Should Humans Exist in Fantasy?

Comments · 1.7K

• HE

  @henryjones3232 · 2 years ago

  Another thing humans are called Good At is that they seem to learn things faster, being quick on the uptake. They do not have 50 master carpenters like an elven city, they have 300 decent carpenters with the capacity to make as many more as they want in the 15 years it takes to raise a generation’s children

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• MA

  @mateuszosuch6267 · 2 years ago

  There is also one specific thing - humans have shortest lifespan of "high" races - which basically means that sharing knowledge is one of the most important traits for such community. That would lead us to be much more efficient with ingenuity than dwarwes and elves - elves and dwarves would (and mostly are in depictions) focus on individual skills rarely passing them down to aprrentieces, whereas humans would start guilds from the get go. Which would allow humans to have more organized and faster moving society.

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• WI

  @williansnobre · 2 years ago

  "Should humans even exist" sounds like Elven propaganda, the kind of stuff humans would go to war for

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• SP

  @spartanalex9006 · 2 years ago

  Oddly similarly, I had a fantasy project where the Human Civilization was basically the Cossacks. Semi nomadic , elite horse warriors living out on the South Eastern Step. Using guns and swords traded from the Dwarves in exchange for protecting their trade routes.

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• XA

  @Xaphedo · 2 years ago (edited)

  I think the &quot;generalist&quot; property is often oversimplified. While human societies might be generalists, there&apos;s nothing really saying that individual humans cannot be specialists. Moreover, if we take as an example the 5e variant human mechanic of gaining a feat, which is no small thing, they can be impressive specialists at that.<br><br>I also feel like the adaptability of humans is often misunderstood. It goes hand in hand with their ability to crossbreed and mingle with other species: while the average of all human societies might be dull and generic, specific settlements and cultures might be highly integrated into otherwise hostile environments, especially once 2nd+ generation half-humans start making up the bulk of the population.

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• FA

  @FangofFate · 2 years ago

  Following up on that adaptability point, “high tolerance of pain” is how I also differentiate humans in my world. Not just physical pain, but emotional pain too. Humans are more likely to endure suffering, put themselves through deadly locales and close to dangerous creatures, and minimize their own pain, all for the sake of a goal or to make a settled land work

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• AN

  @animorph17 · 2 years ago

  I am now reminded of humans in dwarf fortress, where their immediately obvious specialty is that they have the most variety in what are effectively the best weapon designs. Dwarves have axes, swords, and maces that all have their different specialties, but humans show up rocking a halberd that outshines them all. But this doesn&apos;t really hold up on close inspection, as they don&apos;t exactly have the best /weapons/ period, they just have the best designs for what poor quality weapons they do make. Their true specialty is trading. Humans go everywhere and trade with everyone, getting ahold of everyone else&apos;s stuff.

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• BL

  @blitzkrieg2928 · 2 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9csDk2yPgLE&amp;t=6">0:06</a> Very strong and brave +1 reddit karma

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• DA

  @darklordofsword · 2 years ago

  One of the problems is a fundamental issue of writing fiction; its hard, as humans, for us to write sonething that is so fundamentally different from ourselves that it doesn&apos;t just read as a literary version of Star Trek&apos;s &quot;rubber forehead aliens&quot; problem.<br>Either you wind up with &quot;theyre not so different&quot;, or with endless naval-gazing that ONLY focuses on the differences (eg the endless agonizing of Drizzt about what a burden his long lifespan is).

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• MR

  @MrFish1124 · 2 years ago

  My Homebrew setting, part of the reason humans rose to domince is because they were the first wizards. Elves were traditionally very connected with nature, so the most prominent spell casters from their culture were druids. Humans however began experimenting with the weave of magic in ways most other races haven&apos;t, so when war sparked between humans and elves, one side having counter spell was very significant.

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• DE

  @DevourlordXerxes · 2 years ago

  It tends to actually be fairly logical in fantasy, Elves and Dwarves are isolationist and breed much more slowly and faster breeding races don&apos;t have the same social incentive in their society to cooperate thus they don&apos;t thrive as well as humans.

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• AB

  @abadidea5984 · 2 years ago

  I feel like the most obvious reason why humans are so abundant, or at least so focused upon in fantasy stories is because it frames a perfect underdog narrative. Humans are objectively weaker and disadvantaged compared to other races, but that&apos;s also why their heroes are so easy to rally behind. If every odd is stacked against them, then their strength is absolute perseverance and willingness to keep standing up no matter how many times they get knocked down. But those aren&apos;t qualities that make for very strong worldbuilding, and worldbuilders don&apos;t like favoring narrative over having coherent rules and logic.

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