Human: Difference between revisions

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of conflict or great discovery.
of conflict or great discovery.


[[Category:Official]]
[[Category:Official Race]]
[[Category:Official Race]]
[[Category:Race]]
[[Category:Race]]

Revision as of 14:01, 21 July 2017

+2 Any One [Average] size
[Humanoid] type
+1 (+1/8 levels) racial bonus to any one skill
+1 racial bonus to attack rolls, Armor Class, or a single type of saving throw
Bonus Feats Any one

Humans are the most familiar of Legend’s races, since our readers interact with at least a few of them every day. Instead of making up a list of standard human traits, we’d like to instead focus on a couple of very important factors that influence how humans function in a fantasy setting.

First, humans have relatively short life expectancies. In a low-technology, and relatively primitive agricultural setting, humans who survive early childhood typically live around 55 or 60 years – not an eyeblink exactly, but much less that the centuries-long lifespans of elves or dwarves. Even in a more technological society (regardless of whether services are provided by magic or by science), humans typically only last around for 70 to 80 years on the mortal plane. This means that humans generally tend to breed rapidly and occupy a lot of space quickly, in an attempt to enjoy the short-term fruits of their labors.

Second, humans tend to have a very short institutional memory. Generations go by at a fairly quick pace; most people lack a great deal of personal experience with their great-grandparents, and hardly any have any recollection of generations beyond that. Traditions tend to hold relatively little weight in human societies, and humans are quicker to embrace innovation than practically any other humanoid race.

Because of these two major factors, it’s very difficult to predict or describe humans in any broad sense. Human societies may remain stable for a very long time, but once they start to change they tend to change very quickly. Any game world, therefore, will tend to have a wide variety of human societies and governments, and often they will be subject to rapid restructuring after periods of conflict or great discovery.