Beastiary Entry 1: Humans
Humans: The Youngest Humanoid
Characteristics |
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Name |
Human (Homo Sapien) |
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Lifespan |
80 |
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Average Height |
1.8 m |
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Genders |
Male, Female |
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Reproduction |
Sexual |
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Parturition |
Live Birth |
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Skin Covering |
Hairless |
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Limbs |
Grasper Limbs |
2 (5 Digit) |
Mobility Limbs |
2 (Plantigrade Legs) |
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Circulatory System |
Warm Blooded |
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Animal Type |
Mammalian Humanoid |
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Ideal Habitats |
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Survivable Habitats |
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Racial Statistics Gauge |
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Strength |
3 / 20 |
Speed |
4 / 20 |
Durability |
2 / 20 |
Dexterity |
4 / 20 |
Intelligence |
8 / 20 |
Magic Affinity |
5 / 20 |
Lifespan |
3 / 20 |
Reproduction |
13 / 20 |
Youngest of the Humanoid Races
Humans are the youngest of the Humanoid Races and also the most numerous thanks to their high reproductive ability.
They lack the respect of older Humanoid races due to their younger heritage. Many of the races view Humans as inferior creatures that get by on their superior numbers. Although it is true that humans are the most numerous of the Humanoids this statement is not an accurate assessment.
The parristic Arak Hai family of humanoids more commonly known as the Goblins and Orcs are famously reproductive. Due to their nature of not having female members of the species and relying on captured females of other species they are able to procreate very rapidly to counter this racial trait. A single captured female is able to produce thirty progeny a year. However despite their reproductive ability the Arak Hai is a largely unsuccessful species, with several sub species facing extinction (White, Y112-M80 AOH).
For Humans the main strength is their adaptability, with no glaring weaknesses at least with respect to their competitors. If humans existed in the ages of the ancient past it is likely humans would have gone extinct.
The main weakness of having a low life span is alleviated by a relatively strong reproductive ability and the usage of the written word for the transfer of knowledge. The weakness of low durability is countered by the Human’s impressive intelligence stat for such a rapidly breeding race.
At its core the secret to human dominance in Terra is rooted in their adaptability and ability to specialise. With innovations like the Mage Academies, Adventurer Guilds and the Beastiarian Institutes the Humans have been able to overcome and out compete much more innately powerful species.
Flexibility
Humans are extremely flexible in terms of abilities with exception of their low durability. They do not possess the clear racial advantages of other humanoid races but they make up for it by having very few weaknesses.
Boasting a large number of Habitable regions, they have carved out many civilisations across Terra. From the boreal lands of the northern continent, the searing wastelands of Umbara and to the wet jungles of Muguuma in the far east. There are even records of a group surviving for a limited time (approximately 50 years) in the unforgiving realm of the Searing Hells (Garet, Y86-M80 AOH).
Humans are famously adaptable to most situations and environments. Scenarios that would have driven most other species to extinction are overcome by humans. Known for pioneering new ideas and techniques in the face of adversity, Humans are extremely tenacious as a species.
Notable Achievements
Humans are most known for the formation of their institutions. The adventurer’s guild or perhaps the adventurers themselves are a human innovation. The specialisation of individuals for monster combat is a rather recent innovation. In the past the other races relied on their more powerful individuals or their militaries to remove monster threats in their territory.
The creation of Adventurers as a profession has meant that humans are famously competent at the removal of such beasts. This idea has been adopted across many of the different races, including the Dwarves, Wood Elves, Dark Elves, Vulpine and many others. The only races that have refused to adopt this system are the High Elves who scoff at the notion and see no need for it on the account of their long lives and the other races that are not intelligent enough to fully utilise such a system like the Arak Hai and the Minotans.
The other major innovation created by humans would be the profession of the Beastiarian. Although many of the races of the past had those well versed in the various beasts inhabiting Terra. None have created institutions whose express purpose is archiving monster knowledge and lore.
The institutions of the Adventurer’s Guilds and Beastiarian Institutes work in tandem to combat the natural threats to human civilization. The end result is a highly competent and effective system that the other races struggle to emulate.
Although it must be noted that humans like the other humanoid races have not been able to resist the wrath of the ancients. No institution or system can overcome the difference in power between the younger races and the ancients of old. Ancient dragons raze human cities as easily as fields of wheat.
Thank you for the lore
yes i want to see more because i enjoy learning more about the world the protagonist lives in
Hairless? I'll have you know that humans have as many hairs as any other species in Hominidae.
Yeah, wluld be better if we are called short haired rather than hairless instead
It might be better to describe the habitats by temperature, wetness, and then local geography or floral. So cold semi-arid forest, or temperate wet alpine for example.
For humans optimal ranges it would be all but arid (aka desert conditions be they warm or cold) with preference to more wet conditions. Temperature between extreme hot and regular cold (you'll a much smaller population density in sub-arctic areas, whereas the tropics are packed outside of the hottest areas). Biome types would be any plain, forest, or coastal.
Wetlands and alpine conditions are acceptable, but not ideal. Subterranean, oceanic, and otherwise barren are not habitable without extensive external support.
I just realized I forgot marshes and swamps on the biomes list...
For coastal areas do you think the islands part would be a clear enough implication that coastal areas are survivable too? Or do you think I should specify?
As for the temperature and wetness, I think I'll stick with these names I feel they are clearer and easier to organize (at least mentally for the reader). As for geographic, floral, and magical anomaly-style biomes, I have separate names for those. (Like the Magic Scarred Wasteland, Ancient Woods) those have some juicy and dangerous stuff in them
@CypherTails Coastal is also meant to cover the coastline of larger land masses. Really there is little difference of the coast of an island to the coast of a continent, so I felt coastal was the better term. Basically the idea is that humans take advantage of the transitional nature of such locations. They mostly live on the land, but regularly take advantage of the aquatic environment's bounties. This also applies to larger freshwater areas. Humans really like coastal areas.
The reason for splitting temperature, and wetness is because it has a massive impact on an environment, and the two can vary widely. For example there are many arid and cold areas in the world. The Gobi desert in Asia is an extreme example where you can find camels and ice in the same place. The poles are also extremely dry, with most of the snow and ice there having fallen long ago, and just never melting.
There are also temperate rainforests (west coast of North America being a prime example) that are extremely wet, but nowhere near tropical in temperate. Coincidentally they are prime filming locations so most people actually know what they look like.
Mostly the idea was to go with ranges instead of specific biomes so it would be a more compact list, but also more inclusive.
It might also be useful to include a magical rating to the habitats. Humans are less magic dependent than most other races due to being entirely mundane. Therefore they could live in areas without magic comfortably. Highly magical areas would actually be less favourable to humans than other races. A high magic area where the fae live for example would be quite inhospitable for the average human, with the unprepared being lucky to even escape from it alive (I mean in folklore just eating their normal food is dangerous without any attempt to be malicious and poison it).
@SuperBort Hmm I was worried that the ranges would be hard for the average reader to understand, like the Gobi desert example, so I went with the hot desert generalization. I think I need to think about this to see how to make the list clear. I suppose I could put a clarification of Arid and Tundra desert, your coastal point seems pretty good as well, I'll see how to integrate it, although then comes the concern for info bloat...
Although I reeeally like the magic rating idea, I think I'll definitely put that in. Though I need to figure out a rating scale first that makes sense and is easy to understand, plus a way to present it in a compact way.
But thanks for the response this was very helpful!
@CypherTails Well for a magical scale I can think of a few key markers.
Lowest would be a totally non magical area. Effectively NO magic exists there. Basically the real world would be this along with some rather extreme locations in an otherwise magical realm. For example a disaster removed all magic from an area, and there is a lingering "scar".
Slightly above that would be an area with a "low magical pressure". Basically magic exists, but there is so little of it that tends to diffuse until the ambient level is little more than 0. So basically magic outer space. Just like air you would need something to hold your magic securely if you want to do anything with it.
A magically neutral place wouldn't have any native magical effects, but would allow stable independent magic to function. People native to that area wouldn't become mages by default, and the life there would be mundane and Earthlike. This would be the equivalent of Earth in a fantasy setting where an outsider brings magic to it, but none of the locals ever have any.
A low magical area would produce magical phenomenon in extreme unusual circumstances. So undead might rise if they suffered greatly in life, or were exposed to lots of necromantic energies. Creatures of a magical nature may live here but they are rare. Most of these would lack any truly magical abilities and just be stuff that wouldn't appear naturally. So minotaurs could be found here if they are little more than large humanoids with bull parts. Elves and dwarves would start showing up but they would be limited to their more humanlike versions (so no immortality for elves). Mages would appear, but be limited to those with an aptitude.
This would be the equivalent of low magic fantasy settings.
In a medium magical area magic is present everywhere. However it can vary widely in strength, so it could cover a forest that has things like dryads or fairies living in it. It could also cover a town with an unusually high mage population in an otherwise low magic area, so like Hogwarts. Most people here could become mages with hard work, and a few are born with innate abilities.
Basically it is like those fantasy settings where magic exists, but not everything has it. A magic mushroom forest won't grow on its own but can be successfully planted with a little help. Elementally aligned areas can greatly improve corresponding magic.
A high magic area tends to ignore the laws of reality quite freely. Floating islands are mundane. Everyone is technically a mage merely by existing. In the more extreme cases stuff gets really crazy. Mountains can decide they want to get up and move to a spot with better light. Linear travel often doesn't work.
Basically this is the realm where stuff like gods, fae and other highly magical beings are at home. A normal human will likely die or be transformed into something else just by entering such an area.
From the sounds of the story so far most of the world is low to medium magic. Heaven and hell are likely high magic, but not to extreme levels.
To simplify my ratings:
Low is a largely mundane area where magic can exist, but is uncommon or non native. The laws of physics can be bent with effort, and broken in exceptional circumstances only.
Medium is a mix where thing are largely mundane, but various magical elements are present. Example being a forest home to mortal elves and their woodland allies. The laws of physics are easily bent in some form, and can even be broken with effort.
High magic areas tend to be other planes or realms, besides the material plane. No mortals tend to be native to such areas. The laws of physics are guideposts at best, and in more eldritch areas don't exist.
@SuperBort Yeah most of what you said is in the world design. Although the crazy physics is only for the craziest areas. But I think I like the simple low, medium and high rating. Keeps it simple.