FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 2-24
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 9”
HIT DICE: 2
%IN LAIR: 20% (30 Ghouls: forest,
TPL36:6th,
REF3.47)
TREASURE TYPE: [B], [T]
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 ~ 16
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3/1-3/1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralyzation (Hit
location) <>
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to sleep
& charm
INTELLIGENCE: Low <(5-7)> (usu. insane)
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic
evil
SIZE: M
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: III | 65 + 2
SAVES: 14.15.16.17.17
Ghouls are ”undead,”
once human creatures which feed on human
and other corpses.
Although their change from human
to ghoul has deranged && destroyed
their minds,
ghouls have a terrible cunning which enables
them to hunt their prey most effectively.
Ghouls attack by clawing with their filthy
nails and with fangs. <xposure to filth: DMG, disease>
Any human
killed by a ghoulish attack will become a ghoul
unless blessed
(or blessed and then resurrected).
<cf. ceremony>
Ghoul packs always attack without {fear}.
These creatures are subject to all attack
forms except sleep && charm
spells. <v>
They can be turned by priests.
The magic circle
of protection from evil actually
keeps these monsters completely at bay. <circle
.gif?>
Creature Notes: Ghouls +
Paralyzation:
Their touch causes
humans -- including
dwarves,
gnomes,
half-elves,
and hobbits, but excluding elves--
to become rigid (paralysis) unless a save
vs. Paralyzation is successful. <v>
<humans
= any creature with a soul? (cf. DDG,
Mortality
&& Immortality) - it is the soul that makes us human, no?>
<what
about half-orcs and the OA and DLA races?>
Question: How long does the paralysis caused by a carrion crawler, ghast or ghoul last?
Answer: I
have always assumed it to be 24 hours.
However, since the
duration of the paralysis is not clearly defined in any of the books, I
suggest that each DM decide the duration in his particular campaign.
(Correction:
The duration of ghoul and ghast paralysis is detailed
in REF5. A1 also notes the duration
of ghoul paralysis).
Question:
In TD-37’s “Sage Advice” there was a ques-
tion referring to
the paralysis caused by ghouls, ghasts and
carrion crawlers.
The reply stated that the duration of the
paralysis was not
clearly defined in any of the rule books.
However, a duration
for the paralysis inflicted by ghouls is
given on page 15
of T1, The Village of Hommlet. It states
that
“Any human || demi-human
must save vs. Paralyzation or
become immobile
for 3-12 turns.” I suppose this is the
official word. Still,
what is the duration of the paralysis
caused by ghasts
and carrion crawlers?
Answer: According
to Lawrence Schick, VP for
Production and Design
at TSR Hobbies, the paralyzation caused by
carrion
crawlers is of the same duration as that caused by ghouls—
3-12 turns. Paralyzation
caused by a ghast takes twice as long—6-24
turns—to wear off.
N5.30: 4-16 turns
<getting hit by a ghoul
raises the chance for disease - see Chance
of Contracting Disease in the DMG>
<hunting
proficiency>
Lacedon (Marine Ghoul) (Water Ghoul):
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
FREQUENCY:
Uncommon
([Cold Freshwater Surface])
FREQUENCY:
Uncommon
([Cold Saltwater Surface])
FREQUENCY:
Uncommon
([Cold Saltwater Depths])
FREQUENCY: Rare
([Temperate Freshwater Surface])
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
([Temperate Freshwater Depths])
FREQUENCY: Rare
([Temperate Saltwater Surface])
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
([Temperate Saltwater Depths])
FREQUENCY:
Rare
([Tropical Freshwater Surface])
FREQUENCY:
Uncommon
([Tropical Freshwater Depths])
FREQUENCY:
Rare
([Tropical Saltwater Surface])
FREQUENCY:
Uncommon
([Tropical Saltwater Depths])
NO. APPEARING: 2-24
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 9”
HIT DICE: 2
%IN LAIR: 20%
TREASURE TYPE: [B], [T]
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 ~ 16
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3/1-3/1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralyzation
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to sleep
& charm
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: M
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: III
| 65 + 2
The lacedon is a
marine form of the ghoul.
It conforms in all
other respects to ghouls.
<see note1 for kopoacinth>
by Steve Marsh
FREQUENCY:
Uncommon ([Cold Civilized Mountains], [Cold Civilized Hills], [Cold Civilized
Swamp], [Cold Civilized Plains])
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
([Cold Wilderness Mountains], [Cold Wilderness Hills], [Cold Wilderness
Swamp], [Cold Wilderness Plains])
FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Temperate Civilized
Mountains], [Temperate Civilized Hills], [Temperate Civilized Swamp], [Temperate
Civilized Plains])
FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Temperate Civilized
Hills])
FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Temperate Wilderness Swamp], [Temperate Wilderness Plains])
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
([Tropical Civilized Mountains], [Tropical Civilized Hills], [Tropical
Civilized Swamp], [Tropical Civilized Plains])
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
([Tropical Wilderness Mountains], [Tropical Wilderness Hills], [Tropical
Wilderness Swamp], [Tropical Wilderness Plains])
FREQUENCY: Common ([Dungeon Level III])
The ghoul is a human
|| demi-human
who has ^risen^ from the
grave to feed on
human and other corpses.
Some ghouls
are self-made. In life,
they were human
predators who fed off the
ill fortune of
fellow men.
Their lives ended, yet
their evil survived. Dying
unblessed
and buried unsanctified,
they are
cursed to continue feeding
as ghouls.
Ghasts
are ghouls who have wandered
or been taken into the Abyss
and
gained superior powers there
due to
exposure to the intense
evil there. Ghasts are
used as hunting "dogs" by
demons,
and
are often called the "Hounds
of the Abyss."
Occasionally, they are set
free
and rejoin ghoul packs as
leaders.
Still, most ghouls &&
ghasts are the
victims of other ghouls
and ghasts, folk
who died of wounds inflicted
by those
undead
monsters. If victims are not
blessed, they rise again
in three days as <cf. ceremony:
burial>
ghouls, under the control
of their slayer. <font>
Furthermore, unblessed victims
may neither be resurrected
|| reincarnated.
The energy of the -NMP-
imbues
ghoul & ghast
alike
with a chilling, paralyzing
touch.
The effect of this touch
is to disrupt the victim's
nerve synapses.
Occasionally the
paralyzation affects only
a limb,
restricting movement, spell-casting,
and combat.
More often than not,
the enitre body is affected.
Rather than
simple immobility, the victim
suffers a
terrible seizure and may
thrash about
for minutes before the muscles
no longer
respond and the vitim is
paralyzed.
The
duration of the paralyzation
depends on the victim's
CON.
Subtract the victim's CON
from 20
and +add+ 1d6 if the attacker
is a ghoul
and +2d6+ if the attacker
is a ghast. The
result is the # of rounds
that the
paralysis lasts. Once the
paralysis
wears off, the victim's
DEX
is
reduced by 2d6 for an =equal=
#
of turns (not rounds). DMs
may wish to
make reduced DEX
a side effect
that continues until a special
herbal
elixir is imbibed, made
of rare healing
herbs. <bryony,
ea.> <a nervine?>
Elves
are immune to the ghoul's touch.
The presumed reason stems
from the belief that elves
are descendants
of the god Corellon
Larethian.
Elven lore states that the
purity of an
elf's __bloodline__
makes him heir to the <pure blood = pure heart?>
god's gift of immunity,
wrenched from <x: should be deity. Corellon is not a god. cf. genitals,
perhaps>
the demons
defeated in the time of
myths && lejends.
As lejend goes, the
gift once extended to an
immunity to all
undead,
but now only protects against
the lesser powers of the
ghoul (ghasts,
with their greater power,
can paralyze
even an elf who fails to
make a save vs. Paralyzation).
Half-elves
gain no protection against either ghoul or ghast.
Ghouls && ghasts
exist only to eat.
All else is secondary to
a hungry ghoul or ghast.
Ghouls and ghasts
must have
human
flesh to survive. They attack the
living only when corpses
are not to be
had, or in self defense.
They find animal
flesh unpalatable. The flesh
they eat
maintains their physical
bodies and
their ygrene connection
with the NMP.
It is possible for a ghoul
|| ghast to be
starved out of xistence.
It may go without
food for seven days before
it feels
the effects of starvation.
A starving <cf. WSG, Going Without
Food>
ghoul or ghast loses one
hit point per
week, and ceases to exist
when it has no
more HP, its soul passing
onto
torment in the Abyss.
In
a similar vein, ghouls && ghasts
are not immortal.
Because they are
physical beings, they are
subject to
eventual decay. Most ghouls
do no
xist for more than 200 years.
Even so,
uncommon specimens have
been found
over 1,000 years old. The
evil enhancement
of the ghasts allows them
to exist
for 500 years or more--though
ghasts
who remain in the Abyss
are nearly
immortal.
Ghouls are superb hunters
&& trackers'
(tracking as Trackers:
R5).
Ghasts are better still,
and track like
Pathfinders
(R7).
They track by sight, sound,
and especially smell. <(Odor
Detection)>
They prefer to hunt in packs,
gibbering
&& yammering as
they relentlessly
pursue their prey. They
never
give up a
pursuit. Whether they are
alone or in a
pack, ghouls &&
ghasts are fearless, <morale>
willing to chance all for
a tasty treat.
Ghouls are burrowers
&& tunnelers.
It begins when they are
"born" -- a buried
ghoul must dig its way out
of the grave.
Common ghoul tunnels are
little
more than crawlways, letting
the ghoul <DSG:fighting in cramped spaces>
creep its way to its next
meal. Ghoul
warrens may form vast networks
beneath graveyards &&
nearby towns.
Many tunnels in these warrens
are
enlarged to allow an upright
stance.
The
process which transforms a
man's soul, mind, and body
into a ghoul
leaves little left of what
was once the
man.
Its face takes on a canine aspect,
developing an extended muzzle
full of
sharp, discolored teeth.
Even so, those
who knew the victim well
may still see
the man within the monster.
zb
Hands && feet become
clawlike,
while rank, oozing sores
erupt on the
body, scabbing over with
scale-like
hardness.
In the ghast, these scaly
sores
exude an odious, nauseating,
carrion <DMG.J:certain herbs might help>
stench so powerful that it causes retching
and nausea in those nearby
(within
10' and failing a save vs.
Poison).
Likewise, the ghoul's mind
is warped
out of shape. A cunning,
predatory
semi-sentience overrides
the victim's
personality, essentially
replacing what
is lost by the horror of
transformation.
Remnants of the creature's
mind
remain intact, but the ghoul
(or even
the ghast) rarely realizes
(nor accepts)
that it is dead -- the last
vestiges of the
mind cannot accept that
it thrives upon
human carrion. The subsequent
transformation
to ghast reawakens the creature's
INT.
Some may actually
be personable, more prone
to conversation
than conflict (though they
are still
undeniably evil and more
than a little
insane) -- so long as one
avoids discussing
their ghoulishness or insisting
that
they have died.
Bereft
of sanity, ghouls && ghasts are
all afflicted with some
form of mental
aberration (selected from
the insanities in the DMG).
Common afflictions include
paranoia,
hallucinations, megalomania,
or delusional insanity,
monomania, and split personalities.
Ghouls are kept back by a
protection
from evil spell.
However, cold
iron must be used as part of the spell if
a ghast is to be repelled
-- pure, unalloyed iron,
as close to elemental iron
as possible.
| 1d8 roll | Hit location | Effect (see below) |
| 1-2 | Right arm | No. 1 |
| 3-4 | A leg | No. 2 |
| 5-6 | Left arm | No. 1 |
| 7-8 | Full body | No. 3 |
No. 1: Characters may not
cast spells
having somatic components.
If this is
the character's weapon arm,
melee
is
impossible (85% of all people
are
right-handed). If this is
the character's "opposite"
hand, a shield may not be
used.
No. 2: Each round, the character
must make a DEX
Ability Check to
stay on his or her feet.
DEX
bonuses to AC are lost.
DMs
may wish to choose the affected
leg.
No. 3: Character is fully
paralyzed,
though subject to spasmodic
seizures.
Movement and combat
are impossible.
If the victim does not make
a CON Ability Check,
he does himself 1d3 points
of damage.
(Special thanks to Vince
Garcia for his
article, "A
Touch of Evil," in DRAGON
Magazine, issue #126.)
-
The gnarled old
priest stepped silently
through the high grass and
tumbled
stones, picking out a path
he knew well,
even in the near darkness.
Edging
behind him like frightened
children, a
trio of young novices gingerly
stepped
around and over fallen grave
markers
and statuary.
Abruptly, the old priest
stopped and
the first of the novices
collided with his <acolytes? 0 level titles?>
teacher, apologetically
stepping back
only to fall limbs askew
into the cold
arms
of a smiling 
marble cherub.
"Brother Felloman, why bring
us to
this graveyard, and at this
hour of the
night?" the irritated novice
whispered,
disentangling himself from
the statue's
embrace. "Surely there is
nothing here
that we cannot know from
the scrolls in
the temple's scriptorium."
Felloman, gave the novice
a stern
glance and tugged at his
own ear, then
turned his attention to
pouring water
from a flask in circle around
them.
When the circle was complete,
the
water glowed momentarily.
Young
brother Amelior knew the
look and the
gesture and remained quiet,
though he
hoped the darkness hid the
flush in his
cheeks.
"Watch," Felloman mouthed
silently
and crouched down into the
tall grass.
Amelior and his two fellows,
Vortigur
and Grendul, hunkered down
into the
grass with their teacher
and waited.
Something was with them
in the
graveyard. The rising hairs
on the back
of Amelior's neck bespoke
the supernatural.
As he peered across the moondappled
graves, a figure clambered
silently into sight, shaking
off dirt and
grave mold like a dog sheds
water, and
clutching some prize to
its chest. The
thing (Amelior could not
rightly call it a
man) trotted a short distance
from its
hole and squatted. Red,
feral
eyes darted
about, seeking any who would
take
its prize.
"Grave robber," Vortigur
gasped
under his breath. Startled,
the thing
jumped up and looked wildly
about.
Dog-like, it sniffed the
breeze, then
froze. Red eyes focused
directly on
Amelior. He panicked, rose
and tripped,
falling outside the circle
of protection.
The thing was on him, smelling
of
death. Its touch burned
like ice and fire
together, and his limbs
refused his call
to flee. Amelior shrieked
as filthy claws
shredded his robe and raked
his chest,
while snaggled teeth ripped
away at his
shoulder. Old Felloman rose,
shoving
Mystra's
encircled star before him, and
just as quickly, it was
over. Amelior lay
gasping and bleeding in
the tombstones
and the thing writhed spasmodically
beside him, still clutching
its grisly
prize . . . a rotting human
arm, gnawed
nearly to the bone.
The moon was higher NOW.
They
retreated into an open mausoleum
where brother Felloman called
light
into being.
"I knew that man," Amelior
said,
scratching at new-healed
flesh on his
shoulder. "Well, I knew
him when he
lived and was a man. He
was Wexelar,
the moneylender. My father
said he
cheated folk of their livelihood.
I think
my father owed him a great
deal of
money. Wexelar died suddenly
of the
'plexy. I remember watching
as they <>
dumped his body in the earth.
The old
tale must be true then,
that ghouls were
once evil humans who preyed
upon
others in life and who died
unblessed.?
?Indeed,? said the old priest
as he bandaged
Amelior's injured face.
?It is
lucky for you, young brother,
that you
did not die also. Victims
who are killed
by ghouls become ghouls
themselves if
they are not blessed before
being buried.
?
"It's not my place to pry,
reverend
brother," Amelior said as
he glanced
toward the mausoleum entrance,
?but
shouldn?t you renew your
protection
spell? If ghouls beget other
ghouls, I
fear Wexelar may not be
alone here.?
?You will do it, young Amelior.?
"Uh . . . uh . . . I, reverend
one?" Amelior
choked, wishing he had heard
wrong.
He had done it once before,
but now
hoped that Mystra could
fill in the gaps
in the prayers he only half
remembered.
Hands shaking, he spilled
the
holy water in a rough circle
around
them, making sure to include
the door.
Clutching his 'star' he
mouthed the
prayer. With a smiling sigh
he collapsed
to the floor. No ghoul could
cross that
magical barricade.
Amelior's smile faded as
glowing eyes
gathered beyond the door.
One, two,
three pairs. He gagged,
swallowing
back sour bile. While two
stayed back,
one stepped casually into
the light, a
crooked smile cracking the
scabs on its
face as it hopped excitedly
from leg to
leg.
"Circle-bright hurt frenzzz?"
it hissed,
eyeing the damp stone. ?Maybe
it not
lassst forever? Maybe warm
flesh
become cold soon, you think.
Maybe we
feast very soon??
Felloman stepped forward,
presenting
Mystra?s holy star as before,
but the
ghoul-thing only cringed
momentarily,
then smiled until its face
seemed it
might crack under the strain.
Stunned
by his failure, the old
man staggered
backward.
"Maybe circle bright keep
back
frenzzz, but not me, eh?
What you
think?" And with that, the
ghast
stepped through the ineffectual
circle
of protection.
The ghouls of the D&D
game were certainly inspired by HPL,
and by association ghasts.
Elfdart wrote:
Colonel, lately I've been
re-reading books of folklore and mythology from all over the world.
One book about Middle Eastern
mythology makes it pretty clear that the ghoul was based on hyenas:
desert-dwelling, laughing, corpse-eaters. I noticed that you created Yeenoghu
as demon lord of ghouls and gnolls. Did you make the ghoul/hyena connection
way back then?
As far as I recall I had
discovered that the ghoul was from Egyptian folklore, a demonic creature.
I then connected them to
hyenas,
famed scavengers, via Yeenoghu.
As I have seen plenty of
hyenas as a lad at the zoo, heard their calls and smelled their stink,
that seemed most fitting to me.
I really dislike those animals 
Cheerio,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffith
Dragonlake
Happy New Year Gary!
Over in this thread When
did ghouls become undead? there is a discussion of the origin of D&D
Ghouls. In particular, Jester47 poses the following questions:
I'm sure the folks would
appreciate it greatly if you would post an answer to that thread.
Headed over there now 
Gary
