Thoughts on ghouls? Not just begging for posts, I think they're definitely a really interesting monster to look at in ttrpgs when you look into them. There's a few interpretations
>the oldest classic, ghuls, arabic demon-ogre-djinn things that actually aren't undead but just feed on corpses. They're also not turned from humans, but are their own unique supernatural creature.
>the Lovecraft ghoul, also not undead, but this kind of weird corpse-eating dog thing that seems to derive inspiration from the europeanized interpretation which lost its djinn connections to be more boogieman-adjacent. A bunch of stuff is available on the specificities and twists on Lovecraft ghouls but they're pretty coherent.
>The standard modern DND ghoul, a more cunning kind of zombie, hungers for carrion, can turn people into a ghoul, they lose their memories and become feral monsters and there's like 100 flavors of them. Obviously very combat oriented, you have mere common ghouls and then Double Ghouls and Special Ghouls and so on.
>The OSR ghoul, which is a trend that you can find in a lot of gaming blogs within that sphere, in which the ghoul is humanized and made more pitiable and tragic (or evil but in a human way). They're humans addicted to carrion and slowly degrading in the course of indulging their addiction, eventually becoming undead sometimes without even realizing it. Unlike modern DND ghouls, they're intelligent if addled by their desires unless they were locked in a tomb for centuries. You can negotiate with or trick them if you encountered them, and some new ghouls that haven't died yet might be lurking in the community as undertakers or charitable gentlemen who pay for funerals.
Personally I like the original ghul and the europeanized gothic iterations of it and the OSR ones the most. If I ever ran a game and didn't just play one I'd have a connection between the two. I've always wanted to play an OSR-type junkie ghoul PC sometime as well.
Shadowrun has ghouls, too. They're cool.
Having just read the wiki article they do seem pretty neat. Very much just people with an unfortunate medical condition which is always a fun place to take horrific supernatural states of being.
You should play Shadowrun: Hong Kong, if it strikes your fancy. The ghoul party member is pretty awesome.
I have it in my library but have not played it, i'll probably give it a shot. To contribute to the thread here is OSR ghoul content I like. There will definitely be some conceptual overlap
Goblinpunch:
https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2013/10/everything-you-know-about-ghouls-is.html
https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2015/02/half-ghouls.html
https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-ignoble-orders.html (the Order of the Maggot)
https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-ghast.html
CoinsandScrolls:
https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2018/01/osr-ghouls-of-illiam.html
https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2018/03/osr-class-ghoul-and-bonus-goblin.html
Bottomless Sarcophagus:
https://bottomlesssarcophagus.blogspot.com/2019/11/simply-ghouls-plus-d50-human-bones.html
Wicked City:
https://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2020/12/ghoulstorm-part-1-ghouls-from-f.html
https://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2020/12/ghoulstorm-part-2-ghouls-from-g-w.html
https://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2016/07/new-bx-class-ghoul-blooded.html
I'll take a look at this over the course of the night. Thanks for the high-quality posts, OP
they're cool
>in wc3 they're
>I liked
>I like
But WHY do these interpretations interest you anons? What is it about them that is appealing?
In regards to the Flesh-Eaters Courts, I like them because even though they’re insane, delusional, and violent more often than not they still operate on their own logical internal consistency. Kings and queens rule over lords, ladies, knights and peasants that all live amongst each other following that heirarchy even if outsiders can’t comprehend it and it translates to them being basically the only death aligned army where the leaders actually care about their followers.
You should check out the Ghouls of Illiam post from OP's OSR dump if you like that, I just finished reading all of it and that particular one is similar to what you are describing
I think it was the Hellsing anime where I got the idea from but for some reason in my head ghouls are slaves to vampires and are people bitten by them when they were impure.
I've been toying with them as a result of toxic environmental conditions. The eating of flesh is akin to stealing copper from walls, as in it's simply a survival mechanism that their own subtribe accepts. Over time, the whole group has devolved into something that is only vaguely human, and should be avoided or eliminated by PCs.
I sorta like the Witcher interpretation of the ghoul which is basically a sort of an alien wildlife.
Something at the transitional stage between a monke and a human, with some evolving to speak.
They're really just tough and hungry monsters, but require specific weapons to kill rarely available for majority of people.
That said, I hated the Vampire take from the games something fierce, but I'm probably in the minority there. I don't appreciate a race of mary sues.
It's my prefered take too. In my setting they are mostly related to the gracile ogroids for the smaller, comunal variants, while stuff like Graviers are full one robust ogres.
I had a player who played the folkloric ghul style ghoul. I ruled that her character was able to eat rotting meat to satiate himself, but that if he didn't find any rotting meat he'd starve. This was an issue, as the party soon found themselves in a gigantic garden with lots of fruit and veg but a lot less meat.
You are a terrible DM for so many reasons and thanks to this post I don’t have to assume any of them.
>my player wanted to play a ghoul so I let them
>then I allowed a giant dungeon with none of the things they need to survive into the game
I assume you just allow shit and work around it thinking playing loose and easy will keep things “fun” for your group but in reality this will slowly weary them over a year or so and they’ll drop and split when they internally realize there is nothing satisfying about playing a game that perpetually makes excuses for you.
So you think he shoul railroad the adventure to places where everyone is comfy and wholesome?
Are you a homosexual or something?
>An... an obstacle? DM, are you seriously presenting AN OBSTACLE before my character? This will not do, it simply will not do!
Tailor-made obstacles are poor fashion.
I somehow doubt "this area doesn't have a lot of meat" was a tailor made decision to fuck over a specific player. Usually that sort of thing just happens.
And it's not like rotten meat spoils. The character could stock up on it before an adventure
Should he have made a dungeon with rotten meat stands every ten feet?
Of course. Rotten meat stands on every corner should be included in any game, just like they are in New Jersey.
There's also Warhammer ghouls, which are (or at least used to be) not undead, and just crazed cannibals that became feral and somewhat mutated.
Ive never heard of this OSR one, what is the origin of It?
its all here
I think specifically the Goblinpunch blog really popularized the trope, might have existed before him but you can see other OSR bloggers reference his posts when they talk about ghouls.
My favorite is the OSR kind, which I think I was introduced to in some undead focused 3.5e supplement. I always like monsters that have their own goals and agency, which are open to negotiation or reason if you're willing to take the risk.
I prefer them undead, spacifically because I enjoy necromancy and undead so having more flavors is always welcome.
Not /tg/, but I liked the way Hellsing handled ghouls as failed vampires.
Basically, they're what occur when a vampire bites a non-virgin (or a ghoul bites any human), whereas vampires occur when a vampire bites a virgin.
In contrast, I think zombies are best as walking corpses.
>Alucard is a VIGRIN
Lmaoing at the OG fedora autist
Canonically he was raped by turks before vamping, thus proving that in a spiritual sense anal does not cause you to lose your virginity in that universe meaning those christian girls who do it up the ass to preserve themselves for marriage are ontologically correct in the eyes of God.
Fascinating. Now I need to know if being the penetrator in anal sex counts towards losing your virginity. Surely it does not? It would be odd if it only counts one way.
in wc3 they're foot soldiers of the undead
Love ghouls in all kinds of fiction, but I liked the Flesh-Eater Courts in Age of Sigmar enough to make it my main army
>entire faction exists because an ancient vampire went insane in isolation and accidentally became patient zero for a mind virus
>army leaders are vampire locuses for the mind virus
>anyone near them long enough falls into a delusion that they’re kings, queens, knights and peasants living in a regal kingdom
>reality is that they’re cannibal monsters living in ransacked crypts and keeps and feeding on the corpses of their enemies
>technically the only undead are the Abhorrant vampires and their undead monsters. Vast majority are Mordants, mortals that are pumped up on death magic and if they get juiced up enough they can mutate into larger ghouls, grow wings, etc
Yeah, Flesh Eater Courts is literally the only good idea AoS ever had.
Shame the range is mostly ancient, GW is retarded to base factions on ancient troop boxes (see also Clan Pestilens)
just had two new models revealed with more to come this weekend. About to have a very busy paint table.
Pity heroes are always welcome but if the core range stinks they're largely redundant
>Thoughts on ghouls?
My only thought on ghouls is that I remember them being an almost guarateed TPK when they were rolled on the encounter table. They attack three times per turn, paralyze on hit and travel in packs of 2d8. Basically any low level party that rolls them is as good as dead.
I like the way they did ghouls of the video game Dread Hunger.
If anyone is interested I can’t recommend The Throne of Bones hard enough if you’re looking for ghoul stories. It’s a collection of short stories that are loosely connected at best, but almost always surrounding a city where ghouls stalk the graveyards at night and have made nests in the underbelly of the city. Mostly from the perspective of people living in the city, but also quite a few of them are from the perspective of the ghouls themselves and their adjustment to life in the crypts.
Thanks anon. I wanted neat stories about ghouls but all I'm getting is stories about
>woman has sex with ghoul
>man tries to rape female ghoul
>female ghoul seduces drunk man
The foreward of this book is praising this ghoulcoomer like he's some hidden horror messiah but this is pure magical real shit.
It’s a horny book to be sure but it’s still got some interesting ideas in it
Anon. My night was ruined and I blame you.
I regret nothing
I'm now to the part where man turned ghoul has sex with his still human mother.
It seems to have captivated you enough to keep reading it. Like a car crash, you can't look away
Not really, I stopped after that. I was working a GY shift and was using to keep myself awake.
Sure the concept is interesting but it's not worth having to read this guy's magical realm tier stories. It's an unknown book for a reason.
Yeah that one is pretty good. My favorite short was the one with the ghoul that’s in love with a guy who keeps visiting the cemetery
I don’t know if they’ve gotten to it yet since it’s been awhile since reading, but there’s a thing with ghouls being able to temporarily transform into someone else after eating part of their body along with taking some of their memories. It’s a cool concept that I don’t think I’ve seen explored before.
>that cover
>that title
I'm gonna be honest, OP should have known better, but you Anon, you did know better, and you posted this anyway.
Not sure where I may have stolen the idea from, but in my notes of half-baked ideas I wrote down ghouls having an aversion to milk. Their presence would cause it to spoil quickly, but getting splashed with it would act like diet holy water and temporarily suppress their strength and other supernatural powers.
my immediate theory would be that milk is condensed (if faint) life essence since it is vital for children, its the exact opposite of the necrotic carrion that a ghoul craves. Nurturing life fluid vs decay matter.
https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gul
>demons (šayāṭin) had access to heavens, where they eavesdropped and returned to the earth in order to inform the soothsayers and the magicians (kahana, saḥara) of future events. When Jesus was born, three of the heavens were declared forbidden to them, and upon the birth of the prophet Moḥammad, they were forbidden entry to all seven heavens. However, some of the more persistent among them continued to rise into the heavens in order to eavesdrop as before, and these were struck by comets and burned. Some believed that the comets did not burn the demons to death, but merely deformed and drove some of them insane. These insane demons roam the deserts as ḡuls (Rāzi, XI, p. 314). According to Zakariyāʾ Qazvini, who corroborates Rāzi’s account, if the demons who are struck by the comets fall into deserts, they turn into ḡuls, but if they fall into rivers, they transform into crocodiles
This has some neat discussion on the Lovecraftian version:
http://fairfieldproject.wikidot.com/archive:ghoul-tcho-tcho-war
http://fairfieldproject.wikidot.com/archive:ghouls-discussion
http://fairfieldproject.wikidot.com/archive:ghoul-transformation-discussion
And here we have a local Egyptian version:
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/70648715/#70660700
>Omna el Gool (Our mother, the ghoul)
>This one is really simple and short. Omna el Gool is some sort of an abomination who lurks in the Dirah or corn fields. She preys on children who stay outside after sunset.
>Her description varies but one thing that sticks out is her gaping maw capable of swallowing several children at once. She is also known to cook her victims in a plus of boiling honey mixed with garlic (for boys) or onion (for girls). Oh and her teeth break so often so she improvises by breaking the bones of her previous victims and shoving them in her gum.
>some new ghouls that haven't died yet might be lurking in the community as undertakers or charitable gentlemen who pay for funerals.
That's a pretty neat take. Undead that haven't died yet, but already show some attributes of what they will become once their heart stops. I'll think about including them in my next campaign.
Ghouls in The Dark Eye tend to be your regular corpse-eating zombies that can turn the living into ghouls by biting them (if you are bitten, you turn into a ghoul within 1d3 days unless you get a medicine made out of mistletoe). The interesting thing about them is that if enough ghouls gather in one place, they turn into somewhat of a eusocial animal with one becoming a ghoul king, and the others turning into specialized drones like scouts, diggers, etc. Rarely you even get a ghoul druid if they manage to bite someone capable of magic.
Also, they get damaged by sunlight, as they are creatures of the fallen nameless god, while the sun embodies the power of sungod Praios, the lord of the gods.
>>the oldest classic, ghuls, arabic demon-ogre-djinn things that actually aren't undead but just feed on corpses. They're also not turned from humans, but are their own unique supernatural creature.
Them being their own race is most certainly the most neat. But there are already 101 far more interesting corpse eating non-humans out there. Even ones that can pass or shapeshift as humans.
>D&D ghouls are just undead
>OSR... Are more interesting because they are SLOWLY undead!
Yeah. Sure. Drawing a line in the sand for no reason really. ANYWAY. Ghouls do come off as more of a threat in an RPG setting and to PCs if they can convert or are converted from humans.
I think separate race / more interesting version works best for story and novels. But version(s) that convert from/to human is the version you want in your games.
Another classic case of things having to be less interesting to in turn my the RPG game more interesting.
The difference between DnD and OSR ghouls is actually that the former is one million slightly different variations of screeching retard whose only interaction is "fight it" and the latter is a human tormented by profane addictions but retaining their identity even if it is overridden by their compulsive hunger, meaning they can be interacted with in ways beyond combat.
Personally I like the OSR ghoul the best.