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True Ghouls
The loathsome true ghouls were created by Wolfgang Baur back in the days of Second Edition and featured in The Ecology of the Ghoul (Dragon 252) and The Kingdom of the Ghouls (Dungeon 70). Early in 2002 I posted a true ghoul conversion that was evidently liked and reused by many folks around the internet. In 2004 the undead sourcebook Libris Mortis detailed the gravetouched ghoul template, which makes decent approximations of true ghouls. Baur himself included stats for a true ghoul in his 2005 adventure Gathering of Winds (Dungeon 129). But neither of these official versions quite captured the true ghouls I remembered from the original Dungeon adventure, so I've revised and updated my true ghoul template to 3.5e.

True Ghoul Template

Far beneath the surface of the earth lies the great and terrible White Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Ghouls, a benighted nation ruled by an undead race far more dangerous and potent than the common ghoul. These true ghouls are also called shadow ghouls or the Children of Mordiggian. Sample True Ghoul This example uses a human fighter 3 as the base creature. At first, the creature before you appears to be a human warrior, perhaps an officer by its imperious bearing, clad in leather armor and bearing a longsword. But when it steps forward, you can see its unnaturally pallid flesh, its bent, dog-like legs, and its pointed ears. And then it smiles, revealing long, sharp fangs, as well as its forked tongue.

True Ghoul Captain CR 6

True ghoul human fighter 3 NE Medium undead (augmented humanoid) Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +3, Spot +3 Languages Common, Ghoulish AC 17; touch 13, flat-footed 14; Dodge, Mobility

hp 44 (6 HD); DR 5/ Immune undead traits Resist turn resistance +3 Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +6 Spd 30 ft. Melee mwk longsword +10 (1d8+4/19-20) and bite +3 (1d6+2 and paralysis) and claw +3 (1d4+2 and paralysis and 1 Str) or bite +8 (1d8+4 and paralysis) and 2 claws +3 (1d6+2 and paralysis and 1 Str) Base Atk +4; Grp +8 Atk Options create spawn, paralysis (DC 14, 2d6+6 min.), disease (DC 15), strength damage Abilities Str 18, Dex 17, Con , Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 12 Feats Combat Reflexes b, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility b, Weapon Focus (longsword) b Skills Climb +13, Hide +9, Jump +10, Intimidate +7, Listen +3, Move Silently +13, Spot +3, Speak Ghoulish Possessions masterwork leather armor, masterwork longsword Create Spawn (Su) In most cases, true ghoul captains devour those they kill. From time to time, however, the bodies of their humanoid victims lie where they fell. Slain victims who fail a DC 15 Fortitude saving throw become normal ghouls, while those who succeed arise as true ghouls. If a true ghoul cleric is present, the victim receives a +4 bonus to the saving throw. Casting protection from evil on a body before the end of that time averts the transformation. Disease (Su) At the end of combat, anyone who took damage from the true ghoul captains claw, bite, or melee weapon attack must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or contract a supernatural disease known as grave-rot (onset time 1 day, damage 1d6 Con). Damage is dealt each day until the afflicted creatures reaches Constitution 0 (and dies) or is cured as described below. Grave-rot slowly transforms living flesh into the undead flesh of the ghoul. A character attempting to cast any conjuration (healing) spell on a creature afflicted with grave-rot

must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the afflicted character. To eliminate grave-rot requires a conjuration (healing) spell of 6th level or higher (requiring a DC 20 caster level check), after which a caster level check is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on the victim, and the grave-rot can be magically cured as any normal disease. Victims reduced to Constitution 0 by grave-rot are transformed into true ghouls. Paralysis (Ex) Those hit by a true ghoul captains bite or claw attack must succeed at a DC 14 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 2d6+6 minutes. Elves are not immune to a true ghoul captains paralysis. Strength Damage (Su) A true ghoul captain deals 1 point of Strength damage to a living foe with its claw attacks. A creature reduced to Strength 0 by a true ghoul dies. This is a negative energy effect. Creating a True Ghoul True Ghoul is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid with an Intelligence and Charisma score of at least 3 (referred to hereafter as the base creature). True ghouls are created from victims who were either slain by true ghouls or were fatally infected by grave-rot. Becoming a true ghoul is very much like multiclassing as an undead and gaining the appropriate Hit Dice. A true ghoul has all the base creatures statistics and special abilities except as noted here. Challenge Rating: Same as the base creatures +3 Alignment: Always neutral evil. Size and Type: The creatures type changes to undead, and it gains the augmented subtype. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged. Armor Class: The base creature's natural armor bonus improves by +2. True ghouls often wear armor. Hit Dice: Increase all current and future Hit Dice to d12s. The creature also gains 3 additional undead HD. Damage Reduction: A true ghoul has damage reduction 5/. Turn Resistance: True ghouls of up to 6 HD possess +2 turn resistance. True ghouls of 6-9 HD possess +3 turn resistance. True ghouls with 10 or more HD possess +4 turn resistance.

Base Save Bonus: The three additional undead HD increase the base creatures base saving throw bonuses as follows: Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +3. Speed: If the base creature can fly, its maneuverability rating drops to Clumsy. Melee: A true ghoul retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a bite and two claw attacks if it didn't already have these. If the base creature does not have these attack forms, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the true ghoul's size. Creatures that already have bite or claw attacks use their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is better. Bite Claw Damage Damage 1d2 1d3 1d4 1d6 1d8

Size

Tiny 1d3 Small 1d4 Medium 1d6 Large 1d8 Huge 2d6

If the base creature can use weapons, the true ghoul retains this ability. A true ghoul fighting without weapons uses either its bite and two claws attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it may use the weapon as its primary attack along with a bite and one claw or other natural weapon as a natural secondary attack. True ghouls usually carry weaponsoften spears or swords. Base Attack: The base creature's base attack bonus increases by +1 due to the three additional undead HD. Attack Options: A true ghoul retains all the attack options of the base creature and also gains the ability to paralyze foes and inflict grave-rot. True ghouls with 6 or more total HD are also able to drain strength by touch. Create Spawn (Su): In most cases, true ghouls devour those they kill. From time to time, however, the bodies of their humanoid victims lie where they fell. Slain victims who fail a DC 15 Fortitude saving throw become normal ghouls, while those who succeed arise as true ghouls. If a true ghoul cleric is present, the victim receives a +4 bonus to the saving throw. Casting protection from evil on a body before the end of that time averts the transformation. Paralysis (Ex): Those hit by a true ghouls bite or claw attack must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC equals 10 plus half the true ghouls HD plus its Charisma

modifier) or be paralyzed for 2d6+6 minutes. Elves are not immune to a true ghouls paralysis. Disease (Su): The fangs, claws, and weapons of true ghouls are contaminated with the filth of the grave and may spread disease. At the end of combat, anyone who took damage from the true ghouls claw, bite, or melee weapon attack must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or contract a supernatural disease known as grave-rot (onset time 1 day, damage 1d6 Con). Damage is dealt each day until the afflicted creatures reaches Constitution 0 (and dies) or is cured as described below. Grave-rot slowly transforms living flesh into the undead flesh of the ghoul. A character attempting to cast any conjuration (healing) spell on a creature afflicted with grave-rot must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the afflicted character. To eliminate grave-rot requires a conjuration (healing) spell of 6th level or higher (requiring a DC 20 caster level check), after which a caster level check is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on the victim, and the grave-rot can be magically cured as any normal disease. Victims reduced to Constitution 0 by grave-rot are transformed into true ghouls. Strength Damage (Su): A true ghoul with 6 or more HD also deals 1 point of Strength damage to a living foe with its claw attacks. A creature reduced to Strength 0 by a true ghoul dies. This is a negative energy effect. Special Qualities: A true ghoul retains all the special qualities of the base creature, plus those described below. More powerful true ghouls also gain additional abilities. Animate Dead (Sp): A true ghoul with 8 or more HD can animate dead, as the spell, once per week. The caster level is equal to the true ghouls total HD. Summon Shadows (Su): A true ghoul with 10 or more HD can summon 1d3 shadows once per day. The shadows arrive in 1 round and serve for 10 rounds or until released. Spectral Transformation (Ex): When a true ghoul with 12 or more HD is slain, its animating force tears free of its body, manifesting as a glowing, green phantom of a ghoul. This phantom is a free-willed spectre that can immediately attack its enemies. The spectre does not retain any class abilities that the true ghoul may have had in life. Lifesense (Ex): A true ghoul with 14 or more HD can sense life energy within 60 feet well enough to locate living creatures, even in magical darkness. When a true ghoul detects life, the exact location is not revealedonly its presence

somewhere within range. The true ghoul can take a move action to note the direction of the life. Whenever the true ghoul comes within 5 feet of the source, the true ghoul pinpoints the creatures location. A true ghoul with the Track feat can follow tracks with this ability, making a Wisdom (or Survival) check to find or follow a track and ignoring the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. This DC increases or decreases depending on the number of creatures and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 4. This ability otherwise follows the rules for the Track feat. Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +4. As an undead creature, a true ghoul has no Constitution score. In addition, a true ghoul may also gain an additional ability score increase by virtue of its extra Hit Dice. Feats: Same as the base creatures. The base creature also gains an additional feat from its extra undead HD. Skills: The three extra undead HD give the base creature additional skill points equal to 3 x (4 + Int modifier), as if it had multiclassed into the undead type. (Undead is never its first Hit Die, though, and it does not gain quadruple skill points for any undead Hit Die.) Balance, Climb, Hide, Move Silently, and Spot are considered class skills for the true ghoul's undead levels. True ghouls also gain a +4 racial bonus to Move Silently and the ability to speak Ghoulish, a surprisingly florid language that contains elements of both Abyssal and Infernal. Environment: Underground. Organization: Same as the base creatures. Treasure: Same as the base creatures. Advancement: Same as the base creatures. Level Adjustment: Same as the base creatures +5. True Ghoul Characters True ghouls are always neutral evil, which causes characters of certain classes to lose their class abilities. In addition, certain classes suffer additional penalties. Clerics: Clerics lose their ability to turn undead but gain the ability to rebuke undead. True ghoul clerics have access to the Death, Evil, and Knowledge

domains. The god of the ghouls is unknown to outsiders; often called the Lord of Rot and Shadow, the Lord of All Ghouls, or simply the Charnel God, many scholars believe the creature is a demon prince, though others believe it is some form of greater yugoloth or demigod. In fact, this divine power is an ancient and mysterious deity named Mordiggian. Ghouls are the only race whose worship he enjoys; more sensible races worship Mordiggian merely to placate him. In other realms, the true ghouls may pay homage to Nerull, Orcus, Bane, Arabis, and to other powers of death, decay, and evil. Sorcerers and Wizards: These characters retain their class abilities, but if a character has a familiar, the link between them is broken and the familiar shuns its former companion.
2007 R. Dorman

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