearance, without giving them a humanoid face. Their heads and faces still look like the heads and faces of lobsters or crabs.

You might think that the crustfolk are vastly weirder than all the other species so far. Like something out of the New Weird genre/style. You'd be half right. I never said my fantasy setting is a generic fantasy setting... Far from it. Aside from the industrial and scientific elements, the more early modern era tone, historical fiction and crime/noir tone, the humour, etc., I did want to design this world in such a way that it would feel odd, weird and a bit eerie at times, especially on the edges of the more familiar mundane... I'm not going for something as wild as Miéville or Vandermeer would have included, but beings like those of the crustfolk are still a reminder that this fairly grounded world still has some natural and historical mysteries that might never be resolved.

The old Thief series of games, one of the existing inspirations for my setting, had a species of fantasy humanoids known as Craymen (two-legged, crayfish-like beings). When I started worldbuilding my setting seven years ago, primarily for the purposes of my RPG project, I didn't really think of thinking species as out-there as the two species of the crustfolk, but eventually, I went in that direction. Included them as an interesting oddity, one more pronounced than most. And yes, when I finally settled on designing them and including them in the setting, I did think of them briefly as an unofficial homage to Thief's own weird crustacean humanoids. Distinctly different body plans and known species history, but quite similar.

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Demonyms

English terminology	Slovak terminology	Etymology and notes
Beastpeoples	Zveroľud(ia)	The general term for beastpeoples in Aporue and other continents of the Orbis Furum.
Beastman, Beastwoman, Beastmen, Beastwomen	Zveran, Zveranka, Zverani, Zveranky	The everyday terms for males and females of the various beastpeople species.
Lobsterfolk	Homároľud	The lobster-like humanoids of Aporue and other continents, an uncommon species of beastpeoples. Most often seen at certain rocky and cavernous seashores.
Lobsterman/-woman, Lobstermen/-women	Homárňan, Homárňanka, Homárňania, Homárňanky	The everyday terms for males and females of the lobsterfolk.
Cray, Crays	Račák, Račáci	The nicknames for the lobsterfolk.
Creeplegs, Pincerpests, Crusties	Kradmonohy, Klepetopliagy, Kôrováci	The derogatory nicknames for the lobsterfolk.
Crabfolk	Kraboľud	The crab-like humanoids of Aporue and other continents, an uncommon species of beastpeoples. Most often seen at certain rocky and cavernous seashores.
Crabman, Crabwoman	Kraben (Krabomuž), Krabenka (Krabožena), Krabeni, Krabenky	The everyday terms for males and females of the crabfolk.
Sheller, Shellers	Pancierák, Pancieráci	The nicknames for the crabfolk.
Roundshells, Feelereyes, Nipperslayers	Kruhopanciere, Tykadlookí, Zmárniklepetá	The derogatory nicknames for the crabfolk.
Aporueans	Aporuejčania, Aporuejci	Any inhabitants of the continent of Aporue. Equivalent of Europeans.

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The two species of the crustfolk, though certainly intelligent, are too unintelligible to the other sapients of Aporue and too secretive to appear as playable characters in the Thick as Thieves tabletop RPG. Nevertheless, as rare as they are, they can make for interesting NPCs, if you ever stumble across them. However, don't expect much in the way of unique named NPCs of these species, as it's very hard to meet with them in a peaceful way.

Tomorrow, we will conclude our look at the weird and wonderful sapient species of Aporue.

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Other overviews of the Thick as Thieves sapient species
- Humans (Manfolk) overview
- Newtmen (Newtfolk) overview
- Hedgehogmen (Hedgefolk) overview
- Martenmen (Martenfolk) overview
- Wolverinemen (Wolverfolk) overview
- Ottermen (Otterfolk) overview
- Stoatmen (Stoatfolk) overview
- Ravenmen (Ravenfolk) overview (apocryphal species)

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Copyrights

(C) 2014, 2021 P. Molnár & Knight-Errant Studios - Concepts/ideas, writing