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Human

( Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, p. 9)

Attributes

Size: Medium
Base speed: Land 30
Strength: +0
Intelligence: +0
Dexterity: +0
Wisdom: +0
Constitution: +0
Charisma: +0
Level adjustment: +0
Space: 5 feet
Reach: 5 feet
Automatic languages: Common , Home Region
Bonus Languages: Any

Description

Compared to most of the nonhuman races, who tend to get along with others of their own race reasonably well, the humans of Faerûn are divided into innumerable competing nations, states, sects, religions, bandit kingdoms, and tribes. Humans argue about anything, fight about most things they argue about, and hold dear among their many deities quite a few who actively encourage that type of behavior.

The longer-lived races of elves and dwarves tend to have respect for individual humans who deserve it without necessarily respecting the entire race. The elves have difficulty forgetting that the first human empires of Netheril, Raumathar, Narfell, and other ancient lands were built upon magical secrets borrowed or looted from the elves. The fact that those early human empires invariably corrupted themselves with evil magic does not reassure the elves. The dwarfes, particularly the shield dwarves of northern Faerûn, respect humans as fierce warriors, but fear that there would be little room for their race in a world dominated by humankind.

Humans don't see it that way, of course. Their greatest heroes outshine the deities themselves, or become deities in their own right. Unfortunately, the same could be said of humanity's greatest villains, and that is the challenge facing any human adventurer. Power comes at a cost.

Personality

Humans are the most adaptable, flexible, and ambitious people among the common races. They are diverse in their tastes, morals, customs, and habits. Others accuse them of having little respect for history, but it's only natural that humans, with their relatively short life spans and constantly changing cultures, would have a shorter collective memory than dwarves, elves, gnomes, or halflings.

Physical Description

Humans typically stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weigh from 125 to 250 pounds, with men noticeably taller and heavier than women. Thanks to their penchant for migration and conquest, and to their short life spans, humans are more physically diverse than other common races. Their skin shades range from nearly black to very pale, their hair from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight), and their facial hair (for men) from sparse to thick. Plenty of humans have a dash of nonhuman blood, and they may demonstrate hints of elf, orc, or other lineages. Members of this race are often ostentatious or unorthodox in their grooming and dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, body piercings, and the like. Humans have short life spans, reaching adulthood at about age 15 and rarely living even a single century.

Alignment

Humans tend toward no particular alignment, not even neutrality. The best and the worst are found among them.

Regions

Humans can be found in almost every corner of Faerûn. Decide what character class you wish to play and pick a region listed in the class description, consult Table 1-4: Character Regions (FRCS, p. 30) or browse through Chapter 4: Geography (FRCS, pp. 98) for a region that seems appropriate to your character.

Religion

Unlike statet in the Player's Handbook, characters in the Forgotten Realms almost always have a patron deity. See FRCS p. 39 for more details.

Combat

Racial Traits

  • Medium: As Medium creatures, humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  • Human base land speed is 30 feet.
  • 1 extra feat at 1st level, because humans are quick to master specialized tasks and varied in their talents. See Chapter 5: Feats (PHB, p. 87)
  • 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level, since humans are versatile and capable. (The 4 skill points at 1st level are added on as a bonus, not multiplied in; see Chapter 4: Skills; PHB, pp. 61.)
  • Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass human takes an experience point penalty, her highest-level class does not count. (See XP for Multiclass Characters, PHB, p. 60.)

Also appears in

  1. Player's Handbook v.3.5

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