Humans in the D&D universe are a relatively new race, certainly among the common races. While Dwarves, Elves and Gnomes have been around for a long time, Humans are one of the youngest races in Faerun.
Compared to the other common races, Humans are also quite short-lived typically living less than a century compared to the hundreds of years some other of the races live for.
Humans make up for their short life span with incredible industry, as if they trying to cram as much into their short lives as possible. Humans have always been a playable race in D&D and our guide is here to tell you everything you need to know to play as a Human in D&D 5e.
Personality
Due to their short life span, Humans tend to be quick to act. To some races, this can come off as brash or unthoughtful but others will recognise their quickness to act and their ability to develop rapidly. Humans have built cities and nations that last and expand continuously.
Many Humans seek to build a legacy for themselves whether it be through the organisations and structures they create or the legendary tales told of their epic adventures. It’s difficult though to see trends in personality among Humans as their personalities are so varied, leaving it down to you to determine the personality of your character.
How to play as a Human
In reality, this is entirely up to you. Humans can be played in many different ways and it’s down to you to consider what experiences have shaped your character and how their personality is manifest. Think about your character’s motivations and background and how this might have shaped their personality. You might also want to consider the culture they’re from. Humans from cities on the Sword Coast like Waterdeep and Neverwinter are far more accepting of other races than Humans from Thay for example.
Human features in 5e
| Ability Scores | Your ability scores each increase by 1 |
| Creature Type | Humanoid |
| Size | Medium |
| Speed | 30ft |
| Languages | Common and 1 other |
| Traits | None or 1 feat and 1 proficiency |
| Book found in | Player’s Handbook |
If you want to play as a Human, your character will have the following traits and abilities:
Human traits
Humans don’t receive any traits like other races, instead receiving 3 extra ability score increases allowing you to increase each of your ability scores by 1 (unlike most races that are able to use 3 points to increase their ability scores).
You can choose to play as a Variant Human which gives you the following traits:
Ability Score Increase – Two different ability scores of your choice increase by 1.
Skills – You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
Feat – You gain one Feat of your choice.