Homebrew Ghoul Species Details

Ghouls are dangerous and they are cunning and they can not be trusted. That is why I find them to be such devious and wonderful allies.

— Crowley Mirkmarrow

It is unknown where ghouls originated. It was said that the race of ghouls began with elf who turned to darkness and worshipped the demon Lord of Corpses, Orcus; and it is for this reason elves are supposedly immune to their paralytic venom. However, hard experience has proven that this is not always the case and evidence suggests that ghouls long predate the events surrounding the elf, Doresain.

As has been the case with many of the darksome races, it appears that some who worshipped dark beings long ago were led to partake in profane, cannibalistic rituals. As they devoured the flesh of their victims, they became diseased and wasted, eventually succumbing to the horrors that they had embraced. But they did not cease to exist; and the hunger and darkness consumed and ruled them. Now they are undead, shunned and hated by civilization.

The Hungry Dead.

The people who became ghouls were once humanoids; and they retain the looks of their former race but lose all its characteristics when they fall to the disease that will forever change them into ravenous undead. Now, instead, they lurk in shadows waiting for someone to fall - sometimes helping the process along - so that they can once again feed on the flesh that can satisfy their carnivorous longing for humanoid flesh only briefly. Often, they will band together in packs; for there is strength in numbers and packs make efficient groups of hunters. They will often be found around graveyards, seeking entry where the blessings have failed to feast on the recently buried dead. In such cases, the ghouls will sometimes create underground warrens and tunnels that honeycomb the earth beneath the graves, sealing off the entrances from daylight and digging upwards to fresh graves from beneath to acquire fresh delicacies from the tomb. Others make pacts or serve evil spellcasters who, in return for loyal service, keep them fed.

And then there are some that are inherently dangerous. They retain their wits, their cunning, and the abilities that they had in life. They gather their own minions to aid them in their hunt for fresh meat. They bargain with evil folk and exchange information, services, or sometimes the things they find buried below the ground in old tombs and gravers in exchange for fresh corpses. A very few of these continue to gain in power and become extremely frightening creatures, gathering might, wealth, and minions around them to rule hidden, cannibalistic enclaves.

Born of Fang and Claw

The pallid, grayish forms of ghouls, regardless of what race they originally came from in life, take on a rubbery, sickly gray appearance. They smell of death and are resistant to many things that most undead would succumb to. All have one thing in common: they must feed on dead flesh. When they do not, they grow weaker, and they slowly run mad with hunger and eventually will lose control.

If they attack someone and the person escapes, the victim must make a Death save (DC 10 + 1/2 the level of the ghoul) adding their Proficiency Bonus. If they fail, they will begin to waste away. The victim will run a fever, become pale, and lose 1d4 hit points per day that can not be healed or regained unless a Remove Curse is cast on them. When they reach 0 hit points, they will die; and then they will arise 1d4 hours after the next sunset as a ghoul themselves.

Banished from the Light of Day

Ghouls are dwellers in darkness. They abhor the light of day and avoid it at all costs. They are sensitive to the light; all attacks, saves, skill checks and perception (including passive perception) are at Disadvantage in the daylight hours. They gain Darkvision to a range of 120', and do not need to breathe. Each day, they must fall into a catatonic stupor from which they can not awaken. This state lasts for four hours, after which they regain all of their spells and other abilities - but not their hit points; these can only be regained by eating dead flesh.

Eternal Hunger for Flesh 

When a ghoul has eaten, its Hunger DC is set to 1. Each night that passes without a meal causes this DC to increase by 1. When the sun sets, the ghoul must make a roll against this DC, adding its Proficiency Bonus. If it fails the roll, it can do one thing and one thing only: find food. It will seek fresh corpses and finding none, will beg, steal or attack and kill the living for food. This dead flesh empowers and heals the ghoul, as well. A meal of flesh sets its Hunger DC to back to 1 and restores its hit points to their full value if it has taken any damage. It is sated for a short time. The ghoul can subsist on lesser creatures to some extent - cats, rats, dogs, and such - but will only regain hit points equal to that of its non-humanoid prey; and it will only reduce the hunger by 1 per night, perhaps staving it off but nothing more; and there is not an unending supply of such food. Eventually the ravenous desire for humanoid flesh will win out.

That said, a ghoul is dead and can not die of hunger or old age. It can exist, a horrible and emaciated rubbery sack of gray skin and bones, mad with hunger, for countless years in a cave or tomb, waiting and hoping for someone to eat.

The Pack is Family, the Pack Provides...Always.

In most cases, ghouls will move towards towns and cities where more flesh is available, where there are cemeteries, where they can hide in crypts and sewers and abandoned buildings. This means that they will also likely find others of their kind; and there is strength in numbers. Ghouls are readily accepted into packs. As their numbers swell, so swells the power of the pack. Ghoul plagues begin in this way. And since ghouls, themselves, are essentially corpses preserved by supernatural power, swelling the pack provides another benefit.

Food for the lean times.

Sometimes, food is not readily available. The pack has been discovered and is being hunted, there has been a good harvest and few mortals are dying, the faithful are strong and few succumb to disease and injury.

Still, the pack provides. These are creatures of craving and perilous self-interest. Eventually, the craving will overcome reason and the pack begins to look on its own with hunger. One slaughtered ghoul can feed 6 hungry ghouls. This is how ghoul packs sometimes die out on their own: Internecine strife and infighting flares up, and the pack turns on itself. In a few cases,  several of the pack, seeing what may lie ahead, flee to strike out on their own before this happens. In the end, a single strong ghoul remains.

Treacherous Partners

And so packs come and go; and this is why ghouls will often seek out (or are sought out by) evil clerics, wizards and the like. An association of mutual advantage can be a benefit to both parties. A cleric makes a human sacrifice and needs to dispose of the body; a ghoul will oblige happily. A wizard will kill and give the corpse to a ghoul in return for trinkets and baubles found in old graves. A warlock will take a ghoul on as a partner or sidekick, providing food - one combat at a time.

Yet ghouls are sly and cunning and devious. And always they are hungry. These partnerships often do not end well for those who place their trust in a ghoul.

Ghouls are clever, helpful, and industrious. They make excellent companions.
And they will always have your back.

For dinner, eventually.

— Gerontus Webbergath, Fang of the Dank Legion

 

Ancient Scattered Tribe

Despite their suspicious and untrustworthy character, ghouls recognize loose clan associations and there is often a clan master for a given area. These are generally more ancient and dangerous ghouls who can hold their own against most others and have learned over time that some cooperation and exchange of information can be beneficial. These clan masters are amongst the most sly and devious of their king - but are also more often reasonable to bargain with as they understand the value of a mutually agreeable relationship. They rule an area almost as if it were a feudal kingdom, and their taxes are often paid in dead flesh.

One must not let their cunning demeanors and vile habits be misleading. Many of these elder ghouls are wise and powerful beyond ones immediate suspicions, and they may have lived for centuries and know secrets and lore that went to the grave of those who lived long ago. They have often picked through lost tombs and hidden places buried and forgotten by mankind. And they may hear things from the shadows when folk are not aware they are being listened to in the dark. They can provide surprising aid when properly enticed; and they can become implacable and deadly foes if angered.

 

As most are aware, I am foremost an archaeologist and then a necromancer; my first love is for antiquities. So said, even as a necromancer, I find these ghouls offensive. Just recently, I was in the northern wilderness of the Sword Coast inspecting an ancient ruin I believe to be the Tower of Arthindol the Maker. Things were going well, as I was using zombies to clear the debris from the dig site. Well, confound and blast the gray eaters! They ate my work crew and I had to flee on my horse or am fairly certain I might have been next.

I'd have put them to work for me, but they are, quite frankly, untenable and smelly creatures; and keeping them fed would have been no end of trouble. Lucky for me, the orcs are on the move, so there is no lack for new diggers for my site.

— Amun K’host

Vile and Undying.

The ghouls are eternal; they can't die short of being burned or dismembered, and they quickly learn to be sly and patient. Their rubbery skin is deceivingly tough and grows ever more resilient as the ghoul ages. Their claws as fangs are vicious and their foul secretions can paralyze their prey. They tend to interact with those they meet in a very pecuniary fashion: are they useful as allies, are they useful as contacts, can they be traded with, or can they be eaten? Their interactions are often very transactional in nature. Who is more powerful? Who has the upper hand? What can be gained and what can be lost? And while they may keep their bargains, they are also duplicitous.

In line with their character, they often take skills that align with their ability to sneak, and can be very persuasive (if not trustworthy). If they have begun their careers at a low level of power, they tend to take the quickest path to gaining food, generally becoming Fighters (to more easily kill prey and defend themselves) or Rogues (to more easily sneak about unseen and achieve their nefarious goals that way).

Others are Useful

Ghouls see other humanoids as falling into one of two categories: useful to deal with or useful for food. Ghouls, somewhat unsettlingly, tend to see other humanoids as partners, traders, weaker and vulnerable, more powerful and to be feared; but genuine care and concern are not a part of their emotional landscape. They may come to value a companion that they respect because of their power or even-handed dealings, that they have benefitted from, perhaps learned that they could trust, and maybe even feel a comfortable sense of familiarity with; but one must never mistake this for love. In the end, the hunger rules their existence.

Survival First

If the ghoul is left to go hungry, eventually only one concern will dominate its every waking thought: "I must eat." While they may be able to exercise some modicum of self-control for a time, the need to feed eventually becomes the prime motivating factor in all that they do. The beast will come out and there have been many tales of dead folk who let down their guard overmuch when allowing a ghoul to become a companion. The gray eaters will lie, deceive, prevaricate, and play the victim; but in the end, they will devour flesh.

"Master," said the student to her teacher as they sat on the slope of Mount Waterdeep watching the ships enter the harbor. "Tell me of these creatures called ghouls."

The teacher smiled and said, "Instead, let me tell you the story of the frog and the scorpion. A scorpion came to a stream and wished to cross; but, alas, scorpion could not swim. Along comes frog, so scorpion asks frog to carry him across. Frog hesitates, afraid that scorpion might sting and kill him. The scorpion, however, promises not to, pointing out that he too would drown if he were to sting frog and kill him while crossing the stream. The frog considered, and realized this argument was sensible. Thus, frog agreed to carry scorpion across the stream. Halfway across, though, scorpion stings frog anyway, dooming them both. As he dies, frog asks scorpion why he stung, knowing the consequence. To this, scorpion replies: 'I am scorpion; I could not do otherwise. It's in my nature.' So it is with the eaters of flesh."

— Hlam

Roleplaying a Ghoul

When you’re roleplaying a ghoul, the tables below contain some possible inspirations. They suggest characteristics that might define a ghoul in some ways. Here are some other thoughts to think about, also. 

Benefit the Clan

Remember that as a player, you are not there to be a problem for your group. Think of ways that as a ghoul, you can benefit the group and adapt to a adventuring party lifestyle. Consider the following.

The objective of the ghoul is to gain benefit or devour others. The group benefits the ghoul by providing safety, protection, providing power, and if there are combats, food as well, in many cases. The ghoul would find these benefits to far outweigh any consideration of harming the party, and would in fact likely come to regards the group as it's de facto clan. They wouls also likely see themselves as the most rational member of the party when it came to striking deals and bartering. They would almost certainly resort to intimidation if someone that theu were interacting with seemed much weaker.

Outright enemies might be viewed ass dinner from the start, unless they can prove that have some use beyond nutrition or can strike a deal that would end any hostilities.

Strike From the Shadows, Strike to Kill

Ghouls pull no punches when the swords are drawn, and they use every ounce of stealth they have learned to their advantage. If the can sneak up on an enemy, paralyze it, and kill it as it lies helpless, so much the better. Sneaking in upon and attacking the foe while they are sleeping and vulnerable is a winning play in the mind of the ghoul. And of course, because of their aversion to the sun, their coloration, their natural stealth, and their superior darkvision, they prefer to operate in the dark of night. 

Their immunity to poison gives all yuan-ti a tactical advantage in dealing with other creatures. A pureblood serving as a food taster for a royal family could poison a meal and declare it “safe” after taking a bite.

There are reports of small, organized clans of ghouls forming thieves or assassins guilds in larger cities. But these stories are wives tales; they would quickly be run down by the city guard once half-eaten bodies started showing up, or be hunted by priests. These are urban myths.

— Volo

Ye are myth-taken.

— Elminster

 

Ghoul Personality Traits

d8	Personality Trait
1	I worry that other ghouls will want to join my group, and that could be dangerous.
2	I push the hardest bargains that I can; that is the way that deals are done.
3	I prefer to be alone rather than among other creatures, including my own kind.
4	I sometimes become consumed by philosophy; then again, I have occasionally been known to consume philosophers...
5	I believe I am superior to others of my race.
6	I am driven to rise above this hunger that controls me; I will master it somehow.
7	I will survive by stealth and cunning; in this world, it is mind over muscle.
8	I look forward to those moments when I can unleash the beast that I have become.

Ghoul Ideals

d6	Ideal
1	Greed. I will take from those I can't kill, and in the process I will gain wealth and power. (Evil)
2	Aspiration. I will become powerful and rule a clan of my own one day. (Evil)
3	Unity. WE will learn to live in harmony with the humanoids. (Any)
4	Kinship. My allegiance is to my group - they are my clan. Others are food for the hunger. (Any)
5	Performance. With my every action I will blend into the meat-sack society. They will never know that when I look at them, I see a happy meal. (Any)
6	Power. Everything I choose to do is determined by whether I will gain or befit, or whether it will assuage my hunger. (Evil)

Ghoul Bonds

d6	Bond
1	I will find a home and build a strong and lasting clan.
2	I am confused by why the priests can turn and destroy our kind; I wish to understand the gods and why they punish us. What did we do to deserve it?
3	I respect those who display strength. I will obey a leader stronger than me without question. I will not obey other who have not proven themselves or are weaklinigs.
4	While I love to make a deal, I also love to gamble - and the bets I make can be strange or unsettling.
5	I wish to become the thing that my enemies fear in the darkness.
6	I believe I gain power by devouring a part of my enemies, so I will often take and devour some trophy from a fallen foe.

Yuan-ti Flaws

d6	Flaw
1	I sometimes start smelling my friends as if they are food; these pangs of hunger are embarrassing and I feel a bit guilty when this happens.
2	I am paranoid that I am being hunted quite often (by the city watch, the priests, that adventuring party we saw, those ghouls I wouldn't join...).
3	When I eat, I eat voraciously. The result is a mess, and I soon go into a food coma.
4	I am seeking after forbidden lore.
5	I want to quietly convince others that being a ghoul isn't so bad; in fact...you should consider it.
6	If I could get away with it, I would happily kill and eat someone.

 

Ghoul Traits

Your ghoul character has the following racial traits.

Tough Skin

Your skin becomes gray and unnaturally hard to pierce. Your AC becomes 10 + your proficiency Bonus.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Age

Ghouls appear to be roughly the same age they were when they became a ghoul, but they become more horrible looking as the decades pass. They do not age but can be destroyed.

Size

Ghouls are the size and weight they were at the time they were changed. Assumed size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed the same as when you were alive. Assumed speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Despised by the Gods

You are undead and can be turned or even destroyed by a cleric of sufficient power.

Undead Immunity & Resistance

You have resistance to Necrotic damage and are immune to Charm effects and Poison.

Heal by Eating

You are able to heal yourself when you eat.
When you consume part of a humanoid corpse, you regain all of your hit points. Your Hunger DC resets to 1.
If you eat small animals, you regain their hit point total (usually 1 to 4 hit points). You may remove 1 from your hunger DC. This can only be done once per night.

It requires d4+1 minutes for you to devour enough flesh to heal.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language.

Bite Attack

You gain the ability to Bite an opponent as a Bonus Action using your Strength and Proficiency Bonus to hit and your Strength modifier to damage.