Rethinking Fantasy Races - Slaughtering Your Sacred Minotaurs
Having taken an unexpected sidequest to rework dark elves, I'm back on track with reworking the "big three" and have somehow managed to set up a subterranean "big three". Isn't it neat how things work out that way?
So what's the order of the week? Humans. Us. I'd call us the cockroaches of the fantasy world if there weren't already more fecund and ubiquitous races.
That said, we are the most versatile race out there. We can specialize or generalize and still typically come out with a net positive. Let's get into this.
Step 1: Concept.
We are what we are; incredibly varied. We need the versatility to be whatever we want to be, but we need to do it without outshining the other races.
Step 2: Racial Qualities
TYPE - Humanoid (human)
SIZE - Medium
SPEED - Normal
ABILITIES - This is a bit of a toss up. I could stick with the basic Human Heritage option which let's you put a +2 wherever you want for 0 RP. There are other options, though. The Dual Talent alternate racial trait gives up 8 RP worth of stuff to get a second +2 wherever you want. That seems like a seriously overpriced entry fee considering that the Advanced option only costs 4 RP, but that's not taking into account the fact that you're essentially customizing racial abilities with no penalties. So I think what I'm going to do is take the Flexible option and double the cost to make up for being able to place those bonuses wherever you want, while adding in a couple restrictions. 4 RP.
Humans vary wildly in capability. Humans pick one physical ability score and one mental ability score. They gain a +2 racial bonus in each of those scores.
LANGUAGE - Gotta go with the Linguist option here.
Step 3: Racial Traits
Not a ton to work with here because humans are so simple. Starting with.
Flexible Bonus Feat (4 RP) - This is the reason you choose to play a human.
Skilled (4 RP) - Super useful.
None of the alternate traits really grab me as generic enough to slap on the base race, but there is a feat that I think works super well for base humans.
Fast Learner (2 RP) - When you gain a level in a favored class, you gain both +1 hit point and +1 skill rank instead of choosing either one or the other benefit or you can choose an alternate class reward.
Clean, simple, nothing fancy. Just potential.
HUMAN
Type - Humanoid (human) 0 RP
Size - Medium 0 RP
Base Speed - Normal 0 RP
Ability Score Modifiers - Human (+2 to two ability scores) 4 RP
Languages - Linguist 1 RP
Racial Traits
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Flexible Bonus Feat (4 RP)
Skilled (4 RP)
Static Bonus Feat (2 RP)
Boom. 15, dead on. ^_^
That brings us to a final form of...
Human Standard Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Humans vary wildly in capability. Humans pick one physical ability score and one mental ability score. They gain a +2 racial bonus in each of those scores.
Type: Humans are Humanoids with the human subtype.
Base Speed: Humans have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Humans begin play speaking Common and whatever regional language is most prominent in the kingdom they grew up in. Humans with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Bonus Feat: Humans select one extra feat at 1st level.
Fast Learner: When a human gains a level in a favored class, they gain both +1 hit point and +1 skill rank instead of choosing either one or the other benefit. They can still choose an alternate class reward, but they forgo the extra benefit from this trait for that level.
Skilled: Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.
Done. I'm a little sad because no other race is going to go this smoothly. Let me know what you think.
Until next time.
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