This initially seems like it was intended for 1 baseline species. The "Infernal Demons" on pg 143. There's no indication for example that the Hu Fen Pao (White Lead Leaopards) on pg 142 could do something similar to stop being demons and lead a human life. As such the background options seemed pretty narrow.
At best I thought PERHAPS it might be an option for "Damned Immortals" (pg 123) as pg 126 has them taking on a "Demon/Infernal Shape" after a millenium of service. The primary difference between them and actual Infernals seems to be that they can't take on human form, and could probably still be killed at any moment if the Infernal Master wills it (unless of course they had some other means of staying alive set up, like if they were a Ginseng Immortal on the sly?) and could not make their own Damned Immortals. But still, allowing them to try and secretly reform (assuming the master doesn't find out and kill them for it) would be kind of a cool way to rescue them and maybe allow them to regain the ability to take on a human shape.
Anyway, Rifts expanded it because page 98 has an explicitly opted-in list of species which can reform now. Species introduced in WB24:
- 1) Hound
2) Falcon
3) Horse
4) Monkey-Wolf
5) Ox
6) Pig
7) Goat
UniqueIt is the flexible-sounding nature of the last (eighth) category which makes me wonder about other demon species in other books, and if they might take a similar path.
Pg 97 for example has an "Ineligibility" list, but why would you bother with listing exclusions if the EDRCC were limited to just 8 categories? So perhaps the inclusion of the "Unique" is to mean there is flexibility for non-ineligible types?
What we know:
- 1) un-living beings "once enlightened, they do not transform"
2) goblins "there would be no transformation"
3) non-demons "enlightenment is a possibility .. it will not lead them into the transformation"
4) demons of greater power "unlikely to take the pathway that leads toward human form"
1-3 are clearly hard restrictions, 4 is soft. #4 suggests you could pick more powerful beings from WB24 to take this path, but it would be super-rare for them to want to give up that power.
Furthermore... #3 only refers to non-demons... it does not address non-Chinese demons (Hades, Russia, Persia, Wormwood) so they have not been explicitly excluded.
Perhaps the open-ended "unique" reasonably means instead of rolling a random power, you could pick an originating species from one of these other realms?
Sadly I believe the "Death Demon" would be excluded (like a Vampire they discard their body and soul moves on) and I imagine this would include the Banshee and Labassu and maybe the Ghoul/Nasu, but perhaps some non-undead demon species like an Alu/Aquatic/Couril/Lasae/Mares/Shedim and Succubus/Incubus?
Stuff like the Brek-Shall / Soul Catcher / Balrog / Locust / Gallu / Magot / Night Owl / Raksasha would obviously be as rare (probably RARER) than a greater chinese demon taking this path...
I didn't include Jinn because they seem ghost-like (like a Banshee or Labassu) so they might fall into the same category as ghosts/spirits and be unable to transform into a human body since they have no corporeal/substantial form to start from.
Of course the weird thing about that logic is... originally the "Infernal Demon" could turn into negative chi, so while he did have corporeal human/demon forms they were basically just optional and discardable. So I'm not sure why this restriction would exist.
From later sourcebooks I am wondering if this would also be options to revert from being a Lesser Demonic Mortal / Greater Demonic Mortal / Demon Knight. I could see someone being seduced to this path and maybe regretting it, particulary those lured there from being a Fallen Cosmo Knight.