Humans

From Tearsofblood

Revision as of 20:42, 2 August 2007

This article is currently under revision due to incomplete sections.

<This page is under construction. If you have something you'd like to say to replace a section with angle brackets, please do so. Anyone with changes to a previously written section, please use some method of calling out your changes so we can discuss them for general approval.>

Compared to other settings, Humans in Ursoule are still the most numerous race but not the most powerful. Within the Feldarin Empire they are considered second class citizens. The identifying point about Humans is that they have a myriad of individual cultures. These are described under the People of Ursoule but they each bear similarities to real life, Earth cultures of antiquity. Briefly they are identified here with their corresponding culture in parentheses. They are the Caltan (Celtic), Baran (Arabian), Kvrin (Romanian/Transylvanian), Phoedran (Greek), Pahali (Indian), Yujung (Chinese), Taeshin (a cross between Japanese and Viking) and Omeshik (Inuit). These related real life cultures help give players a starting point to identify with.

Without going too deeply into Feldarin history and politics, Humans within the Feldarin Empire would be of Caltan, Baran, Kvrin or possibly Phoedran heritage. The other cultures lie entirely beyond the control of the Feldarin Empire.

Personality

<About 10 lines should be given to this subject.>

Physical Description

<Between 15 and 20 lines should be used to describe how each race looks. However, as certain races are more or less complicated to descibe than others, some discression should be used here. This could also cover how members of the races generally dress, if appropriate.

Relations

<Anywhere between 10 and 20 pages might be appropriate for this section, although this number should be refined by community discussions.>

Alignment

<Only about 5 lines should be needed for this section. Bear in mind this should only hint at trends and the basic reasons why, and not rigidly define the alignments of the entire race.>

Lands

<This section could include up to 25 lines outlining some fair important details of the domains of the race in question. Important sites and settlements, noteworthy border conflicts and so forth should also be included where appropriate.>

Culture

Humans in the Heartlands of the Feldarin Empire tend to be an amalgam of various cultures that have been 'conquered' over the five centuries of Feldarin occupation. The typical human is very adaptable and this goes deep into their culture. Often they take cultural heritage from many regions and combine it with the occupying culture of the Feldarin.

Outside the Feldarin Empire, the cultural roots are much more pronounced. The Feldarin have made contact with seven distinct human cultures: Baran, Caltan, Kyvrin, Omeshik, Pahil, Phoedran and Yujung.

<Likewise, 25 lines should be enough. Details of cultures will be explained elsewhere, but this should give a basic idea of what the race believes and values beyond the opening paragraphs. It should explain outside cultural influences, any pertinent historical influences, and so on.>

Religion

Humans in general are rather religious, but see their individual cultural section for details.

Plague Casualties

<Between 10 and 15 lines depending on how severely the Weeping affected the race.>

Language

Humans have a diverse language base. Although some tongues are similar to others, each culture has enough differences to make their language distinct. Generic Human: Feldarin [common] plus one cultural tongue (Baran, Caltan, Kvrin, Omeshik, Pahali, Phoedran, Yujung) Cultural Human: Local cultural language plus one bonus language.

<NOTE: Should Kvrin have its own tongue since its only been around for a couple centuries? Seems like it should be Caltan or Feldarin.> <We only need around 10 lines. We're not Tolkein and languages should be kept vaguely defined for nothing more than the ease of naming.>

Names

<Note that making this a level 3 header is important for keeping Names as a subset of Languages. Some 10 to 15 lines should be devoted to discussing the basic structure and meaning of the race's naming convention.>

<This may be exceptionally difficult with the write-up on Humans. In fact, this may have to be deferred to the cultural write-ups instead.>

Male Names: <Around 15 (give or take one or two) names should be listed in order. If translations are important to note for cultural reasons, they should be put in brackets () after the name. Separate names with commas, and end the list with a full stop.>

Female Names: <This should be done in the same way as the male names above. Please ensure that the number of female names matches the number of male names.>

<Surnames, earned names, private names, or whatever may or may not follow this, but they should be represented with the same format. However, if a race has a large number of additional names, try to limit the numbers given in each list to save space.>

Adventurers

<Now about 10 lines should be devoted to explaining why any members of this race might become adventurers. Plot hooks should be used liberally, but should be vague enough to encompass large numbers of potential adventurers.> Where the campaign takes place may dictate the most likely culture for an adventurer. Since the Feldarin control and/or occupy the Baran, Caltan, Kvrin and a disputed section of the Phoedran lands, these are the most likely candidates for adventurers, but certainly are not exclusive. A good back story could excuse the presence of a Taeshin warrior in Phoedra, or an Omeshik ranger in the Feldarin capital.

Within the empire, civil unrest is a very likely impetus to adventure, to either topple a government or assist in upholding a faltering regime. The plague is another 'destiny maker' that pushes people into a life of adventure. Remember, life in Ursoule is not hard. People adventure more out of desperation than simply looking to win some gold and glory. They flee their homes because everyone had the plague, or because they were taxed into starvation.

Racial Traits

• Medium: As Medium creatures, Humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Human base land speed is 30 ft.
• 1 extra feat at 1st level.
• 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level.
• Automatic Languages: Either Feldarin + their cultural language OR a cultural language + one bonus language.
• Bonus Languages: Any cultural or racial language (other than secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Speak Language skill.
• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass Human takes an experience point penalty, his or her highest-level class does not count.