Rethinking humans...

[Xeriar]

Awhile ago, I posted a thread on RPG.net About Here regarding that I was tired of humans being the average.

Considering that we got to the top of the food chain in the stone age, there ought to be something cool about humans. Genetic studies suggest that the human race has survived -multiple- near extinction events in the past.

So, since I've posted said thread on RPG.net, I've done some thinking and research.

First is: Not all mammals can swim. Heck, not all mammals can even hold their breath. I'm thinking of giving humans a base swim speed of 5 or 10 (Olympic swimmers swim at a little over 4 miles an hour...)

Second: Humans posess amazing endurance. Many creatures outpace humans in short bursts, but humans can out endure nearly all land creatures. Arabian horses catch back up to humans in 100-mile races and horses do better in events over that.

Third: Humans are used to fire and skinning - to the point where our appendix has atrophied and eating meat raw is a health risk. At the same time, humans tend not to have an irrational fear of fire like most do heights or loud noises.

Fourth: There are entire classes of mental diseases that humans simply aren't subject to. There is some debate as to why this is (Cannibalism...) - but it is still a noteable point.

Fifth: Humans are hard-wired for addition, subtraction, and counting. A species that could not would have to memorize addition and subtraction tables like most do multiplication.

Sixth: Humans both physically and mentally adapt to their environment / situation over time. Metabolism, melonin, body temperature, and other factors adjust themselves to fit their environment over the period of 3-6 months.

I'm sure there are others - I'm looking for things that can be unique (or at least not common to all races) to humans that can be removed from other races (or vise-versa...) that won't impact play value on other races. For example - while language is unique to humans (dolphins being a possible exception) in the real world, it would be rather annoying if that was kept in a fantasy one.

But swimming and endurance are more do-able.

---

After that I want to try and put it in the rules somehow. Not just as a racial template, but adjust fatigue, exhaustion, running and combat rules.

Any thoughts?

 

[Zerakon]

Eh. The real world doesn't have any other humanoid races for comparison, so giving Endurance to humans based on humans being durable on Earth doesn't make much sense when you are talking about playing a game in a fantasy world.

If I were you, and didn't want humans to be bland/average, I'd make up a few various human subraces and give them each something. For example, the horsemen of Krotchitch get ride, the coastal people of Hedindasand get swim. Perhaps go so far as to give ability modifiers like +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity to these guys living in the Desert of Mifeetarhot.

 

[DreamChaser]

Humans are not average compared to all creatures. They are average compared to the humanoid races.

You make many good points. On an evolutionary perspective, humans are at the top. There is not (currently) a more adaptable, resourceful, or resilient creature on earth.

But, there is a difference between the racial capacity to do a thing and the ability. I am aware that humans can beat horses in long range races, but I know that I couldn't. This is a capacity I may have been born with with it is not one that I have developed.

I think that they skill bonus and the bonus feat, along with no bonuses or penalties to abilities covers what you're talking about pretty well.

And I have to point out that eating most meat raw is not a health risk if you are careful about it. (your connecting raw meat with the appendix raises some questions in my mind...I wonder if Inuits have a more developed appendix then; last I'd heard no one knew really what the thing was for) Certain meats (like pork) are always dangerous to humans but most, if fresh and well treated before eating are no more dangerous to a healthy adult than cooked food.

I would not eat meat raw because I could not control the conditions. Who knows how long opportunistic bacterial have had time to jump on the meat while it was going from butchering, to packing, to shipping, to store.

Anyway, humans are fine as they are...you just identified some of the things they already are but were never put in to words.

DC

 

[FoxWander]

I've thought about this kind of thing also. Mainly cause I feel that all the races should feel balanced but different (see my half-orc thread). I think the main thing that would make humans stand out in the D&Dverse are the same things that apply here (and that you've already kinda touched on), namely our adaptibility, ingenuity and ability to work together. Look at the real world and the one thing you'll notice is that humans will find a way to thrive anywhere, whether through the natural adaptibility you mentioned or through our ingenuity. This gives us the biggest habitat range of any animal on the planet. Two ways that these traits could be reflected in game are:

+2 to Survival and any one Craft skill
+2 stat bonus to any ONE mental stat

The skill bonuses are just an in-game reflection our tenacity to survive anywhere and our hard-wired problem solving and tool using abilities.

The mental stat bonus is something I just thought of, but I think it could work really well. No other core race gets a racial bonus to mental stats and in the real world these are the stats that make humans shine. We're smart, stubborn and persuasive. If there's something we set our sights on, we'll find a way to achieve it.

 

[Eolin]

But guys ... that's already there.

No, really. the extra skill points, and the extra feat.

The worst-off a human can be is to have 8 skill points, and a single feat. As the extra skill points at first level are added on *after* the int mod. So farmers have both a profession and a craft skill. or survival. impressive. Compare that, our worst, with any of the other PhB races worst-off. You'll find that we're on top.

It isn't that our heroes are so much better, but that the minimin we get to is better than the minimim of any other races.

And its already reflected by the rules. we've got the ability to be just about anything -- that's why the extra skill points that can be in anything, as well as the extra feat.

 

[Desdichado]

By multiple near extinctions, I presume you mean we seem to have gone through population bottlenecks? I'm curious about that -- do you have any more info? I've never heard that before, with the exception of "Lucy." Oh, and of course Adam and Noah. Don't see those guys in scientific papers much, though...

 

[Xeriar]

By multiple near extinctions, I presume you mean we seem to have gone through population bottlenecks? I'm curious about that -- do you have any more info? I've never heard that before, with the exception of "Lucy." Oh, and of course Adam and Noah. Don't see those guys in scientific papers much, though...

The entire human genetic stock comes from an estimated two thousand people. I've linked to some sites in the RPG.net thread above.

Genetic drift factors estimate this bottleneck occured about 70,000 years ago. Similarly, the y-adam is from around this date (~74,000 years) - this is the male counterpart to the 'mitochondrial eve' - now believed to be ~160,000 years ago.

Anyway, 70,000 years ago a rather sizeable volcano (think Helens == firecracker, Toba == nuclear bomb) erupted in southeast Asia - possibly the greatest explosion in the Quaternary (last two million years). This explosion likely brought about its share of extinctions, and is believed to have kicked humanity's collective hiney.

Some other things - such as language - also are believed (both through linguistic and anthropological studies) to have come about during this period.

Now, back to the 2,000 people we're all descended from - even -THIS- group is too genetically similar - suggesting at least one previous near extinction for humanity during our evolution (Yellowstone erupted twice during that period, for example).

That's hard to say though - when you are talking about 2,000 people, mitochondrial eve's drift doesn't tell you a whole lot.

This was the reason for my original query - though I was hoping for a friendlier response a la RPG.net.

Since humanity has been through multiple bottlenecks, you have a situation where our idea of what is average is seriously skewed. Especially considering our body's unique temperature regulation (sweating, etc) - and the ability of the human body to significantly adapt to new situations in six months - I want a better baseline.

Right now, to me, this baseline is:
No swimming for orcs, dwarves, etc.
No ability to hustle without feat, humans may take feat to have x3 hustle speed
Non-humans do not get first-hour free when hustling.
Combat is treated like running. Called 'intense activity'.
Non-humans can only go half the time and take twice as long to recover.

Also, every six months, if the situation warrants, humans may swap 1 feat. They may swap a skill point every week.

I also added instinctual fears and split them up, but that's more of a flavor thing.

And I have to point out that eating most meat raw is not a health risk if you are careful about it. (your connecting raw meat with the appendix raises some questions in my mind...I wonder if Inuits have a more developed appendix then; last I'd heard no one knew really what the thing was for)

Actually was referring to the skinning. It was for hair and feathers.

 

[Tonguez]

But guys ... that's already there.

No, really. the extra skill points, and the extra feat.

The worst-off a human can be is to have 8 skill points, and a single feat. As the extra skill points at first level are added on *after* the int mod. So farmers have both a profession and a craft skill. or survival. impressive. Compare that, our worst, with any of the other PhB races worst-off. You'll find that we're on top.

It isn't that our heroes are so much better, but that the minimin we get to is better than the minimim of any other races.

And its already reflected by the rules. we've got the ability to be just about anything -- that's why the extra skill points that can be in anything, as well as the extra feat.

Yeah I'm with Eolin on this that extra feat and bonus skill points IS the human advantage and pretty much covers everything you mentioned in the lead post.

I can see the logic behind making it more difficult for Dwarfs to swim (although part of this is already covered in their slow speed) not sure about Orcs though.

The stuff about Hustling and Combat as intense activity is fluffy imho and so no big issue although only allowing non-humans to go half the time is a bit much perhaps (ps isn't combat already considered intense activity for fatigue purposes)

The skill point a week is just too weird. I'd be more inclined to a transferable Skill Focus feat...

 

[Wilphe]

All I feel the need to add to this discussion, is the point that what makes a species effective is in no way the same as what makes individual members of that species good adventures and may not be susceptible to balance or even representation in game terms.

Factors such as:
Fertility, litter size, gestation period.

 

[Dirigible]

I came across something similar while working on a way to complexify rules related to senses and perception. Initially, I was going to make humans the baseline with +0 to all, but after some thought, I set then as
Sight +0, Hearing +0, Touch -1, Taste -2, Scent -4, Sixth -5.

Second: Humans posess amazing endurance...

Is this true? Cool. Not much help in escaping lions or crocodiles, but still a handy trait.

Fourth: There are entire classes of mental diseases that humans simply aren't subject to. There is some debate as to why this is (Cannibalism...) - but it is still a noteable point.

Yesss... but, surely, there are more mental diseases we ARE subject to, due to our highly complex brains?

Frankly, the reaosn why humans are set as the baseline for every RPG I can think of is simply familiarity. Surely, we need an average point to work from, and US seems as good as any.