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In Short

The big downside to this product is that the material tends to be repetitive and most of it will be familiar to fans of vampire fiction and RPGs. Nevertheless, this is an excellent resource for any Vampire: the Requiem game that will prominently feature ghouls or for those games exclusively featuring ghoul characters.

The Physical Thing

The Ideas

Life’s not all fun and games, however, and ghouls rarely use their newfound ability for anything but pleasing their master. Many are little more than toys or slaves for their master, and even those that have a measure of status or independence live dangerous lives that could end on a whim or gesture.

Under the Cover

Chapter 1 Soul and Blood 42 pages.

This chapter focuses more on the physical aspect of being a ghoul. It begins with an excellent discussion of blood drinking generally, and pays attention to the fact that ghouls are not immune to the diseases their masters carry in their blood. The history of blood worship, the strength of the bond between the master and ghoul, and other similar information is all discussed.

The chapter goes on to talk about what sorts of Disciplines are typically taught to ghouls, why those Disciplines are taught, and how ghouls tend to manifest those Disciplines (often subconsciously or reflexively). A discussion of how every Clan and Covenant tends to treat ghouls is provided, and it’s a mix in quality. Some suggestions, such as that Nosferatu tend to create ghouls that can function in social situations where they can not, are good ones. Others, such as three pages on Carthian ghouls that says very little, are of little use to the reader. This information takes up a significant part of the chapter, and on the whole it’s one of the weaker parts of the product.

Ghoul breeding and bloodline creation receives more than a little bit of attention here. A specific ghoul Bloodline emerges when a pregnant woman is turned into a ghoul and the fetus survives to birth., or where a pregnant ghoul successfully carries a child to term. Both events are very, very rare and many vampires spend centuries trying to breed new lines into existence. Sometimes vampires will even trade ghouls or otherwise procure new ghouls to act as breeding stock, sometimes with the intent of cross breeding different Ghoul bloodlines. Incest is also common. While it is likely to result in major deformities before long, close relatives are more likely to successfully produce ghoul children.

A few variants on the classic ghoul are presented as well. The independent ghoul no longer has a master, for whatever reason, and either hunts vampires or trades services in return for blood. Independents have two big problems. First, they’re susceptible to blood bonds and will have trouble if they work for the same vampire more than once. Second, they’re often considered threats to the masquerade and tend to make vampires nervous.

Ghouled animals are fairly common. Some vampires use them for security. A large dog with the powers of a ghoul, properly trained, is a powerful guardian. Many vampires keep pets for the same reason people do, however, and the idea of a beloved cat that lives forever is just as appealing to a vampire as it is to a mortal cat lover. Some vampires have also learned to create mandragora, which are strange ghouled plants. Their capabilities depend on the Clan of the vampire feeding them, but all mandragora begin exuding a mystical sap that vampires find pleasurable and addictive.

Chapter 2 Ghoul Characters and Special Rules 44 pages.

This chapter begins with an alternative character creation process for ghouls. First, players build a mortal character as per the World of Darkness rules. They then add the “Ghoul Template” which really isn’t much, just a tiny blood pool and two dots of Disciplines. One dot is in a physical Discipline, determined automatically based on the Clan of the vampire who created the ghoul. The other can be any Discipline the ghoul’s creator could buy except for Coils of the Dragon. So, under truly bizarre circumstances, a player could create a ghoul that has a dot of Theban Sorcery.

In addition to this, ghouls have a few extra merits to choose from. Sexualized was the neatest to me, giving social bonuses to reflect how accustomed this ghoul is to acting sensual. Regnant I didn’t care for. It’s a 1 to 5 dot Merit that reflects how much freedom a character has. A character without any Regnant is basically a slave with no will of their own, who dotes on their master night and day until death. One with many dots is treated like a favored employee, or close friend, and has enormous freedom. Every dot of this merit is allocated to Power, Favor, or Trust with minor benefits. On the whole I dislike it because it forces players to spend many or all of their merit points on something that I feel like should be handled as part of the campaign background. A character with low Regnant may result in the player having a tough time participating in the game.

Other rules, some reprinted from Vampire: the Requiem and some new, are provided as well. Ghouls can discern some information from tasting blood, for example, but not as much as a vampire can. Ghoul specific Discipline effects are also discussed. In general, many Disciplines are less useful and effective for ghouls because they aren’t undead. Ghouls can’t keep themselves hidden in the ground for as long as a vampire, nor can they survive while insubstantial as long. New Derangements common to ghouls, such as Blood Fascination, are also provided.

A complete system of game mechanics for ghoul breeding is provided, ultimately involving one roll for every attempt at conception and for every trimester of pregnancy. Conditions such as timing the attempt at pregnancy with the ghoul’s ovulation cycle, the Disciplines and Merits (Protean, Iron Stamina) the would-be mother has, and the father’s ghoul status all play a role in determining whether a ghoul becomes pregnant. Whether the child is successfully carried to term is influenced by medical care, the emotional stress on the mother (probably very high), and other factors. For conception attempts the dice pool is three dice, as a base, and for continued pregnancy the dice pool is the mother’s Stamina. For most characters the system makes it very, very difficult to get pregnant and carry the child to term, which meshes well with the discussion in the book.

Additional discussions on raising ghoul children, selective breeding, how ghoul families tend to work, and similar information is all provided. It’s a well thought out discussion of issues that may disgust some readers, and it drives home the inhumanity of many vampires.

Five new ghoul families are also included:

The Alley Men are a group of homeless Christian extremists who fight against vampires at every turn and maintain a strange tribal/cult like society focused around blood worship and sick incestuous activities. Created by Ventrue, only vampires with Dominate even consider using the Alley Men as they’re far too dangerous. Even vampires with Dominate wisely avoid this group more often than not. Members of this family may choose from any Disciplines they wish at the start of the game, regardless of the Clan of their creator. In return, many Merits are unavailable to them and their starting Morality is lower than normal (5 instead of 6 for normal ghouls). However, they may spend 1 or 3 Merit points to begin with Morality 6 or 7 instead (this reflects that a very few of them are actually quite moral). For some players, the “weakness” will actually be an advantage.

The Angustri are a family descended from Romani who, after surviving horrific experiments in a holocaust concentration camp, were taken and ghouled by a German Mekhet vampire monitoring one of the camps. The family is closely affiliated with the Ordo Dracul, and the Dragons consider the Angustri to be their pet project. While often treated as nothing more than breeding stock, the Angustri at least enjoy protection by the Dragons who do not appreciate other vampires meddling with their experiments. Angustri may choose a Mekhet Discipline even if their feeder is not Mekhet, and if their feeder is Mekhet then they may buy up one Discipline at a cheaper cost. On the down side, it is exceptionally easy for an Angustri to be completely dominated by a Vinculum initiated by a Mekhet.

The Crassus are an Italian family who lose all their money long, long ago. A Ventrue vampire offered to restore the family’s wealth and power in exchange for eternal service, and they agreed. Today they’re rich, powerful, and dedicated to the whims of their master. They can buy up wealth oriented Merits at a lower cost, and gain free Merit and/or Social Skill dots to allocate at character creation to reflect their fantastic wealth. On the downside, members of this family gain the Weakness of either the Ventrue or the Mekhet.

The Gravenor family has an odd history. A Nosferatu was convinced that strange invisible creatures were after him, trying to break into this world. He ghouled a hog farming family and soon after was driven into torpor. That family has interbred for centuries, and now the family consists of extremely isolated ghouls who are also extremely paranoid, possessed of a variety of horrible birth defects, and can sense any supernatural presence. They are so isolated, in fact, that they still wear clothes from the early 19th century. The only potential benefit this group has is that they gain the Unseen Sense Merit and it applies to all supernatural things. On the downside, family members must choose an extreme physical defect.

The Children of Nirriti were originally formed from Tantric sex cults and now are controlled by the Circle of the Crone. Members are used to obtain sacrifices for rituals or, in some cases, to serve as sacrifices. The big advantage for these cultists is that they may buy Status in the Circle of the Crone and, ultimately, Cruac rituals. On the downside, whenever a member of this family loses a dot of morality they automatically gain a Derangement.

This chapter wraps up with brief rules support for the Mandragora (ghouled plants) and animal ghouls. The sap of a Mandragora is an addictive delicacy for vampires and poisonous for mortals, though quite expensive to acquire. Additionally, a Mandragora gains special powers based on the Clan of its creator. A Mandragora created by a Gangrel, for example, can move and attack those that draw near in order to reap their blood.

Animal ghouls may learn physical Disciplines, may spend blood reflexively to heal themselves, and are easier to control with the Animalism Discipline. Over decades they may be able to learn certain other Disciplines as well, such as Auspex.

Chapter 3 Storytelling Rules 14 pages.

This chapter provides a lot of useful advice on ghoul life and behavior. Discussions include how to roleplay ghouls, what types of relationships ghouls are involved in, the strength of ghouls, and how ghouls can and do destroy their masters. The latter is particularly well done, pointing out the strengths a ghoul has over a vampire and how easy it is for such a close assistant (or slave) to reveal all a vampire’s secrets. Many helpful suggestions for adding ghouls to an existing game are also provided, such as being loaned the services of a skilled ghoul as a favor.

Chapter 4 The Debased 12 pages.

This is a collection of ready to run NPCs that can be dropped into any game. Each NPC has a full stat block along with a little more than a page of background, making them quite robust.

Appendix Creating Ghoul Families 10 pages.

Well thought out suggestions on how to create a ghoul family such as the five that appear in this product are provided. Suggestions on appropriately horrific family life, deformities, and other complications are provided to help guide a Storyteller in creating her own little nightmare group.

My Take

If you want to add more complex ghouls to your Vampire: the Requiem game, or create more robust ghoul player characters, then Ghouls will work well for you.

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