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| wiki:human [2025/11/22 21:50] – airstotle | wiki:human [2026/01/02 19:37] (current) – ersatz |
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| ====== Humans ====== | ====== Humans ====== |
| {{ :wiki:480px-kellid2.jpg.webp |}} | {{ :wiki:480px-kellid2.jpg.webp |}} |
| ^ Humans ^ | ^ Humans ^ |
| | Height: 170 to 190 | | | Height: 170 to 190 | |
| | Language: Common (Taldan) | | | Language: Common | |
| | Common Cultures: [[Chelaxian]], [[Jadwiga]], [[Kellid]], [[Nidalese]], [[Shoanti]], [[Taldan]], [[Ulfen]], [[Varisian]], [[Varki]] | | | Common Cultures: [[Chelaxian]], [[Jadwiga]], [[Kellid]], [[Nidalese]], [[Shoanti]], [[Taldan]], [[Ulfen]], [[Varisian]], [[Varki]] | |
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| === Overview === | === Overview === |
| Humans possess exceptional drive and a great capacity to endure and expand, and as such are currently the dominant race in the world. Their empires and nations are vast, sprawling things, and the citizens of these societies carve names for themselves with the strength of their sword arms and the power of their spells. Humanity is best characterized by its tumultuousness and diversity, and human cultures run the gamut from savage but honorable tribes to decadent, devil-worshiping noble families in the most cosmopolitan cities. Humans' curiosity and ambition often triumph over their predilection for a sedentary lifestyle, and many leave their homes to explore the innumerable forgotten corners of the world or lead mighty armies to conquer their neighbors, simply because they can. | |
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| Human society is a strange amalgam of nostalgia and futurism, being enamored of past glories and wistfully remembered "golden ages," yet at the same time quick to discard tradition and history and strike off into new ventures. Relics of the past are kept as prized antiques and museum pieces, as humans love to collect things—not only inanimate relics but also living creatures—to display for their amusement or to serve by their side. Other races suggest this behavior is due to a deep-rooted urge to dominate and assert power in the human psyche, an urge to take, till, or tame the wild things and places of the world. Those with a more charitable view believe humans are simply collectors of experiences, and the things they take and keep, whether living, dead, or never alive, are just tokens to remind themselves of the places they have gone, the things they have seen, and the deeds they have accomplished. Their present and future value is just a bonus; their real value is as an ongoing reminder of the inevitable progress of humanity. | Humans are defined by momentum. Their societies expand rapidly, their ambitions rarely remain small, and their presence is felt almost everywhere. Through force of arms, mastery of magic, and sheer persistence, humans have built nations that stretch across continents. No single trait defines humanity as a whole, save for variety itself. Human cultures range from honor-bound nomadic clans to decadent noble houses steeped in cruelty and excess, often existing within a few days’ travel of one another. |
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| Humans in many places are fascinated by older races and cultures, though at times they grow frustrated or even contemptuous of ancient and (to their mind) outmoded traditions. Their attitudes toward other races are thus a curious mix of exoticism and even fetishism, though usually with a very superficial level of understanding and appreciation of those cultures, alongside a deeply rooted arrogance that means most humans have a hard time regarding themselves as anything other than the default standard of society. Human scholars engaged in the study of other races—who might be assumed to be the most cosmopolitan and well versed in their nature and culture—have often proved no better than the less-learned members of their race when it comes to genuine closing of the social distance. Humans are gregarious, often friendly, and willing to mix and interact with others, but their sheer obliviousness to their offhanded marginalization of others is what so chagrins other races when dealing with them. | While many humans settle into familiar routines, curiosity and restlessness run deep within the race. Large numbers abandon their homes to explore forgotten ruins, chart unknown lands, or impose their will on neighboring peoples. Expansion is not always driven by necessity. Often, humans push outward simply because opportunity exists and someone is willing to seize it. |
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| Of course, well-meaning, blundering ignorance and numerical superiority are not the only things that make other races suspicious of humans. Entirely too many examples can be found throughout history wherein human xenophobia and intolerance has led to social isolationism, civil oppression, bloody purges, inquisitions, mob violence, and open war. Humans are not the only race to hate what is different among them, but they seem to have a susceptibility to fear-mongering and suspicion, whether about race, language, religion, class, gender, or another difference. More moderate human citizens often sit idly by while their more extreme compatriots dominate the political and cultural conversation, yet there are also many who stand in opposition to extremists and embody a spirit of unity across the bounds of difference, transcending barriers and forming alliances and relationships both large and small across every color, creed, country, or species. | Human cultures frequently look backward and forward at the same time. Ancient empires and legendary eras are romanticized, their remnants preserved as relics and symbols of identity. Yet humans are equally quick to abandon tradition when it becomes inconvenient, replacing old customs with new ideas at remarkable speed. Objects, creatures, and even people are often collected, displayed, or employed as symbols of success or memory. Some see this as a desire for control, while others interpret it as a hunger for experience and remembrance. To many humans, what matters most is not lasting value, but proof that something was encountered, claimed, or survived. |
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| == Physical Description: == | Humans show intense interest in other peoples, particularly those with longer histories. This curiosity can manifest as admiration, imitation, or shallow fascination, often paired with an unspoken belief that human norms are the default by which all others should be measured. Even scholars who devote their lives to studying other cultures frequently struggle to overcome this bias. Humans are typically outgoing and eager to interact, yet they often fail to recognize how casually they marginalize others through ignorance or assumption. |
| The physical characteristics of humans are as varied as the world's climes. From the dark-skinned tribesmen of the southern continents to the pale and barbaric raiders of the northern lands, humans possess a wide variety of skin colors, body types, and facial features. Generally speaking, humans' skin color assumes a darker hue the closer to the equator they live. At the same time, bone structure, hair color and texture, eye color, and a host of facial and bodily phenotypic characteristics vary immensely from one locale to another. Cheekbones may be high or broad, noses aquiline or flat, and lips full or thin; eyes range wildly in hue, some deep set in their sockets, and others with full epicanthic folds. Appearance is hardly random, of course, and familial, tribal, or national commonalities often allow the knowledgeable to identify a human's place of origin on sight, or at least to hazard a good guess. Humans' origins are also indicated through their traditional styles of bodily decoration, not only in the clothing or jewelry worn, but also in elaborate hairstyles, piercing, tattooing, and even scarification. | |
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| == Society: == | Suspicion toward humans is not unwarranted. History offers countless examples of fear and intolerance among human societies escalating into persecution, purges, inquisitions, and wars. Humans are particularly vulnerable to rhetoric that frames difference as threat, whether that difference lies in race, belief, origin, or social class. While many stand against such movements and work toward unity, others enable extremism through silence or indifference. Humanity contains both tendencies in abundance. |
| Human society comprises a multitude of governments, attitudes, and lifestyles. Though the oldest human cultures trace their histories thousands of years into the past, when compared to the societies of other races like elves and dwarves, human society seems to be in a state of constant flux as empires fragment and new kingdoms subsume the old. In general, humans are known for their flexibility, ingenuity, and ambition. Other races sometimes envy humans their seemingly limitless adaptability, not so much biologically speaking but in their willingness to step beyond the known and press on to whatever might await them. While many or even most humans as individuals are content to stay within their comfortable routine, there is a dauntless spirit of discovery endemic to humans as a species that drives them in striving toward possibilities beyond every horizon. | |
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| == Relations: == | == Physical Description == |
| Humans are fecund, and their drive and numbers often spur them into contact with other races during bouts of territorial expansion and colonization. In many cases, this tendency leads to violence and war, yet humans are also swift to forgive and forge alliances with races who do not try to match or exceed them in violence. Proud, sometimes to the point of arrogance, humans might look upon dwarves as miserly drunkards, elves as flighty fops, halflings as craven thieves, gnomes as twisted maniacs, and half-elves and half-orcs as embarrassments—but the race's diversity among its own members also makes many humans quite adept at accepting others for what they are. Humans may become so absorbed in their own affairs that they remain ignorant of the language and culture of others, and some take this ignorance to a hateful extreme of intolerance, oppression, and rarely even extermination of others they perceive as dangerous, strange, or "impure." Thankfully, while such incidents and movements may taint all of humanity in the eyes of some, they are more often the exception than the rule. | |
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| == Alignment and Religion: == | Human appearance varies more widely than that of any other common ancestry. Skin tones range from deep brown to pale ivory, often shaped by climate and ancestry. Facial features, body types, hair texture, and eye color differ dramatically between regions and populations. Some humans have angular features and sharp cheekbones, others rounder faces and broader builds. Eyes may be narrow or wide, deeply set or prominent, and hair may be straight, coiled, fine, or coarse. |
| Humanity is perhaps the most diverse of all the common races, with a capacity for both great evil and boundless good. Some humans assemble into vast barbaric hordes, while others build sprawling cities that cover miles. Taken as a whole, most humans are neutral, yet they generally tend to congregate in nations and civilizations with specific alignments. Humans also have the widest range of gods and religions, lacking other races' ties to tradition and eager to turn to anyone offering them glory or protection. | |
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| | These traits are rarely random. Lineage, culture, and homeland often leave visible marks, allowing experienced observers to guess a human’s origins. Cultural expression further distinguishes populations through clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, tattoos, piercings, and ritual scarring. Among humans, identity is worn openly on the body as often as it is spoken aloud. |
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| | == Society == |
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| == Adventurers: == | Human societies encompass every form of governance imaginable. Kingdoms rise and fall quickly compared to those of longer-lived peoples, and borders shift with regularity. Even the oldest human civilizations exist in a state of ongoing reinvention. This instability is not weakness, but adaptation. Humans excel at responding to change, altering traditions, laws, and technologies to meet new challenges. |
| Ambition alone drives countless humans, and for many, adventuring serves as a means to an end, whether it be wealth, acclaim, social status, or arcane knowledge. A few pursue adventuring careers simply for the thrill of danger. Humans hail from myriad regions and backgrounds, and as such can fill any role within an adventuring party. | |
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| | Other races often envy this flexibility. Humans are willing to attempt what has never been tried, abandon what no longer works, and gamble on uncertain futures. Though many individuals prefer familiarity and comfort, humanity as a whole possesses an enduring drive to push beyond known limits and pursue distant possibilities. |
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| ---- | == Relations == |
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| //Sources: [[http://paizo.com/products/btpy9g9v?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Inner-Sea-Races|Inner Sea Races pg. 236]], [[https://store.paizo.com/pathfinder-roleplaying-game-advanced-race-guide-ogl-pdf/%7CAdvanced Race Guide pg. 20]], [[http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy88yj%7CPRPG Core Rulebook pg. 22]]// | Human population growth and ambition frequently bring them into contact with other races, particularly during periods of expansion. These encounters often lead to conflict, yet humans are equally capable of reconciliation and alliance when opposition proves costly or unnecessary. While pride can shade into arrogance, the sheer diversity within human societies allows many to accept difference with relative ease. |
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| //Many thanks to the many contributors of the [[https://www.aonprd.com/%7CArchives of Nethys]] for rendering this material readily accessible.// | Stereotypes about other races are common, ranging from dismissive to openly hostile. Ignorance of foreign languages and customs sometimes hardens into fear, and fear into oppression or violence. Such attitudes have led, in rare but infamous cases, to attempted eradication of entire peoples. Despite this, most human cultures contain strong traditions of cooperation and coexistence, and movements toward tolerance are as much a part of human history as conquest. |
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| | == Alignment and Religion == |
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| | Humans display the widest moral range of any common ancestry. They are capable of immense cruelty and extraordinary compassion, sometimes within the same society. Most humans tend toward neutrality as individuals, though nations and cultures often develop strong ethical identities. |
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| | Religion among humans is equally varied. With few ancestral obligations and little reverence for unchanging tradition, humans worship countless gods, spirits, and philosophies. Faith is often pragmatic, shaped by need, hope, fear, or ambition rather than inherited duty. |
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| | == Adventurers == |
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| | Many humans take up adventuring in pursuit of ambition. Wealth, influence, knowledge, and personal legend all serve as common motivations. Others are drawn by danger itself, seeking challenge and meaning beyond the ordinary. Because humans arise from countless cultures and circumstances, they can thrive in nearly any role within an adventuring group. |