Humans
Humans are the most adaptable and ambitious people among the common races. 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. Versatile and culturally diverse, humans are a complex race — capable of creating great pieces of art and wonder, as well as terrible atrocities.
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.
Version 1.2
Created by DracoDruid [@GMBinder | @Reddit]
Human Traits
Your human character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Two different ability scores of your choice increase by l.
Age. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.
Alignment. Humans tend toward no particular alignment. The best and the worst are found among them.
Size. Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Tenacity. No matter their background, humans rarely give in to defeat. Once per long rest, you can choose to reroll any one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, but you must use the second result.
Tools of the Trade. You gain proficiency with one set of artisan's tools, gaming set, or musical instrument.
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.
Subrace. Choose one of the four general human subcultures or one of the demi-humans as your subrace.
Borderlander
Often called the salt of the earth from imperials that don't know better, borderlanders are a hardy folk that form the backbone of any human civilization. While borderlanders also form the lower ranks of imperial society, most borderlanders live a rural life at the edges of civilization and often venture forth to settle into unclaimed territories, spreading the human race into all corners of the world.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution or Wisdom score increases by 1.
Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Frontier Folk. You have proficiency in either the Animal Handling or Survival skill.
Hardy Stock. As a bonus action, you can spend one Hit Die to heal yourself. Roll the die, add your Constitution modifier, and regain a number of hit points equal to the total (minimum of 1). Once you have used this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Imperial
When human civilizations reach their peak, imperials represent the upper class that governs and controls the mighty empires and powerful city states; filled with magical and technological wonders as well as riches from all corners of the world. Many human cities attract members of many other cultures and races, quickly becoming unique melting pots of various languages, traditions, and cultures.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence or Charisma score increases by 1.
Arcane Dabbler. You know one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. When you reach 3rd level, you learn one 1st-level spell from the wizard spell list. You can cast this spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Cosmopolitan. You have proficiency in one Intelligence- or Charisma-based skill — as well as one additional language — of your choice.
Stoic Pride. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or possessed.
Nomad
Wandering the great plains and deserts of the world, nomads only settle in a place until it is time to move on. Some nomad cultures tend to large herds of domesticated animals, others are merchants that connect otherwise isolated cities and settlements, whereas some tend to a life of raiding and pillaging.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity or Wisdom score increases by 1.
On the Move. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet, and you can take the Dash or Disengage action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Wanderer. You have proficiency in either the Animal Handling or Athletics skill, as well as with vehicles (land or water).
Well Traveled. You are accustomed to Extreme Cold and Extreme Heat, and you have advantage on ability checks you make to identify Wilderness Hazards (e.g. Quicksand or Thin Ice).
Wildling
When civilizations crumble or colonies are abandoned by their homeland, some humans revert back to a more primitive set of mind; fighting vigorously against the constant threats that surround them. Roaming their lost cities now reclaimed by wilderness, wildlings are vigilant and fierce protectors of their ancestral homelands, fending off encroaching monsters and greedy treasure hunters alike.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength or Wisdom score increases by 1.
Huntsman. You have proficiency in either the Stealth or Survival skill.
Unease Vigilance. You can't be surprised while you are conscious, and you can take the Search action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Wild Frenzy. When you damage a Medium or larger creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal extra damage to the creature. The extra damage equals your level. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Demi-Humans
As one of the very few races, humans are able to create offspring with a number of other humanoid races. These so-called demi-humans — or half-breeds — are usually rather rare in number and therefore not considered individual races.
Half-Dwarf
Half-Dwarves, also known as flint — from the dwarven word flin’tarr, meaning firestone — are probably the luckiest of the human half-breeds. Accepted by the humans for their hardiness and tough work, as well as by the dwarves for their mental flexibility in complex situations, flints were able to make a home in either society.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength or Constitution score increases by 1.
Darkvision. Thanks to your dwarven heritage, your eyes can easily adapt in twilight and darkness. You can see in dim light within 30 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage (explained in chapter 9).
Skilled Artisan. You have proficiency with one set of Artisan Tools of your choice. Alternatively, you can choose one set of Artisan Tools you are already proficient in. If you do, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses that proficiency.
Mixed Heritage. You are considered both human and dwarf for all intents and purposes (e.g. item attunement or feat prerequisites).
Half-Elf
Walking in two worlds but truly belonging to neither, half-elves combine what some say are the best qualities of their elf and human parents: human curiosity, inventiveness, and ambition tempered by the refined senses, love of nature, and artistic tastes of the elves.
Some half-elves live among humans, set apart by their emotional and physical differences, watching friends and loved ones age while time barely touches them. Others live with the elves, growing restless as they reach adulthood in the timeless elven realms, while their peers continue to live as children. Many half-elves, unable to fit into either society, choose lives of solitary wandering or join with other misfits and outcasts in the adventuring life.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity or Charisma score increases by 1.
Darkvision. Thanks to your elf blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 30 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.
Versatility. You gain proficiency in two skills of your choice.
Mixed Heritage. You are considered both human and elf for all intents and purposes (e.g. item attunement or feat prerequisites).
Half-Goblin
Half-Goblins — better known as Hobgoblins — are a constant reminder to humans that their ability to breed with other races can have terrible consequences. Human tenacity and ambition mixed with goblin cunning and treachery created a ruthless species that quickly became a major threat to many kingdoms of the first age and even became the dominant power in some parts of the world.
Today, most hobgoblins are born within their own culture — focused on personal honor and martial prowess — but there are still some that are born into human or goblin society. These half-goblins either live shunned lives in the shadows of human civilization or become leaders and enforcers of their goblin clans.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity or Constitution score increases by 1.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 30 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Sneaky. You have proficiency in either the Sleight of Hand or Stealth skill.
Mixed Heritage. You are considered both human and goblin for all intents and purposes (e.g. item attunement or feat prerequisites).
Half-Orc
Like their non-human parents, half-orcs feel emotion powerfully. Rage doesn’t just quicken their pulse, it makes their bodies burn. An insult stings like acid, and sadness saps their strength. But they laugh loudly and heartily, and simple bodily pleasures — feasting, drinking, wrestling, drumming, and wild dancing — fill their hearts with joy.
They tend to be short-tempered and sometimes sullen, more inclined to action than contemplation and to fighting than arguing. The most accomplished half-orcs are those with enough self-control to get by in a civilized land.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength or Constitution score increases by 1.
Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Brute. You have proficiency in either the Athletics or Intimidation skill.
Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
Mixed Heritage. You are considered both human and orc for all intents and purposes (e.g. item attunement or feat prerequisites).
Human Feats
The following feats are available for human characters.
Prodigy
Prerequisite: Human
You have a knack for learning new things. You gain the following benefits:
- You gain one skill proficiency of your choice, one tool proficiency of your choice, and fluency in one language of your choice.
- Choose one skill in which you have proficiency. You gain expertise with that skill, which means your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make with it. The skill you choose must be one that isn’t already benefiting from a feature, such as Expertise, that doubles your proficiency bonus.
Relentless
Prerequisite: Human
The natural human tenacity burns exceptionally strong within your heart and soul and you are at your best when confronted with hardship and struggle. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase one ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- You can use your human tenacity feature once per short rest (instead of once per long rest), and if you do, you can use either result for the roll.