Humans are the humanoid race that most dominates the culture and politics of the Flanaess.
Ecology[]
Humans are omnivorous and give birth to live young. Gestation is typically about nine months, and humans reach sexual maturity by their teens.
Many other species are descended from or related to humans, including bredthrall, derro, skulks, yuan-ti, and others. Minotaurs are said to be descended from cursed humans.
Humans are capable of producing viable young with elves, ogres, and orcs, as well as possibly other species as well. The result are known as half-elves, half-ogres, and half-orcs respectively, and they combine within them the traits of both parents.
Humans mix readily with other races; there are many more dwarves in human lands than there are humans in dwarven lands, for example. Humans are often strong allies of the "demihuman" races such as dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings. Humans tend to be opposed to rapacious humanoid races such as gnolls, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, ogres, orcs, trolls, and xvarts, driving them to unfavorable areas such as mountains, barrens, swamps, and forests. Only in the Empire of Iuz and portions of the former Great Kingdom are the more civilized of these races permitted to dwell among humanity to any large extent, as well as the larger free cities. Of the races of the Underdark such as aboleths, derro, drow, duergar, kuo-toans, and illithids, very few are anything but utterly hostile to humanity.
Environment[]
Humans have spread to virtually every environment from the steaming jungles of the south to the tundra of the north, from desert wastes to high mountains. There are reports of humans living in volcanoes, beneath the sea, on other planes of existence, and in the depths of space.
Typical physical characteristics[]
"Baklunish, Flan, Oeridian, Olman, Rhenee and Suloise humans." From Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, by Vince Locke, 2000
Humans, like most humanoid races, possess two legs, two arms, and a head. They stand upright and are capable of abstract thought and self-awareness. They typically range from 5 to 6 feet in height and 125 pounds to 250 pounds in weight, though there are of course exceptions beyond this range. Their skin tone ranges from almost black to almost white, and all shades of cream and brown in between.
There are few "pure" human races extant in the Flanaess except in a few fringe areas such as the Duchy of Tenh and the Scarlet Brotherhood. Elsewhere, especially in the central Flanaess, humankind has industrially intermixed to the point that this mix (generally various degrees of Oeridian and Suel) has become the norm.
Even so, these are the various known "root" races of humanity:
- Baklunish. These are golden-skinned humans, less mixed than the races of the central Flanaess, who dwell mainly along the Dramidj Ocean and plains and steppes to the south. The Wolf Nomads are Baklunish with heavy Flan admixture. Baklunish hair is usually straight, dark, and very fine, and their eyes tend toward green. They have long limbs and facial features, with high cheekbones.
- Flannae. These are the aboriginal inhabitants of the Flanaess, their bronze skin ranges from a lighter coppery hue to deep brown. Their hair tends to be wavy or curly, and from black to brown. They have strong, broad faces and sturdy builds.
- Oeridian. These people, the descendants of proud horse nomads from central Oerik, have olive or tan skin and any color of hair from honey-blonde to black. The Oeridians founded the mighty Great Kingdom and co-founded the kingdom of Keoland, so their influence on everything from language to culture in the Flanaess is considerable.
- Olman. The Olman are a brown-skinned people found mainly in the tropics of Hepmonaland and the Amedio Jungle. Their hair is straight and black, and their eyes are very dark. They have high cheek bones and high-bridged noses.
- Rhennee. The Rhennee have olive-toned skin like the Oeridians, but darker, curlier hair. They tend to be short, but wiry and strong. They are a very different people culturally, thought to have originated on another plane of existence. On Oerth, they exist culturally as nomadic river-dwellers aboard barges.
- Suloise. The Suloise are pale, some nearly albino, with kinky or curly hair of blonde or red. They tend to be narrow and lean.
- Touv. The Touv have dark brown or nearly black skin, straight or wavy black hair, and brown or startlingly blue eyes. They dwell in Hepmonaland, mostly to the south of the Olman lands.
There are rumors of other human races on the world of Oerth, such as the tall, slender ebony-skinned people who dwell in the southwest region of the Sea of Dust, the mysterious lost folk of the Choking City, and the people of Mur.
Alignment[]
Humans may be of any alignment from the blackest of evil to the brightest of good, and range from orderly and rigorous to chaotic and wild. It is difficult to generalize the alignments of humanity or pick out a common tendency.
Society[]
Humans are adaptable and flexible, their comparatively short lives often inspiring them to be more ambitious and, some would say, foolhardy than the longer-lived races. They readily build kingdoms and empires that span the continent, but just as readily fall into corruption and decadence after only a few centuries of glory.
Most human lands are feudal monarchies of one sort or another, though few use the title of "king" for their ruler. There are a few human attempts at democracy to some extent, though this is most uncommon.
Religion[]
The pantheons of humanity are vast and varied. In the Flanaess, humans normally worship a mixture of gods of Flan, Oeridian, and Suel origin together with a smattering of Baklunish gods and a host of deities considered "common" because they are prevalent in most areas regardless of their history of ethnic settlement. As most human groups in the Flanaess are long-since mixed, so are their gods, and the same settlements will contain temples and shrines to a variety of deities regardless of their pantheon of origin. The Suel gods tend to be elemental in nature, the Oeridians worshipped gods of travel and the sky, and the Baklunish worshipped a mixture of mystical and pragmatic deities. The Olman have a completely separate pantheon of gods thought to be alien to this world, while the Touv worship a pantheon of nature spirits who are thought to all dwell on Oerth itself rather than on another plane. If the Rhennee ever had gods of their own, they do not answer on this world.
Language[]
The most common human language is appropriately known as Common, but the number of human languages is diverse, linked to nations ancient and modern, including Amedi, Keolandish, Low Baklunish, Nyrondese, Ordai, and Rhopan.
History[]
The origins of humanity, and what god or gods might have created them, is a much-disputed subject, and myths vary wildly from culture to culture. Most stories have humans created by multiple gods working in concert or competition.
The Flannae people have lived in the Flanaess for thousands of years, but they were not the first to settle the subcontinent, nor were they the last. During the Great Migrations, the Baklunish, Oeridians, and Suloise fled the desolation of the Twin Cataclysms, many of them entering the Flanaess and conquering its lands, changing their character and destiny. Since then the various migrants have warred and blended with one another and with the Flan, resulting in humanity as it is known today. Other groups, like the Olmans and Touv, dwell largely outside the Flanaess and their bloodlines have not blended there to any great extent.
References[]
- Baur, Wolfgang, James Jacobs, and George Strayton. Frostburn. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.
- Brown, Anne. Player's Guide to Greyhawk. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
- Conforti, Steven, ed. Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign, version 2.0. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online:[1]
- Cook, David "Zeb". Player's Handbook. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989.
- Gygax, Gary. Players Handbook. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1978.
- -----. The World of Greyhawk. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.
- -----. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
- Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
- Noonan, David, Eric Cagle, and Aaron Rosenberg. Races of Destiny. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.
- Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
- Tweet, Jonathan, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams. Player's Handbook Core Rulebook I v.3.5. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2003.
Zavoda Index Entry[]
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index page has a list of sources, abbreviations, and a link to the full index.
Touv [PPL][LNG][CLN]
LGG - 4,6
LGJ#0 - 12
LGJ#1 - 30
LGJ#2 - 30
LGJ#3 - 30
LGJ#4 - 30
TSB - 5,10,36-41,44-46,49-51,54,56-58,60,61,Map
References[]
- CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0
Human. Great Library of Greyhawk, GreyhawkOnline.com. (view authors)