|1.9 m tall|
80 kg (male), 55 kg (female)
Physical Appearance and Structure
Typical adult Humans are approximately 2 meters tall, and have two arms and two legs. They are warm-blooded omnivores with internal skeletons. Both hands have four fingers and one opposable thumb, which allows them to grip and use tools. Their arms are jointed at the shoulder, elbow and wrist. Their legs are similar, being jointed at the hip, knee and ankle. Humans walk upright.
Human skin color varies over a wide range, including pale white and pink, tan, pale yellow, red, brown and black. This color does not change as the Human matures. Most Humans have hair covering the top and back of the head, and males also have hair on their chins and throats. Hair color varies from white and yellow to red, brown and black, gradually changing to gray as the Human ages.
Humans have color vision, sensing the spectrum between infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths. They have good depth and motion perception. Their hearing covers a range from 16 to 27,000 cycles per second, with good separation and direction-sensing qualities. Their skin is touch-sensitive. Their senses of taste and smell are not as highly developed as their sight.
Humans speak by forcing air from their lungs through a larynx or voicebox and shaping sounds with their lips and tongue. They can create a wide range of sounds, and have no difficulty speaking Pan-Galactic and Yazirian languages.
Society and Customs
Human society centers around the family. A family generally consists of a father, a mother and 1 to 10 children. Families usually group together into communities for mutual support and protection. Community size varies widely; several Human cities are known to have populations above 5 million.
Of all the star-faring races, Humans are the most varied. As a race they are not as warlike as the Yazirians, as businesslike as the Vrusk or as thoughtful as the Dralasites. Yet, individual Humans can be found who surpass even the most violent Yazirians, the most dedicated Vrusk and the most philosophical Dralasites. Humans tend to value individuality and personal freedom more than anything else, but they do not hesitate to work together to reach a common goal or to protect themselves from attack.
To members of the other races, the most puzzling aspect of Human behavior is their curiosity and love of adventure. Many Humans are willing to put themselves in great danger simply to see something new or go somewhere no one has ever gone before. Some Humans (a very small percentage) seem to actually enjoy being in danger, thriving on the excitement of a life-or-death situation. This type of behavior has never been observed in normal members of the other races. Even the Yazirians, known for their violence and f its of rage, try to avoid taking unnecessary risks. This spirit of adventure has served Humans well, however, as most major exploration missions organized by local governments or private companies are led by a Human.
Many alien biologists have wondered how the Human race could have survived long enough to build a civilization and colonize new planets; compared to other creatures in the galaxy, Humans are not especially strong or quick, and are no smarter than the other races. However, Humans are very inventive and adaptable. They manage to survive and even flourish in areas other races consider uninhabitable, by adapting themselves to the new conditions with surprising speed. This and the Humans' love for gadgets and hardware led to the appearance of a popular saying among Vrusk, ''Mr. Human and his Indestructible Junk Show.'' Despite this condescending attitude, Vrusk and the other star-faring races have learned to respect Humans.
Humans are one of the most open and accepting of the known races. They get along very well with Dralasites, and their similarity to Yazirians usually is strong enough to overcome the usual negative reaction to a Yazirian's pushiness. Many Humans, however, are mildly nervous around Vrusk. Human psychologists blame this on the Vrusk's resemblance to a giant insect. (Many Humans dislike insects, and some are actually afraid of them.)
Humans emphasize training and education more than the other races, so players who are starting new Human characters get to add 5 to any one ability score. This bonus can be added to only one ability in an ability pair. For example, increasing a character's Strength score does not affect the character's Stamina score.