Why play human?

[DragonLancer]

My group and I are still testing out the PF system, and finding it very much to our liking. However we've been discussing the changes to the core races and quite frankly on a mechanical level why would anyone ever play a human character? All the other races bonuses far outweigh those of playing human.

Are we missing something?

 

[Aus_Snow]

I guess I don't see it. The problem, that is.

Humans get +2 to any stat, which is nice. No penalties either. Any feat that appeals to the player, and that could quite easily get the PC through some chain, or to some combo or critical mass of effect, sooner. Or it can simply make them tougher / more versatile / quicker / whatever. Skill points for free, anywhere you like, nice too.

And, looking through the other races, nothing leaps out at me and screams 'b0rken!' or even 'wow!' -- not enough to overwhelm Humans, anyway.

 

[DragonLancer]

I didn't say anything was broken. Mechanically half elf trumps human every time by the benefits. I don't see that the human benefits are better than that.

Now, I am not complaining because roleplay overrides mechanics, but it seems odd to me.

 

[Gorbacz]

The extra feat is what makes the difference.

 

[Mark Chance]

Mechanically half elf trumps human every time by the benefits.

No, they don't. A half-elf's bonus feat is predetermined. A human's isn't. A half-elf only gets a bonus skill point with one of two favored classes. A human gets a bonus skill point at every level, or two if used with favored class. Right?

As to why play a human: Because I want to.

PF is not a competition between players to build the most optimized character, and racial traits are pretty much small potatoes.

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

Dude, floating +2, 1 extra skill point per level and a free feat? Yes please.

 

[Truth Seeker]

A human, in a fighter class. Gets the most feats that any other race or profession they would have.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

...Er, most of the changes done to other races were done to make them more palpable compared to humans. They were already the top dog

I find humans to still be really good, but other races are good too. They're just more specialized.

 

[cattoy]

In the runtime timeframe, the only problem I have is the lack of low light vision.

In the long run, the shorter lifespan is an issue if you also associate with elves. But then again, most campaigns don't focus on the long run so this is largely irrelevant.

In most campaign settings being human is a little advantageous as long as you are the right type of human. In the default pathfinder campaign setting being the wrong nationality can be worse than being many types of humanoids...

 

[pawsplay]

+1 skill point per level is significantly stronger than a feat. A feat of your choice is slightly stronger than a specific feat. +2 to an ability score of your choice is slightly stronger than the usual +2/+2/-2 scheme, unless you raise both the +2's.