Hello everyone. 
I'm brand spankin' new to Eberron (and to 4th Edition), so I've finally decided to pick up some of the books and get to making me a new character. I settled on a Human Ranger and after reading up on Eberron, I came up with a few things I'd really love to have in his background.
Primarily, I want him to hail from Drooam. I know that the region is primarily dominated by monstrous humanoids, but I am guessing anyone that can show their value, or is tough enough to make their value known, will be accepted no matter what their race. After all, it does say it as one of the requirements of being a warlord, no?
Would it be right alright then to have my archer hail from Drooam then? Particularly, I was hoping to have had his parents have been mercenaries who had worked with some of the monstrous bands that work in Drooam during the Last War.
It's fine and all for your character to hail from Droaam, it was technicaly part of Breland (the FAAAR west as it was known) before the Daughters of Sora Kell nabbed it for their own. Of course that being said, your character and his/her family must have been something special not to end up monster-chow pretty quick. There are sparse farmsteads out there, but it's a hard living and the neighbors aren't exactly the type to lend you a cup of sugar.
Being a ranger would suit the mood, surviving in the harsh wilderness against all odds. I'd suggest you take as a secondary language something like Goblin or Giant to reflect your colourful background. Oh and Intimidate is a must ;) .
There was a thread about it a while back:
community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
I was thinking that there might be humans living in Drooam.
Certainly. They're included in the Droaam population block of the ECS. Aside from the ideas mentioned, you've got a number of obvious categories: humans descended from Sarlonan emigrees (like those who settled the Shadow Marches), who have been in the region for over a thousand years and have been integrated into the monstrous cultures; humans attached to House Tharashk, which has significant influence in Droaam; and deserters and bandits who have taken sanctuary in Droaam, which is after all outside of the Treaty of Thronehold. Those falling into this latter category would have to be tough enough to hold their own in the nation of monsters, but there's no reason they can't find a place in it, provided they don't pose a threat to the Daughters.
Oh hehe, his parents definitely are. Or were. I still have to decide, but they were pretty tough mercenaries with plenty of contacts. And yup, I gave him Goblin as his second language to fit in with the background!
Oh and thank you for the link. I shall check it over. I do like the Drooam setting. It immediately caught my eye!
I would like to point out that your character might have survived; or his parents anyways- due to Contacts with House Tharashk. The House of Finding may be iconically Half Orc- but they are also a Human House: and the House has ties to Droam through the Lyons Roar Mercanary Company. (The company is mostly composed of "Monsters" on lease from the Daughters).
The Lyons Roar Mercanary Company might have had your Parents as partial Leaders, trainers, or participants- all allowing you to be raised in Droaam while remaining relativly safe. Hell your "Uncles" and "Aunts" may well have been Ogres and Medusa's who viewed the little human child as their companies mascot (similarly to how Adventurers seems to do this with captured Kobolds, Goblins, or Adolescent Monsters).
I think it would be an entertaining character to play: you might have some "Monsterous" tendancies; weird feelings about the daughters and the house; a sense of oddness with other humans... or you could just be a Human Survivor from Droaam who has survived through luck and wilderness training- you are a Ranger afterall.
Furthermore, some of the warlords of Droaam are prone to hiring teachers, scholars and mercenaries to create a veneer of civility ;) In Dragon Below part 2 one of the warlords has a human general educating his ogre troops in discipline and tactics ;) Granted, you need to be somewhat special to accept such a job, and even more special to start a family, but it still is not that far-fetched.
Of course, Droaam is also the place were desperate outlaws go to.