From: Mark.OLeary@newcastle.ac.uk (M.D. O'Leary)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Homo sapiens Variants...
Summary: ... for use in fantasy settings.
Keywords: abounding wierdness- check your neighbour.
Date: 29 Sep 92 23:09:00 GMT
Organization: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK NE1 7RU

I think humans in general as represented in fantasy stick too close to our
own real life types... In magic rich and otherwise wierd worlds, there could
well have been some drift in the human specification, without being so strange
as to be classed as a separate species...
   I also think it might be fun for these various sub-types to intermix: there
would be some surprising results...

Anyway, here are some ideas I had for Homo sapiens subspecies:
(I am assuming an earth normal party of PCs is encountering the variants)

1. Double-jointed Humans.

        At first glance, this doesnt seem like much of a variant 
characteristic, but bear with me!
   Firstly, if all the members of a society possessed this trait, then there
would be allowances made for this ability in the manufactured goods and 
traditions of a community, such as:

o The required polite greeting is impossible for earth-normal humans (good for
  making those PCs roleplay apologetically)
o A longsword is balanced such that when swung by a 'normal', it virtually
  breaks their wrist, due to flexibility of the variant-users wrist.
o Armour that it is impossible for a 'normal' to get into without breaking
  bones! (such problems are discovered after the armour is commisioned and
  paid for, of course!)
o Locks and triggers that 'normals' have difficulty using.
o Entirely new weapon types designed for the more flexible warrior.
o New unarmed combat styles, for the same reason.
o New spells with impossible somatic components for 'normal' mages.  

etc. etc.


2. Mating Rituals and Physiology (an often neglected aspect of roleplay!)

a) A variant could be imagined wherein the females have reverted to a system of
   going into 'heat' (as do most other mammals). Women in this condition might 
   become demanding, unpredictable, feral or even dangerous. An unsuspecting
   party escorting a noblewoman might be very surprised at her behaviour if 
   they were delayed close to her mating fever!

b) A minor physiological change: ovulation in response to mating (again common
   in mammals other than ourselves). The practical upshot of this would be
   a 95%+ chance of pregnancy from a casual (or not so) encounter. Again,
   this might surprise a PC on rest+recuperation at the local inn!

c) Powerful pheromones. Whilst not excessive against the variant males, such
   a compound might have a deleterious effect on 'normal' PCs... Again 
   difficult when you are guarding that noblewoman, or rescuing that peasant
   lass...

<< Credit here goes to the 'Ringworld' books, from which I drew inspiration for
   this post: its an excellent book, but also a good DM resource for wierd
   humans- especially the 'vampire' sub-humans! Look 'em up! >>


Hrmm this post is getting longer than I hoped. I'll stop here. you can see
where I'm heading! Maybe if people added their own ideas to this list, we could 
build somethign for the archive...

Mark aka Raphe ("...so I built the fire, but they started chanting about
their God-King, and suddenly this hazy figure appeared in the flames...")