Ghoulism

by

Finley Vorden


Often mistaken for a mild form of Vampirism, ghoulism affects those who regularly handle or consume dead flesh. Gravediggers, battlefield scavengers, and certain depraved cultists run particular risk of developing this affliction. The transformation progresses gradually, with victims developing grey-green skin, extraordinary night vision, and an increasingly exclusive appetite for decomposing flesh. Unlike vampires, ghouls retain no particular charisma and lack supernatural abilities beyond enhanced strength and resilience. They remain mortal, albeit with extended lifespans, and can reproduce naturally; leading to small enclaves of born ghouls in forgotten corners of major cities. The condition can be cured in its early stages through purification rituals dedicated to Ophia (2d4 days after development), but advanced cases prove resistant to all known treatments. Most ghouls eventually surrender to their nature and form underground communities. The most organized groups maintain uneasy arrangements with local authorities, offering discreet disposal services for unclaimed bodies in exchange for being left alone.



Carrion Affliction

When a character becomes a ghoul, they gain CARRION AFFLICTION. Those afflicted must select two gifts and two curses from below:


Gifts

  • Your transformation grants you extraordinary night vision, allowing you to see clearly in total darkness. When making Awareness rolls in low light or darkness, you may count both 5s and 6s as successes.
  • You gain immunity to disease and poison.
  • You develop uncanny strength when digging or climbing, giving you +1 to Might rolls for these specific activities.
  • Your connection to death grants you a sixth sense for finding corpses and sensing the recently deceased. You can instinctively locate the nearest unburied dead body within Far range without rolling Awareness.

Curses

  • Your affliction requires you to consume dead flesh regularly. You must eat decomposing flesh at least once every 1d6 days. If you fail to do so, you lose access to all Gifts until you feed again. After three days without feeding, you gain the Enfeebled Tribulation until you consume dead flesh.
  • Your appearance gradually transforms, giving you gray-green skin, sunken eyes, and elongated fingers. This gives you a penalty to all Charm rolls when interacting with non-ghouls in social situations where your appearance is visible, requiring you to set aside two successes from each roll.
  • You develop an aversion to all elements blessed by deities, inflicting 1 point of damage per Rotation of direct exposure. In addition to this, sunlight doesn't harm you directly but causes significant discomfort, imposing a -1 penalty to all rolls while in direct sunlight.


The Hunger's Call

When you encounter a fresh corpse after going without feeding for more than two days, you must make an Endurance roll. If you fail, you immediately attempt to feed on the corpse regardless of circumstances or witnesses. The more recently dead the flesh you consume, the more nourishing it is. Freshly dead bodies (less than a day old) sustain you for 2d6 days, while older corpses (a decād or more) might only satisfy your hunger for 1d6 days. With each year of your affliction, your body continues its transformation. Work with your Wayfinder to develop additional physical changes that reflect your character's growing inhuman nature. These might include a hunched posture, clawed hands, or razor-sharp teeth that can tear through bone.



Merciful Release

For freshly turned ghouls seeking to remove their affliction, a ceremony must take place at dawn in a consecrated space; ideally a temple or shrine to Ophia, although a temporary altar works if properly blessed. The afflicted person must fast for 1d4 days beforehand, consuming only spring water and bread blessed by Ophia's clergy.


Sacred Elements:

  • Fresh wildflowers (representing life's beauty that the afflicted is losing touch with)
  • A silver bowl filled with water from a natural spring
  • Incense made from rosemary and sage (purification herbs)
  • White burial shrouds (as one symbolically "buries” the affliction)

The Ceremony: The supplicant kneels before Ophia's altar while a priest or priestess speaks gentle prayers acknowledging death as natural while asking for release from unnatural craving. The afflicted person must confess how they came to consume dead flesh and express genuine remorse for disturbing the natural order. The priest anoints the supplicant's forehead, hands, and lips with the blessed spring water while reciting:

“Gentle Ophia, keeper of the final rest, your servant seeks release from the hunger that corrupts. Grant them peace with the living and respect for the dead."

The person drinks the remaining blessed water and is wrapped briefly in the burial shrouds before casting them into a purifying fire along with the flowers. The ritual concludes with the afflicted person planting something living, a flower or small tree, as an offering to life. The cure requires the person to completely abstain from handling dead flesh for 1d6 days while performing daily prayers to Ophia.