Humans
Inheritors the earth. Humans are the most common denizen of Easthaven and the world at large. They are intelligent and hardy, having spent millennia pushing back against the dark and carving out their own space in the world. In civilized places, it is a human world which the supernatural inhabit, not the other way around. In general, the population is ignorant to the supernatural, skeptical or willing to make jokes about things they have no evidence of, but there are always those who believe and explore the unknown.
Innately, humans possess little magical talent, but they are the creators and primary practitioners of powerful ritual magic, practices and techniques which are found in every culture. Despite their inability to tap into magic themselves, they possess the capacity to interbreed with non-human entities, producing the innumerable half-bloods that can be found throughout the city and the world. Their blood can also be cursed or possessed by otherworldly or eldritch beings, causing them to unexpectedly mutate and develop powers.
For all intents and purposes, magic is a thing of the past. Human beings have moved beyond sorcery and superstition and stepped into the modern age. Humans today are smarter, healthier, and more ignorant of the supernatural world than ever before. They possess very little in the way of innate magical talent. At best, they may have a good intuition.
This, however, does not mean they are helpless. After all, humans rule the planet and it’s not entirely by chance. They are unequivocally the hardiest species, both physically and metaphysically. They can take a great deal of punishment from a variety of mundane and magical forces, interbreed with the supernatural to produce strong offspring, and have adapted and invented technology to eliminate their shortcomings.
They have also become dangerously good at hunting and killing or trapping the strange and unnatural. The supernatural world has collectively pulled away from the public consciousness over the span of the last century, preferring to live in urban legends and rumors. Now, most humans live in blissful ignorance, refusing to heed the ancestral memories of things that lurk beyond understanding, but there are a few who remember the old ways.
There are untold risks out there for humans, but also plentiful methods to avoid danger and protect themselves. It's important to note that humans are not helpless against the supernatural and they should not be framed as such universally. However, they are the one group who have the flexibility to survive an encounter with dangerous curses and possession and keep their minds and bodies intact afterwards.
A human can be afflicted with therianthropy and, if they survive their first transformation, they become a shifter.
A human can become undying or a spirit through either affliction or magic. They can also be cursed or possessed through similar means
After death, a human body continues to be magically receptive. Am I saying zombies? I'm probably saying zombies.
Only humans can be cursed and possessed and follow those advancement paths.
Ritual Magic
A very powerful form of magic. Arcanists are generally human. As they become more involved with magic, they begin to develop a variety of metahuman traits, but always remain human.
Canny
Humans are not prey. They've survived for thousands of years on ingenuinety and intelligence, that hasn't changed.
Malleable Their bodies are malleable to magic in a variety of ways.
Codes of Conduct Base Humans are not subject to the Codes of Conduct, but if they're aware of them, they would do well to heed them. They will only suffer the ill-effects of breaking Hospitium laws.
Arcanists are the witches and wizards of the world. They are also shamans, priestesses, witch doctors, sorcerers, and enchantresses. They are every kind of human magic-user, from every culture. There are countless variations of magic in the world--what sets arcanists apart, what makes their magic work is a set of magical fundamentals. These are the building blocks of ritual magic, a powerful form of magic invented by humans.
The cursed are a great curiosity of the supernatural world. Fully human, but they are afflicted with magic. Like the half-bloods, they are able to utilize it at will, but only at great cost to themselves. Misfortune and chaos are a constant companion to these poor individuals, and the great injustice is that it's probably not even their fault.
There is something within you that isn't you. It haunts your mind and your body, and it displaces your soul. The possessed are those unfortunate humans who've become infested with another entity.
Numerous, hardy, and shrewd, humans have a lot of potential to discover the world beyond the mundane. But even if they remain ignorant, they can still make an important impact on the setting. It is the real world--the only difference is that magic is very real.
Humans enjoy strength in numbers, setting societal expectations and can move through the world unhindered (within realistic boundaries.)
You can be anything from a cart pusher to a spy to a millionaire tech mogul. You could own a business, be in politics, or be in crime. Humans simply have far more options in a human-dominated world.
Humans without a Path can select two (2) Mundane Keywords to start with.