GHOUL – 5e stats

Medium undead, chaotic evil

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 22 (5d8)
Speed 30 ft.

Proficiency Bonus +2
Proficiency Bonus +3 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13 (+1)	15 (+2)	10 (+0)	7 (−2)	10 (+0)	6 (−2)

Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

ACTIONS

• Multiattack (suggested). The ghoul makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage.
• Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage. If the target is a creature other than an undead, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
• Claws (suggested). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) slashing damage. If the target is a creature other than an undead, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

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DESCRIPTION 

A ghoul is a foul undead creature that feeds on the flesh of the dead and the living. It was once human, but has become horribly disfigured by dark magic and evil corruption. It resembles a gaunt, hairless humanoid with mottled, decaying skin, sharp teeth, and claws. Its tongue is long and tough for licking marrow from cracked bones, and its eyes glow like hot coals in its sunken sockets. A ghoul can speak Common, but usually only utters guttural sounds or shrieks .

COMBAT

 A ghoul is a cunning and vicious predator that prefers to hunt in packs. It uses its speed and stealth to ambush its prey, often targeting the weakest or most isolated victim. A ghoul’s bite can inflict painful wounds, while its claws can paralyze a creature with a touch, rendering it helpless. A ghoul avoids direct confrontation with foes that can resist its paralysis or deal significant damage to it. A ghoul is immune to poison and some conditions, such as being charmed, exhausted, or poisoned .

HABITAT / SOCIETY 

A ghoul typically dwells in dark and desolate places, such as graveyards, ruins, dungeons, or sewers. It often scavenges corpses from battlefields or cemeteries, but also hunts living creatures that wander into its territory. A ghoul rarely associates with other undead, except for other ghouls or more powerful creatures that can command or protect it. A ghoul may serve a demon lord, such as Orcus, the Prince of Undeath, who is said to have created the first ghoul from an elf worshiper . A ghoul has a primal hatred for elves and will attack them with ferocity .

ECOLOGY

A ghoul does not have a natural life cycle or reproduction method. A ghoul can be created from a humanoid corpse that is exposed to necromantic energy or a curse, or from a living humanoid that succumbs to cannibalism or a ghoul’s bite . A ghoul does not need to eat to survive, but it is driven by an endless hunger that can never be satisfied. A ghoul has no culture, religion, or morality of its own. It lives only to feed and kill .

Ghouls and their more powerful kin, the ghasts, are most frequently encountered around graveyards where they can find plenty of corpses on which to feed. They delight in revolting and loathsome things–from which we draw our adjectives “ghoulish” and “ghastly”.

Ghoul is employed as material component to empower the following spells:

• Chill Touch
• Faerie Fire
• Toll the Dead
• Ray of Sickness