Ghouls in the City of Bones

[Inspired by a recent post from Monstrous Television]

Ghouls in the City of Bones

Beneath the City of Bones, lurking within the deeper levels of the Catacombs, is a slowly growing Kingdom of Ghouls; but these are not your usual ghouls, these are free-willed, less savage ghouls who retain many memories of their previous lives. Ruled by a self-proclaimed King, the ghouls survive by feasting on the dead, robbing from the living, and providing services to adventuring types who delve into the catacombs: services such as guiding delvers to tombs that can be looted; ancient lore; assassinations and thievery; and some even hire themselves out as henchmen. Their presence in the catacombs isn't well know, but rumours are plentiful. Several of the city's religions have a standing bounty for the destruction of these undead abominations.

Ghouls as a Playable Class

Ghouls are created by being killed by another ghoul, and when the new ghoul 'awakens' they are, at first, weaker versions of the average ghoul, growing in power as they struggle to survive in their new world. If a character is killed in such a manner, they may 'return to life' as a ghoul, albeit at 1st Level.

Ghouls

Prime Requisite: Wisdom.
Requirements: None (other than being dead).
Hit Dice: 1d8, +1 hit point per level after 9th.
Maximum Level: 13.


Ghouls begin 'life' as an undead abomination, with all the relative immunities and vulnerabilities that accompany it (immune to charm, hold and sleep magic, non-magical poisons and diseases; can be turned/commanded as an undead of Hit Dice equal to class level, vulnerable to holy water and so forth). They quickly learn to defend themselves with tooth and claw, hitting an Armour Class of 0 with an Attack Throw of 10+, and increasing in attack and Saving Throws as a cleric. Their teeth and claws do 1d3 damage each, but they may also use weapons such as swords, daggers, maces, flails and hammers, and may wear light armour; they know how to wield one-handed weapons and use shields.


At 1st level, they learn to move stealthily, gaining the ability to Move Silently and Hide in Shadows as a thief of equal level. At 2nd level, their connection to the realm of the dead intensifies, allowing them to Paralyse an opponent with a successful hit by tooth or claw (Save versus Paralysis, or paralysed for 2d4 turns); this also grants them their own immunity to paralysis.

As they are undead, ghouls cannot naturally heal and require sewing and stitching or magic; healing by means of the healing proficiency will recover hit points, as will spells such as cause light wounds. However, at 5th level the ghoul can feast on the marrow or flesh of the dead (or the living) to regain hit points, effectively gaining the ability to heal 1d6+1 hit points at-will with a turn spent feeding.

Their connection with the dead increases as they grow in experience and power, so much so that at 10th level they have a dark aura that provides them with +1 to Armour Class and Saving Throws (already added to the table below); to those can can sense such auras, they are wrapped in shadowy wisps of darkness.

At 9th level, the ghoul can establish their own conclave, attracting 2d6 other ghouls to act as spies and the like, allowing hijinks such as a thieves' guild.

Proficiencies

Acrobatics, Alertness, Ambushing, Bargaining, Berskergang, Black Lore of Zahar, Blind Fighting, Bribery, Caving, Climbing, Combat Reflexes, Contortionist, Disguise, Eavesdropping, Intimidation, Knowledge, Landsurverying, Loremastery, Manual of Arms, Mapping, Martial Training, Passing without Trace, Running, Skirmishing, Skulking, Tracking, Weapon Finesse (can apply to tooth and claws), Weapon Focus (bite, claws, can separately).




Ghoul Level Progression
Experience
Title
Level
Hit Dice
0
Abomination
1
1d8
2,500
Ghoul
2
2d8
5,000
Ghoul Scavenger
3
3d8
10,000
Ghoul Bone-Collector
4
4d8
20,000
Ghoul Flesh-Eater
5
5d8
40,000
Ghoul Kinsman
6
6d8
80,000
Ghoul Elite
7
7d8
160,000
Ghoul Noble
8
8d8
260,000
Elder Ghoul
9
9d8
360,000
Elder Ghoul, 10th level
10
9d8+1*
460,000
Elder Ghoul, 11th level
11
9d8+2*
560,000
Elder Ghoul, 12th level
12
9d8+3*
660,000
King of Ghouls, 13th level
13
9d8+4*
*Hit point modifiers
 from constitutionare ignored




Ghoul Attack and Saving Throws

Level
Petrification & Paralysis
Poison & Death
Blast & Breath
Staffs & Wands
Spells
Attack Throw
1-2
13+
10+
16+
13+
15+
10+
3-4
11+
9+
15+
12+
13+
9+
5-6
10+
8+
14+
11+
12+
8+
7-8
9+
7+
13+
10+
11+
7+
9-10
8+
6+
12+
9+
10+
6+
11-12
6+
4+
10+
7+
8+
4+
13
5+
3+
9+
6+
7+
3+

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