Humanity is the default morality for kindred, where all kindred begin. To help keep their beasts at bay a newly embraced kindred wraps himself in a shell of his formal life and morality, using it to try to keep the beast at bay. Humanity however is just as much a structured type of morality as the Paths are. Humans don't follow humanity, they don't have to, a human can assault someone but then give to charity, a high humanity vampire who assaults someone finds themselves weakened to the beast, if just a little.
Despite all efforts to the contrary, a vampire is going to succumb to moral failure sooner or later in his unlife. Willfully or otherwise (ethics are particularly hard to maintain in frenzy), a vampire occasionally commits an atrocity and risks losing to the Beast. If the character feels remorse for his actions, he knows that his humanity is still intact. If he commits a wrongful act and callously disregards it, however, his resistance to the Beast is obviously waning. It seems hard to slide to the lowest echelons of the scale, but consider the prominence of the Beast as Humanity falters. Sooner or later, the character will be committing depravity outside her own volition. The Storyteller is free to decree that characters of low Humanity (3 or less) occasionally act according to various urges and impulses that must be resisted with resolve rolls or Willpower expenditure.
*Minimum of 1
Aura and Bearing
Those with high (8+) humanity have a friendly, saintly bearing about that makes humans far more willing to trust them and be generous to the kindreds desires. While those with lower humanity can't help but let their beasts show, something frightening to mortals, even if just on a subconscious level. High humanity vampires are still dangerous however, one bad day can have them brutally killing those who her aura has enraptured. A kindred on humanity finds their Aura and Bearing effect all mundane Persuasion, Expression, and Socialize rolls made with mortals.
Humanity 10-8
Kindred with Humanity ratings this high are, ironically, more human than human. Many fledgling vampires sometimes adhere to codes more rigorous than they ever held in life, as a reaction against becoming a predator. Older Kindred scoff at this practice, laughing at the thought of newly whelped neonates cowering beneath fire escapes and subsisting on the foul blood of rats, vainly rebelling against their murderous natures. In truth, vampires who maintain high ratings in Humanity are rare, as every Kindred must kill sooner or later. Vampires with high Humanity are almost unbearable by their peers, who find frustration in their perceived naiveté and self-righteousness; most Kindred prefer to suffer through unlife without kicking themselves. High Humanity ratings indicate aversion to killing and even distaste for taking more vitae than is necessary. Though not necessarily passive or preachy, Kindred with high Humanity uphold excruciatingly exacting standards, and often have very clearly defined concepts of moral right and wrong.
Humanity 7
Vampires at this level of Humanity can usually manage to pass for mortals. Vampires with 7 Humanity typically subscribe to “normal” social mores — it’s not acceptable to hurt or kill another person, it’s wrong to steal something that another person owns, but sometimes the speed limit is just too damn slow. The vampire is still concerned with the natural rights of others at this stage of morality, though more than a little selfishness shines through.
Humanity 6-5
People die. Stuff breaks. A vampire below the cultural human norm has little difficulty with the fact that she needs blood to survive, and she does what needs to be done to get it. Though she won’t necessarily go out of her way to destroy property or end a victim’s life, she accepts that sometimes that’s what fate has in store for some folks. Though not constantly horrid, Kindred at this stage of Humanity are certainly at least mildly unpleasant to be around. Their laissez-faire attitudes toward others’ rights offend many more moral individuals.
Humanity 4
The vampire begins an inevitable slide into urge indulgence. A Humanity of 4 indicates that killing is acceptable to this Kindred, so long as his victim is “deserving.” Many vampire elders hover around this level of Humanity, if they haven’t adopted some other moral code. Destruction, theft, injury — these are all tools, rather than taboos, for a vampire with Humanity 4. The vampire’s own agenda becomes paramount at this point, and screw whoever gets in the way.
Humanity 3-2
The lives and property of others are irrelevant to a Kindred this far gone. The vampire likely indulges twisted pleasures and aberrant whims, which may include any manner of atrocity. Perversion, callous murder, mutilation of victims, and wickedness for its own sake are the hallmarks of a Kindred with very low Humanity. Few vampires maintain ratings this low and lower for very long — their damnation is all but certain at this point. Physical changes show up at this stage;
while not hideous in the sense of the Nosferatu or certain Gangrel, the vampire acquires a pallid, corpse-like, and noticeably unwholesome aspect; her face constantly contorted to a predatory glare.
Humanity 1
Only nominally sentient, Kindred with Humanity 1 teeter on the edge of oblivion. Little matters to vampires this far gone, even their own desires outside of sustenance and rest. There is literally nothing a vampire with Humanity 1 won’t do, and only a few tattered shreds of ego stand between him and complete devolution. Many who attain this stage find themselves no longer capable of coherent speech, and spend their nights gibbering blasphemy in their gore-spattered havens.
Humanity 0
Must sleep. Must feed. Must kill. Players may not run characters with Humanity 0. Vampires at this stage are completely lost to the Beast and have became Wights.