Hold Humanity
The amount of Humanity held by the player is represented by a number in the top left corner of the HUD.
"Holding" Humanity - that is, using the consumable items the points are in, and holding them in your Humanity meter - puts those points at risk. Upon death, you will drop your held Humanity as well as your Souls, increasing the price of dying twice.
Holding Humanity is not the same as being human. Recovering your Human form will cost you one Humanity point from your held total.
The level of Humanity increases the player's resistance to being Cursed.
The level of Humanity also increases the player's item discovery stat witch determines the likelihood of enemies dropping items. Having 1 humanity increases item discovery to 120 (from the base of 100), and each additional humanity increases item discovery by between 2 and 5 points. The maximum item discovery attainable from humanity is 210 achieved at 30 humanity.
The level of Humanity affects the damage of various items/spells that do "chaos" damage." This damage maxes at 10 humanity (EDIT: Using great chaos fireball, saw NO difference in damage counting down from 10 humanity).
Use Humanity
Humanity is used to revive to Human form, or to kindle Bonfires.
Regaining Human form costs one Humanity point, which you must spend at a Bonfire.
You may choose to "Kindle" any bonfire by spending a Humanity point there, while you are already Human. Doing this will increase the maximum number of "swigs" your Estus Flask recovers from staying at that fire.
Human form will allow players to summon Phantoms for help and guidance on their journey.
Human form will allow players to invade an other player's world.
Human form will also leave the player open to invasions by hostile Black Phantoms.
Earn Humanity
Humanity can be earned by playing as a Phantom, and help kill the end-level boss.
Humanity can be earned by killing Evil Spirits (invading players), or by invading and killing a player in another world.
Humanity can be earned by having your hint sign up-voted by another player.
Humanity can be earned by killing a large amount of monsters in one area if the boss is alive (up to 10 Humanity).
Dying, using the bonfire, or leaving the area does not reset your monster kill count for that area.
Humanity can be bought from some merchants.
Humanity can be found, as a dropped item, from some killed enemies.
Humanity can be found as a consumable item.
(Depths/Sewers) Sewer Rats drops consumable humanity items.
(Duke's Archive) Octopus-Headed Guards drop consumable humanity items.
(Tomb of Giants) Skeleton Babies drop humanity items just before Nito, and also infinitely spawn.
These consumables can be stored, just like other items, and will not be lost if the player dies.
Consuming a humanity item will also restore the player's health.
Lose Humanity
Humanity is lost upon death, with one chance to retrieve it, if the player can reach the bloodstain where death occurred.
If the player dies in Human Form, it will respawn in Hollowed form, or as an undead.
Dying will result in the message 'You Died'.
Hollowed form has detrimental effects on the player, but does not decrease maximum health.
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