“Welcome to the Beast and Bandit. I’m Ghonst. I keep the glasses full and the place respec’able.” – Ghonst Ardon

One of the youngest races in existence, humans are perhaps the most numerous of all sentient beings in the realm. Being very flexible, and often unpredictable, they can thrive in any sort of environment, and have an aptitude for a wide variety of things.


Overview

Maximum Stats*

STRINTWISDEXCONCHR
202020202020

* At creation, humans receive 3 points by which they may improve their stats (except constitution). These points can go to one stat or be divided among several. If you are uncertain, you can pick default, which is balanced for your class.

Ex. A human assassin might enter 23 dex, while a human earth templar might enter 22 str and 21 int.

Other traits

Pracs / levelResistVulnOtherLanguage
33 points to improve
maximum stats
Common

Appearance

Avendarian humans appear as they do on Earth, with the same range of appearance. Skin may be from pale pink to deep brown. Hair black and curly or blonde and straight, or anything in between. Bodies can be short, fat, tall, thin, etc.

Example Descriptions

Below are sample descriptions from NPCs and past player characters. These descriptions are for reference only; you should not use them for your characters.

Vaelania, Patrician of Earendam

Vaelania is the Patrician of Earendam, making her the political ruler of the city and all of its outlying estates and provinces. Her face has been marked with a faint pain that almost vanishes when she smiles; that aside, she carries all the classical beauty of Earendam’s daughters. In her late twenties, she wears her honey-brown hair woven in an intricate braid down her back. Despite her slender build, her height and the rich golden robes of her office give her an almost imposing look that well matches her high, clear speaking voice. She wears a dress of deep blue velvet, tailored to accentuate the beauty of her lithe form.

Playing a Human

Humans may choose any class. Having especially balanced stats, they are adept at classes that call upon a range of abilities, such as templars and psionicists. However, their ability to choose which stats to improve allows them to tailor their stats to their chosen class–a human scholar is likely to have the same intelligence as an aelin, but without the poor constitution or wisdom.

Culture

Humans are said to be Jolinn’s last creation, and they claim to be His favorite.

Agriculture and Empire

Humans are famed for their agriculture and tendency to build. Other races usually associate humanity with towns and cities, as humans founded and dominate the largest cities in Avendar. Earendam was once the seat of a great empire, the Republic, which spanned the continent prior to the War of Night. Rival to the Republic, the Gogothi empire, another human creation, fell at the end of the War of Night, its lands and people devastated by void magic. Today, the remaining human cities stand semi-independently, woven together by trade routes through the wilds.

However, human communities need not be vast or stationary. Nomadic human cultures do exist, such as the desert-walking Laskia tribe in the southern wastes. Such communities are often pastoralists, keeping herds of grazing animals and guiding their migration, though humans may just as easily be hunter-gatherers or villagers, travelers or hermits.

Regardless of the size or location of the community, humans typically tolerate if not welcome the influence of other races. Any human-dominated group will likely have members of other races as part of it, and the humans will consider them members of the community nearly on par with other humans. A notable exception is when the ‘other’ fails to follow the community’s rules. For example, worship of Sythrak is banned in Earendam; anyone–especially srryn–found praying to Sythrak will not be considered Earendamian, regardless of how long they’ve lived in the city.

Flexibility and Specialization

While the human race as a whole is flexible, individual humans frequently adopt specialized roles in their community. They often identify with their occupation, and see the world in terms of that occupation. For example, a blacksmith may view the world as a forge, while a bard might see life as inherently musical. These differences in worldview can become deeply ingrained and cause friction between humans.

Blog Posts

The Races of Avendar

The following chapters are excerpts from the in-game text, The Races of Avendar, found in the School of Heroes. The Races of Avendar by Antaerus the Elder, Scribe of Earendam Chapter IThe AlatharyaChapter IIThe AelinChapter IIIThe SrrynChapter IVThe HumansChapter VThe CaladaranChapter VIThe…

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Post About a Race

After many centuries of dominating every facet of the realm, the alatharya have truly declined in influence. In the wake of challenging the Overgods, the First Race was cast down in its hubris by the heavens. The ensuing cataclysm,…

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Other Races