Humans (Common-humans)

Most humans are the ancestors of pioneers, conquerors, traders, travelers, refugees, and other people on the move. As a result, human lands are a mix of people—physically, culturally, religiously, and politically. Hardy or fine, light-skinned or dark, showy or austere, primitive or civilized, devout or impious, humans run the gamut.

Personality: Humans are the most adaptable, flexible, and ambitious people among the common races. They are diverse in their tastes, morals, customs, and habits. Others accuse them of having little respect for history, but it’s only natural that humans, with their relatively short life spans and constantly changing cultures, would have a shorter collective memory than dwarves, and elves.

Physical Description: Humans typically stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weigh from 125 to 250 pounds, with men noticeably taller and heavier than women. Thanks to their penchant for migration and conquest, and to their short generations, humans are more physically diverse than other common races, with skin shades that run from nearly black to very pale, hair from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight), and facial hair (for men) from sparse to thick. Plenty of humans have a dash of non-human blood, and they may demonstrate hints of elven, orc, or other lineages. Humans are often ostentatious or unorthodox in their grooming and dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, body piercing, and the like. Humans have short life spans, achieving maturity at about 18 and rarely living even a single century.

Relations: Just as readily as they mix with each other, humans mix with members of other races. Among the other races, humans are known as "everyone’s second-best friends." They serve as ambassadors, diplomats, magistrates, merchants, and functionaries of all kinds.

Alignment: Humans tend toward no particular alignment, not even neutrality. The best and the worst are found among humans.

Human Lands: Human lands are usually in flux, with new ideas, social changes, innovations, and new leaders constantly coming to the fore. Members of longer-lived races find human culture exciting but eventually a little wearying or even bewildering. Since humans lead such short lives, their leaders are all young compared to the political, religious, and military leaders among the other races. Even where individual humans are conservative traditionalists, human institutions change with the generations, adapting and evolving faster than parallel institutions among the elves, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings. Individually and as a group, humans are adaptable opportunists, and they stay on top of changing political dynamics. Human lands generally include relatively large numbers of non humans (compared, for instance, to the number of non dwarves who live in dwarven lands).

Religion:

Language: Humans speak Common. They typically learn other languages, including obscure ones, and they are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Halfling culinary terms, Elven musical expressions, Dwarven military phrases, and so on.

Names: Human names vary greatly. Without a unifying deity to give them a touchstone for their culture, and with such a fast breeding cycle, humans mutate socially at a fast rate. Human culture, therefore, is more diverse than other cultures, and no human names are truly typical. Some human parents give their children dwarven or elven names (pronounced more or less correctly).

Adventurers: Human adventurers are the most audacious, daring, and ambitious members of an audacious, daring, and ambitious race. A human can earn glory in the eyes of his or her fellows by amassing power, wealth, and fame. Humans, more than other people, champion causes rather than territories or groups.

Human Racial Traits:

• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

• Human base speed is 30 feet.

• 1 extra feat at 1st level, because humans are quick to master specialized tasks and varied in their talents.

• 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level, since humans are versatile and capable. (The 4 skill points at first level are added on as a bonus, not multiplied in.)

• Automatic Language: Common. Humans mingle with all kinds of other folk and thus can learn any language found in an area.

Barbarian-humans

Barbarians generally come from unsettled, wide open plains that can be found in all manner of places on the main continents. A tall, proud, and strong race, their coloring is usually tanned and dark, although light hair and eyes aren't exactly rare. For clothing the typical barbarian wears rough shirts and breeches of colorings that will tone in well with grass and rock outcroppings alike. Metal armor is rare among most barbarian tribes.

Typical barbarian society sees the male as the leader and head of household and tribe, and the woman as a kind of valuable servant. Barbarians are almost always warriors of some kind or other, or a shaman-like priest to one of their numerous uncivilized gods. Woman warriors are rare.

Barbarian Racial Traits:

• +1 Str, -1 Wis

• Automatic Language: Orc.

Dark-humans

Dark-humans come from underground settings and are usually so pale-skinned and bright-eyed that they appear rather alien. Members of this subrace are usually kept by dark-elves or dark-dwarves as slaves and servants. Their lives are hard, but they're overcome as a race and frequently live longer than their surface-dwelling cousins.

Dark-human clothing consists of whatever their owners are generous enough to supply, which isn't much. Their society is non-existent, as their Masters and Mistresses usually give them no opportunity to organize themselves. There are rumors of entire dark-elf cities that maintain themselves solely on the breeding of dark-humans, and selling the products into slavery at birth. Of course, with such a business, new stock must be introduced rather frequently, which would explain a good many dark-elf raids on surface dwelling communities.

Dark-human Racial Traits:

• Darkvision: Dark-humans can see in the dark up to 30 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dark-humans can function just fine with no light at all.

• Automatic Language: Undercommon.

The following are in addition to the traits listed for common-humans.

• Light Sensitivity (Ex): Dark-humans suffer a -2 circumstance penalty to attack rolls, saves, and checks in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.

Mainland-humans

Somewhat shorter and lighter than their fellow humans, mainlanders are usually found with dark hair, mildly tanned skin, and dark eyes. Among them light features are considered gifts of their gods, a strange and beautiful rarity, as long as they are found in another mainlander, or surface human. Mainlander clothing is usually elaborate and flowing, robes and long coats and shirts, breeches and tights, all in whites or other bright colors.

Mainlanders usually dedicate themselves to the collection of knowledge, or the forwarding of technology, and usually becoming a mage is the best path for both.

Mainland-human Racial Traits:

• -1 Dex, +1 Int

North-humans

There was never such a hardy race of humans that lived. Northmen are survivors and merchants first and most, and best of all. Their native northern territories are mostly ice-covered during winter seasons, which explains their great endurance. Metalwork and trade are their prime professions and this is reflected in their deities. Many northmen follow the path of their god to become priests of a sort, while many more follow the plain hack-and slash that goes along with guarding and sometimes acquiring their trade-goods. Women among the northmen aren't exactly down-trodden, indeed, many of the most worshipped deities are female, but it is the men that lead and do a lot of their business, with their women and daughters giving all the support in the world.

Northmen appear in armor of most kinds, usually metallic in construction, and favor axes and great swords in battle. Their clothing leans toward the plain side and colored dully to match, being designed for functionality rather than to please the eye.

North-human Racial Traits:

• +1 Con, -1 Int

• Automatic Language: Northlund.

Sand-humans

Oriental-humans

Oriental human traits:

• -1 str, +2 dex, -1 cha

• Automatic Language: Oriental

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