Kill All Humans!

Well, not really. But I think a human-less campaign would make for an interesting game! The general assumption in the standard Points of Light setting for 4E is that humans are pretty much everywhere, and vastly outnumber all the other races, who, while not uncommon, aren't all over the place either. 


But just what would a fantasy world look like if you took humanity out of the picture? Well, for starters, you have to get rid of half-elves, half-orcs, and tieflings as well. But that much should be obvious. How would the lack of humans change the way the rest of the races get along? Would they become xenophobic, isolated and untrusting of each other in their own secluded communities and kingdoms? This view assumes that humans act as a kind of social glue that can bring members of different races together into a community, without wanting to kill each other. Without humans all over the place, the races won't mix at all. 


However, we do see some of that activity in standard D&D settings. The dwarves in their mountains, the elves in their forests, etc etc. Perhaps humanity's constant warring amongst themselves is what causes the other races to sequester themselves, and without humans they would all get along; or at least, all of them band together against monstrous threats. 


Or perhaps they banded together against the human threat, and thousands of years ago, eliminated them in a terrible act of complete genocide.  I think this may be the premise for my next campaign!