5th Edition D&D Subraces: Human

In the early editions of D&D, humans were the foundation on which other races were compared. In other words, they were bland. Humans had no advantages or penalties (with the exception of being able to rise to any level in any class). Starting with 3rd edition, humans were instead described as the most flexible and adaptable of races, granting them a choice of ability scores increases, bonus feats, and training in a choice of skills. Humans went from the least played race to one of my favorites.

Humans in the 5th edition Player's Handbook continue what 3rd edition started, providing two options for your human characters.

1. Gain +1 to all ability scores (as opposed to the standard +2 to one and +1 to a second of other races).
2. Gain a +1 to two ability scores, proficiency in a skill of your choice, and a free feat at 1st level.

Using the second option gives you quite a few choices when creating characters from specific cultures. For example, if you want your human to have come from a race born on the open plains and commonly using mounts for transport and war, you could put your skill bonuses in Strength, Constitution and/or Wisdom, select proficiency in Animal Handling and take the Mounted Combatant feat. A human from a country bordering on demonic invasion, such as the Worldwound from Pathfinder's Golarion, may put their bonuses in Constitution, Intelligence and/or Wisdom, select proficiency in Arcana or Religion, and take the Mage Slayer, Magic Initiate or Ritual Caster feats. However, these options aren't limitless due to the small number of feats*.

Below you will find a variety of human subraces who hail from specific environments or countries with particular cultural or political leanings. These subraces are built using the half-elf as a guide, and the following abilities replace those of a standard human. Each subrace gains +2 to one ability score and +1 to two others. They also gain proficiency in one or two skills and one special ability, such as Darkvision 60 feet, Advantage on specific saving throws, etc.

Thank you, Emily Kubisz

The "Thank You" series was inspired by my post to the late Aaron Allston, as well as the passing of industry greats Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. There were many things I needed to say to these men and never got the chance. I don't intend to let that happen again.

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"Learn a little bit about everything, and a lot about what you love."--my father, James F. Howard, Ph.D.

It's a truism that writers are interested in everything. Whether writers become writers because they are born with a need to collect as much knowledge as they can and they need to get it out, or writers learn to appreciate things because they're compelled to write, I don't know.

I was a junior in high school when I first read an article about a marine biologist named Ken Norris, a professor in the far-off land of UC Santa Cruz. I was still figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, but working with animals had always been top on the list. Something about that article made me realize that marine biology offered something that no other branch of biology did; the opportunity to study aliens.

Thank You, Brian Phillips

The "Thank You" series was inspired by my post to the late Aaron Allston, as well as the passing of industry greats Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. There were many things I needed to say to these men and never got the chance. I don't intend to let that happen again.

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Though every post in this series is about people whose writing and art have touched me deeply, this particular thank you is very special to me.

I was, and am, a comic geek. Superheroes are my Greek myths. I learned to read on Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes. Batman and the Dick Grayson Robin helped shape my morality. I was there when Charles, Logan, Piotr and Ororo showed up on the Pryde's doorstep to recruit their daughter, Kitty, into the "School for Gifted Youngsters". Clark, Bruce, Diana, Barry, Hal, Arthur, J'onn, Dick, Ollie, Peter Parker, Steve Rogers, the Legion, the X-Men, they were more than simple pre-teen soap operas, they were family.

Gaming with your Kids

Gamemaster and Awesome Dad, James Walls and family

When both I and the roleplaying industry were young, the world, particularly the religious world, fought against the emerging industry for a variety of reasons, all of which were born out of ignorance. I was first introduced to gaming at 8-years-old and by 14 my reading and math skills were at the high school, and in some cases college, levels. Gaming encouraged us to do what every teacher wanted us to do--read more, read broadly, and solve math problems, and it did it by making them fun.

Thank You, Dave Tampier; An Unfortunate Lateness 1954-2014

The "Thank You" series was inspired by my post to the late Aaron Allston, as well as the passing of industry greats Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. There were many things I needed to say to these men and never got the chance. I don't intend to let that happen again.

Unfortunately, it did.

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AD&D artist, Dave Tampier died March 24th of this year. It's a sad turn of events that it's taken 4 days for many of us to find out. Dave Tampier's art is the definition of iconic and bookmarks a unique place in many of our childhoods. His artwork was the first many of us saw of the game that would change our lives; the cover of the 1st edition Player's Handbook has been parodied ad nauseum for it's place in pop culture history. Many of the most famous illustrations from the Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's Guide were drawn by Dave, not to mention the panoramic action scene that graced the first DM's screen—an image thousands of us starred at game night after game night.

Thank You, Todd Lockwood

The "Thank You" series was inspired by my post to the late Aaron Allston, as well as the passing of industry greats Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. There were many things I needed to say to these men and never got the chance. I don't intend to let that happen again.

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I love storytelling. Whether it's music, novels, film or poetry, I love following the emotional paths a good story will lead me down. I've spent years studying the art of storytelling. Unfortunately, the more you write, the harder it is to read. Knowing how the best stories are constructed means that when a writer, even a brilliant writer, makes a common or repetitive error, in gnaws at you. It becomes hard to enjoy the story behind the construct--the tale the writer meant to tell. I wouldn't change that for the world, but it makes enjoying the thing I love more challenging.

Luckily, there's one storytelling medium I'm still naive about, one that I can't break down or analyze, one I can enjoy for the often unknown affects it has on me.

Thank You, Steve Kenson

The "Thank You" series was inspired by my post to the late Aaron Allston, as well as the passing of industry greats Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. There were many things I needed to say to these men and never got the chance. I don't intend to let that happen again.

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One of the best parts about being a gamer of the roleplaying variety is that games that are designed to help you create your own worlds--by definition--give you the tools to personalize those systems almost infinitely. As Rogue Genius Games' Owen Stephens posted recently, playing with these systems, testing them to see what they can and can't do is just as much fun for some of us as playing them.

In other words, Theoretical Gaming is just as satisfying as the practical kind.