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Ghouls that are not undead creatures

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Visitantlord Since: Oct, 2017
#1: Oct 31st 2017 at 7:05:01 AM

I need with help setting up my version of ghouls which are not undead creatures. Right now they look like bipedal jackal but that makes me think gnolls. I did think at one point they should look like humanoid vultures but with two pairs of wings. What can I do to make them more original look?

What abilities should they have? Right now they are immune to all terrestrial diseases and terrestrial poisons. Ghouls are ageless. They have the ability to see in the dark. They can track prey by using their sense of smell. I have thought that they can assume the shape of a human.

These vile creatures appear to be six to seven feet tall bipedal jackals. Their mangy fur is mottled ash-gray in color. Their face is skeletal. Their deeply shadowed sunken eyes are unearthly red orbs that burn like a miniature sun. Lining their large massive jaws are yellow teeth designed for tearing and crushing prey. Their long prehensile tongue is black in color and ends in a razor-sharp claw. Their hands are wide and monstrous looking. A wicked barbed bony claw that is black in color comes out of each of their hand’s fingers and thumb. The upper half of both legs is powerfully built while the lower half of both legs is a bit thin.

JerekLaz Since: Jun, 2014
#2: Nov 2nd 2017 at 7:49:45 AM

[up] So, ghouls in human myth eat the dead - basically a mythologised cannibal. And not just "killing and eating" (Because EVERYONE eats dead things); rather, they have to eat rotting meat. They were symbolic of decay.

You could have it that they kill but then leave their food to fester before they eat; or they can only eat certain organs perhaps? What do they do in your setting or are they a monster that just exist?

Visitantlord Since: Oct, 2017
#3: Nov 2nd 2017 at 3:14:41 PM

Ghouls are man-eaters. They prefer to kill and eat humans. Ghouls will also feed on dead humans when they cannot kill humans too eat.

I have thought of them being able to assume the form of a jackal. They can move faster than a human. Do you think they should be able to assume a human form like they could in Middle Eastern mythology? How can I make their description original?

I have thought that people who commit cannibalism become ghouls. That gets me thinking of how Windigowak are created.

edited 4th Nov '17 4:17:21 PM by Visitantlord

JerekLaz Since: Jun, 2014
#4: Nov 6th 2017 at 1:58:53 AM

[up] Good point, I think a Wendigo is the NA version of a ghoul. The Witcher has a good interpretation, in that they're drawn to corpses, but have no qualms killing living things.

Some sort of Hyena like creatures - unnerving, ugly, but maybe part of the ecosystem.

You don't want them to be apex predators - otherwise what you end up with is basically a Lion. Ghoul as a term conjure up things like "darkness", "decay", "Scavenging". If you basically turn them into werewolves but reskinned what's the point (As an example)

I suppose it really depends what you want them to do in the story - are they a persistent threat, henchmen, an environmental threat (A-la wildlife, or the Barrow Wights that are encountered ONCE in LOTR), or even a misunderstood creature.

I always found ghouls a bit superflous when you have other monsters - they eat the dead... but happy to kill. So, how are they different to werewolves, zombies or any other monster? Jackals will hunt small animals but are predominantly scavengers. Vultures likewise.

Belisaurius Artisan of Auspicious Artifacts from Big Blue Nowhere Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Artisan of Auspicious Artifacts
#5: Nov 6th 2017 at 4:53:23 AM

My approach was that Ghoulism is contagious. Fluid contact infects a person and while there is treatment if you don't get to the victim within 24 hours or so they turn into a ghoul. Ghouls usually like to attack small groups, killing one and wounding others.

Most don't realize that they've been attacked by a ghoul until it's too late or they don't have access to the treatments. If you don't respond quickly to a ghoul infestation it can consume a city within a few weeks.

Visitantlord Since: Oct, 2017
#6: Nov 6th 2017 at 10:16:00 AM

I did think about having a vampire sending a ghoul to kill a female dhampir and her family and friends.

The reason they are not going to be hyena-like in appearance is that doing that makes me think they look like Gnolls. The reason I have a version of my ghouls look like human vultures with two pairs of wings is that vultures are scavengers and ghoul will eat human carrion.

Here is the version of my ghouls as humanoid vultures. These vile creatures appear to be eight feet tall humanoids. Their body is cover in mangy feathers that are mottled ash-gray in color. Two pairs of huge feathery wings that resemble the wings of a vulture protrude from their back. Their heavy skeletal head that resembles that of a vulture with a jagged beak sits atop a long neck. Sickly green light blazes from their deeply shadowed sunken eyes. Their long prehensile tongue is black in color and ends in a razor-sharp claw. Both of their hands are wide and monstrous looking. A wicked bony claw that is black in color comes out of both of their hand’s four fingers and thumb. Both of their legs and feet resemble the legs and feet of a vulture.

jweathers131 from Mt. Pleasant PA Since: May, 2013
#7: Dec 10th 2017 at 7:47:52 PM

What if the ghouls are created by eating the wrong (or right) type of corpse? You could tie the ghoul myths with windigo myths by saying there is a spike in the ghoul population during a famine. The corpse could be anything really, imagine breaking into a vault desperate for food and accidently eating a sleeping vampire. I find that idea kind of funny.

macrochasm Since: Nov, 2015
#8: Dec 17th 2017 at 9:27:20 PM

You could model them after classical Arabic ghouls.

[1]

edited 17th Dec '17 9:31:02 PM by macrochasm

Kaiseror Since: Jul, 2016
#9: Dec 18th 2017 at 9:25:34 AM

Aren't Lovecraftian ghouls almost exactly what you're describing?

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