Human

Humans are among the youngest of the ancestries on Ehrde, 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 ancestries, and that's why they build their mighty empires on the foundation of conquest and trade. Whatever drives them, humans are the innovators, the achievers, and the pioneers of the world. This is why the current time period is referred to as "The Age of Man."

A Broad Spectrum

With their penchant for migration and conquest, humans are more physically diverse than other common ancestries. There is no typical human. An individual can stand from 5ft to a little over 6ft and weigh from 125 to 250lbs. Human skin shades range from nearly black to very pale, and hair colors from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight males might sport facial hair that is sparse or thick. Some humans have a dash of nonhuman blood, revealing hints of elf, orc, or other rarer lineages. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century.

Variety in All Things

Humans are the most adaptable and ambitious people among the common ancestries. 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 human might have a relatively short life span, but a 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.

Lasting Institutions

Where a single elf or dwarf might take on the responsibility of guarding a special location or a powerful secret, 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. Humans dream of immortality, but they achieve it by ensuring that they will be remembered when they are gone.

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

Exemplars of Ambition

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

Different Cultures Across the Globe

Having so much more variety than other ancestries, humans as a whole have no typical names. Some 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. For example, the clothing, architecture, cuisine, music, and literature are different in the plains and hills of the Isle of Brevan to the northwest of Ardain than in the far off deserts and oases of the region of Khemet in Alkebula--and even more distinctive in the walled cities of Ortusia or the jungles of Anterrigua Major.

Human Traits

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

Size: Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5ft to well over 6ft tall and weight from 125 to 250lbs.

Variant Human

Ability Score Increase: Two different ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Skills: You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.

Feat: You gain one feat of your choice.

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.