Editing Aldani

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'''Aldani''', also known as '''Lobsterfolk''' (originally '''Lobstermen''') are an obscure race of [[crabfolk|humanoid crustaceans]] native to the [[Forgotten Realms]].

For the longest time, they were literally a non-entity. Their first and only major apeparance as in the [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 1st edition [[splatbook]] "The Jungles of Chult", where we are told that a race of humanoid lobsters inhabit the great rivers of Chult, looking like giant lobsters that walk upright on two manlike legs and sport faces resembling armor-encased human faces with stalked eyes like a lobster. They are described as highly intelligent and quite civilized, with a preference to settle disputes amongst themselves with courtly tournaments - although battles are often to the death, and they rarely extend such courtesies to non-aldani.

After this, they functionally vanished. It wasn't until the adventure [[Tomb of Annihilation]] for [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]] that they were brought back, this time with expanded lore mostly centering on the legend of their creation, which is that they are the descendants of a tribe of fisherfolk who overfished the lobsters of one of Chult's river and were punished by [[Ubtao]], who transformed them into repulsive half-lobster, half-human creatures.

The precise connection between Aldani and [[Crabfolk]] is... hard to pin down. AD&D did establish that crabfolk are native to the Realms in the "Sea of Fallen Stars" [[splatbook]]. In 3rd edition's "Serpent Kingdoms", it's stated outright on page 117 that "aldani" is the Chultan name for [[yurian]]s, which are widely belived to be the 3e revision for crabfolk. And then 5th edition comes along and completely disregards any such connections by a) giving the Aldani a ''very'' distinct look that is clearly lobster based, and b) revisiting the classic crabfolk in [[Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio]].

[[Category: Monsters]] [[Category: Forgotten Realms]]