HUMANS

Humans are the most versatile character class in Dominions of Darkness. 
Oblivious to the supernatural beings and events around them, Humans go about their daily lives without ever suspecting the danger that exists in the world they thought they knew. If they happen to witness something that does not fit within their view of the world, they quickly explain it away as their imaginations, or some type of optical illusion. Most Humans have an uncanny ability to "unsee" anything that does not fit their understanding of reality. This natural defense protects their mental health when faced with seeing something that could potentially violate their known universe.

Only Humans May Choose Their Own Paths.
In Dominions of Darkness, human beings are capable of evolving into any character class they may choose, if they so wish. If you're not sure if playing a Vampire or Garou is what you really want to do, or if you are new to the World of Darkness roleplay, or just online roleplay in general, playing a Human is the perfect choice. And the roleplay is very easy because you already know how to play a Human! So it's very difficult to make mistakes while you learn the game, earn XP and have fun.

Why Play An Ordinary Human In A Supernatural World?
Unlike all the other character classes that are solidified into their roleplay with no options other than death to change their classes, clans or tribes, Humans have all those choices available to them at any time during their roleplay. 

Not only do humans gain the same amount of experience points as every other class, if a Player with a Human Character happens to make friends out-of-character (OOC) with the Hunters, Gifted Humans, Garou or Vampire groups, that Player has the option of joining those groups and becoming a Hunter, Gifted Human, Garou or Vampire. Plus, 100% of the valuable XP you earned as a Human can be applied to your new Character Class, making them more powerful than if they had simply started out in that class. The added benefit is that your Human actually goes through the RP of the change, something that other characters who started out in those groups can only have in their backstories.

Humans wishing to change their character type need to gain permission from the leader of the group they wish to join (and/or City-Sim Owner), then contact the Dominions of Darkness Admin to clear the character sheet in your HUD and return your XP to be reallocated into your new chosen class. Click on the links below to learn more about each of these available Character Classes. 

• Vampires: Humans can become Ghouls or be embraced by a Vampire to become a Vampire. When a Vampire finds a particular human worthy of the immortal gift, they "Embrace" them by draining all their blood, replacing it with the Vampire's own Vitae and making that human their immortal childe. If the Player's Character was first a Ghoul, that Character gets to keep the Vampire ability they choose when they became a Ghoul (Fortitude, Potence or Celerity. See GHOULS below.)
  
  
• Ghouls: When a human drinks the blood of a Vampire, humans become the servants of the undead. By drinking their Master's blood, they share in the Vampire's power and immortality. Ghouls are created in Roleplay only, and are not one of the starter classes available upon Character Creation.
  
   Players with Human Characters have a choice of evolving into a Ghoul during roleplay with another Vampire Character. This does not require permission from the Admins or the Clan Leader. It also does not lead to having all your XP returned for reallocation. 
  
  When a Human becomes a Ghoul, the Player gets to choose ONE of the following Vampire Abilities to add to their own, opening up this avenue to purchase points and gain these modifiers:
  • Fortitude
  • Potence
  • Celerity
    
    
• Garou Werewolves*: While Garou are born (not turned or bitten) a Human character can possibly be an "unchanged cub," or what others might call a late bloomer. While the Garou are very protective of their kinfolk, it is not unheard of that a newborn kinfolk has slipped through their fingers, either absconded with by fearful kinfolk parents, or adopted by humans who have no idea of their child's heritage.
  
  Most of these children grow up with no knowledge of their werewolf heritage and live uneventful human lives. But rarer still are those who have passed through puberty as "Unchanged Cubs." Only later in early adulthood do they go through the metamorphosis and discover they are actually Garou.
  _{*Players must first get the approval of the Admins and the city's Garou leader before permitting this roleplay.} 
  
  
• Apex Kinfolk: A normal human mortal with an unknown or mysterious background may find later in life their true heritage is as part of the Garou Nation. Apex Kinfolk are the human offspring of either human parents with Garou blood, or one parent being a full Garou Werewolf. These talented mortals are not werewolves, nor are they normal Kinfolk, but are close kin to the Garou that have been touched by Gaia.
  
  Their special gifts can manifest at anytime, drawing them to serve their Garou family and tribe. While rare, some Apex Kinfolk find they were lost, abandoned, or stolen at birth and raised by normal human parents. Much like the "unchanged cub" that becomes a werewolf, Apex Kinfolk with this backstory can suddenly find they are a little more than simply human.
  
  
• Gifted Humans: Throughout the known and unknown history of mortal existence, humans have been born that display certain psychic abilities and supernatural traits. These rare humans are gifted with psychic powers that separate them from the rest of mankind, while allowing them to live among them though often labeled as Freaks of Nature.
  
  Humans can suddenly realize their untapped potential at any time in their lives. A traumatic event, near-death experience, hit by lightening or any number of things can suddenly open up a normal Human's special gifts. Select which type of Gifted Human you wish to be. All Gifted classes are available to the newly-awakened Gifted Human.
  
  
• Hunters: Just because standard mortals have no innate supernatural powers, it doesn't mean they are helpless and weak prey. Some mortals form guilds, combining their abilities into a force even undead and supernatural beings are wary to engage. These warriors of humanity fight back and hunt the supernatural beings that walk among them, especially those who are careless or have made themselves know to be dangerous. The capabilities of these mortal hunters (not to be mistaken with the gifted) depend entirely upon their training, skills, experience, associations and organized teamwork.
  
  Judges, Survivors, and Psivivors all naturally arise from ordinary Humans due to traumatic experiences that have opened their eyes to the horrors of the supernatural world. If your roleplay takes you down this path, then select the type of Hunter that best fits your roleplay style (or the group you wish to join) and easily evolve your character to be a protector of humanity.

BEING HUMAN: 
Biodiversity, Skills and Combat Proficiencies 

Humans have a great many skills they can acquire, much like in real life. How helpless or strong they become depends solely on their motivations, drives and goals. 

Players looking to create a Human Character may chose from a myriad of Skills, Attributes & Combat Proficiencies. These are the same abilities and skills that are open to all other Character Classes as well. This means you do not necessarily have to lose any of these skills if you decide to change your character type in the future (or you can get rid of those you found not useful and use your XP for something better).

The Dominions of Darkness Players' HUD lists all the available skills open to Humans from which you may choose upon Character Creation. Click each of the radial dials to select your skills and spend your initial points to generate your character. You may pick up your free Dominions of Darkness Players' HUD at the City of Miami's Welcome Center. 

What Are Passive Skills & Attributes?
In Dominions of Darkness, many Character Classes have Abilities that may require the Player to activate them by spending available Energy Points and making a successful dice roll based on the difficulty (DIF) level of that particular skill or ability. These include Dominate, Presence or Auspex for Vampires, while Werewolves must use Energy Points and dice rolls to activate their Gifts.

Humans are different, in that their mental and physical capabilities come only from the Skills and Attributes they earn through education or hone naturally through practice. 

Examples of Skills are: 

• Computers
• Subterfuge
• Investigation
• Chemistry
• Medical
• Larceny
• Craft
• Firearms
• All Combat Skills
  • Streetfighter Martial Arts
  • Brawl
  • etc.

Examples of Attributes are: 

• Willpower
• Initiative
• Athletics/Reflexes
• Alertness
• Intuition
• Persuasion/Intimidation
• Stealth

Attributes and Skills are Passive by nature, meaning when you purchase points in these with your earned Experience Points (XP), you are gaining valuable Modifiers. These Modifiers come into play when you attempt to perform a task that uses any of these Skills or Attributes as Modifiers.

Passive skills/abilities are special, are always active and do not require the Player to expend Energy Points to activate them.

For Example: Your Character has purchased 3 Points in Larceny. This skill comes into play when a Character wishes to pick a lock, break into building, use slight of hand tricks, pick pockets or shoplift. Each point purchased in Larceny gives your character a stackable +5 Bonus Modifier when attempting these types of tasks. This ability is always active and is automatically factored into your dice rolls by the Dominions of Darkness HUD.

Your character is attempting to pick a door lock. The Storyteller tells you that this is a common mechanical lock and only has a dice-roll Difficulty Level of 60 to open it and require the expenditure of 2 Energy Points to perform. Because your character has purchased 3 Points in Larceny, he gains a Modifier Bonus of +15 to open the lock. This means the Player only needs to roll a natural 45 to pick the lock.

• For a complete list of all the skills, attributes and combat proficiencies open to humans,
  CLICK HERE.
• For more information on getting a free Players' HUD and Getting Started, CLICK HERE.