Human

Dwarves are stoic. Elves are wise. Gnomes are  cunning. And humans? They can’t make up their mind, so they try to be all of these things at once.

— Kessler, bard of Sharn

The first human settlers came to Khorvaire about 3,000 years ago, landing in the area now known as the Lhazaar Principalities. From there, they began a slow but inexorable spread across the continent, disrupting the placid elven empire of Aerenal and leaving further ruined remnants of fallen Dhakaani goblin kingdoms in their wake. During this migration, they founded the settlements that would grow into the Five Nations. Even today humans make up the majority of the population in these countries. Despite their relatively short lifespans — or perhaps because of them — humans are innovative, adaptable, and aggressive, always pushing their limits and pursuing new ideas.

Humans prove extremely diverse; a barbarian from the Demon Wastes has little in common with a Brelish rogue. When creating a human character, consider where you’re from and how that’s reflected in your class and background. Chapter 2 presents an overview of the nations of Khorvaire and ideas for characters tied to those lands. Aundair is a logical place of origin for a wizard character, but your wizard could be a down-and-out arcanist from the alleys of Sharn or a Lhazaar pirate with a knack for the mystic arts.

If you want to jump-start your ideas for a human character’s origins, you can roll on the Human Origins table.

Human Origins

Humans, a relatively young race, are the dominant race of Eberron.

Human Lands: Human culture was born on the continent of Sarlona, with the fi rst settlers sailing from Sarlona’s western coast to the region of Khorvaire now called the Lhazaar Principalities. From there, they spread across the continent of Khorvaire, disrupting the placid elven empire of Aerenal and leaving ruined goblin kingdoms in their wake. With the arrival of the Inspired in Sarlona, human dominance on that continent came to an end. The humans of Khorvaire feel no particular connection to their ancestral homeland. Indeed, most don’t even realize their ancestors came from that distant land.

Dragonmarks: Humans control many of the dragonmarked houses. House Cannith carries the Mark of Making and has a lock on the trades of repair and manufacturing. House Orien carries the Mark of Passage, dominating the courier, shipping, and transportation trades. House Deneith carries the Mark of Sentinel, allowing its members to dominate the fi eld of personal protection. House Vadalis carries the Mark of Handling, making its members foremost in the business of livestock breeding and training.

Humans have inhabited Khorvaire for millennia. They dominate the land, but in some ways they are relative newcomers to the continent. Most humans don’t spend time contemplating their race’s origins, and many do not even know that they are not native to Khorvaire, but history does not lie: Humans came from Sarlona. The pioneer Lhazaar is acknowledged as the leader of this migration, but the journey was not accomplished in a single massive exodus from Sarlona to Khorvaire. Rather, the migrants came in waves, over the course of perhaps a hundred years.

These fi rst waves of human migrants left Sarlona’s western shore and arrived in what is now the Lhazaar Principalities some three thousand years ago. Some were explorers, seeking new vistas. Some were settlers, tired of warfare and hoping to claim new lands and improve their lives. Some were opportunists, entrepreneurs, and conquerors, looking for wealth they could unearth, trade for, or steal. Lhazaar herself made several journeys between Sarlona and Khorvaire, making enormous profi ts off the exotic goods she brought back to her homeland as well as the Sarlonan goods she sold to the goblinoids that still held Khorvaire despite the fall of the Dhakaani Empire.

At fi rst, the settlers were few in number and relied on friendly relations with the goblinoids to survive in this unfamiliar land. Within a century, however, their numbers had grown dramatically and they began to expand westward.

Humanity was a relatively young and versatile race, and the goblinoids were a shattered remnant of empire. The hobgoblins and bugbears fl ed belowground, leaving the surface to the goblins. The goblins were more plentiful than the humans, but they were disorganized and individually weak, still struggling to rule themselves with their empire gone and their power structure collapsed. Goblin chieftains led small clans whose superior knowledge of the land gave them early victories over the human invaders. However, humanity’s strength, versatility, and adaptability turned the tide in the end. Goblin clans fell by the score, their survivors taking fl ight or surrendering in the face of the humans’ might. Numerous human heroes arose during this time, and their names can still be found on statues, on cities, on inscriptions in ancient items, and on the lips of their admirers.

Perhaps the best known of these heroes is Karrn the Conqueror, the founder of Karrnath. Credited with eliminating the last strongholds of goblinoid resistance in central Khorvaire, Karrn had visions of empire, turning from his goblinoid foes to other groups of humans in his drive to rule. By the time of his reign, fi ve hundred years after Lhazaar’s arrival in Khorvaire, humans had already formed fi ve incipient nations, and Karrn dreamed of uniting them all under his wolf-head banner. Even though he built the greatest army of his age and led it to war with ruthless effi ciency, the sheer size of Khorvaire defeated him.

Five centuries after Karrn’s rule, a second major wave of human migrants began to arrive from Sarlona. As the Inspired tightened their grip on Sarlona, some groups and subcultures recognized the danger and fled across the sea to the east. In contrast to the first settlers, these refugees landed on Khorvaire’s western coast. Some encountered the orcs of the Shadow Marches and made eventual peace with them, settling in the inhospitable swamps. Others made landfall in the Demon Wastes and devolved into demon worship and the barbarism of the Carrion Tribes.

At around the same time, the dragonmarked houses began to cement their power, launching the War of the Mark to purify their ranks. By this point, humanity’s rule of Khorvaire was secure.

Khorvaire’s humans need little description—they are everywhere, after all. Fewer people know much about the humans from the continents of Sarlona and Argonnessen.

Two kinds of humans live in Sarlona: those in Riedra, who are dominated by the Inspired, and those in Adar, who hide in mountain sanctuaries surrounded by their kalashtar allies. Either sort might come to Khorvaire, fl eeing the Inspired or seeking to work against them—or sent as Inspired agents to infi ltrate Khorvairian society.

Riedrans have long been pacified. They serve the Inspired, and the Inspired control them. Rebels and freethinkers are put to the sword or mentally abused until they forget their beliefs. Every so often, though, a Riedran escapes the Inspired’s influence and flees to Khorvaire, bringing with her valuable knowledge about her enemies.

Adarans are more likely to become adventurers. Many work actively against the Inspired, and their monastic and psychic traditions grant them the power to overcome challenges. Human adventurers from Adar become monks, psychic warriors, psions, or soulknives (the last three classes are found in Expanded Psionics Handbook).

The isles of Seren lie off Argonnessen’s northwest coast. Primitive humans make these islands their home. They are sea raiders, setting out in long, shallow ships to challenge traders and explorers. The men wear beards and keep their hair long, believing that these traits inspire fear in their enemies. The women are just as fi erce as the men, and fi ght by their sides.

The Seren tribes worship the dragons of Argonnessen. They capture sacrifi ces for them and ensure that no interloper pierces that continent’s interior. Though most Serens attack foreign ships on sight, a few are curious about visitors. They want to know more about the world beyond their islands, and they might even desert their people to explore Khorvaire.