Redoing Humans in 5e (PEACH)

[ReturnOfTheKing]

I would like to disagree with the idea of using actual human species that have existed. That's not High Fantasy. That's just...meh.

D&D isn't necessarily high fantasy, but I can see your point.

Ape-Men: Primitive subhumans from the far arctic north, dense jungles, lost mountain ranges, and so on. Some of them may be devolved humans, while others may be apes that are still evolving into human. Totally not racist caricatures (Howard had Ape-Men from the Black Kingdoms and stuff but he also had Ape-Men beyond the Arctic circle who eventually evolved into the Nords and Aryans, according to his Hyborian Gensis essay).

Oh yeah, totally not racist!

I had ape-men before, but I felt they didn't really fit the vision I had for the overarching race, being more "primitive savages in a jungle" than "adaptable and ambitious pioneers" (though admittedly, the Drow don't exactly fit the picture painted by the Elf description either…) Still, based on your suggestions, I guess I could play up the "ancestors of mankind" angle.

Morlocks: Subterranean humans who eat people.

Eloi: Isolated humans in soft areas where they need fear no predator and want for nothing, so they've become passive. Also often food for Morlocks.

Nah, sorry, but not only are those roles taken by the Drow and the Halflings, respectively, I'm not gonna directly rip off H.G. Wells here.

High Men: The fallen race of proud Men in the distant past who built stuff like Atlantis and Acheron and Numenor and stuff. Live longer, but less adaptable and prone to sinking continents.

This, I like. It might be treading on the Elves' toes a bit, but it's unique enough to work.