Dread Ghoul

For I had known ever since it had first been upon mine lips:

O hunger, o hunger.

There are few members of the so-described Living Dead more canny and cruel than the dread ghoul, a creature unique to the demiplane above that of ghasts and even ghoul lords. They alone may suppress their ghoulish mien to transform into a form “alive”—for a time. Though this may grant the dread ghoul unprecedented ability in infiltrating humanoid societies, no dark gift is without consequence beyond the Misty Border and these beasts bear no exception. While transformed their hunger simmers just under the surface; latent, watching and never satisfied. Should the dread ghoul ever fail to fulfill their appetites, the monster formerly lurking shall burst from them though as easy as ripping away a second skin, no less ravenous than the starving carrion feeders they would have decried as “lesser” kin.

Description

When transformed, the dread ghoul is a vision of who they were in life—they espouse no obvious signs of undeath other than a lack of aging. They undulate, produce breath steam and their blood is likewise “warm”, though becomes cool and black mere seconds after leaving their bodies. Any scar or impairment they had prior to death are also present, though the supernatural strength and dexterity which follows into transformation compensates unless the dread ghoul chooses to feign continued disability.

As the ghoul, their complexion becomes pale, gaunt and severe, with enormous, keratinous claws launching from every fingertip. These beasts are built lean, even emaciated; most identifiable are the white, hateful state of their eyes, burning like bright coals in the dark. Their teeth are inhumanly sharp, designed to rip through flesh though each its own butcher’s blade. Their tongues are likewise long, lashed things, latching on to suck away ichor and marrow.

There is a distinct, malodorous stench about these monsters, no doubt consequence from their kills' savage natures, and never does this come clean. Even when transformed, though the dread ghoul ceases to emit any peculiar odor for others, worrying after them anyway, they are likely to wear heavy perfumes or colognes in an effort to mask this for themselves, only ever to middling effect.

Creation

The mechanism by way a dread ghoul occurs is consistent and simple—they are the result whenever a soul sufficiently strong or interesting to the Mists succumbs to ghoul fever, the same terrible disease that creates the common ghoul and ghast. How an individual may contract ghoul fever changes—most often, it incubates in victims who survive a ghoul attack and are bitten, yet may also spontaneously manifest an individual who begins feasting on the dead in a dishonorable way, typical of cannibals or, more tragic, desperate survival.

Nevertheless once contracted ghoul fever is terminal until the sufferer dies or is cured. The primary symptom of this disease other than bloodshot eyes and the fever itself is the wasting hunger precipitated from it—a sufferer is doomed to feel ever starving for red meat until they perish from this imagined “starvation”, no matter their actual intake of food and any physically full belly.

Ghoul fever is a supernatural disease and cannot be cured other than with restoration; even upon receipt of restoration, the sufferer must succeed at a DC 17 Will save as they smother the dark urges bubbling up from within themselves or else their symptoms will only be staved away than the disease cured. Further restoration attempts will not roll to cure for 48 hours IRT.

Strong willed suffers may survive ghoul fever for weeks, even a few months, but none ever defeat this pox without intervention. Assuming their body is not destroyed, they will rise as a dread ghoul 3 days later IRT. The dual natures of such creatures work to ensure they rise transformed—stories of spontaneous, miraculous “resurrections” are not uncommon in the Realms of Terror, often framed that way by the nascent dread ghoul themselves, but the Craving is never long behind.

Feeding

A dread ghoul, unlike the common ghoul and ghast, cannot sustain themselves solely on carrion. Their simplest hunger persists in needing 20lbs of red meat be it dead, alive or rotting per day. Diligent dread ghouls are able to fulfill this requirement while transformed, though there is always an element of palpable excitement around food which makes maintaining appearances difficult, as they must produce the patience to wait until such food is prepared in a manner polite as opposed to raw and still bleeding.

More troublesome is their need for complex, sentient flesh—a dread ghoul must again eat 20lbs of this meat once a week or the ghoul will be forced out and sent into a hungry frenzy until satiated. Unlike vampires, their quarries need not be alive to honor the Craving, but many dread ghouls find their palates ever-shifting such that rationing victims to last is not effective—evidence, perhaps, that the dread ghoul requires thrill in the kill for it to pass muster.

Should the dread ghoul be denied in excess of their hungry frenzy and its immediate fallout, they will enter stasis until food of any kind presents itself, whereupon they will immediately “awaken” and attack until it is eaten or the dread ghoul destroyed. Ironically, once dead these creatures may never actually starve, though the Craving in them forever urges otherwise.

Habitat/Society

Due to their transformations, a dread ghoul is attracted to any environment familiar to them when alive, and this is contrary to the common ghoul or ghast who range outside their territories around graveyards and other sites of mass death only when corpses no longer provide. In this way dread ghouls are found wherever society is found, as their more sophisticated appetites necessitate proximity to quarry.

Dread ghouls, though many times responsible for how others become one beside their own appetites, are not social and do not espouse clannish behavior like the next most humanoid undead, the vampire. Many find the primitive and savage “lifestyle” of their lesser kin as affronting to their transformed sensibilities, despite that they themselves are far more destructive when allowed to be as they really are.

A dread ghoul may preternaturally identify another of their “kin” even if both are transformed. Should their palates diverge enough to be complementary, they may even tolerate each other’s existence. However, as creatures thrust along by selfish compulsion, hunger and other hedonisms, these partnerships are scarce to last. After all, it is possible for a dread ghoul to cannibalize another—and they may even discover they like the taste.

A dread ghoul is sterile when transformed; there is little doubt that these are but small mercies in the Realms of Terror.

Likewise, the dread ghoul is unlikely to aspire to create more since there is no way of knowing whether a bitten victim will rise as a subjugated common ghoul or ghast and not competition in another dread ghoul. Therefore societies infiltrated by these deleterious creatures may breath some sigh of relief, as a single dread ghoul should not herald an infestation unless cornered and starving…

… but they are always starving, aren’t they?

Pathos/Combat

Though adept dread ghouls cajole and manipulate the living into believing their transformed selves are still like them—some even espouse personalities so separate from the monster within as to be like two people—the truth is far less:

They are slaves to the Craving.

The Craving is their god before all gods; the Craving is the altar upon which only hunger may worship; the Craving is what gives definition to their facsimile of life, and will be there at their side when they reveal—not become—the beast that had always been. But what is the Craving, really?

It is bottomless.

Dread ghouls are ambush predators, advantaging the alone and unwary. They are dexterous, not strong for an undead, and are masters of sudden, overwhelming force. They may employ lesser ghouls and ghasts as minions where required, of whom are dominated by the dread ghoul utterly; it is not uncommon for the dread ghoul to dispose of these minions the same as they would their victims rather than share any part of the kill.

These creatures tend to vacillate between pride for their immortality and turgid, ugly jealousy for the truly alive, usually when excited by the Craving and helpless but to answer it. When a dread ghoul is “in control”, they are coy and glib—when confronted, they are all instinct and vitriol.

Though difficult, dread ghouls normally preserve enough presence of mind to flee when faced with insurmountable odds. This creates elusive beasts who are difficult to rout until their salient weaknesses are understood so to force the ghoul out not on their terms.

Weaknesses

The dread ghoul has few common weaknesses or allergens, even less when transformed. They retain discomfort around fire and aversion to platinum in both forms; great, mortal distress may also provoke the ghoul to reveal itself so to prevent destruction.

They are affected more from salient weaknesses—a dread ghoul Bard may take such offense at another’s performance that they will devour them believing that only this shall maintain their “perfect” voice alone, for example. In presence of their salient weaknesses, it is only a matter of time before any feigned pleasantries dissolve away into the Mists.

Dread ghouls denied feedings become frantic, propelled towards the quickest resolution to their Craving at the expense of sense. They cannot transform until satiated.

They are destroyed through annihilation, as their undeath will restore them however slowly unless utter and total, aided by fire. A dread ghoul who lacks a head or otherwise cannot feed will enter stasis until the first ability and opportunity presents itself. Regeneration from a torso takes weeks; if they are only missing a head, then days.

Dread Ghouls in The Domains of Dread

Dread ghoul is an applied template with no associated MT cost, nor special considerations in the application process. It may be applied to existing player characters who were bitten and are dying or have died of ghoul fever, or as the result of spontaneous manifest in dishonorable cannibals.

Template Adjustments

Attributes
STR +2
DEX +6
CON ∅ (10)
INT +2
WIS +2
PRS +4

Typing and Immunities
Gains undead racial typing unless transformed, whereon they instead have the same racial typing as they had in life. Shares all common immunities with the undead racial type unless transformed.

Combat
+3 untyped AC
+3 resistance against turn, rebuke and control undead
Dominates ghouls and ghasts, will not be attacked by other AI-controlled undead unless transformed
Ghoul claws (Ex): Replaces natural weapon with 2d4+2 slashing damage, 1d6 necrotic damage claws; the dread ghoul cannot wield weapons or shields unless transformed, but may use other off-hand equipment as normal. Provokes DC level+PRS Will save against daze per attack. These claws behave as though under keen weapon with 18-20/x2 threat range, and have an additional 1d8 slashing damage explosion die on critical.
Ghoul bite (Ex): Activate to replace next attack with a 2d6+2 crushing damage, 2d6 necrotic damage bite. This attack replaces all others which would have occurred in a flurry, but uses the highest available AB. Provokes DC 12+PRS Fortitude save against contracting ghoul fever.