Physical Description:
Humans are bipedal mammals. They typically have hair on their extremities (arms, legs, and the top of the head), although some individuals have more than others. This hair is largely ornamental and provides very little protection from the elements.
Reproduction:
Humans are different from many species in that they have no specific breeding season, although the females of the species each have their own 28-day fertility cycle. The gestation period is about nine months. They bear live young, usually one at a time, although litters of up to seven have been recorded. The larger the litter, the less the chance of survival of any given child. Newborns typically weigh between 7 and 10 pounds. Young are typically nursed by the mother until they are old enough to digest solid food. Human children require more care than the young of many species, and generally cannot survive on their own for extended periods until their teens, sometimes remaining in their parents' lair until they have mated, or beyond.
Climate:
Humans are amazingly adaptable. They can survive (and actually flourish) in almost any terrain from the arctic to the equatorial jungles, although extreme elevations present a problem, as the atmosphere is too thin to provide adequate oxygen. Adaptations to different climates include darkening of the skin, hair and eyes in tropical climes, to provide protection from the sun, or, conversely, lightening of the skin, hair and eyes in more arctic environments. (This is not a rapid process, but rather takes place over many generations.)
Society:
Humans tend to prefer a clan type of organization over individuality. Over the millennia, these clans have become much larger and more tightly controlled, and are now often called countries.
Humans have a knack for adapting their societies to meet the needs and demands of the members of the society. They are capable of learning from previous efforts, and incorporating whatever best suits them into their accepted group behaviour patterns. However, they all too often accede to the wishes of a small group, to the detriment of the whole. The methods of government which have been tried vary widely, although democracy currently seems to be the most popular.
Miscellaneous:
Humans are a curious race. They have a burning desire to learn everything they can about their surroundings, often putting this desire ahead of the need for self-preservation. They also have an annoying tendency to irreparably damage their environment in their arrogant belief that all other races are inferior. Humans have been called "the only species that fouls its own nest".
In many human societies, males are considered to be superior to females. While it is true that there are a few areas in which males tend to dominate females, the converse is also true. This lends a certain balance to the race which is missing in many other races where one sex is clearly superior (for example, many species of insects).
Humans, both as a race and as individuals, have a tendency towards greed. They have an irrational fear that someone, somewhere, has something that they don't. Whether or not it is needed, any such item is coveted greatly. One of the preferred methods of acquisition of such items is to deprive someone else of them. This has resulted in countless wars.
The life expectancy quoted is for a reasonably modern society with decent health care. Societies which have not yet discovered such things as surgery, germs, and antibiotics will have correspondingly lower life expectancies. Humans living in medically advanced societies could easily expect to live longer than this.
Game terms:
Humans may take no more than one level of Body Armour.
