History Main / HumansAreAverage

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** We have rather average bite strength compared to specialized carnivore animals, with two sets of canines and not as much raw jaw strength. However, anyone who has been bitten by another human could vouch that our bites still ''really'' hurt.

* ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': In an omake, Laios notes that [[HumansByAnyOtherName tall-men]] like him don't seem to have any special talents compared to the other races. Tall-men are stronger than elves but not as good at magic or as long-lived, have more endurance than dwarves but aren't as strong, are longer-lived than [[{{Hobbits}} half-feet]] but don't have their sharp senses, etcetera. Tall-men only stand out by being taller on average. And even then, ogres have them beat on height. Namari, a dwarf, suggests that tall-men have an affinity for singing and dancing, but this puts Laios off since he himself isn't good at either.

** We have extremely average or downright sub-par arm and grip strength compared to other primates, with gorillas having around ''twenty times'' the grip strength of a human; however as we are completely bipedal and don't need to use our arms for movement, we have evolved to use our hands in far more varied, and at times more destructive ways, than any other simian has.

* ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': In an omake, Laios notes that [[HumansByAnyOtherName tall-men]] like him don't seem to have any special talents compared to the other races. Tall-men are stronger than elves but not as good at magic or as long-lived, have more endurance than dwarves but aren't as strong, are longer-lived than {{Hobbits half-feet}} but don't have their sharp senses, etcetera. Tall-men only stand out by being taller on average. And even then, ogres have them beat on height. Namari, a dwarf, suggests that tall-men have an affinity for singing and dancing, but this puts Laios off since he himself isn't good at either.

* ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': In an omake, Laios notes that [[HumansByAnyOtherName tall-men]] like him don't seem to have any special talents compared to the other races. Elves are good at magic, gnomes can handle spirits, and so on, but tall-men are just taller on average. And even then, ogres have them beat on height. Namari, a dwarf, suggests that tall-men have an affinity for singing and dancing, but this puts Laios off since he himself isn't good at either.

** Later in the series, this is slightly averted; While humans sure like to think of themselves as the jack-of-all-trades of the civilized galaxy, the rest of the galaxy does not. To many of these races, the Humans are a young, slightly naive, but most of all ambitious race, who relies on [[TheHeavy mental and physical fortitude]] outside the norm of most of the races - In fact, Humans are counted among the more brutish races, which include [[SpaceRomans Turians]] and the [[BloodKnight Krogans]]. However, humans are less outright aggressive than the former in warfare and likes order much, MUCH more than the latter. On the other hand, humans are infamous for their incredibly laissez-faire manner of colonization, which includes complete freedom for companies to make a colony wherever they want, as long as it isn't owned by another race. Or at least, that's how the traditionally more dogmatic council races, who spends hundreds of years planning each expansion, sees it.

If you see any fantasy or science fiction setting involving humans and other sentient races, humans are highly likely to be average. Smart but not the [[ProudScholarRace smartest]], strong but not the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy strongest]], having ability to use magic but no affinity for it, [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters have plenty of bastards among them]] but not necessarily AlwaysChaoticEvil, having plenty of saints among them but not AlwaysLawfulGood. They live longer than mayflies but shorter than elves. In other words, humans are the literary JackOfAllStats - as well as likely having average stats all around if this is an RPGMechanicsVerse.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'''s humans pretty much count. They use this to become a major power in the universe, more or less, after the Asgard begin to trust them.
* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', despite Crichton's [[HumanityIsSuperior assertions]] to the contrary, what Humans lack in speed, strength, and intelligence compared to most of the races in the universe, they make up in sheer tenacity.
* Throughout ''Franchise/StarTrek'', this is true of the physical and intellectual prowess of humans. We lack the raw strength of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Klingons]], the mental abilities of [[ProudScholarRaceGuy Vulcans]], the [[MadeOfIron nigh-indestructibleness]] of [[LizardFolk Gorn]], etc. It's our creativity and [[TheDeterminator raw determination]] that allow us to match or surpass other species.

* {{Justified}} in the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' sub-series. Humans are average, but that's because they're the creator of the other races--[[MechanicalLifeforms CASTs]], [[ProudScholarRaceGuy Newmans]], and [[BeastMan Beasts]]--who were developed for specific purposes. Excluding the Dewmans in ''Phantasy Star Portable 2'' and ''Infinity'', who are instead humans that were exposed to [[TheCorruption the SEED]].

** We have rather average bite strength compared to specialized carnivore animals, with only two canines and not as much raw jaw strength. However, anyone who has been bitten by another human could vouch that our bites still ''really'' hurt.

* In ''VideoGame/DungeonCrawl'', humans have a 100% growth rate for all skills. Other species have some skills that train faster and some that train slower. Additionally, they have no major gimmicks, unlike many other species. Although lack of gimmicks is not exclusive to humans, it does accentuate their averageness.

* In Creator/AlanDeanFoster's ''Literature/TheDamned'' trilogy, this is subverted in the fact that humans are both average in ability-- they can run, AND swim, AND climb, AND can adapt to climates wet and dry, hot and cold, etc.... yet this all forms a synergy with their psychology to make humans the deadliest damn warriors in the galaxy. (Of all the species in the universe, humans are the only ones who THRIVE in combat. To the other sentient races of the universe we are the equivalent of a Bengal tiger with tools.) To add a bit of background, most races in the galaxy are unable to even harm another sentient being. One species literally goes catatonic when viewing violence, and similar reactions of disgust are the norm. It's the area in which humans are not average that helps them here, as they are considered borderline insane for possessing individuals who find pleasure in war.

* ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': In an omake, Laios notes that [[HumansByAnyOtherName tallmen]] like him don't seem to have any special talents compared to the other races. Elves are good at magic, gnomes can handle spirits, and so on, but tallmen are just taller on average. And even then, ogres have them beat on height. Namari, a dwarf, suggests that tallmen have an affinity for singing and dancing, but this puts Laios off since he himself isn't good at either.

* Played with in TabletopGame/{{World Of Darkness}}. To make a supernatural character, you start with a basic human for a template, then add all the supernatural perks and additions. In actual Gameplay, though, even [[BadassNormal regular humans]] can be very dangerous to an unwary vampire or werewolf. The only real limitation that a human has is how easily they die compared to everything else. Other than that, a large enough and well-prepared group of humans can take out a werewolf without breaking much of a sweat. Taken to its [[UpToEleven Logical Extreme]] with the Hunter class; completely regular humans trained and outfitted specifically for the [[BloodKnight destruction]] of supernatural monsters of all sorts.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The Empire. Lancers? Yeah, they're alright, but they pale in comparison to Bretonnian knights. Archers? Sure, just remember that Wood Elves are the kings of pointy stick death. Guns and artillery? We have those too, but Dwarves do it better. Magic? A little bit, but don't get into magic duels with High Elves or Chaos. Swarms? We can just throw guys at you better than most, but Skaven, Goblins, and Undead can throw way more. Melee? We're okay at that, but it's the Chaos Warriors and Orcs who are the real face-wreckers of this game. The thing is, even though we're not especially great at any of these, we can do ''all'' of these to a competent degree. As a great general once said, "attack the enemy with the weapon he lacks", and the humans of the Empire are the undisputed kings of doing just that. Of course, it bears mentioning that aforementioned Bretonnian Knights and Chaos Warriors are ''also'' Humans from different cultures (albeit many of the latter are seriously mutated). This trope also applies to the minor human factions like Tilea, Estalia, Marienburg, the Border Princes, and Kislev, since they mostly use variants of Empire units (with a few unique additions like better light cavalry and fewer guns for Kislev, or better pikes and crossbows but smaller cannons and less magic for Tilea and Estalia).

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The Empire in a nutshell. Cavalry? Yeah, they're alright, but they pale in comparison to Bretonnian knights. Archers? Sure, just remember that Wood Elves are the kings of pointy stick death. Guns and steam-powered vehicles? We have those too, but Dwarves do it better. Magic? Yep, but don't get into magic duels with High Elves. Swarms? We can just throw guys at you, but Skaven and Undead can throw even more. Melee? We're okay at that, but it's the Chaos Warriors who are the real face-wreckers of this game. The thing is, even though we're not especially great at any of these, we can do ''all'' of these to a competent degree. As a great general once said, "attack the enemy with the weapon he lacks", and the humans of the Empire are the undisputed kings of doing just that.
** Of course, it bears mentioning that aforementioned Bretonnian Knights and Chaos Warriors are ''also'' Humans from different cultures.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'': Humans have average game stats across the board, whereas [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]] and [[{{Hobbits}} halflings]] have strengths and weaknesses and [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]] are more powerful but more specialized. Some editions also give them extra random starting [[SkillScoresAndPerks Talents]].

* Grab any RPG with multiple races. Chances are fairly high that humans will have extremely average stats and a bonus that helps them either grab one non-predetermined specialization (though not quite as good as [[PlanetOfHats the specialized race]]) or become even more flexible. They'll also likely have a "Common" language or the like instead of (or implicitly ''as'') a racial language.

** In the video game adaptation Blood Bowl 2, the Human League is a type of Mixed Team that allows coaches to form a single team from the Humans, Norse, Amazon, Bretonnia, and Kislev teams. Almost all the players in these teams have the human statline, but each has skills and skill accesses that, when brought together, go straight past this trope into HumansAreSpecial.

-> ''"Humans are common and uninteresting."''
--> -- ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight''

''TabletopGame/RedDwarf'': Human characters have no major advantages or drawbacks compared to other races and have balanced stat caps. Holograms are this as well, given that they're former humans, barring issues regarding battery life and tangibility if in hard or soft light mode.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', this is averted for most of the races of Men, who skew more toward being [[HumansAreWarriors warriors]] (the [[HornyVikings Nords]] and [[MasterSwordsman Redguards]]) or [[WitchSpecies Mages]] (the UnevenHybrid Bretons). However, the Imperials play it straight. They are the JackOfAllStats among the races of Men (and just behind the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Dunmer (Dark Elves)]] for all races) who are outclassed in each skill category (combat, magic, stealth) by at least 2-3 other races each but also lack the ''deficiencies'' of those races. The Imperials have managed to forge three empires from their homeland of Cyrodiil (under the Alessian, Reman, and Septim dynasties) thanks to their skills in [[HumansAreLeaders leadership]], [[HumansAreDiplomats diplomacy]], [[ProudMerchantRace mercantilism]], and by having a greater focus on tactics and collective martial prowess, making them the [[SoldierVersusWarrior soldiers to the Nord/Redguard warriors]]. In terms of gameplay, they are a BoringButPractical race to play as, making them a very diverse and accessible race. Their bonuses make them good diplomat-style characters who can back that up with solid cross-class combat ability.

It may be worth noting that ecologically speaking, humans actually _are_ an unusually well-rounded generalist species compared to other Earth creatures, [[ExtremeOmnivore especially in terms of diet]], so this trope may well eventually turn out to be TruthInTelevision if we ever meet aliens.

It may be worth noting that ecologically speaking, humans are actually an unusually well-rounded generalist species compared to other Earth creatures, [[ExtremeOmnivore especially in terms of diet]], so this trope may well eventually turn out to be TruthInTelevision if we ever meet aliens.

* There are many races in planet Ki, from the ''Literature/{{Kadingir}}'' series, and they all have different levels of special abilities, some with higher [[PsychicRadar empathy]], some with insane [[PsiBlast mental skills]]... However, their powers are always evened out by having much lower levels in their other abilities. The [[HumanAliens human-looking Ziti]] are the only race that has a perfect balance in Knowledge, Empathy and Mind Power, making them utterly unremarkable but with no obvious weaknesses either.

* Averted in ''Webcomic/FairyDust''. Each race tends to consider itself the default. From most other race's point of view, humans are quite gifted at organising into large groups, and specially weak when it comes to mental stability.

* Throughout ''Franchise/StarTrek'', this is true of the physical and intellectual prowess of humans. We lack the raw strength of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Klingons]], the mental abilities of [[ProudScholarRaceGuy Vulcans]], the [[MadeOfIron nigh-indestructibleness]] of [[TheReptilians Gorn]], etc. It's our creativity and [[TheDeterminator raw determination]] that allow us to match or surpass other species.

* ''Literature/AxiomsEnd'':
While details are scarce, Ampersand indicates that humanity is anything but average. Of the four sapient species known to the Pequod civilization, humans have evolved remarkably fast, taking leaps in technology and population size previously thought impossible for “natural” species to achieve.