Humans Redone

by WinRAR

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Humans Redone

The human race presented in the Player's Handbook is pretty underwhelming, lacking the abilities and mechanics that are designed into just about every other race. The variant human is often considered the standard due to this, but suffers the opposite problem of being quite unpredicable and powerful in certain builds. The best and simplest solution, in my mind, is to build humans similarly to other races in 5th Edition.

These stats present the versatile and quick-learning nature of humans that's often found in fantasy settings, where humans are the kind of creature capable of spreading their kind across any land and quickly establishing themselves as a dominant force in the world in no time at all, compared to their longer-lived neighbors. Player characters using these stats will have access to a variety of proficiencies and options to push humans into the role of the 'skill-monkey,' just as other races push towards other roles in the party.

The humans presented here have 'origins,' subraces that are dependant on how this particular human was raised. Stylistically, these are closer to backgrounds than subraces and have no bearing on appearance or nationality. However, in order to present humans with the variety such a wide-spread race deserves, giving humans such divisions like this is the easiest way to do so while remaining setting neutral.

Human Traits

Humans are fairly diverse, however they share an ability to adapt, learn, and overcome challenges as a group, no matter who they are with.

Ability Score Increase: Choose one of the following: one stat of your choice increases by 2, or two stats increase by 1. This feature cannot increase a stat that is already increased by your race or origin.

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

Alignment: Humans tend toward no particular alignment. They usually adapt to whatever alignment is prevalent in the culture they're raised in.

Size: Humans vary in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless, your size is Medium.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Language: You can speak, read, and write in Common and one extra languages of your choice. Humans often deal with a variety of folk and learn the languages of who they deal with or have close connections with.

Determination: Once per long rest, you may choose to reroll any attack, check, or saving throw you make. You may use Determination after rolling the die, but before the outcome is determined.

Human Ingenuity: When determining the time needed to learn a new skill, tool, or language proficiency, the time required is reduced by 10%. Consult the 5e SRD or similar resources for methods to learn proficiencies that may be available in your game.

Origin: Humans often learn very different skill sets based on where and how they are raised. These are seperated into four Origins: Highborn, Urbanborn, Ruralborn, and Wildborn. Choose one of these Origins.

Highborn

Born amongst wealth and power, these humans have become accustomed to the finer aspects of life. Many are nobility, others are children of mages, doctors, politicians and other high-end professions, while some families have gained their status through a successful life of adventuring or merchantry. No matter the cause, highborn grow up with a good deal of wealth and are typically afforded quality education and often persue white-collar business or the arts. These folk have the greatest opportunity to persue academic and artistic subjects and are often quite skilled individuals.

Some grow obsessed with their standing, however, and become prideful of their wealth. Others, use it to better themselves or the common folk. Few highborn choose to eschew wealth entirely, alongside whatever troubles it brings them.

Ability Score Increase: You may choose your Dexterity, Intelligence, or Charisma stat to increase by 1.

Educated: You are proficient in one of the following skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Medicine, or Religion.

Refined Persuits: Select one skill or toolset of your choice. You become proficient in the skill or tool and add twice your proficiency bonus to any checks you make with the skill or toolset.

Urbanborn

Born to major cities and metropolises, urbanborn are accustomed to the busy flow of urban environments. These people are the more numerous, often low or middle class folk that make up large portions of urban populations. They are the ones responsible for much of the industry within human cities, crafting, buying, and selling, the various goods and oddities that flow in and out of their end of civilization. Regardless of specific profession, urbanborn grow up surrounded around skill laborers as well as foreign travelers and goods. Learning a trade is the best way to make a living in the city, even if it's not glamorous work.

Still, the city is rife with news and excitment, wherever you are. Some urbanfolk are drawn to darker trades, while others work against it. Many wish to rise above their station, but there's plenty of competition to be had.

Ability Score Increase: You may choose your Dexterity, Intelligence, or Charisma stat to increase by 1.

Craft & Trade: You become proficient in one artisan's toolset of your choice or one language of your choice. Additionally, you become proficient in one of the following skills: Deception, Insight, Investigation, Performance, or Persuasion.

City Smart Whenever you make a History check relating to the prominent figures or places of a city that you have lived in, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Humans Redone Con't.

Ruralborn

From far-flung settlements and farming towns, these folk grew up in smaller towns of few people. Ruralborn humans are raised amongst poorfolk who perform more menial work to provide for the local area. Farmers, ranchers, trappers, tanners, and mundane craftsmen are common professions for these folk. Universally, rural-living involves physical labor and few comforts. The people who live this life have a respectable aptitude for hard work alongside having useful information on the untamed lands around them.

It isn't uncommon for ruralborn to want to leave this life behind once they get a taste of higher living, but there are many simple pleasures to be found in simple, honest work.

Ability Score Increase: You may choose your Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom stat to increase by 1.

Labor the Land: You are proficient in land vehicles and one of the following skills: Athletics, Animal Handling, Nature, Survival, or Perception.

Hardened: You have advantage on checks and saves against gaining exhaustion. Additionally while traveling, you can move twice the normal amount of time (up to 16 hours) each day before being subject to the effect of a forced march.

Wildborn

Born away from civilization, these humans hunt, gather, and scavenge to survive. Farthest from wealth and civility, wildborn live a primative life that is often short and violent. No matter where they wander, be it plains, tundra, desert, or otherwise, the wilderness is capricious place where only the strong survive. Wildborn meet this challenge, with human ingenuity and adaptability pushing them forwards.

Those who are born to the wilderness can still come from a variety of places; whether they roam with a clan or a small family, or have the misforture of spending most of this life alone. Some chose this life or were forced into it after some life-changing event in their earlier years. More so, when faced with the masses of their civil bretheren, some wildborn laugh at their frailty and weakness while others marvel in awe of the scale of the civilization around them.

Ability Score Increase: You may choose your Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom stat to increase by 1.

Survivalist: You are proficient in one of the following skills: Athletics, Acrobatics, Nature, Stealth, or Survival.

Prepared: You are proficient with four simple weapons of your choice and with light armor.

Variant Human

The stats presented here are intended to replace the standard human race, so the variant human's free feat wouldn't be so standard. However, this homebrew is not a replacement for variant human and offers nothing similar to it. Offering variant human alongside these options would give human PCs extreme flexibility in their potential skills and abilities, quite appropriate for humans.

Art by Chris Ocampo

 

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