Quasqueton
First Post
Why are humans the dominate race in the D&D world?
Quasqueton
Quasqueton
Human Dominance
- Thread starter Quasqueton
- Start date
Aust Diamondew
First Post
Cause we're superior 
Or at least because of that kind of thinking cause you (I assume) and I are human as were the creators of D&D.
Or at least because of that kind of thinking cause you (I assume) and I are human as were the creators of D&D.
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
While there is no such thing as "the D&D world", the standard answer for most D&D worlds is that they breed faster than the other PC races and are more organized and smarter than the intelligent races who breed faster than they do.
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
Races of Destiny covers this a little.
Diversity. It all boils down to diversity. Non-humans are often the same clan, social structure, even if they live thousands of miles apart with sub-species to them.
Humans are well, humans with sub cultures within them that easily adapt to situations.
We are also the masters of cities and can breed with other races allow us to take their 'best' and blur their uniqueness out. I can see elves being breed out of existance for example (although not orcs...)
We also are capable, at least in D&D games, of great physical change. Many races started off human and have become something more and sometimes less.
Diversity. It all boils down to diversity. Non-humans are often the same clan, social structure, even if they live thousands of miles apart with sub-species to them.
Humans are well, humans with sub cultures within them that easily adapt to situations.
We are also the masters of cities and can breed with other races allow us to take their 'best' and blur their uniqueness out. I can see elves being breed out of existance for example (although not orcs...)
We also are capable, at least in D&D games, of great physical change. Many races started off human and have become something more and sometimes less.
Arcane Runes Press
First Post
In game reasons:
1) Humans are described as a young, ambitious race.
2) Humans breed faster than the longer lived races.
3) Humans are a race on the ascent, as opposed to the longer-lived, older races, which have faced millennia of challenges, and have begun to succumb to attrition.
Design reasons:
1) The majority of players like human characters
2) The vast majority of fantasy fiction is humanocentric, even in the case of works which feature non-human protagonists.
3) Humanocentric design gives players a touchstone for connecting with a world, and doesn't require the sort of work necessary to create connections with a more alien world and mindset.
Patrick Y.
1) Humans are described as a young, ambitious race.
2) Humans breed faster than the longer lived races.
3) Humans are a race on the ascent, as opposed to the longer-lived, older races, which have faced millennia of challenges, and have begun to succumb to attrition.
Design reasons:
1) The majority of players like human characters
2) The vast majority of fantasy fiction is humanocentric, even in the case of works which feature non-human protagonists.
3) Humanocentric design gives players a touchstone for connecting with a world, and doesn't require the sort of work necessary to create connections with a more alien world and mindset.
Patrick Y.
Doug McCrae
Legend
Because D&D was not written by otherkin.Quasqueton said:
I think some people have naturally absorbed the Celtic Twilight theme from Tolkien into their worlds and therefore, the non-human races are gradually fading away or have been pushed to the world's margins.
Another factor, linked to the above, is that we only know humans are the majority in the parts of the world that matter to humans. If you have really large dense old-growth woodlands, who knows how many elves are in there? Who knows how deep the dwarven realms go into the mountains or how many dwarves who have never seen the light of day are really down there?
Of course, it doesn't have to be that way. Humans can be the minority in a game world but it's a tough thing to do because you are going against the grain. Most cultural, literary and mythological traditions one can tap into for inspiration are going to have a human majority.
Finally, because human behaviour is the norm, the nature of every other species is rendered and comprehended in comparison to the human standard. It is hard for something to function as the standard when it does not reflect the nature of the majority.
Another factor, linked to the above, is that we only know humans are the majority in the parts of the world that matter to humans. If you have really large dense old-growth woodlands, who knows how many elves are in there? Who knows how deep the dwarven realms go into the mountains or how many dwarves who have never seen the light of day are really down there?
Of course, it doesn't have to be that way. Humans can be the minority in a game world but it's a tough thing to do because you are going against the grain. Most cultural, literary and mythological traditions one can tap into for inspiration are going to have a human majority.
Finally, because human behaviour is the norm, the nature of every other species is rendered and comprehended in comparison to the human standard. It is hard for something to function as the standard when it does not reflect the nature of the majority.
UniversalMonster
Explorer
Because they get an extra feat and 4 extra skill points! Duh!
Ok, seriously- it's up to each individual campaign how dominant humans are. In my campaign, humans are practically nonexistent.
Ok, seriously- it's up to each individual campaign how dominant humans are. In my campaign, humans are practically nonexistent.
Henry
Autoexreginated
The actual answer is a metagaming one, and one you have to reach back into Gary Gygax's first edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide to get. He made Humans dominant because they are the race we most easily relate to. The first wargames that became D&D games from Arneson and himself assumed humans were dominant because we're the ones who have the wars (not to sound patronizing). He carried that theme because of the theory that fantasy like sci-fi can be best experienced through a human frame of reference for human beings. Therefore, humans are the ones who can advance unlimited levels in AD&D, who don't have ability score limitations, etc. (Ignoring the female STR limitation thing for a second - that's another issue). As fantasy lit has progressed, we fans are quicker to take to something that does not express something from a non-human frame of reference, and we happily ignore previous limitations on ability scores, etc.
Now, if you're talking about why so many people make D&D human-centric today, I'd say that trend is changing. Look around these forums; look at Eberron, look at the FR revisions of 3E, and I think you'll find the trend is reversing; elves are no longer in retreat, certain races are co-equal, heck in Eberron most of the Dragonmarked houses aren't even run by humans! It's a trend with deep roots that is recently coming to an end, or at least an end of the monopoly.
Now, if you're talking about why so many people make D&D human-centric today, I'd say that trend is changing. Look around these forums; look at Eberron, look at the FR revisions of 3E, and I think you'll find the trend is reversing; elves are no longer in retreat, certain races are co-equal, heck in Eberron most of the Dragonmarked houses aren't even run by humans! It's a trend with deep roots that is recently coming to an end, or at least an end of the monopoly.
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