Races

HUMANS, aka Forerunners, aka the First Folk, aka the Ancestors

"So, ye want to know about Humans, do ye? Well, gather 'round, childs. First there's the physical: they're taller and thinner than dwarves, a little taller and heavier than the typical elf, and shorter and about the same build as a caiveh. So forget the tales about them being little beings that hide in shadows or fifty-dwarf-height fire breathing leviathans.

"I worked with Humans offplane during my spelljamming days, and they're not that remarkable there. Just kind of average, and each one has to be taken on an individual basis. Some are quite pleasantly dwarven in outlook, and some are just plain idiots. The ones here in Aramar, ah, now they are a special case.

"Here in Shadar Humans are rarer than an honest hobgoblin, rarer than quiet waters off the Dire Straits. The only one of the humans I've met in Aramar was the Emperor Shades hisself. All them humans from previous times, where magic was unknown, they gets a Wild Talent - that's their minds and bodies taking all the raw magic of our world and fitting it into a way that they can deal with. Emperor Shades, he had Luck - whenever things were looking dicey - he'd pull off a scam that Toltiir hisself wouldn't even touch, and bang everything fell into place. I hear that Greym fellow over in Nihon can read anything, no matter what language it be written in. Jose, that policer down in Port Shadar, he's got a talent for fighting.

"Humans can come in a variety of colors and shapes, though they mostly look like half-elves with rounded ears. Just not as prettified or whatever. Ah, another mugful? Thanks lass! Hmmm.

"Stormshadow, that crafty old thief, once described humans as 'Jacks of all trades, masters of none, too short of life to fully explore their potentials.' Heck, even with every youthening and life-extension they could come up with, the Emperor wasn't even 500 when he'd passed on!

"Ah, yes, Alyssa, some do say that it was the passing on of the First Empress that sped the Emperor on to his grave. Sad bit that. It's been known to happen among dwarves, as well - proving that the Emperor did indeed represent at least some of his people.

"Of course, for all his grand qualities, he wasn't a dwarf.

"But not everyone can be that fortunate, don't you know?"
-Gunner's Mate Thordian Mrun (ret), dwarven marine

Humans are the baseline, there are no special pluses or minuses to their initial ability scores. Humans are exceedingly rare, however, there are only four in the Shadarian Empire.

All humans from a typical timeline (like 20th century America) have to manage to avoid being altered by the Rules (see Rules) but if they do they start manifesting a Wild Talent. This Wild Talent will only function so long as they are in Aramar. The gift bestowed varies from person to person, and can be quite useful or quite strange, but will hearken to some aspect of the character's personality.

Examples of Wild Talents:

Greym of Nihon (minor) - Ability to read any nonmagical writings, usually within an hour of first seeing them.

Jose Manuel Phillipe Villalobos III (moderate) - Combat sense. Instinctive ability to adapt to any combat situation and react accordingly. Usually manifests as spatial awareness.

Emperor Shades (major) - Luck. Emperor Shades' luck was phenonemal. Partly he made his own luck by being clever and resourceful. Partly it was a tendency of things to go right for him regardless of whether he wanted that outcome or not. Which is how he ended up in a job he disliked - Emperor of one of the largest empires in Aramar's history. When what he'd really set out to do was fix some problems caused by an adventuring partner of his, then retire to become a brewmaster.

Sean of Gallijar (major) - reborn or reincarnated several dozen times, usually dying through a lack of planning or thinking on his own part. Sean was "killed more often than Kenny in all six seasons of South Park" according to Emperor Shades at one point. The Chaotic Nuetral (Evil) Sean was finally removed from the universe by being turned into a bridge by a really badly bungled wish.