Human
In the reckonings of most worlds, humans are the youngest of the common races, late to arrive on the world scene and short-lived in comparison to dwarves, elves, and dragons. Perhaps it is because of their shorter lives that they strive to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Or maybe they feel they have something to prove to the elder races, and that’s why they build their mighty empires on the foundation of conquest and trade. Whatever drives them, humans are the innovators, the achievers, and the pioneers of the worlds.Humans are the most populous and most widespread mortal race on Amanor. They rule over vast stretches of land, merely pocketed by the isolated nations and city-states of other older races. Human societies are always characterized by ethnic subgroups of other races, formed from populations of dwarves, elves and gnomes still living on the same lands they did many long ages ago. With their penchant for migration and expansion, humans display a wide range of physical diversity. There is no typical human. A lot of humans have a dash of nonhuman blood, revealing hints of elf, orc, or other lineages. These half-humans are often prodigies of might or magic amidst their pureblood kin. In Amanor, over a dozen human ethnic groups are widely recognized. The physical characteristics of humans vary according to the ancient migrations of the earliest humans, and most of contemporary ethnicities can be traced to but a few common ancestral peoples. Contents
Social structure
Human societies are myriad. One would be hard pressed to define a typical societal structure for humans who are -- in most aspects -- as varied as any other creation of the gods. Most of the geography of Amanor is dominated by human civilizations, the peoples of which are clearly inclined towards a lawful existence in which one works for the common good. But there are also wild frontier regions unclaimed by any nation, in which clans and tribes of savages eke out a meager existence with little more but a strong arm and well chosen friends.Civilization and culture
Humans have spread their nations all across Amanor over the last few millennia, while the elder races have been in slow decline; gnomes are content with living as minorities amidst other races; the elven kingdoms of old have fallen save for the isolationist Ellondoth; and the stubborn dwarf lords in their mountain halls struggle to stay relevant in the grand political theatre of the world. Truly it could be said that humans are the dominant race of Amanor. Or perhaps this is just what humans think to themselves? After all, what is the rise and fall of a few puny kingdoms to a monarch of an elder race that can rule for centuries? To humans, the other prominant races of Amanor can seem inconsiderate, strange and slothful, reacting slowly in their long-livedness to the rabid changes of contemporary society. Humans, in turn, often appear brash, hasty and aggressive to the older races. And yet humans manage to co-exist with almost everyone -- a fact that is a true testament to the diversity and flexibility of the their race. The material culture and physical characteristics of humans can change wildly from region to region. Clothing, architecture, cuisine, music, and literature are different in all directions of the compass, from the feudal Heartlands to the rugged North, the vast and exotic East and the enchanted realms over the Western Sea.Naming traditions
See ethnicities for naming details.Rules
Standard D&D 5e rules are used.History
The first humans of Amanor came to be during the world's creation by the Empyreal Gods. In the earliest ages of history humans did not catch the eye of the gods who chose to favor other species with their mighty gifts. After the divine war known as Ragnarok the gods departed the world, and mortal civilizations began to advance and expand in what is now referred to by historians as the Arcane Age. In the Arcane Age two human civilizations rose to global dominance: Thassilon and Atzlan. These two nations warred with each other as well as other great powers of that time. The wonders wrought by mortal hands in those times are nowadays only obscure legend, and the greatest discoveries of the ancients -- for example runemagic -- have been lost to time. For the Arcane Age came to an end with genocidal disaster; in the event known as the Divine Calamity the gods returned to Amanor and in terrible displays of wrath eradicated the mightiest of mortal civilizations, doomed to annihilation as they had been for their evil deeds of war and slavery. After the world stage was swept clean in the Divine Calamity, it was humans that rekindled the spark of civilization once more. Rising from the ashes of decimated dynasties, previously subjugated and enslaved tribal peoples slowly began to develop their societies. Uniting into the first fledgling kingdoms, their technological and cultural advancement was greatly hastened by the discoveries they made in the many ruins that surrounded them. This second generation of human civilization has formed the current political landscape of Amanor, with humans having formed dozens of diverse societies all across the world.Navigate in Mortal races
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Average height
1,6 - 1,8 meters.
Average physique
Human physique is the average to which other races are compared.
Body tint, color and markings
Varies by ethnicity.
Special characteristics
None.
Perception and senses
Normal. LIFE-CYCLE
Reproduction and birth
Biological reproduction.
Growth rate and stages
Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century.
Mortality and death
Humans die mundane deaths. ECOLOGY
Origin or ancestry
Creation of Amanor.
Distribution
All across Amanor.
Habitats
All climates and biomes.
Population
Tremendously populous.
Average height
1,6 - 1,8 meters.
Average physique
Human physique is the average to which other races are compared.
Body tint, color and markings
Varies by ethnicity.
Special characteristics
None.
Perception and senses
Normal. LIFE-CYCLE
Reproduction and birth
Biological reproduction.
Growth rate and stages
Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century.
Mortality and death
Humans die mundane deaths. ECOLOGY
Origin or ancestry
Creation of Amanor.
Distribution
All across Amanor.
Habitats
All climates and biomes.
Population
Tremendously populous.
Comments