D&D General What are humans?

[EzekielRaiden]

If we were going for a novel, instead of something we wanted to put widely in the minds of players of all ages in game, would two more be:

Tribalism (xenophobia, racism, social hierarchies)
Breeding isn't stopped by the tribalism

Lamentably, yeah, tribalism does seem to be something we see in humans and less so in D&D races. Just about the only counter-examples I can think of are elves (drow vs not-drow, and that one's being specifically toned down over time), and gith (-yanki vs -zerai, and that one's a deep ideological fissure closer to a religion.) I guess there's some implicit anti-chromatic racism amongst dragonborn sometimes? But at least in their 4e incarnation, they were mostly just various earth-tones, not actually metallic or chromatic.

In a sense, it's sort of the flipside of the fierce pack-bonding instinct. That which is genuinely NOT part of the pack is a threat to it. And when those "this is bad" pattern-recognition senses kick into overdrive...well.

"Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."

I think of this often, though in relation to Destiny 2 and its lore, which is sadly significantly better than the actual game. Genuinely philosophical evil, that actually thinks and argues, is so rare in fiction.

 

[Minigiant]

If we were going for a novel, instead of something we wanted to put widely in the minds of players of all ages in game, would two more be:

Tribalism (xenophobia, racism, social hierarchies)
Breeding isn't stopped by the tribalism

Compared to other races, humans are xenophiles. New peoples are new opportunities. New opportunities are new ways to reach your ambitions or exploit a new resource or avenue to your ambitions.

"Human Xenophobia" in fiction is usually predicated by a loss.

But Tribalism.
Humans set up tribes and then roles within the tribe. Then they specialize each member in the roles.

 

[Cadence]

Lamentably, yeah, tribalism does seem to be something we see in humans and less so in D&D races. Just about the only counter-examples I can think of are elves (drow vs not-drow, and that one's being specifically toned down over time), and gith (-yanki vs -zerai, and that one's a deep ideological fissure closer to a religion.) I guess there's some implicit anti-chromatic racism amongst dragonborn sometimes? But at least in their 4e incarnation, they were mostly just various earth-tones, not actually metallic or chromatic.

In a sense, it's sort of the flipside of the fierce pack-bonding instinct. That which is genuinely NOT part of the pack is a threat to it. And when those "this is bad" pattern-recognition senses kick into overdrive...well.

"Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."

I think of this often, though in relation to Destiny 2 and its lore, which is sadly significantly better than the actual game. Genuinely philosophical evil, that actually thinks and argues, is so rare in fiction.

I can picture the human creator god (in one of the worlds lacking one compared to the other species) being tribal and warlike and, in the end, not giving the other deities much of a choice. So the humans might annoy the other gods' creations today... but nothing like in the old days.

 

[Cadence]

Compared to other races, humans are xenophiles. New peoples are new opportunities. New opportunities are new ways to reach your ambitions or exploit a new resource or avenue to your ambitions.

I think the problem, going by millenia of IRL, is that the new resource is quite often the new people. Your idea certainly seems better to put in a game like D&D!

 

[Vaalingrade]

The average Halfling is a homebody who does the same exact things as their neighbors.

So humans then?

 

[Mephista]

What are humans? Nothing more than a miserable pile of secrets!
-- Strahd?

To put it simply, we are humans, and humans are us. Whereas every other species reflects some other aspect of the human condition writ large (fantasy is filled with metaphors), humanity is just... us. The human condition as is. No Planet of Hats.

Humans are generic becausee they're the baseline all other variations are compared to.

 

[Minigiant]

So humans then?

Humans try to outdo their neighbors

 

[Cadence]

Humans try to outdo their neighbors

And so humans have kings and queens and nobilities and feudalism and armies.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Humans try to outdo their neighbors

D&D Humans.

I've met Earthican humans though.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

I feel it could be interesting to give humans some mechanics based around endurance and throwing. Two adaptations which seem to have been taken to the extreme in our species.

Maybe the other playable species don't sweat nearly as much. Or maybe humans have a particularly smooth and articulated shoulder joint which gives them good throwing abilities even above other sapients.

If species ASI were still in, I'd absolutely suggest a -1 wisdom score for humans. Doing stupid things without considering the consequences is entirely on brand for our species.