Ghouls > Vampires (house rule)

I listened to this podcast while commuting yesterday afternoon and this morning on ghouls in D&D. It's a pretty interesting podcast; much more interesting than the lizardman podcast that I listened to earlier, mostly because it's more topical without wandering into strange ideas like relating lizardmen to some human ethnicity who supposedly is a victim of white colonialism or something idiotic like that. (That almost put me off the podcast for good in its first episode that I listened to. I'm glad I tried at least one more, though—this ghoul episode is recommended.) Of course, that reminds me that one thing I never got around to doing, even though I talked about it several years ago now, is modifying my ghoul and vampire stats to reflect the idea that ghouls can, possibly, evolve into vampires, although they can also evolve into something else... Warhammer calls them vargheists and varghulfs, but I prefer something like ... [generating some ideas on ChatGPT]... morgeist, strighast, varcolex or something like that.

But, because I actually ordered up a hard copy of my rules, I'm not interested in changing them to reflect this. So, this has to remain, strictly speaking, a house rule. But when I'm done with it, I think that I'll use these house rules in place of the official rules. Maybe I'll even call them errata. But first, I suggest listening to that podcast; it gives a lot of history on ghouls in D&D specifically and why they're structured the way that they are, and a little bit on the literary or folklore antecedents for them. But I'll summarize my thoughts:

Ghouls come from the Arabic folklore ghūl, but in OD&D, where they first appeared in the first D&D package, they are lumped somewhat with wights. Wights, of course, have a more European origin. Gygax was specifically referencing the barrow-wights of Tolkien and William Morris, which is a translation of the Old Norse draugr. (Curiously, the Old Norse word draugr appears to us in Northern English and Scottish dialects as the word drow!) Dan from the podcast looks at the stats of ghouls in this original version, and concludes that the ghoul's signature paralysis attack is actually a wight element that "accidentally" became a ghoul element; it probably originates in the "freezing touch" of the barrow-wights mentioned by Tolkien, and because ghouls (and even zombies!) are lumped in with the same powers in OD&D, it became a ghoul thing. Wights have since ended up with energy drain (negative levels) instead, which I actually don't much like as a mechanic. There's also a discussion on ghoul tactics; how do they work, and how deadly is the paralysis? Do ghouls attack in swarms with one attack (OD&D) or three attacks (Greyhawk supplement) or something else? How bad is the paralysis (hours? Permanent? a few rounds?) and are they animalistic, starving, frenzied feeders who start munching on a paralyzed opponent right away, or are they more cunning and try to paralyze as many of their opponents as possible before eating, etc.? In other words; what is the "platonic" nature of a D&D-style ghoul? And how does it differ from its folkloric and fictional predecessors?

Well, here's my ghoul, in my rulebook. It's heavily based on the Microlite20 ghoul, which of course is a simplified version of the 3e SRD version of the ghoul.

GHOUL:

Level: 2

Armor Class: 13

Hit Points: 8

Attack: claws or bite +2 (1d6)

Speed: +0

Special: touch paralyzes for 1d4 rounds, humans wounded by ghouls are cursed if they fail a CHA + level check (difficulty 12) and will slowly turn into ghouls themselves. This process involves taking 1 point of WIS damage every day (which does not heal overnight) until they reach -5, at which point the conversion is complete. GM may provide antidote/remedy to counter this curse. 

Formerly humans, who fell prey to daemonic, cannibal rituals, and were transformed via blackest necromancy into feral, subhuman monsters that endure endless hunger for human(oid) flesh. Their most fearsome ability is their tendency to spread their curse to those who survive their attacks.

In spite of my use of the word human, any of the demihumans could also turn into ghouls, since they are merely humans with a supernatural or other twist to them. Orcs and goblins are flat-out non-humans, though, so it conceivably wouldn't apply to them—I hadn't thought of that until just now. Huh. I like that the paralysis isn't too punitive; the DC is relatively low, and the paralysis doesn't last too long. Maybe even as little as one round. 

You'll see the "zombie plague" ghoul conversion and the paralysis both on my ghouls. I don't think I need to house-rule or change anything here; these ghouls work very much like what I expect ghouls to work. Other than to specify that it's two claws or one bite, which isn't super clear from this entry, and maybe to suggest that paralysis comes from claws and the ghoul conversion comes from being bitten, I don't think we need anything else. I'm also not sure why I picked CHA as the stat against which the check was made; I think CON makes more sense. It's also worth thinking about what the aforementioned remedies or antidotes might be, but I'll worry about that later. There is something to the notion that there isn't really one. Classic horror movies like The Wolfman and others don't offer one; the bitten protagonist is just doomed, and that's his arc. That could be a theme in a dark fantasy game, after all. But probably not.

In the podcast, they also mention the real disease kuru as an antecedent for the ghoul conversion curse/disease, although they get some details wrong. It's not an African disease, it's a Papuan one, caused by ritual funerary cannibalism, where the relatives eat the body of the deceased at a funeral. Women and children tended to eat the brain, which is where the disease comes from. It causes a kind of lack of motor coordination, stumbling around like a zombie, and eventually, "laughing sickness" which is why the podcaster thought it was African; he was trying to make a link between this and hyenas.

Ghouls

Which means, if I use that as an analog for gradually turning into a ghoul, maybe characters that contract it lose 1 point of WIS and DEX damage until both reach -5, at which point they "die" and rise after a day or two as ghouls; now an undead creature rather than a living one, with a hideous, emaciated and predatory appearance, much as ghouls are usually illustrated in D&D these days. I'll refer you to this Wayne Reynolds from yesterday once again for reference.

Ghouls can also be formed without an existing ghoul biting and passing on the curse or disease. Foul necromantic rites involving cannibalism, human sacrifice and other blasphemous practices can cause evil cultists to contract the ghoul curse and turn into ghouls without an instigating ghoul to bite them. 

Ghouls aren't exactly mindless, but they are so frenzied by their hunger, that they are certainly insane, feral and animalistic in most respects. But on occasion, a ghoul is able to wrangle coherent thoughts in his rotten brain, and if he develops the ability to do this with some frequency, he's well on his way to becoming a vampire. As you can see from the Wayne Reynolds vampire illustrations (most of them anyway) vampires retain the somewhat feral faces and features as well as the emaciated appearance of ghouls, but they are able to approximate a more human-like appearance. Vampires in Old Night will be more like Nosferatu than otherwise; ugly, inhuman, monstrous, and unsettling to look at, and barely in control in many cases of their hunger... or thirst. It's not clear what the distinction between eating flesh and drinking blood is between ghouls evolving into vampires, but it is apparent that vampires rarely feast on flesh, especially compared to ghouls, and prefer to instead absorb life essence through drinking blood. Although exceptions do exist, and the whole Flesheater court faction of Age of Sigmar, or the Strigoi vampires of old Warhammer are good examples of vampires who are still very ghoulish rather than the urbane, sophisticated vampires like Strahd, Lestat or even Dracula. Here's my stats for vampires from Old Night, which also come from D&D 3e through the lens of Microlite20. They are heavily based on Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, and I'll probably change them somewhat in my houserules below.

VAMPIRE:

Level: 9

Armor Class: 17

Hit Points: 36

Attack: bite +9 (1d6 + special) 

Speed: +9

Special: immune to mind control, disease or poison, only takes half damage from non-silver weapons, regenerate 3 hp per round, on a successful hit (CHA + level to resist, difficulty 19) does 1d4 CON damage, shape change into bat, can hypnotize (CHA + level check, difficulty 19), avoids garlic and mirrors, immobilized and apparently dead if a stake is driven through its heart, drowns underwater in one round, creatures reduced to -5 CON by the vampire’s bite will die and rise 24 hours later as a lesser vampire under the control of their creator.

Another possible end state for the evil and powerful who wish to prolong their life unnaturally (like the lich.) Vampires retain their human appearance, but the cost is the undeniable thirst for human blood and sacrifice.

I like a vampire that isn't quite so beefy in terms of difficulty, since vampire hunting is a time-honored tradition in horror literature that I'd like to emulate. I also don't think that the traditional vampire weaknesses and strange abilities are all that cool, honestly. I think the "default" vampire would look more like this:

VAMPIRE (standard)

Level: 5

Armor Class: 15

Hit Points: 36

Attack: bite +5 (1d6 + special) or +5 (1d6+5) attack with weapon or two claws

Speed: +5

Special: Only takes half damage from non-silver weapons. On a successful hit (CHA + level to resist, difficulty 15) target is paralyzed for 1d4+1 rounds. Can shape change into bat. Within 1d4 days of being "killed" a vampire will regenerate to 2d4 hit points. Vampires also gain hit points by attacking opponents with their bite attack. This will cause 1d4 CON damage (CON + level to reduce by half, DC 15) to the character, but heals the vampire for 1d6 hp. A vampire that attacks a paralyzed opponent with a bite attack is automatically successful and doesn't need to roll to hit. To keep a vampire from regenerating, a wooden stake needs to be driven through its heart, or it's head removed and mouth stuffed with garlic, or the body destroyed by fire. Characters reduced to -5 CON by the vampire’s bite will die and rise 1d4 days later as a ghoul. Vampires cannot regenerate during daylight, and all d20 rolls are at disadvantage in sunlight. GMs can adjudicate the effect of heavily overcast days.

Vampires are another possible end state for the evil and powerful who wish to prolong their life unnaturally (like the lich.) Vampires retain their human appearance if they can crawl upwards from their "larval" ghouls state, but the cost is the undeniable thirst for human blood and sacrifice.

An advanced vampire, a Strahd, Lestat or Dracula, on the other hand, will be like this. They will appear less feral and creepy, but will still be subtly inhuman and monstrous, much like the classical vampire. 

VAMPIRE (advanced)

Level: 9

Armor Class: 18

Hit Points: 63

Attack: bite +9 (1d6 + special) or or +5 (1d6+9) attack with weapon or two claws

Speed: +9

Special: Non-silver weapons do not cause damage. On a successful hit (CHA + level to resist, difficulty 19) target is paralyzed for 2d4 rounds. Can shape change into bat or swarm of bats. Within 1d4 days of being "killed" a vampire will regenerate to 2d8 hit points. Vampires also gain hit points by attacking opponents with their bite attack. This will cause 1d6 CON damage to the character, but the vampire will heal 1d6 hp. A vampire that attacks a paralyzed opponent with a bite attack is automatically successful and doesn't need to roll to hit. To keep a vampire from regenerating, a wooden stake needs to be driven through its heart, or it's head removed and mouth stuffed with garlic, or the body destroyed by fire. Characters reduced to -5 CON by the vampire’s bite will die and rise 1d4 days later as a ghoul.

Advanced vampires lose their disadvantage in sunlight, but they still hate and fear the sun nonetheless, and prefer to avoid it as much as possible. Frankly, the sunlight thing could apply to most undead; including ghouls. There's a reason undead are associated with the night, and with attempting to blot out or cover the sun. And finally, a proto-vampire; somewhere between a ghoul and a vampire, would be as follows:

PROTO-VAMPIRE

Level: 4

Armor Class: 14

Hit Points: 30

Attack: bite +4 (1d6 + special) or +4 (2d6+4) attack with weapon or two claws

Speed: +3

Special: On a successful hit (CHA + level to resist, difficulty 15) target is paralyzed for 1d4+1 rounds. Proto-vampires also gain hit points by attacking opponents with their bite attack. This will cause 1 CON damage to the character, but heals the proto-vampire for 1d4 hp. A proto-vampire that attacks a paralyzed opponent with a bite attack is automatically successful and doesn't need to roll to hit. Characters reduced to -5 CON by the proto-vampire’s bite will die and rise 1d4 days later as a ghoul.

Proto-vampires are not as powerful or lucid as vampires, but are slowly getting there from the ghoul state. More cunning and less feral than ghouls, and capable of some conversation (although their insanity is often apparent in conversation.)

Finally, vampire can devolve into a different monstrous state, usually caused by extreme deprivation. Vampires are consummate hunters, so this is unlikely to occur unless a vampire is deliberately kept from a food source by another powerful being, such as a stronger vampire or lich, etc. 

MORGEIST? STRIGHAST? VARCOLEX?

Level: 8

Armor Class: 17

Hit Points: 56

Attack: Two claws +8 (1d6+8) and bite +8 (1d10+4 and special)

Speed: +8

Special: Flies, and is immune to weapon damage not delivered by silver weapons. Paralyzes opponents on successful claw attacks; CHA + level DC 18 to resist. Has a terrible bite that does massive regular damage plus 2d4 CON damage. At -5 CON, a bitten character is dead. The morgeist heals by an equal amount of hp to the CON damage dealt. Within 1d4 days of being "killed" a morgeist will regenerate to 2d8 hit points. A morgeist that attacks a paralyzed opponent with a bite attack is automatically successful and doesn't need to roll to hit. To keep a morgeist from regenerating, a wooden stake needs to be driven through its heart, or it's head removed and mouth stuffed with garlic, or the body destroyed by fire. Characters reduced to -5 CON by the morgeist's bite will die and rise 1d4 days later as a ghoul.

Morgeists (name still TBD) are vampires that have devolved due to starvation and deprivation into insane caricatures of what they once were. They lose the ability to turn into bat form, but they become a hybrid of regular vampire and gigantic bat, and they can fly. They are difficult to kill, and their attacks are more potent than even advanced vampires, but they lose many of their special abilities, and their intelligence and cunning is replaced with ravenous, frenzied hunger. 

Here's an image that is a good representation.