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The state of being humane. Also refers to the quality of a vampire's morality - his or her distance from the morals of mortals.
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The Descent
These are taken from Vampire: the Requiem (pg 185-186) and The Blood (pages 104-107).
Humanity 10-8
Version 1
Kindred with Humanity scores this high can seem “more human than human.” Neonates might recoil from their own monstrosity and take up ethical codes stricter than any they followed in life. They usually try to feed only from animals or seek other alternatives to victimizing mortals, and feed as little as possible in any case. They don’t have to act preachy or passively accept everything that unlife and their fellow Kindred throw at them, but they must work hard to avoid harming anyone else and to atone for any sin they commit. Interaction with mortals often matters a great deal to such Kindred, as interacting with the living helps them remember what life was like. They can also pass for mortal almost without effort.
Few mortals can maintain such high ethical standards, and even fewer Kindred succeed for long. A vampire eventually loses control and kills someone, and then kills again. Kindred harden themselves to this awful truth or destroy themselves to prevent further harm to others. Few Kindred find reason to both continue their existence and remain this moral.
Older, more jaded (or realistic) Kindred often find highly humane vampires insufferably naïve. They take dour satisfaction in the thought that the whelps will learn better, just as they did. Some elders are not above foisting “lessons” in callousness, selfishness or deceit on a neonate who thinks he can be a “good vampire.”
Version 2
Vampires at this level of Humanity are rare. They are holy. They are delicate. It is incredibly diffi cult to maintain the existence of a vampire without causing harm to others — both living and undead — and it is very, very likely that very few of the local Kindred will give them much credit for it. Almost every vampire who maintains a Humanity rating this high does it somewhere far away from the politics of the Danse Macabre, feeding as little as possible and avoiding the temptations of Discipline use and violence. They will, however, seek to interact with mortals as much as possible, enjoying their kinship and reveling in the glow of their lively excitements.
These Kindred cannot help but feel pity when they look at vampires with lower Humanity, and may or may not want to help them redeem themselves. In fact, failing to aid them and help quell the demands of the Beast may lead to a degeneration check (since the vampire cannot tolerate responsibility for pain or injury, and allowing a monster to infl ict his urges unimpeded is tantamount to standing by and letting it happen). Those who have a clear understanding of this truth have two choices: retreat completely from society and blind themselves to the ongoing horrors of their own kind, or risk losing everything in their attempts to change the world.
It is almost inconceivable that a Daeva could maintain a Humanity score higher than 7 for longer than a week or two because of the mechanical weakness of the clan. The demands of Vice are constantly pulling at them, and nobody’s Willpower lasts forever.
A signifi cant proportion of Kindred with Humanity ratings of 8 or higher eventually commit suicide. Rather than face the degeneration they know awaits them and the attendant harm that they will subsequently infl ict on the mortal population, many make what seems like the only moral choice for vampires: to accept that the moment of their Embrace was rightfully the moment of their human death, and to physically acknowledge that fact by walking into the light of the sun.
Humanity 7-6
Version 1
At this Humanity, Kindred have ethical standards like those of most mortals. They feel that killing, theft and cruelty are wrong, but they don’t go all weepy if they shade the truth a little, hit someone who tried to hit them first, or take opportunities for a little fun that don’t really hurt anyone else. Such a character has a Vice that she probably indulges in small ways with only minimal regrets. These Kindred can still easily pass for mortal, and they probably have mortal acquaintances.
Version 2
Most characters start out with a Humanity of 7, but most Kindred who have spent more than a year or two in the Requiem average out at a 4 or 5 Humanity rating.
Kindred at this level of Humanity feel no unusual urge to distance themselves from Kindred politics, and many will believe that they have the capacity to improve the situation in their domain, whether or not they are correct. They still feel alive enough that spending time close to mortals is enjoyable, and they feel dead enough that interacting with other vampires doesn’t always seem like shaking hands with the devil.
Vice is occasionally indulged by Kindred with this level of Humanity, but they usually make an effort to do so under controlled circumstances and cause as little actual harm as possible. A Greedy vampire may ask for more compensation than she deserves, but won’t actually break into someone else’s house and steal from them. A Wrathful one may take pleasure in hurling insults on a call-in radio show, but won’t be eager to pick a fi ght on the street.
These Kindred regard those with higher Humanity as curiosities deserving admiration or respect. They often describe them as enlightened or saintly, openly admitting that they would aspire to emulate them, but often qualifying that confession with an admission of weakness that prevents the attempt.
Those with lower Humanity seem sick or animalistic to these higher-Humanity vampires. They aren’t likely to want to extend a helping hand to lower-Humanity vampires, though, unless they were already friends or acquaintances before their degeneration took hold. It’s more likely that Kindred with Humanity 6 or 7 will treat low-Humanity Kindred as predatory beasts, avoiding them whenever possible and maintaining a cautious stance when they have no choice but to meet.
Humanity 5
Version 1
It’s a tough world, and Kindred with this Humanity score accept that they need some toughness as well. Such characters can recognize and reject deliberate atrocities… but shit happens. If some happens to them, they throw it right back. Why should they act better than anyone else?
At this Humanity, a Kindred starts to show the eerie unpleasantness that puts mortals on their guard. A skilled dissembler can still persuade mortals to ignore their instincts, though.
Version 2
This is one of the two “stable” Humanity ratings most common to the world of Kindred. Vampires who even out at a rating of 5 are not especially squeamish about violence, especially when responding to provocation, but they won’t go out of their way to infl ict pain or destruction for any reason. They tend to think that it’s always a mistake to kill a human, if not for compassionate reasons, then for simple expediency — to avoid alerting the prey to the presence of a predator. Many Kindred who manage to maintain this level of Humanity do it by maintaining a habitual schedule that minimizes the potential for surprise, taking the time to make amends whenever they do make mistakes and learning to Ride the Wave in frenzy so that they can direct the occasional outbursts of the Beast away from innocent mortals.
Kindred at this level often begin to explore Vice in uncontrolled circumstances, taking risks as a means to increasing the excitement and pleasure derived from the activity. The Greedy vampire might try a little thievery here and there, testing the limits of his skill and intellect and satisfying his urge, while a Wrathful one might deliberately wander into unpredictable situations, welcoming the chance to cut loose if it comes up.
These Kindred tend to think that those with higher Humanity are more likely inexperienced than they are sacred, and that most will eventually lose their naïve outlook and “settle down.” Kindred with Humanity 5 are still compassionate enough to be politic with their own kind, and are not likely to deride or insult their more humane brethren unless roused by aggravation.
Having lost a bit of Humanity themselves, vampires at this level are not likely to judge those lower on the scale. To be comfortable with themselves, they believe that a measure of degeneration is inevitable, and usually accept that different Kindred must operate on different sets of morals and ethics as inherited from their living days. These vampires won’t be eager to see those vampires make trouble, but also won’t immediately treat them like sad cases or beasts.
Humanity 4
Version 1
Most Kindred eventually stabilize at or around this Humanity. Characters with Humanity 4 become genuinely callous and selfish. Murder no longer shocks them. Violence, theft, treachery, lies — these are all just tools to help a Kindred get what he wants, to gain power and to protect his all-important self. Expedience becomes sufficient justification for nearly anything. A character suffers from his Vice and indulges it with little restraint. He can still recognize the practical, legal consequences if the mortal world discovers his crimes, however, so he takes care to hide his offenses.
Such a low-Humanity Kindred has a distinctly corpselike appearance, though makeup can compensate. Beauty carries a predatory taint or shows the bland, sterile attractiveness of a manikin. Only the inability to conceive of such a thing keeps mortals from recognizing the character as a walking, talking cadaver.
Version 2
This is the second of the two “stable” Humanity ratings, and it is much more prevalent than Humanity 5, simply because many Kindred eventually kill the occasional mortal, and a rating of 4 tolerates those mistakes (as long as they are truly mistakes). Vampires who even out at a rating of 4 are willing to accept the occasional slip, and even the occasional death that results, so long as those slips are not the result of premeditated acts. Similar to those with a Humanity of 5, vampires at Humanity 4 aren’t eager to infl ict suffering or cause death. However, these vampires are less likely to go out of their way to prevent those outcomes. They drop to this level of Humanity by absolving themselves of responsibility for accidents (or for the eruptions of the Beast), but they maintain it by making some effort to avoid going completely over the edge.
Kindred at this level develop a real taste for their Vice, and are likely to push things further than those at Humanity 5. A Greedy vampire will plot heists or seek to actively take power away from others in the structure of domain politics, while a Wrathful one will enthusiastically look for reasons to visit his fury on worthy targets. The indulgence of Vice at this level is the most likely cause for degeneration, not frenzy.
By the time a vampire gets to Humanity 4, he is almost certain to have gained at least one derangement. This madness contributes to his motivations and night-to-night activities, whether he likes to admit it or not, and it has a lot to do with how he is perceived by others higher on the scale.
These vampires are less forgiving of those with Humanity ratings at the high end of the scale, and they tend to get irritated by their complaints, accusations and even their expressions of sympathy. As far as Humanity 4 vampires are concerned, those Kindred who maintain their Humanity at high levels are immature or insane or struggling to fi nd a way to justify their weakness.
Not eager to devolve any further and not quite as compassionate as some of those higher on the scale, Kindred at this level are not likely to look kindly upon those with lower Humanity ratings. Instead, Kindred with Humanity 4 are repulsed by the loss of faculty they represent, knowing quite well (even if they’re not ready to admit it) that they are poised on the precipice of following suit themselves. Psychologically speaking, it’s necessary for many Kindred at this level to draw a line between themselves and those with a lower Humanity rating, if only to maintain Requiems that aren’t overwhelmed with worry and guilt. Cruel assumptions about low-Humanity vampires’ corruption, lack of intelligence or psychosis are often voiced.
Humanity 3-2
Version 1
A vampire does whatever he can get away with. Only the most remarkable sadism or perversion can bother Kindred with such a low Humanity… or at least seem too dangerous to justify the pleasure they would bring. All other creatures are tools, toys or food. Anyone who says otherwise has proved he is too stupid to deserve consideration. A character this inhumane feels the pull of such a potent Vice, on top of the Beast and his own ruthlessness, that he barely qualifies as sane.
No amount of dissembling can help such a character pass for human for long. Mortals know within minutes that they are in the presence of a monster, even if they don’t realize what kind.
Version 2
A vampire at this state has gone too far. She is no longer likely to appreciate the need for her Humanity, and actually begins to see mortals as useful tools, simple prey or aggravating nuisances. There is little kindness or mercy left in her, and even vampires with Humanity 4 or 5 will understand that she is well on her way to the shameful state of the draugr. These vampires do go out of their way to create pain and sow destruction. They like it. It makes them feel good.
Vice is an ongoing motive for Kindred who drop so low. Not only will they seek out situations that will allow them to indulge, but they enjoy taking their indulgences to the limit. A Greedy vampire won’t just work to rob another of wealth and territory; he’ll work to clean her out completely. A Wrathful one won’t just beat on a troublemaker; he’ll cripple her for life and dare witnesses to try and interfere.
Kindred at Humanity ratings of 3 and 2 usually suffer from at least two derangements, at least one of which is almost always severe or extreme. They cut truly terrifying fi gures, becoming unpredictable, bizarre and deadly. Even those who once knew and relied upon them can’t be sure to trust them once they get to this state.
These vampires don’t care enough to have an opinion about those either below or above them on the Humanity scale. As long as nobody interferes with them, they can’t be bothered to worry. If someone does interfere, they won’t pause to consider the reason before retaliating.