Ghoul
Ghouls roam the night in packs, driven by an insatiable hunger for humanoid flesh.
Devourers of Flesh
Like maggots or carrion beetles, ghouls thrive in places rank with decay and death. A ghoul haunts a place where it can gorge on dead flesh and decomposing organs. When it can't feed on the dead, it pursues living creatures and attempts to make corpses of them. Though they gain no nourishment from the corpses they devour, ghouls are driven by an unending hunger that compels them to consume. A ghoul's undead flesh never rots, and this monster can persist in a crypt or tomb for untold ages without feeding.
Abyssal Origins
Ghouls trace their origins to the Abyss. Doresain, the first of their kind, was an elf worshiper of Orcus. Turning against his own people, he feasted on humanoid flesh to honor the Demon Prince of Undeath. As a reward for his service, Orcus transformed Doresain into the first ghoul. Doresain served Orcus faithfully in the Abyss, creating ghouls from the demon lord's other servants until an incursion by Yeenoghu, the demonic Gnoll Lord, robbed Doresain of his abyssal domain. When Orcus would not intervene on his behalf, Doresain turned to the elf gods for salvation, and they took pity on him and helped him escape certain destruction. Since then, elves have been immune to the ghouls' paralytic touch.
Ghasts
Orcus sometimes infuses a ghoul with a stronger dose of abyssal energy, making a ghast. Whereas ghouls are little more than savage beasts, a ghast is cunning and can inspire a pack of ghouls to follow its commands.
Ghoul Lord
Ghoul lords are the cursed souls of humanoids who dared to taste the flesh of their own race. These individuals gain the dire attention of the Dark Powers & are corrupted by their cannibalistic sins. They become twisted creatures, eventually dying & rising again in the form of ghoul lords, masters of the ravenous dead.
Ghoul lords are solitary creatures, maintaining dominion over a specific territory. They prefer places where the dead are found in plenty, such as graveyards or battlefields. Ghoul lords usually command large hives of ghouls & ghasts. They use these hives to spread their influence, create spawn, & to collect living flesh to sate their burning hunger.
Ghoul lords are easily mistaken for their lesser kin, with tightly drawn skin & flesh, sharp fangs & talons, & long rasping tongues. Some ghoul lords distinguish themselves from their minions by wearing old tattered clothing, a remnant of who they were in life.
Lacedon
Lacedons are a variant of ghoul, ghast, & even ghoul lord that is especially adapted for aquatic environments. They are often found near dangerous coastal areas, such as beaches with hidden shoals, shallow reefs, or cliffs along the shore. Lacedons often hunt in packs, awaiting shipwrecks & storms to feast on the unwary survivors of the initial disaster. They are competent swimmers, able to move as quickly through water as they can on land.
Statblocks
Monster Manual (5e)
Ghoul CR: 1
STR
13 +1
DEX
15 +2
CON
10 +0
INT
7 -2
WIS
10 +0
CHA
6 -2
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage. If the target is a creature other than an elf or undead, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Suggested Environments
Swamp, Underdark, Urban
Monster Manual (5e)
Ghast CR: 2
STR
16 +3
DEX
17 +3
CON
10 +0
INT
11 +0
WIS
10 +0
CHA
8 -1
Stench. Any creature that starts its turn within 5 feet of the ghast must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of its next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to the ghast's Stench for 24 hours.
Turn Defiance. The ghast and any ghouls within 30 feet of it have advantage on saving throws against effects that turn undead.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage. If the target is a creature other than an undead, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Suggested Environments
Swamp, Underdark, Urban
Homebrew, Ravenloft: Denizens of Darkness (3.5e)
Ghoul Lord CR: 5
STR
18 +4
DEX
17 +3
CON
10 +0
INT
12 +1
WIS
15 +2
CHA
13 +1
Miasma. The air around a ghoul lord is so heavy with the stench of decay that as one nears the ghoul lord, the miasma actually begins to resemble a sickly green mist. Any creature that starts its turn within 60 feet of the ghoul lord must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of its next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to the ghoul lord's Miasma for 24 hours.
Turn Defiance. The ghoul lord & any ghouls or ghasts within 30' of it have advantage on saving throws against effects that turn undead.
Actions
Multiattack. When the ghoul lord takes the attack action, it can either make two greatsword attacks or two claw attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, 5' reach, one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing attack. If the targeted creature is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be infected with the magical disease known as Ravenous Fever which has the following effects:
- An infected creature must consume raw meat every day, initially satisfied with meat from any source. However, after 8 (1d12 + 2) days, the infected creature becomes a cannibal & it is only satisfied with the flesh of other humanoids.
- The infected creature can attempt to resist the urge to eat raw meat with a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the infected creature resists the urge. On a failure, the infected creature takes a level of exhaustion & must consume raw meat.
- If an infected creature is reduced to 0 HP, it dies & rises as a ghoul within 3 (1d6) days of its death.
Claw. Weapon Melee Attack: +7 to hit, 5' reach, one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Constructs and undead creatures are immune to the affect.
Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, 5' reach, one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage, & the target's speed is reduced by 10' until the start of the ghoul lord's next turn.
Spawn Ghouls (Recharge 5-6). The ghoul lord can transform the recently deceased into ghouls. The corpse of any humanoid creature that the ghoul lord has killed or has died while infected with ravenous fever can be transformed into a ghoul. The ghoul spawned with this feature is under the control of the ghoul lord, sharing a telepathic link that allows it to recieve orders.
Reactions
Parry. The ghoul lord adds 3 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the ghoul lord must see the attacker & be wielding a melee weapon.
Suggested Environments
Swamp, Underdark, Urban
Sources
Monster Manual (5e), p 148
Ravenloft: Denizens of Darkness (3.5e), p 64-66
Dread Domains
Ghouls, Ghasts, & Ghoul Lords can be found throughout many of the domains of dread, including Barovia, Darkon, Falkovnia, Har'Akir, Hazlan, Mordent, Sanguinia, Sithicus, Nova Vaasa, and Valachan. Ghoul lords in particular roam the sewers of Citadel Cavitius, commanding packs of ghouls.
Lacedons are numerous in the region of the Sea of Sorrows known as Saragoss, but also haunt the waterways of Darkon.
Dark Powers
Relentless Archer (VII). While most ghouls are opportunistic scavengers, when fresh corpses are unavailable they will begin to prey on unwary humanoids, stalking them until they can ambush their victim.
Visceral Corpse (XII). As undead that feast on the flesh of the living, they help to spread that primal fear of being consumed. Such a fear is not common among the "civilized" humanoid species, & can be very unnerving to think of oneself, as well as one's friends & family, as just another source of meat.
Final Breath (XIII). As undead that literally consumes the living, they can serve as a reminder that with enough time death comes for everyone, often leaving behind nothing but fading memories.
Ghoul Lord Template
Ghoul Lord is a template that can be added to any humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the "base creature"). It uses all the base creature's statistics & special abilities except as noted here:
- Type. The base creature's type changes to undead.
- Alignment. The base creature's alignment changes to chaotic evil.
- Armor Class: When the base creature is not wearing armor, it has a +1 bonus to its AC due to natural armor.
- Hit Points & Hit Dice: The base creature gets an additional number of hit dice equal to half the base creature's initial number (rounded down).
- Ability Scores: The base creature's ability scores change as follows: Strength +2, Dexterity +4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +4
- Skills: The base creature has proficiency with the Perception & Stealth skills if it did not have them already.
- Senses: The base creature has 60' darkvision if it did not have darkvision already.
- Damage Resistances & Immunities: The base creature resists necrotic damage & is immune to poison damage.
- Condition Immunities: The base creature is immune to Charmed, Exhaustion, & Frightened conditions.
- Miasma. The air around a ghoul lord is so heavy with the stench of decay that as one nears the ghoul lord, the miasma actually begins to resemble a sickly green mist. Any creature that starts its turn within 60 feet of the base creature must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of its next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to the base creature's Miasma for 24 hours.
- Paralysis. If the base creature hits a creature with a claw attack, the targeted creature must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Constructs and undead creatures are immune to the affect.
- Ravenous Fever. If the base creature hits a humanoid with a bite attack, the targeted creature must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be infected with the magical disease known as Ravenous Fever. An infected creature must consume raw meat every day, initially satisfied with meat from any source. However, after 8 (1d12 + 2) days, the infected creature becomes a cannibal & it is only satisfied with the flesh of other humanoids. If an infected creature is reduced to 0 HP, it dies & rises as a ghoul within 3 (1d6) days of its death.
- The infected creature can attempt to resist the urge to eat raw meat with a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the infected creature resists the urge. On a failure, the infected creature takes a level of exhaustion & must consume raw meat.
- Ravenous fever can be cured by casting the Lesser Restoration spell, using a paladin's Lay on Hands feature, or similar magical healing.
- Turn Defiance. The base creature & any ghouls or ghasts within 30' of it have advantage on saving throws against effects that turn undead.
- Multiattack. If the base creature does not already have multiattack, when it takes the attack action, it can make two claw attacks.
- Natural Weapons. The base creature gains a bite attack & a claw attack. The bite attack is based on Strength & does 2d8 piercing damage on a hit. The claw attack is based on Strength or Dexterity (whichever is higher), & does 2d6 slashing damage.
- Spawn Ghouls (Recharge 5-6). The base creature can transform the recently deceased into a ghouls. The corpse of any humanoid creature that the base creature has killed or has died while infected with ravenous fever can be transformed into a ghoul. The ghoul spawned with this feature is under the control of the base creature, sharing a telepathic link that allows it to recieve orders.
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