Humanity is the most diverse and populous of all the humanoid races. Humans are versatile, adventurous creatures with a considerable capacity to absorb magical and martial training, and they make good wizards and soldiers, as well as traders, merchants, farmers, and artisans. They are the dominant species of the Old World.
Physique[]
Humans vary somewhat in height from individual to individual and also depending upon their general racial type. Few Humans exceed six feet six inches or are shorter than five feet. The Old World is a tough place; the Humans who inhabit its kingdoms and wildernesses have grown up amongst all sorts of perils and hardships and are much stronger than a typical modern human of our world.
There are several distinct Human races, but those who live beyond the borders of the Old World are mentioned but briefly here.
Old Worlders, or Men of the West, come from the Old World. This is the area dealt with in detail by these rules, and it is assumed that player characters will be Old Worlders.
Norsemen live in the Northlands, or Norsca, upon the northern borders of the Old World. They are a seafaring, warlike, and feudal people, somewhat like the early mediaeval Vikings. They share their barren, rocky, and undesirable homeland with the Norse Dwarfs, with whom they trade or war, as the mood takes them. They speak a language called Norse, which is widely understood in the North of the Old World.
Arabians corrospond closely to the Ottoman Turks of the sixteenth century. Although Araby comprises several ethnic groupings and a number of states, these all owe allegiance to a single religious and secular centre of power, controlled by a Sultan. Arabian society is feudal and perhaps not so technically advanced as that of the Old Worlders.
Steppe Nomads live on the northern steppes to the east of the Worlds Edge Mountains. They share this vast territory with a number of partly nomadic goblinoid tribes, but the steppe-lands are large enough to accomodate many different races without too much conflict. There are many different tribal groupings, speaking many tongues and worshipping many gods. What they all have in common is their way of life. Nomads are constantly on the move, living on horseback or in wagons, hunting game, harvesting wild crops, and managing their hard animals: horses, cattle, and goats. They also keep domestic fowl, as well as powerful hunting dogs.
Orientals comprise the largest single population of Humanity in the world. Their homelands are known as Cathay and consist of a large number of independent states, many of which are not unlike the Far East of our own world in ancient times. There are many different languages spoken in Cathay, but the tongue of the administrative classes, Cathan, is understood by merchants and headmen almost everywhere. Technology and society varies tremendously from the stone-age head-hunting barbarians of the south to the ordered civilisations of the north, including Nippon and Imperial Cathay.
Other human types include the black-skinned Southrons of the South Lands and the red-skinned natives of the New World. Both of these groups are very primitive and have little contact with any of the major races. They live in very small tribal units, often with unique languages and cultures, which vary tremendously within even a small geographic area.
Alignment[]
Any. Most Humans are Neutral.