All Hallow’s Eve Fest II: The Ghoul

GHOUL

From the Journals of the Grey Pilgrim:

Many hardened Witch Hunters of the old world associate ghouls with the living dead.  The Stalkers of the Unseen Hunt, who among the Orders of Solomon range farthest across the world, know better.  While it is a name that has become associated with the ravenous walking dead, the word “ghoul” has ancient origins in the Holy Lands and the deserts of Arabia. 

Ghouls are lesser spirits, related to the fey and the djinn that cross over from the Invisible World to prey and feed on humanity.  They are nocturnal shapeshifters who feed upon the corpses of the dead, but prefer fresh, living meat.  They strong and cunning foes, they are ambush hunters and avoid large bands of men, preferring to stalk isolated targets.  Some are known to assume alluring forms to draw travelers off caravans where they can be devoured unseen.  Others steal into the homes of sleeping victims.

There are many strains of ghouls throughout the East.  All share a common weakness: sunlight.  They cannot abide the pure light of the sun.  Dawn forces some ghouls into their subterranean lairs, or banishes others off into the Invisible World.  Daylight renders a ghoul helpless and causes it great pain and torment.

STRAINS

Alakai: This strain of ghoul haunts the battlefields of Hindoostan.  They appear nearly human, with coarse, shaggy hair.  Unlike other ghouls, they prefer blood over flesh and are commonly mistaken for vampires.  They are believed to be the spawn of a powerful Hindu entity called Yama.  Females are alternatively called picacu while males are called pey.

Gallu: One of the bolder stains of ghouls, some believe gallu to be a sort of daemon.  They share many of the characteristics of ghouls, however.  Unlike other ghouls, they are solitary hunters.  They might be encountered in wild, forlorn places, or in the dark twisting shadows of a city by night.  Dawn banishes them back to the Invisible World where they remain until night falls again. Its regeneration capabilities make a gallu a particularly dangerous foe.

Ghol: These evil spirits of Arabia haunt the silk road, battlefields, and gravesites.  They assume the form of alluring women to draw guards away from camp where they are set upon by the ravenous pack.  A pack of ghols in many ways operates like a pride of lions.  The pack is led by a single male, the qutrub, who protects the pack.  The female spirits do the hunting.

Rake: A more recent intriguing strain of ghoul has been reported from the French Louisiana territory of the new world.  Details of these ghouls are sketchy, but they appear to be solitary hunters.  They haunt the swamps and marshlands, preying on trappers and hunters who are unfortunate enough to wander into their territory.

ORGANIZATIONS

There are no known organizations of ghouls, though some packs of ghol are rumored to be quite large.

POSSIBLE POWERS & PRICES

Corpus (Body) Powers	Corpus (Body) Prices
Carnivate	Allergen (sunlight)
Mimicry Mask	Obvious Appearance
Mortal Mask	Obvious to the Touch
Mutability	Reveal Nature
Regeneration	Weak Spot (head)
Malus (Offensive) Powers	Malus (Offensive) Prices
Create Spawn	Avoidance
Sap Ability	Nature’s Hate
Vicious Attack
Cursus (Movement) Powers	Cursus (Movement) Prices
Burrow	Impaired Travel (daytime)
Jumping	Lair
Wall Crawling
Veneficum (Sorcerous) Powers	Veneficum (Sorcerous) Prices
Debilitative Aura	Blocked from the World (daytime)
Hexcraft	Feeder
Impose Emption	Fragile
Unobtrusive

Ghol (Lieutenant)

Fear Rating: 2
Hell’s Favor: 2
Pace: 3

Initiative: Reflexes 6d
Melee: Claws 8d (+6 damage), Bite 8d (+8 damage)
Ranged: None
Defenses: Avoidance 3; Discipline 2; Fortitude 2
Armor: None
Health Track: 5/5/5

Talents: Burst of Speed, Disorienting Attack, Fury
Skills:

• 10d: Stealth
• 8d: Charm (Deceive), Empathy, Notice, Survival (Track)
• 6d: Acrobatics, Endurance, Reflexes, Resolve

Fundamental Power/Price: Mutability/Allergen (sunlight)
Additional Powers/Prices:

• Mimicry Mask (assume the form of anyone eaten in the past week)/Reveal Nature (daylight)
• Impose Emotion/Feeder (human flesh and blood)
• Hexcraft/Fragile
• Vicious Attack/Nature’s Hate

Description: Ghols are most often encountered in the form of beautiful women who entice men from the safety of the camp into the wilds of the desert where the pack sets upon him like wild dogs.  They will also assume the form of a hyena, a hound, or an ostrich.
Dramatics: Ghol packs usually rely on one of their number to draw prey into the open where they can attack it as a group.  While Ghol hunting packs might number upwards of a dozen, the tribe itself might contain upwards of 100 members.  Fallen prey will be partially devoured on the spot and the remains taken back to the den for the qutrub to distribute amongst his favorites.

Ghol (Savage Worlds Version)

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d8
Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d8, Persuasion d8, Notice d8, Stealth d10, Tracking d12
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Edges: Attractive (Female form), Combat Reflexes, Dirty Fighter
SPECIAL ABILITIES

• Bite: Str+d6
• Claws: Str+d4; targets wounded must make a Vigor roll or suffer a level of fatigue as well.
• Confusion: Anyone who speaks with a ghol must make a Spirit roll.  If the roll fails, the target becomes mildly confused and more susceptible to suggestion.  The ghol gains a +2 bonus to Persuasion rolls against the target thereafter.
• Pounce: A ghol can leap once per round for 1d6”, vertical or horizontal, and often pounce on their prey to best bring their mass and claws to bear. If it leaps onto prey, it receives a +4 to its attack and damage. Its Parry is reduced by –2 until its next action when performing the maneuver.
• Shapechange: A Ghol may shapechange into the form of a beautiful woman, a hyena, a hound, or an ostrich.  They may assume the exact form of any target eaten within the last 48 hours.  In animal form, they receive the Pace score of that creature.
• Spirit: A ghol is not a true living creature.  Even if slain, it will return to life the following sundown, restored to full strength.  The only way to prevent this is by decapitating the creature and burning the remains.
• Vulnerability (Sunlight): Ghols are powerless when exposed to full daylight.  They suffer 2d6 damage each round so exposed.
• Weakness (Feeding): A ghol must feed upon flesh, living or dead, to survive.  If forced to go more than a day without eating, it must make a successful Vigor roll or have its Vigor score lowered by one die type.  If the creature’s vigor is reduced to 0, it goes into a state of torpor and will not move or respond until it has been fed.  This weakness does not kill the ghol, simply incapacitates it.

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Other All Hallow’s Eve Fest (2015) Articles:

• The Boogeyman of the Alps
• The Mummy
• Profane Rites of Necromancy