I don’t especially like the way in which the typical human is handled inside of In Nomine. I understand why they’re low powered compared to the average Celestial – but while a rigid adherence to the application of Forces might make sense for heaven, it does not seem particularly appropriate to the diversity of humanity I see all around me.
For this reason, I use slightly different rules when creating human characters.
Instead of a fixed number of Forces, I give humans a number of assignable Characteristics. 20 for mundane humans, 24 for “base line” Soldiers and Sorcerors, and occasionally more for specific back-story concepts.
If the player builds their character in such a way that they do not have “enough” forces, that’s entirely alright. Sometimes specialists are better than generalists. For purposes of possessions I consider the human to have a number of Forces = Total Characteristics / 4.
Typically, the base number of Resources matches the number of Characteristics – though I will again make exceptions on the basis of back-story and I will use the “Free Skills” rule variant listed in the Corporeal Player’s Guide.
Supernatural Disadvantages
I also allow mundane humans to take up to 1 rank of “supernatural” disadvantages if it fits the character concept. Some people have significant wine-stain birthmarks all over their body; others have a pallid and sallow complexion because they are fighting chronic infections; even cutaneous horns occur naturally in humans.
However, these should not be “gimmie” points. Someone who wants to include such a disadvantage should realize that it will never be minor, and should think about the the cause, people’s reactions, and how both would impact the character’s life.
More than Average
The character creation rules provided in the core manual are reasonable for a human who has only just been exposed to the war, or only just been elevated to Soldier. However, it’s not uncommon for players to want to be someone exceptional – and if their character is surrounded by angels and demons, there’s really no reason why they shouldn’t be.
It is fairly safe to allot anywhere up to 16 additional resources – though the boundary between competent human and basic angel gets pretty slim at that point. Just remember, humans have to live in this world of ours. They probably have a lot more skills than their angelic counterparts do, and not all of them are going to come from the Free Skills.
Bloodlines
Certain bloodlines tend to produce more exceptional humans than others. The Children of the Grigori are a notable example, as are the Scions of Pagan Gods, and even the Children of Eden (within the cosmology of In Nomine, there was already a sizable human population before Adam, Eve, or Lilith were ever created).
Belonging to one of these bloodlines might justify above average characteristics. They should not be used as a “booster” to further enhance an otherwise approved and exceptional character.
Remember, average is 20 characteristics. Seriously, I can build myself on 20 characteristics, and I’m no slouch.
Immortals
Saints and the Undead are a bit different than people with exceptional bloodlines. These were humans who had something done to them in order to make them exceptional. Any boosts that come from surrendering ones humanity (or reclaiming it, in the case of Saints) should be applied on top of the stats generated from creating the pre-conversion human.
In the case of Zombis, I convert Will to Strength and Perception to Agility.
Resources acquired after conversion can be significantly more supernatural than those acquired before hand – but I would again limit the “freebies” to no more than 16 points. If someone wants more than that, they can take disadvantages.
Book of the Neglected 