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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.

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 are '''[[undead]]''' and have the following innate traits:
**'''[[Cold Resistance 1]]''': Ghouls are resistant to cold.
**'''[[Life Protection 3]]''': Ghouls are resistant to [[negative energy]].
**'''[[Poison Resistance|Poison Immunity]]''': Ghouls are immune to poison.
**'''[[Torment Immunity]]''': Ghouls cannot be tormented.
**Ghouls cannot gain [[mutation]]s, use [[talisman]]s, or be [[polymorph]]ed. When mutated, they receive [[stat]] penalties instead.
**Ghouls are [[unbreathing]], cannot be put to [[sleep]], cannot go [[berserk]], and do not have [[blood]].
**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.
**Ghouls cannot use the spells [[Borgnjor's Revivification]], [[Death's Door]], or [[Sublimation of Blood]].
*'''[[Claws|Claws 1]]''': Ghouls have claws on their hands. They receive a +2 damage bonus to [[Unarmed Combat]], if they are not wearing [[gloves]].
*'''[[Bad mutations#Inhibited Regeneration|Inhibited Regeneration]]''': Ghouls do not heal when monsters are visible.
*'''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|0.32.1|mon-death.cc|2603}}</ref>

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==
*'''Warriors:''' [[Gladiator]], [[Monk]]
*'''Warrior-Mages:''' [[Warper]]
*'''Mages:''' [[Necromancer]], [[Ice Elementalist]], [[Earth Elementalist]]

Ghouls are prohibited from becoming [[Transmuter]]s.

==Level Bonuses==
*+1 [[strength]] every 5th level.
*10% more [[HP]] than average.
*+3 [[willpower]] per level.

==Starting Skills and Equipment==
Ghouls start with the skills and equipment listed for their background.

==Difficulty of Play==
{{Moderate}}

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]]).

{{species_aptitudes|Ghoul}}

==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==
*In [[0.33]], Ghouls were replaced by [[Revenant]]s.
*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 [[rot]]ted over time. Also, they could heal by eating [[chunk]]s 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==
<references />

{{species}}

Ghoul - Revision history

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