Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

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Ghouls have been in D&D since the beginning, which makes them an example of two classic D&D practices: arranging monsters in a power ladder, and making every synonym of a word into a different monster.

They were a step up from zombies in the undead power ladder, and since the word “zombie” in D&D applied to slow shamblers, the faster and more voracious “Romero Zombies” got called Ghouls. Here, they’re present in both books.

The Lore

When someone who practices cannibalism dies, they rise as a ghoul. Ghouls can also be created through necromantic rituals, like zombies or skeletons. In previous editions someone killed by a ghoul would also rise as one - while that can certainly still be the case here, it’s not encoded in their combat stat blocks.

A ghoul doesn’t retain any of the memories or personality it had in life, and is driven by an insatiable hunger for sapient flesh. It’s still sapient itself, and potentially very smart! The ones we get in this entry range from Int 10 to Int 19.

Many ghouls turn to religion, surprisingly. The patron of ghouls is Dorensain, an exarch of Orcus who has a domain in the Abyss known as the White Kingdom because it’s made entirely of bones. Dorensain’s castle is made out of the hollowed-out, petrified body of a still-living primordial, and from there he grants blessings upon his most favored ghouls. These Abyssal Ghouls make up the bulk of his Court of Teeth, and sometimes go out into the world or the other planes to do his bidding.

Ghouls are typically Chaotic Evil.

The Numbers

“Standard” ghouls are Medium Natural Humanoids with the Undead keyword. Abyssal ghouls are Elemental instead. They all have darkvision, are immune to disease and poison, and have Resist 10 Necrotic. They’re also pretty fast, with a land speed of 8 and a climb speed of 4. Most of them also have some ability to immobilize the people they attack, but that takes a different form for each ghoul.

And speaking of “different”, the stat blocks are different enough between books that I’m going to deal with them separately.

Ghoul (MM)

The classic model is a Level 5 Soldier with 63 HP and all standard ghoul traits plus Vulnerable 5 Radiant. It’s also one of the nastier surprises in the MM, similar to needlefang drake swarms.

You see, the ghoul’s basic attack is a claw that immobilizes (save ends) on a hit. Its other attack is a bite that can only be used on an immobilized, stunned or unconscious target, does roughly double the damage of a claw, and stuns (save ends).

Soldiers in the first Monster Manual have an extra +2 to hit when compared to other roles; and while the ghoul’s bite has a slightly lower attack bonus than the claw, that will be frequently offset by combat advantage (either from being stunned/unconscious, or from flanking). So ghouls will hit very often with attacks that carry potentially crippling riders.

This means that a level 5 party coming up against an equal number of ghouls is in for a genuine Romero Zombie experience as they get swarmed, immobilized by claws, paralyzed by bites, and eaten. Don’t be that party. Don’t get into melee with ghouls.

Ghoul (MV)

The MV ghoul is surprisingly similar, remaining a Level 5 Soldier with the same HP and common traits. The radiant vulnerability is replaced by Weakened Paralysis, a trait that allows a creature immobilized or stunned by the ghoul to roll an extra save whenever the monster takes radiant damage.

The ghoul’s claws lose the extra soldier attack bonus, which was removed by the new math. Both it and the bite had their damage increased, however, and retain their riders.

The end result is a monster that’s still dangerous in melee, but will hit less often and give any party with a divine character in it a lot more chances to save against its paralytic attacks. Use this one and ignore the MM version.

Ravenous Ghoul (MV)

This one is closer to a classic Romero Zombie than to the classic ghoul we saw above. It doesn’t paralyze, it just runs at you and tears you apart.

The Ravenous Ghoul is a Level 5 Brute with 76 HP and all common ghoul traits, including Vulnerable 5 Radiant. It’s a bit dumber than the classic model, at Int 8.

Its basic attack is a claw that does level-appropriate Brute damage, and it also has a Ravenous Bite on Recharge 5-6 that’s a bit stronger and does ongoing damage (save ends).

Horde Ghoul (MM)

This Level 13 Minion Brute represents a classic ghoul when met by more powerful adventurers. It shares all common ghoul traits except for the radiant vulnerability, which doesn’t make sense in a minion. Its single attack is a claw that does a bit of damage and immobilizes (save ends).

As the name implies, they should come in hordes!

Abyssal Ghoul (MM)

The favored servants of Dorensain, and likely equivalent to ghasts in previous editions. They’re Level 16 Skirmishers with 156 HP and all common ghoul traits, including the radiant vulnerability.

Abyssal ghouls are surrounded by a Sepuchral Stench (Aura 3), which inflicts a -2 penalty to the defenses of anyone caught in its area. They attack with a bite that damages and immobilizes on a hit (save ends), and deals extra damage to targets who are already immobilized/stunned/unconscious.

When killed, the abyssal ghoul explodes in a cloud of Dead Blood, dealing an automatic 10 necrotic damage to every enemy in a Close Burst 1.

Unlike classical ghouls, they lack the ability to stun their victims, and so are actually a bit less dangerous after accounting for the level difference. Immobilized victims can fight back just fine, they just can’t move to another square.

Abyssal Ghoul (MV)

The MV version of the Abyssal Ghoul is a bit stronger and skirmisher-er. It trades the radiant vulnerability for a trait called Hindering Light, which prevents it from shifting for a turn when it takes radiant damage.

Its bite damage was fixed while keeping the immobilization rider, and it now allows the ghoul to shift 3 squares as an effect, which accounts for the “skirmisher-er” part.

Abyssal Ghoul Devourer (MV)

This Level 16 Lurker has 118 HP and all common ghoul traits. It’s Vulnerable 5 to Radiant damage and projects the same stench as the standard abyssal ghoul.

Its basic attack is a Grasping Claw, which on a hit does a little damage and grabs the target (escape DC 22). The ghoul can grab up to two victims that way, and while it’s grabbing somebody it will only take half damage from any attack, redirecting the other half to the victim. What should you do when it has two victims? I’m leaning towards chosing one at random to take half the damage.

The claw’s weak damage is more than made up by Devour, an attack the ghoul can use on one of its grabbed victims. A hit does a chunk of immediate damage plus ongoing damage (save ends). A miss does half damage and half the ongoing damage of a hit. In either case the ghoul releases the victim.

To top it off, the ghoul can pull its grabbed victims along with it when it moves, without provoking opportunity attacks from the victims. So it’s going to carry the unfortunates off to a more protected spot before it uses Devour on them.

Abyssal Ghoul Hungerer (Both)

A Level 18 Minion Soldier, and basically a stronger version of the Horde Ghoul. It lacks the stench aura but keeps Dead Blood, which does a bit more damage on the MV version than in the MM one. Pop them from a distance.

There’s also an Abyssal Ghoul Myrmidon in the MM which is just a Level 23 version of the hungerer, and as such I’m not giving it its own header.

Sample Encounters

We get four, spanning the entire level range.

  • Level 5: 2 ghouls, 2 boneshard skeletons, 1 wraith. Oh joy!

  • Level 14: 5 horde ghouls, 3 stirge swarms, 1 lich. Mastermind and pets, basically.

  • Level 16: 3 abyssal ghouls and 1 human death knight. Perhaps the ghouls were its squires in life.

  • Level 21: 5 abyssal ghoul myrmidons, 1 larva mage, 1 death giant. That Kyuss guy sure gets around.

Final Impressions

If you’re playing D&D, you gotta have ghouls. The MV assortment is the superior one, so use that if possible.