Homebrew Dire Human Species Details

These were the stories of a restless people who long ago took to the seas and rivers in longboats, first to pillage and terrorize, then to settle. Yet there was an energy, a love of adventure, that sang from every page. Long into the night Liriel read, lighting candle after precious candle.

She’d never given much thought to humans, but these stories fascinated her. In these yellowed pages were tales of bold heroes, strange and fierce animals, mighty primitive gods, and a magic that was part and fabric of that distant land.

— Elaine Cunningham, Daughter of the Drow

In the reckonings of most worlds, dire humans are the youngest of the common races, late to arrive on the world scene and short-lived in comparison to dwarves, elves, and dragons. Perhaps it is because of their shorter lives that they strive to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Or maybe they feel they have something to prove to the elder races, and that’s why they build their mighty empires on the foundation of conquest and trade. Whatever drives them, dire humans are the builders, conquerers, and warriors of the worlds.

A Broad Spectrum

With their penchant for migration and conquest, Dire Humans are more physically diverse than other common races. There is no typical Dire Human. An individual can stand from 8 feet to a little over 12 feet tall and weigh from 350 to 800 pounds. Dire Human skin shades range from nearly black to very pale, and hair colors from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight); males often sport facial hair that is thick. Some of Dire Humans have a dash of nonhuman blood, revealing hints of troll, or other lineages. Dire Humans reach adulthood in their early teens and rarely live even a single century.

Variety in All Things

Dire Humans are the most adaptable and ambitious people among the common races. They have widely varying tastes, morals, and customs in the many different lands where they have settled. When they settle, though, they stay: they build cities to last for the ages, and great kingdoms that can persist for long centuries. An individual dire human might have a relatively short life span, but a dire human nation or culture preserves traditions with origins far beyond the reach of any single human’s memory. They live fully in the present—making them well suited to the adventuring life—but also plan for the future, striving to leave a lasting legacy. Individually and as a group, humans are adaptable opportunists, and they stay alert to changing political and social dynamics.

EVERYONE'S SECOND-BEST FRIENDS

Just as readily as they mix with each other, dire humans mingle with members of other races. They get along with almost everyone, though they might not be close to many. Dire Humans are warriors, adventurers and laborers of all kinds.

Dwarves. “They’re stout folk, stalwart friends, and true to their word. Their greed for gold is their downfall, though.”

Elves. “It’s best not to wander into elven woods. They don’t like intruders, and you’ll as likely be bewitched as peppered with arrows. Still, if an elf can get past that damned racial pride and actually treat you like an equal, you can learn a lot from them.”

Halflings. “It’s hard to beat a meal in a halfling home, as long as you don’t crack your head on the ceiling—good food and good stories in front of a nice, warm fire. If halflings had a shred of ambition, they might really amount to something.”

Lasting Institutions

Where a single elf or dwarf might take on the responsibility of guarding a special location or a powerful secret, dire humans found sacred orders and institutions for such purposes. While dwarf clans and halfling elders pass on the ancient traditions to each new generation, human temples, governments, libraries, and codes of law fix their traditions in the bedrock of history. Dire Humans dream of immortality, but (except for those few who seek undeath or divine ascension to escape death’s clutches) they achieve it by ensuring that they will be remembered when they are gone.

Although some dire humans can be xenophobic, in general their societies are inclusive. Dire Human lands welcome large numbers of nonhumans compared to the proportion of dire humans who live in nonhuman lands.

Exemplars of Ambition

Dire Humans who seek adventure are the most daring and ambitious members of a daring and ambitious race. They seek to earn glory in the eyes of their fellows by amassing power, wealth, and fame. More than other people, dire humans champion causes rather than territories or groups.

Human Names and Ethnicities

Having so much more variety than other cultures, dire humans as a whole have no typical names. Some dire human parents give their children names from other languages, such as Dwarvish or Elvish (pronounced more or less correctly), but most parents give names that are linked to their region’s culture or to the naming traditions of their ancestors.

The material culture and physical characteristics of humans can change wildly from region to region. In the Forgotten Realms, for example, the clothing, architecture, cuisine, music, and literature are different in the northwestern lands of the Silver Marches than in distant Turmish or Impiltur to the east—and even more distinctive in far-off Kara-Tur. Dire Human physical characteristics, though, vary according to the ancient migrations of the earliest humans, so that the humans of the Silver Marches have every possible variation of coloration and features.

In the Forgotten Realms, nine human ethnic groups are widely recognized, though over a dozen others are found in more localized areas of Faerûn. These groups, and the typical names of their members, can be used as inspiration no matter which world your human is in.

 

Dire Human Traits

It’s hard to make generalizations about humans, but your human character has these traits. +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity +2 Constitution, Proficiency in Athletics, Acrobatics and Endurance

Age

Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.

Alignment

 Humans tend toward no particular alignment. The best and the worst are found among them.

Size

Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Humans typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on.