Human (hyoo · muhn)
Mankind, also called Men and sometimes Humans, Humanity or Humankind, are a race of intelligent, mammalian humanoids dominant in the Old World and the Far East. Mankind was one of the last intelligent peoples of the Known World to become civilised. However, they are now one of the most powerful and populous species spread across the globe and might be considered the dominant intelligent race of the mortal world since the elder civilisations of the Elves and the Dwarfs entered their mutual states of decline.
Men are the chief devotees of the Rhemian god Appallùm.
Unlike the Elves, Mankind has only just begun the transition into a species that can fully utilise the power of Magic. As yet, very few Humans are able to cast spells, though this number is slowly increasing as the centuries pass. However, most Human wizards lack the mental discipline or inner strength to prevent themselves from causing arcane mishaps. This prevents them to acces the full might of Magic, like the greatest of the Elven archmagi.
Humans have a highly developed brain, which is capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem-solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the hands for manipulating objects, allowed Men to make greater use of tools, much like the other humanoid intelligent races of the mortal world. Other, higher-level thought processes of Humans, such as self-awareness, rationality, and sapience, are considered to be defining features of what constitutes a "person," though such features are shared with the other major intelligent species Men share the Known World with, such as the Elves, the Dwarfs, the Vampire, the Skaven and the Greenskins (though some might question this last one).
Like most higher primates, Humans are social animals. However, Humans are uniquely adept at utilising systems of communication for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organisation. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nations. Social interactions between Men have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together form the basis of Human society. With Humans present across the world and having adapted to every possible environment, they are currently the mortal world's dominant intelligent race. The current population of Men on the Known World numbers in the hundreds of millions.
Men are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate phenomena through the practice of science, philosophy, mythology, and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills, which are passed down culturally, though cultural stagnation or even retrogression is possible, as the grim history of the Elder Races of the mortal world so readily demonstrates.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
"Men tend to understand each other's motives, so diplomacy between factions is simply a matter of balancing competing interests for mutual advantage." —A saying amongst Braian diplomats.The realms and notable ethnic groups of Men in the Known World include:
- Braia - Braia is the kingdom of Men located directly west of Rhemia whose people are ethnically related to the barbarian tribes of Men that founded Rhemia. However, the society is deeply segregated where the peasants of Braia are highly oppressed by the ruling class, more so than other nations. The vast majority of male nobles are bred for knighthood, being larger, fitter and more robust than ordinary men, while female nobles are renowned across the world for their beauty and grace. The peasantry, on the other hand, are a breed apart, with many sporting deformities and disfigurements caused by poor genes and inbreeding. Braia is Rhemia's chief military rival, and the Knights that comprise its heavy cavalry remain the greatest in the Old World.
- Rhemia - Rhemia stands as the largest and mightiest nation of the Old World but also a deeply corrupt and often unjust human society where many have fallen to the corruption of different dark chaotic entities. Rhemia benefits from a great diversity of military units, black-powder weaponry and the various orders of wizards who comprise the Colleges of Magic, and is the home to the powerfull Church or Appallùm. Rhemia is quite large and diverse: there are broad cultural differences between the south and the north, as well as between people of Nordland (who have much Norse blood), Middenlanders (who prefer the god Hesta over Appallùm), Reiklanders, Sylvanians etc but broadly speak the same mutually intelligible language: Common. Despite being first united in 0 IC, Rhemia became more and more politically divided beginning in about IC 1152.
- Kislev - Kislev is a northern nation and an ally of Rhemia that lies under constant threat due to its close proximity to the northern Wastes. Kislev has 2 main ethnic groups, and one former one:
- Gospodars are the dominant group in Kislev, and appear to have once been related to the Hung, but split off in the distant past.
- Ungols are a nomadic herding people who inhabited Kislev since ancient times, but were displaced and subjugated by the arrival of the Gospodars
- Roppsmenn were a people of what is now western Kislev. They were destroyed by the Ungols, who in turn were fleeing the Gospodars.
- Tilea - South of the Irrana Mountains and the Vaults in the Old World, the fractious city-states of the peninsula of Tilea embrace trade, exploration and civil war with equal passion. Mercenary companies form the bulk of the armies that see combat in these lands, often fighting on behalf of the wealthy rulers of the many Tilean republics and principalities or further north in the service of Rhemia. Tileans may be descended from the ancient people of Tylos.
- The Wasteland - The Wasteland is a low-lying land at the northwestern edge of Rhemia that lies at the mouth of the River Reik and is home to Marienburg, one of the largest cities and commercial centres of the Old World. This region used to be a province of Rhemia - when it was referred to as the province of Westerland - but seceded several centuries ago and is now fiercely independent. Perhaps out of spite, the people of Rhemia soon after, began to refer to the province as the Wasteland, sometimes due to the large marshes and bogs that surround the land.
History
Origins in the Old World
According to Dwarf accounts written after the threat to the mortal world was ended by the Elves'. At the end of the wars and the Great Catastrophe, the first primitive, nomadic tribes of Men migrated to the Old World from the Southlands. They were few in number, used tools and weapons made from wood and stone, and settled initially in the southern lands that would later become Tilea and Estalia. The Dwarfs largely ignored them, especially since the two races lived so far apart. Just over two millennia later, tribes of taller, fur-clad Men arrived from the east and settled in the forested lands to the west of the Worlds Edge Mountains. Some even migrated to the other side of the Grey Mountains. These newcomers proved successful at farming the land, and in order to reduce their supply lines, the Dwarfs began trading with these Human tribes during the closing stages of the War of Vengeance with the Elves. The Dwarfs exchanged tools and weapons made of bronze with the Human tribes for produce and meat. Then came the invasion of the Old World by the Greenskins, and everything changed. While hordes of Orks and Goblins assailed the Dwarf holds, even more swarmed over the mountain passes into the Human lands of the west. To aid the Dawi in meeting this threat, Dwarf smiths taught the tribes of Men many of their lesser technological secrets, such as how to forge iron weapons and armour. In the face of their mutual foe, Dwarfs and Men forged a tentative friendship. This friendship would later blossom into an alliance that guaranteed both the survival of the Dwarfs and the further ascension to power of the nations of Mankind.
Female and male Humans from the Reikland in the Empire.
| Usable Magic | Only one of the following without corruption: Azyr Aqshy Chamon Ghur Ghyran Hysh Shyish Ulgu With corruption: Dhar |
| Possible Corruption | Chaotic Vampiric and other possible undiscovered corruptions |
| Subtypes | Amazons Arabyans Belthani (Extinct) Bretonnians Cathayans Estalians Hung Imperials Indans Nehekharans (Extinct) Nipponese Norscans Kislevites Kurgan Pygmies (Debatable) Strigany Tileans Tylosians (Extinct) |
Lifespan
60
Average Height
5'9" (175 cm) (Reikland average; can vary in other regions and among other ethnicities)
Related Organizations
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