Ghoul

This humanoid creature has long, sharp teeth, and its pallid flesh is stretched tightly over its starved frame.

Ghoul CR 1

XP 400
CE Medium undead
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7

AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 13 (2d8+4)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +5
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2; Immune undead traits

Speed 30 ft.
Melee bite +3 (1d6+1 plus disease and paralysis) and 2 claws +3 (1d6+1 plus paralysis)
Special Attacks paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 13, elves are immune to this effect)

Str 13, Dex 15, Con â, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +4, Climb +6, Perception +7, Stealth +7, Swim +3
Languages Common

Disease (Su)

Ghoul Fever: Biteâinjury; save Fort DC 13; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Con and 1d3 Dex damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Charisma-based.

A humanoid who dies of ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at the next midnight. A humanoid who becomes a ghoul in this way retains none of the abilities it possessed in life. It is not under the control of any other ghouls, but it hungers for the flesh of the living and behaves like a normal ghoul in all respects. A humanoid of 4 Hit Dice or more rises as a ghast.

Environment any land
Organization solitary, gang (2â4), or pack (7â12)
Treasure standard

Ghouls are undead that haunt graveyards and eat corpses. Legends hold that the first ghouls were either cannibalistic humans whose unnatural hunger dragged them back from death or humans who in life fed on the rotting remains of their kin and died (and were reborn) from the foul diseaseâthe true source of these undead scavengers is unclear.

Ghouls lurk on the edges of civilization (in or near cemeteries or in city sewers) where they can find ample supplies of their favorite food. Though they prefer rotting bodies and often bury their victims for a while to improve their taste, they eat fresh kills if they are hungry enough. Though most surface ghouls live primitively, rumors speak of ghoul cities deep underground led by priests who worship ancient cruel gods or strange demon lords of hunger. These âcivilizedâ ghouls are no less horrific in their eating habits, and in fact the concept of a well-laid ghoul banquet table is perhaps even more horrifying than the concept of taking a meal fresh from the coffin.

The typical ghoul is assumed to have come from a Medium humanoid like a human, half-elf, dwarf, or elf. Yet some humanoids have remarkably different characteristics that make these ghouls more or less powerful.

Feats for Ghouls

The following feats are intended to be used by ghouls (including ghasts and lacedons), but could make interesting options for many other types of undead as well.

Brain Eater: You gain some of the skills and knowledge of a consumed foe by eating its brain.

Civilized Ghoulishness: Although undead, you can easily pass as living.

Warren Digger: You can burrow through soil and dirt.

Examples

Ghoul Rogue 6 (CR 6)

Variants

Ghul (Undead Jann, CR 5)

Great Ghul (Undead Efreet, CR 6)

Larger Ghouls: A giant that succumbs to ghoul fever retains its larger size, its higher natural armor bonus, and all of its racial Hit Dice, but is otherwise treated as a ghoul advanced to its new Hit Dice and size.

Smaller Ghouls: Small humanoids who become ghouls have 1 HD and all of the appropriate bonuses and penalties for dropping from Medium to Small size (â4 Str, +2 Dex, +1 size bonus on attack rolls and to AC, reduced natural attack damage, etc.). A Small ghoul is CR 1/2.

Unusual Ghouls: Some humanoids transformed into ghouls have unusual advantages.

Boggard, Merfolk: These races always spawn into lacedons.
Bugbear, Lizardfolk, Troglodyte: These races always spawn into ghasts.
Ettin: An ettin ghoul has two bite attacks, in addition to being advanced to Large size and 10 HD.
Fire Giant: A fire giant ghoul gains the fire subtype.
Frost Giant: A frost giant ghoul gains the cold subtype.
Lycanthrope: While a ghoul cannot become a lycanthrope, a living lycanthrope who succumbs to ghoul fever could rise as a ghoul. In most cases, this transformation removes the lycanthropic curse, resulting in a standard ghoul, but in rare events the resulting monster is a true ghoul lycanthrope. To create stats for such a creature, simply apply the lycanthrope template to a ghoulâthis is an exception to the general rule that you can normally only add the lycanthrope template to a humanoid.