How do Humans even survive in a Fantasy World?

How do Humans even survive in a Fantasy World?
#fantasy #fiction #worldbuilding #orcs #orc #elves #elf

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[yetipotato]

I havent even realized how usefull a ogre would be for pre industrial village. Thats like a living tractor and battletank if you can get it to stay with you. I am imagining "Farmhand mercenaries" that are a fairly peacefull ogre and a orgre hadler that communicates the tasks to ogre and handles the talking to humans. They would travel around country to do seasonal labour.

[sameraiza]

If humans have access to magic its a pretty big game changer, the thing with orks and goblins is that they are depicted as dumber than humans so they could be outsmarted.

[jgr]

I agree with the Grungeon Master's video on the position of Humanity in a fantasy world: we wouldn't be running the show, we'd be a 2nd or 3rd tier species, way beneath Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, etc.

[kingkapybara]

A forest spirit was teaching his son:

" Beyond these woods, there live strange creatures, my son! They live in packs like wolves and sleep in dirt dens like ants. They can use fire like dragons. They wear the skins of beasts and some boast steel shells like crabs. My grandfather once saw a creature like this calling lightning on a clear day. They also breed like rabbits. Their flesh is also not tasty, they have little fat on them. Stay away and avoid them. They are just not worth the trouble!"

Orks, goblins and giants are dumber than us, dragons prefer larger prey, vampires only come out at night, dwarves prefer to mine underground and elves generally don't bother other species.

[gasmonkey]

I'd imagine humanity having a different mindset that enables them to accomplish certain things more efficiently. For example, warfare, orcs could be too emotional, dwarves could be too honorbound, dark elves too sadistic to negotiate and plan out swift raids, high elves too proud to carry out the dirtier tactics or even comprehend the basics of how to counter it, some elf variant being too emphatic to commit to the darker but necessary tactics and strategies of war, etcetera etcetera.
I'd also imagine that if elves, orcs, and dwarves are like humans and are prone to infighting then they may not think of humanity as a threat and at best chaff until it's too late. I can see elves getting into a utopian method of living with their magic with roughly bronze age tech, somehow piss off humanity and get curb stomped by the knights, guerilla warfare, sabotage, and technology.

As for the mortality rate decreasing the number of kids born, I don't think it's that. In a lot of developed countries the reason why birth rates decline is ironically due to it costing more to have kids. In third world and agricultural nations the kids can work the farms and when they grow up they support the parents. In developed nations there's welfare, laws that prevent kids from working certain jobs, and agriculture (while still vital) isn't the dominating part of the economy it's services or industry. Unless the cost of raising kids also rises then if anything there'd be an explosion with the healing magic, and in fantasy where humanity is under threat constantly by monsters there's gonna be a need for more kids anyways. I'd imagine governments even instituting a primitive form of natalist welfare to encourage families to have more kids.

[edudmodnar]

The true power of humans is their skill to adapt. If they are living close to Orcs they may became Barbarians and be assimilated in the Orc culture and live in their vicinity. When living in close to Dwarfs they will assimilate the culture and do metal works, while not as precise as a dwarf the humans may accelerate the tecnological expertise. And so on, until humans eventualy becames the sole bridge among all races.

[dawall]

I now have an image in my head of entire tribes of ogres or giants or even trolls doing migration farm labor across the Kingdom or an Empire.

Start in the South during the spring work there way north planting crops when they get to the North. Spend the summer enjoying the money earned with food lots and lots of food. Then work there way South. During the fall, harvesting all the crops.

Something similar takes place in the North American continent right now. Many farmers can't afford to have those giant combines that can harvest an entire field in a day. So there are organizations that pretty much do nothing but own and maintain those huge combines, and they travel north and south with their equipment every year. Planting crops and harvesting crops.

I imagine tribes of ogre's giants may be even trolls. Doing the exact same thing, maybe with a human spokesman to negotiate payment with who over the farmer is.

[davidtitanium]

20 seconds in and i see an overlord reference, based honestly, their worldbuilding in the novels is so good

[Carakav]

A generalist does not have to out-compete with a specialist in their niche, they just have to be viable enough to survive. This way they proliferate to every niche, and dominate in the aggregate.

[LordPeachew]

I feel like humans would work they just be like a more capable goblin with a high birth rate and willingness to take crazy losses in a fight. If they learn tech or magic most races probably just leave them alone.

I also think that a lot of times fantasy nerfs human abilities. Stone Age humans killed giant predators all the time and with every one being basically human + nothing is too alien to simply copy.

[somestupidsongbird]

It's a human's nature to adapt, bend the world to their will, or adapt to bend to world to their will
Even if humans can't innately use magic, they'd find a way to use magic as long as it exists.

[jimothyworldbuilding]

This is why including disadvantages for other species is important.
Elves reproduce slowly, so low numbers. Oh no the 100 elves won the battle against the 500 humans with only a single casualty. 20 years later oh no the 99 elves won the battle against the 1000 humans with only 2 casualties...
Lowkey elven advisors or even rulers would probably be helpful for a lot of human realms. Someone who actually thinks about what the effects of a policy or action will be 100, 200 or more years into the future. Problem is they might not like change of any kind, seeing it as a threat.
Orcs, goblins etc are dumb dumb poopooheads.
Catgirls can be tamed by giving them some fish and a pat on the head.

[Shimatzu]

I belive its a overestimation to assume diseases would be exterminated just due to magic existing. Even if magic is more accessable than medicine is nowdays. Just if you go by how it is in most fantasy settings, healing is often somewhat rare outside of priests, therefore rural areas would still likely lack the benefit of a healer.

[toddkes]

6:22 - I am now imagining the fantasy world equivalent of "Not My Catgirl", where someone comes home from work and there is a Catgirl in their home. She is friendly, wants attention, and if she trusts you she will want cuddles. But you have no idea who she is or where she came from.

[coltonstrickland]

Thank you god I’ve been asking this forever

[BleachDemon]

humans survive because we compensate for our weaknesses.

[Bryan-dj]

In Middle Earth, most humans spent pretty well up to the end of the Third Age getting the snot kicked out of them repeatedly.

[elgordoable]

Coincido contigo, nuestra supervivencia se volvería más fácil si lograremos usar magia, de otro modo solo seríamos "mascotas" por parte de las demás razas.

Eso sí, creo que el progreso tecnológico podría llegar, aunque, seguramente sería visto cómo algo extraño o cómo un juego.

[jgr]

TIL that, according to Schää, Humans do not exist, as it would be impossible for them to live in a world filled with monsters & stronger Humanoids, just like in prehistory.

[thrall]

Greetings praise algorithm gods

Looking on a witcher lore. Yea we would be fine.