Race Preview: Humans

The Free Kingdoms forces are created from the remnants of more than 5 human kingdoms, all of whom are under siege now and in many cases, recently destroyed, by the Elves. These are the rag-tag refugees, the few soldiers that survived the fighting in other lands, and the “leftovers” of once-great nations.  Their armor is battered, sometimes piecemeal, often made of leather or light chain. Their generals are older, wiser, and usually scarred from being through so many battles. Some of them have the obvious tokens from beating up elves-elf-horns, braids, or other tokens hanging from their shields. Many of these young men are suffering deeply as they have walked through the horrors of war. The human nations were peaceful societies, and Andover itself had just put down a civil insurrection. They weren’t ready for this new war; it is too sudden, too horrible, too devastating.

These people aren’t wealthy; all of their money has gone with their lands and their nations. They have with them only what they could carry out, though some of the luckier ones (the farthest west) still have cities, possessions as well as organized troops. The people of the area now known as the Free Kingdoms are poorly clothed, with patches, worn and tattered.   They clothe themselves with whatever they can find. The remnants of their society lie in flames, and invasion and elven vengeance ruin their countries. Where they were once the people of Andover, Toris Kelt, and Llyr, now there are only the Free Kingdoms, a rag-tag rebellious band fighting for the survival of their species against the vicious elves.

Andover was once a good place, filled with heroes and bright-eyed idealists. Even after their fall from grace, they are a people willing to sacrifice name, honor and integrity for the sake of what is right. As a whole, they believe in justice and peace, order and virtuousness. Yet, these people have recently seen everything they loved and cherished ruined by the Elves. Now, all they have left is a final, desperate fight, and organized revolt and resistance.

The people dress plainly, and their lives are simple. In general, the people of the Free Kingdoms are hardworking, honest people, although they have scoundrels and criminals in their midst (as do all nations). But even their scoundrels seem to tend more toward the “Robin Hood” ideal than actual evil, and their thieves are as willing to fight for the last remnants of their nation alongside the guardsmen who once were their enemies.

Humans usually stand between five and six feet tall, weighing between 125 and 240 pounds. Due to their wide migration patterns early in the history of the Accordlands, these are almost all of the common features of the race. Denskan humans, for instance, look almost exactly like Deverenians, with a slight tendency for blonde hair being the greatest variation. The Narawat of the south have rich brown skins and eyes. While racism between human backgrounds is not unheard-of, most humans swallow their pride and look beyond such differences. Pragmatism has forced humans to recognize that the other races are much greater problems.      

Humans come of age around 15, and most die at the age of 60.

Human adventurers are rarely so by choice, tending to be either survivors of human settlements or deserters from Free Kingdoms armies. Others have joined mercenary bands, and a handful are now informal members of Nothrog legions. Most who choose the adventuring life are consciously attempting to become heroes, living examples of what humanity may achieve, should they dare hope beyond survival.

Standard Human Racial Traits

• Medium: As Medium creatures, humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• 1 extra feat at first level, because humans are forced to master specialized tasks in these dark times.
• 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level. Humans have widely varied experiences in their formative lives, in contrast to the rigid teachings of other races.
• Automatic language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages). Even before the present wars, many humans traveled widely, learning new languages.
• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass human takes an experience point penalty, his or her highest-level class does not count.