Homebrew Ghoul (Rinkaku) Species Details

Ghouls have been around as a curse to the world of the living for as long as records could show. Being seen as a predator, they are the only known sentient race, besides Vampires, to actively hunt and feast on the living races, primarily feeding on humans and half-human races. It's unknown if Ghouls are a naturally ocurring species or if they were created by supernatural or scientific means, the lack of a clear origin has only added to the fear of Ghouls. Ghouls are carnivorous and in some rare cases even cannibalistic but many do try to stave off their hunger for flesh by starving themselves or drinking special elixirs that make them not feel hungry for short periods of time. Ghouls often look like humans but can look like any sentient race, often looking like a member of more populated species like humans or elves. Due to their unsuspecting appearances they can blend in with groups and often work normal jobs in their communities, being farmers or guards or even a tavernkeep. There is one feature that can instantly tell if someone is a Ghoul, their eyes. If hungry or exposed to blood of a living or freshly killed sentient being their sclera (white part of the eye) will turn black like the void and their iris will turn a crimson red as they are sent into a crazed hunger, unless they've fed recently.

Ghoul (Rinkaku) Traits

The unique traits of a Rinkaku ghoul are few but useful.

Age

Ghouls age almost exactly the same as Humans do, most only living around a century with a couple of rarer cases being over 110. However, Ghouls have a unique way to prolong their life. If they overindulge on their food source and eat 5+ bodies per feeding time they can end up living centuries past their intended lifespan with the oldest recorded Ghoul being over 1,000 years old.

Darkvision

Ghouls are excelent hunters, especially when hunting at night. Due to the amazing eyesight of Ghouls, you have Darkvision up to 120ft. You can't see most color, only seeing in shades of gray, white, black, and red. The red is only applied when seeing blood to better track prey.

Alignment

As a Ghoul, your diet and how you are viewed by society makes it hard to be a good person, even if you blend in and don't consume people often. Most Ghouls are Neutral Evil or True Neutral with their views on life being different depending on how well they adapt to their hunting grounds. Few Ghouls are good as being good doesn't always fit a Ghouls agenda.

Languages

Ghouls naturally speak Common. Even if born in a region where the most spoken languages isn't Common, they still somehow know how to speak it. This is assumed to be an adaptive trait to further blend into hunting grounds. Along with this, Ghouls can speak one extra language which they learned over their years.

Heightened Senses

You have Advantage on WIS (Perception) checks when using your sense of smell and you can smell corpses up to 2 miles away. Your sense of taste is also enhanced, you are able to tell the species and blood-type of flesh and blood consumed.

Ultimate Healing

As a Rinkaku Ghoul your healing abilities are substantially better than any other Ghoul. If you've lost a limb (excluding head) you can spend a long rest regrowing the limb. However, doing this means you do not replenish hit points, hit dice, or spell slots. This can be worked around by having 3lbs of fresh flesh, eating all three pounds will allow you to replenish spell slots OR hit points/hit dice. You also take double healing from healing spells.

Thick Skin

Traditional weapons are less affective against you thanks to a Ghouls naturally "indestructable" skin. The only way a Ghouls skin can be pierced in a natural way is if the weapon is enchanted with magic or enhanced in some way.

Undead Diet

Ghouls have fed on the flesh of sentient races and it's the mainr eason they are feared and hunted. There have been past attempts of Ghouls eating animals or starving themselves. Both of those kinds of attempts ends with the Ghoul being driven crazy by hunger and killing to satiat themselves. Ghouls can eat other ghouls but doing so will mutate them in unforgivable and disgusting ways.

After a meal the Ghoul is able to go 1d12 + CON Modifier days before it needs to eat again. Each day after that time the Ghoul must make a WIS save (DC 14 + 1 per day) and on a failed save they will be hunger-striken. Being forced to attack any humanoid being close to them, ally or not. If they succeed the save they will stay in control but will still be incredibly hungry. Each day they must make this save until they eat again with the new number of days being rolled for their next meal.

This is the "chart" to go off of for every day passed the full time set.

1-3 Days - -1 to all CHA and WIS rolls. Your sense of smell and hearing are both increased.
4-6 Days - -2 to all CHA and WIS rolls and -1 to all INT rolls. You become twitchy and whenever close to a humanoid creature you can hear their heart beating.
7-9 Days - -3 to all rolls. Your eyes change colors to their hunting colors and whenever you look at any living being you can see their heart beating and their veins pumping blood.
10+ Days - -5 to all rolls. Your nails and teeth extend and you are driven crazy by hunger. You attack any humanoid being around you and consume them. (You must consume 1d4 + half the # of days past last meal pounds of flesh to satiate your hunger once more.)

Rinkaku Tendrils

Between levels 1-5 you can have up to 2 tentacles, between levels 6-10 you can have up to 4 tentacles, and between levels 11-15 you can have 6 tentacles, and, finally, between levels 16-20 you can have up to 8 tentacles.

Ability Score Modifier

Your CON score is improved by 2

Rinkaku Tendril Attacks

Your tendrils are able to attack and do piercing damage on each successful hit. You can roll to hit + DEX mod and can attack a number of times equal to the number of tendrils you have.

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