Difference between revisions of "Ghoul"

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(Innate Abilities)
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{{flavour|They are horrible undead creatures, slowly rotting away. Although Ghouls can sleep in their graves for years on end, when they rise to walk among the living, they must eat flesh to survive. Raw flesh is preferred, especially rotting or tainted meat, and Ghouls gain resilience from consuming it.
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{{flavour|Ghouls are horrible undead creatures that sleep in their graves for years on end, only to rise and stalk the living. Slain foes heal these monstrous beings as they feast on the macabre energies released.
  
They aren't very good at doing most things, although they make decent unarmed fighters with their claws and, due to their contact with the grave, can use ice, earth and death magic without too many difficulties.}}
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They aren't very good at doing most things, although they make decent unarmed fighters with their claws and, due to their contact with the grave, can use ice, earth and death magic without too many difficulties.
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Like other undead, ghouls are naturally immune to poisons, negative energy and torment; have little warmth left to be affected by cold; and are not susceptible to mutations.}}
  
 
==Innate Abilities==
 
==Innate Abilities==
*Ghouls have the following innate resistances and immunities: [[Cold resistance|Cold Resistance 1]], [[Life Protection 3]], [[Poison Resistance]], [[Rot Resistance]], and immunity to [[Torment]]. Ghouls will [[rot]] instead of [[mutate]].
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*Ghouls are '''[[undead]]''' and have the following innate traits:
*Ghouls are vulnerable to [[Dispel Undead]] and holy damage, including [[Holy wrath]] brand.
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**'''[[Cold Resistance 1]]''': Ghouls are resistant to cold.
*Ghouls cannot go [[berserk]], willingly or unwillingly.
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**'''[[Life Protection 3]]''': Ghouls are resistant to [[negative energy]].
*Ghouls cannot worship the "good gods," [[The Shining One]], [[Elyvilon]], or [[Zin]]. Nor can Ghouls worship [[Fedhas]].
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**'''[[Poison Resistance|Poison Immunity]]''': Ghouls are immune to poison.
*Ghouls cannot be polymorphed or change form, but they ''can'' be petrified.
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**'''[[Torment Immunity]]''': Ghouls cannot be tormented.
*Ghouls cannot use or memorize the following spells: [[Dragon Form]], [[Ice Form]], [[Spider Form]], [[Statue Form]], [[Stoneskin]], [[Beastly Appendage]], [[Blade Hands]], [[Necromutation]], [[Death's Door]], [[Borgnjor's Revivification]], [[Cure Poison]].
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**Ghouls cannot gain [[mutation]]s, use [[talisman]]s, or be [[polymorph]]ed. When mutated, they receive [[stat]] penalties instead.
*[[Claws|Claws 1]]: Ghouls have claws on their hands and receive a bonus to [[unarmed combat]] damage.
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**Ghouls are [[unbreathing]], cannot be put to [[sleep]], cannot go [[berserk]], and do not have [[blood]].
*[[Carnivorous|Carnivorous 3]]: Ghouls can eat [[chunk]]s at any time, but cannot eat anything but meat.
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**Ghouls are vulnerable to [[Dispel Undead]], [[holy]] damage, and [[holy wrath]]-[[brand]]ed weapons. They may not worship the [[good god]]s ([[The Shining One]], [[Zin]], or [[Elyvilon]]). The holy wrath brand will not function on weapons they wield.
*[[Saprovore 3]]: Ghouls can eat rotten or contaminated meat without any problems.
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**Ghouls cannot use the spells [[Borgnjor's Revivification]], [[Death's Door]], or [[Sublimation of Blood]].
*[[Bad mutations#Slow Healing|Slow Healing 1]]: Ghouls heal more slowly than usual.
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*'''[[Claws|Claws 1]]''': Ghouls have claws on their hands. They receive a +2 damage bonus to [[Unarmed Combat]], if they are not wearing [[gloves]].
*Ghouls [[rot]] randomly and continuously, but more quickly when hungry or starving. Happily, they can heal [[rot]] and [[HP]] loss by eating rotten or contaminated meat.
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*'''[[Bad mutations#Inhibited Regeneration|Inhibited Regeneration]]''': Ghouls do not heal when monsters are visible.
*Ghouls can eat any amount of meat without ever becoming "full" or "engorged". However, they can only ''retain'' up to 6999 points of nutrition, as compared to the usual 12000.
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*'''Devour on Kill''': Ghouls can regain [[HP]] by killing [[Natural|living]] or [[plants|plant]] enemies, even when using spells or killing from a distance. Each killed enemy gives a 50% chance to restore <code>1d[[XL]]</code> HP.<ref>{{source ref|0.31.0|mon-death.cc|2307}}</ref>
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Ghouls have a base [[Strength]] of 11, [[Intelligence]] of 7, and [[Dexterity]] of 4 (before Background modifiers). They have normal base [[magic points]].
  
 
==Preferred Backgrounds==
 
==Preferred Backgrounds==
*'''Warriors:''' [[Fighter]], [[Gladiator]], [[Monk]]
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*'''Warriors:''' [[Gladiator]], [[Monk]]
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*'''Warrior-Mages:''' [[Warper]]
 
*'''Mages:''' [[Necromancer]], [[Ice Elementalist]], [[Earth Elementalist]]
 
*'''Mages:''' [[Necromancer]], [[Ice Elementalist]], [[Earth Elementalist]]
  
Due to their undead nature, ghouls are prohibited from becoming [[Priest]]s or [[Healer]]s. Like [[Mummies]], they are also prohibited from becoming [[Transmuter]]s.
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Ghouls are prohibited from becoming [[Transmuter]]s.
 
 
==Nutrition==
 
Like other undead, ghoul nutrition is a special case. Along with its nutritional value, eating chunks of meat can heal HP, and rot damage. Regardless of the kind of chunk involved, the amount healed is 1d5 - 1 + 1d(1+XP level). However, the likelihood of these restorative effects occurring varies between chunk types:
 
 
 
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:0; padding:0; text-align: center"
 
! Chunk Type || Heal HP || Heal Rot
 
|-
 
| '''Clean''' || 80% || 75%
 
|-
 
| '''Contaminated''' || 86% || 75%
 
|-
 
| '''Rotten''' || 100% || 75%
 
|}
 
 
 
It's worth noting that while you will never be told you're too full to eat more, you ''cannot'' accumulate a "life-time supply" of nutrition by devouring everything you come across, as a ghoul's satiation never increases beyond 7/12 of the maximum amount other species can hold. Even if you could, you'd still need to regularly eat meat to heal rotting.
 
 
 
In addition to chunks, Ghouls can also eat [[meat ration]]s, [[beef jerky]], [[sausage]]s, [[cheese]], [[pizza]], [[honeycomb]]s, [[royal jelly]], and [[ambrosia]]. These foods have no healing or restorative effects, but by raising a ghoul's overall satiation level they slow the onset of rot. Royal jelly and ambrosia will also still provide their unique benefits.
 
  
 
==Level Bonuses==
 
==Level Bonuses==
 
*+1 [[strength]] every 5th level.
 
*+1 [[strength]] every 5th level.
 
*10% more [[HP]] than average.
 
*10% more [[HP]] than average.
*10% less [[MP]] than average.
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*+3 [[willpower]] per level.
*+3 magic resistance per level.
 
  
 
==Starting Skills and Equipment==
 
==Starting Skills and Equipment==
Ghouls start with the skills and equipment listed for their background, with the following exceptions:
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Ghouls start with the skills and equipment listed for their background.
*Ghouls never start with food of any kind.
 
*If their background does not start with [[Unarmed Combat]] skill ''and'' offers a [[choice of weapon]], Ghouls have the extra option of "claws" (and Unarmed Combat skill).
 
  
 
==Difficulty of Play==
 
==Difficulty of Play==
 
{{Moderate}}
 
{{Moderate}}
  
Ghouls are less dependent on healing items than living species, thanks to their ability to heal through eating meat. They aren't as strong or tough as [[Troll]]s, but borrow several pages from their playbook (enhanced healing factor, a preference for unarmed combat, a ravenous meat diet, a tough game in low-corpse [[branch]]es, and so forth). Instead of having a Troll's toughness, Ghouls level faster, get undead resistances, fewer equipment restrictions, and have more forgiving aptitudes if they stray outside their niche of clawing everything to death.  
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Ghouls are a durable species with undead resistances. In particular, [[poison]] immunity helps early, while [[torment]] immunity is great in [[extended]]. If you play to their strengths (heavy armour, usually with [[Unarmed Combat]]), you can win without too much fuss. They can also be decent casters (in [[Ice Magic]], [[Necromancy]], or [[Earth Magic]] in particular).  
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As undead species, Ghouls are vulnerable to [[Dispel Undead]] and [[holy]] damage. However, these types of damage are rare before reaching [[extended]]. For the early- and mid- game, all you need to watch out for are monsters with [[holy wrath]] weapons (which can really hurt if not paying attention) and a few [[unique]] monsters (like [[Josephine]]).
  
 
{{species_aptitudes|Ghoul}}
 
{{species_aptitudes|Ghoul}}
  
==Tips & Tricks==
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==Strategy==
The most obvious way to play a Ghoul is to hack everything to death with your claws.  They have a good aptitude for Unarmed Combat (+1), and the claws give a +2 bonus to damage, which helps greatly in the early game.  While ordinarily combining heavy armour and unarmed combat is counterproductive (EV penalty slows unarmed combat), Ghouls may want to consider it: they have very high Strength and very low Dexterity, meaning they won't get as much out of light armour but can wear heavy armours with less penalty than other races.  A light armoured Ghoul is still quite viable, but will have considerably less EV than most other light armour characters. Additionally, Ghouls' weapon aptitudes are reasonable (-1), and a weapon-wielding Ghoul, while less than ideal, is quite doable.
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The most obvious way to play a Ghoul is to use your claws, as Ghouls are most proficient in Unarmed Combat, and the Claws mutation gives +2 damage. It helps most in the early game, where bare-handed combat would otherwise struggle to keep apace of weapons. Their weapon aptitudes are reasonable, so a weapon-wielding Ghoul is perfectly viable.
  
Ghouls also make surprisingly competent casters. They start with low Intelligence, but their aptitudes for magic skills are actually fairly good: most of their spell skills are reasonable at -1, and they have considerable talent in [[Ice Magic|Ice]] and [[Earth Magic]], and are good with [[Necromancy]] and [[Poison Magic]]. Their ability to eat any and all chunks (including mutagenic and rot-inducing ones) means that spell hunger is far less of a concern for them than most races, which somewhat offsets their low Int.  Their claws and aptitude for Unarmed considerably help in early game survival, and their high Strength gives them better carry capacity than other casters. However, their Int is sufficiently low that, in order to make a Ghoul caster, it is a good idea to start with a spellcasting background and devote most or all of your skill points to Int, at least if you want to cast higher-level spells.
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They can also make for moderately competent spellcasters. They have +10% HP, good aptitudes for Ice and Earth Magic, and generally passable at most other things. If you run out of MP in the early game, you still have claws. While you probably shouldn't switch to being a 'pure caster' as a melee start, starting with a caster background isn't the worst.
  
While not as constrained as Vampires or Deep Dwarves in god choice, Ghouls will find that some gods make their game considerably easier than others.  [[Makhleb]] is a very popular choice for them, as his HP-for-kills helps offset their slow healing.  Since this reduces the time they must spend resting, it also lessens the problem of rotting. Another good option is [[Kikubaaqudgha]]: they can use his receive corpses ability to heal and restore rot in normally corpseless branches. His [[torment]] protection is redundant for Ghouls, but they can use his Necromancy spells and torment invocation to great effect. Unarmed fighters might consider [[Okawaru]] - even though his weapon gifts will be useless, his Heroism ability is considerably more powerful for them.  Casters can make good use of [[Sif Muna]] or [[Vehumet]] to help offset Ghouls' naturally low MP.
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===God Choice===
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*[[Makhleb]] is a popular choice for Ghouls; it complements a Ghoul's innate HP-for-kills, allowing them to restore health even faster.
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*[[Kikubaaqudgha]] gives Ghouls an easy way to branch into [[Necromancy]]. Invoked [[torment]] is much more useful for Ghouls, since it won't cause self-harm.
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*[[Okawaru]] is good for any unarmed fighter. Heroism is even more powerful for Unarmed Combat than it is for other weapon skills.
  
==Appetite and Corpses==
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Any of the other typically strong gods, such as [[Nemelex]], [[Ashenzari]], [[Ru]], and so on, are likewise strong for Ghouls. Do note, however, that Ghouls cannot go [[berserk]], so do not benefit nearly as much as most other species from worshiping [[Trog]].
Even though you can eat meat at any time, don't eat chunks immediately, as [[Troll]]s and [[Kobold]]s do. Instead, save them until you're injured, rotted, or actually ''hungry''. Unless it's an emergency, hold off on eating chunks until they're rotten, when they will be most nourishing for you, and more likely to heal your rot.  Also remember that while the game will let you eat all the meat you want, you don't actually ''accumulate'' nutrition beyond Satiated -- excess food is "wasted" (aside from healing).  From the top of "Hungry" to the top of "Satiated" (your max) is less than five chunks, and you don't get any notice when you max out your food counter!  Also, plan ahead -- for example, stock up on to-be-rotted chunks when facing an unexplored area, or when your current rotted chunks will vanish soon.
 
  
It should be noted that Makhleb and several other gods also accept blood sacrifices. This is not necessarily a huge issue for Ghouls, despite their penchant for devouring every corpse in sight. Your [[piety]] may not progress quite as efficiently as species who have little use for raw meat (and can afford to sacrifice corpses left and right), but most areas of the Dungeon should provide enough corpses to satisfy both needs.
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==History==
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*Prior to [[0.31]], Ghouls only had 3 Int, and had -1 base MP.
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*Prior to [[0.28]], Ghouls couldn't heal by killing plant monsters.
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*Prior to [[0.26]], Ghouls [[rot]]ted over time. Also, they could heal by eating [[chunk]]s instead of by killing enemies.
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*Prior to [[0.24]], Ghouls couldn't worship [[Fedhas Madash]].
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*Prior to [[0.20]], Ghouls had Slow Regeneration 1 instead of [[Inhibited Regeneration]] and could slowly regenerate health even when monsters were visible.
  
==No Ghosts==
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==References==
Like other undead, Ghouls do not leave ghosts. This comes in handy when you've accumulated a lot of ghost levels, and would like to clear some out -- a few Ghoul characters can try to take them out, without adding to the problem.  Their unnatural resistances are handy against those [[Venom Mage]] and suchlike ghosts, too.
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<references />
  
[[Category:Species]]
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{{species}}

Latest revision as of 03:41, 2 September 2024

Version 0.32: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.
This page is about the player species. For the monster, see Ghoul (monster).
Ghouls are horrible undead creatures that sleep in their graves for years on end, only to rise and stalk the living. Slain foes heal these monstrous beings as they feast on the macabre energies released.

They aren't very good at doing most things, although they make decent unarmed fighters with their claws and, due to their contact with the grave, can use ice, earth and death magic without too many difficulties.

Like other undead, ghouls are naturally immune to poisons, negative energy and torment; have little warmth left to be affected by cold; and are not susceptible to mutations.

Innate Abilities

Ghouls have a base Strength of 11, Intelligence of 7, and Dexterity of 4 (before Background modifiers). They have normal base magic points.

Preferred Backgrounds

Ghouls are prohibited from becoming Transmuters.

Level Bonuses

Starting Skills and Equipment

Ghouls start with the skills and equipment listed for their background.

Difficulty of Play

SimpleIntermediateAdvanced

Ghouls are a durable species with undead resistances. In particular, poison immunity helps early, while torment immunity is great in extended. If you play to their strengths (heavy armour, usually with Unarmed Combat), you can win without too much fuss. They can also be decent casters (in Ice Magic, Necromancy, or Earth Magic in particular).

As undead species, Ghouls are vulnerable to Dispel Undead and holy damage. However, these types of damage are rare before reaching extended. For the early- and mid- game, all you need to watch out for are monsters with holy wrath weapons (which can really hurt if not paying attention) and a few unique monsters (like Josephine).

Skill aptitudes

The higher the value, the better the aptitude.

Skill Aptitude Skill Aptitude Skill Aptitude
Attack Miscellaneous Magic
Fighting 1 Armour -1 Spellcasting -2
Dodging -1
Maces & Flails -1 Shields -1 Conjurations -2
Axes -1 Stealth 2 Hexes -2
Polearms -1 Summonings -1
Staves -1 Invocations 1 Necromancy 0
Unarmed Combat 1 Evocations -1 Translocations -1
Throwing -1 Shapeshifting N/A Alchemy -1
Fire Magic -2
Short Blades -1 Ice Magic 1
Long Blades -1 Air Magic -2
Ranged Weapons -1 Experience 0 Earth Magic 1

Strategy

The most obvious way to play a Ghoul is to use your claws, as Ghouls are most proficient in Unarmed Combat, and the Claws mutation gives +2 damage. It helps most in the early game, where bare-handed combat would otherwise struggle to keep apace of weapons. Their weapon aptitudes are reasonable, so a weapon-wielding Ghoul is perfectly viable.

They can also make for moderately competent spellcasters. They have +10% HP, good aptitudes for Ice and Earth Magic, and generally passable at most other things. If you run out of MP in the early game, you still have claws. While you probably shouldn't switch to being a 'pure caster' as a melee start, starting with a caster background isn't the worst.

God Choice

  • Makhleb is a popular choice for Ghouls; it complements a Ghoul's innate HP-for-kills, allowing them to restore health even faster.
  • Kikubaaqudgha gives Ghouls an easy way to branch into Necromancy. Invoked torment is much more useful for Ghouls, since it won't cause self-harm.
  • Okawaru is good for any unarmed fighter. Heroism is even more powerful for Unarmed Combat than it is for other weapon skills.

Any of the other typically strong gods, such as Nemelex, Ashenzari, Ru, and so on, are likewise strong for Ghouls. Do note, however, that Ghouls cannot go berserk, so do not benefit nearly as much as most other species from worshiping Trog.

History

  • Prior to 0.31, Ghouls only had 3 Int, and had -1 base MP.
  • Prior to 0.28, Ghouls couldn't heal by killing plant monsters.
  • Prior to 0.26, Ghouls rotted over time. Also, they could heal by eating chunks instead of by killing enemies.
  • Prior to 0.24, Ghouls couldn't worship Fedhas Madash.
  • Prior to 0.20, Ghouls had Slow Regeneration 1 instead of Inhibited Regeneration and could slowly regenerate health even when monsters were visible.

References

Species
Simple Mountain DwarfMinotaurMerfolkGargoyleDraconianTrollDeep ElfArmataurGnoll
Intermediate HumanKoboldDemonspawnDjinniSprigganGhoulTenguOniBarachi
Advanced CoglinVine StalkerVampireDemigodFormicidNagaOctopodeFelidMummy