Why Must There Be Humans...?

[DragonOfTheAerie]

There is still the question of why the race who took over took only humans as slaves. Humans would definitely be easiest to control, and the most useful, of the races.

 

[La Volpe]

That being out of the way...I really can't pinpoint why having humans in my book bothers me so much. No animal is the same as on earth. There are no horses for my characters to ride or rabbits for them to hunt. This is simply because creating creatures is one of the most fun things about writing fantasy, so why cheat my imagination? From a scientific standpoint, humans wouldn't have evolved without the same environmental influences that brought them about on earth. So, there's that.

Well, I generally also like to create new creatures, but there are diminishing returns. E.g. the horse. I keep horses in most of my stories that require them, instead of creating a Glirbalop and making it perform the same function as a horse. If I can believably use a horse in my story, I do, since it doesn't gain me very much to do anything else.

Doesn't that mean my worldbuilding is less inventive and more humdrum? Yes, probably. But think of the amount of work you need to do here. You'll essentially need to construct entire new ecosystems, AND come up with good reasons why the same type of animals wouldn't have evolved. Wolves, for example, are very good at what they do, and that's why they survived and thrived. So if your story is set in a woodland (or an actual wolf-habitat if that isn't one), why wouldn't wolves (or wolf-like creatures) have evolved there?

I'm sure you can come up with solutions to these questions, but it's a lot of work for not much gain. No reader is going to assume your story uninventive because you included horses instead of Glirbalops.

Then again, I'm pretty lazy. *shrug*

I think the issue is that humans as a race don't seem to fit in with the others. All my races seem to me like humans+something (wings, photosynthesis, rainbowy skin and long lifespan) and humans are just...humans. Their presence bugs me.

Changing my characters from humans into some non-human species is practically out of the question. My idea of who and what they are is too well established.

Well, perhaps your problem is with that equation: humans + something. How about you rather use humanoid + something for all your races, including humans. I.e. don't give all human attributes to your other races. For example, maybe only your normal humans sweat. This makes them vastly superior in warm climates, because they can cool down a lot faster. Maybe they heal faster than others, or have a higher pain tolerance.

Also, humans are generally evolved for savannah living. E.g. maybe the other races can't run, because they never evolved an achilles tendon. Or they can't stay in the sun too long or they overheat.

I also see humans as a kind of changeling humanoid. Other races tend to be very stuck in their ways and more cohesive. Humans, on the other hand, are endlessly adaptable, able to live in almost any climate, adapt to it, and thrive. They can eat near anything. Maybe your other races have limited diets, and often struggle to get food.

If all else fails, humans could be your rat/cockroach humanoid race. I.e. impossible to get rid of, because they can live anywhere, are hard to kill, endlessly persistent, stupidly adaptable, wide diet, and maybe even faster reproduction.

You mentioned this in your first post:

Perhaps humans are the evolutionary ancestor of the races--but this raises questions, such as, why do they still exist?

The same reason there isn't just one kind of wolf/lion/elephant etc.

 

[WooHooMan]

Well, perhaps your problem is with that equation: humans + something. How about you rather use humanoid + something for all your races, including humans.

I think sci-fi does better with non-human people precisely because they don't follow any formula like that. Sci-fi writers tend to love getting weird with their peoples.

I think the best formula is theme=environment+life. "I want a warrior race (that's the theme) which means they need to be tough so what environment would create tough creatures? Well, desert wastelands, I guess? Ok, what kind of creatures evolve/prosper in that kind of environment?" and then you go from there.

 

[Vincent Lakes]

In my world, the major species are definitely humanoids, colored by different kinds of distinctive features that set them apart from each other, just like in real world. I basically like the lack of limitations in fantasy, but I also like to have something to relate to. I've noticed that if a story contains absolutely no humanoids, my interest level decreases rather rapidly because I've yet to read a story that could capture a non-human character in a way that it would hold through an entire story. This is probably because I'm a big fan of low fantasy, and tend to lean that way in my own writing as well, adding a lot of historical details from real world. If everything is made up, I lose my grip on it and my mind just stumbles like a toddler in the woods. I need something familiar, something that I recognize without thinking too deeply or interpreting to put it all in proper scale. It takes tremendous skill and a lot of time to wrap a pure fantasy setting without any anchor in reality to make it come through as believable alternative to real world. I'm not saying other settings don't require as much work; I have worked intensely through many years to make my low fantasy, medieval-spirited pile a dirt what it is now, and I'm just now beginning my journey in it, but I think the developing process can be slightly smoother when you don't have to start everything from a clean canvas, including every species and races that dwell in it.

The same goes for an average reader. I think readers are smart, and they can absorb incredible things with little effort. But you, or me, as a writer, have to create the characters, and if there's nothing familiar about the species, it takes a lot more to create that believable background where these characters are functioning.

I'm not sure if this makes much sense, but I did try my best to explain my personal view on pure fantasy and non-human species as related to everything else.

Deeply sorry for the wall of text. It is what it is.