Ghoul (5e Fallout Campaign Setting)

Ghouls

Physical Description

Ghouls or necrotic post-humans are decrepit, rotting, zombie-like mutants. They are victims of heavy radiation poisoning which results in their skin decaying and, paradoxically, greatly extends their individual lifetime. Although they look like a walking corpse, Ghouls are in fact otherwise normal humans who have been exposed to massive amounts of radiation during the Great War and survived against all odds. The name Ghoul comes from the mythological beings that devoured flesh and also resembled Ghouls. Ghoul bodies have been changed by the radiation, their internal systems degrading causing their bodies to be less affected by damage.

History

Ghouls are humans who, by some cosmic fluke, became functionally immortal from radiation. While many ghouls are from before the war, any person can become a ghoul. However, this should never be relied on, as one’s chances of actually becoming a ghoul are astronomically low.

Society

Ghouls hold a unique place in all forms of society. In more tribal societies, they are viewed as evil creatures of the night or honored elders. More established societies view ghouls as disgusting freaks, often calling them “zombies”, leading to them often forming their own settlements. In post-post-apocalyptic societies, such as the New California Republic, ghouls retain citizenship and are treated as valuable sources of pre-war knowledge. and in some settlements they are treated as any other.

Ghoul Names

Most Ghouls follow the same naming conventions as non-irradiated humans.

Ghoul Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2 ,your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. Ghouls do not age, though the level to which their skin has rot is typically considered a sign of maturity.
Alignment. While their old world origins draw them toward lawful alignments, they are capable of anything.
Size. Ghouls, similar to humans, vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Child of Atom. A ghoul’s rad pool is doubled.
Become Feral. Gaining rads past your rad pool does not reduce your maximum health, instead becoming negative rad pool points. When your total negative rad pool points exceeds your maximum hit points, you become a feral ghoul controlled by the DM. If your level was 10 or higher, you become a feral ghoul roamer instead. If your level was 19 or higher, you become a feral ghoul reaver.
Timeless. You are immune to the effects of Jet and can not reproduce.
Memory. You gain proficiency in History.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.
Subrace. You may choose the Marked or Glowing race variant.

Marked

The following replaces your ASI and the Memory feature.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution increases by +2, and your Wisdom score decreases by 2
Torn. Due to the harsh environment you’ve may lived in, your skin has toughened into a permanent callous. You gain +1 to all ACs.

Glowing

The following replaces your ASI and the Memory feature. Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma and Wisdom scores decrease by 2.
Irradiated. You skin glows with rads. At the end of each of your turns, every creature within 5 feet of you is exposed to light radiation at the end of each of your turns (every 6 seconds). At the end of each minute, you are automatically exposed to light radiation as well. If you go feral, you become a Glowing One.
Elephants Foot. As an action, you may release a large radioactive blast. Every creature within a 15 foot radius of you including yourself must attempt a DC 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus Constitution saving throw. On a failure, they are exposed to heavy radiation. Feral ghouls that take this radiation regain 1d6 + your Constitution modifier hit points. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining use at the end of a long rest.
Rad-Child. Any time you gain rads, you regain hit points equal to the rads gained.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
′ ''	+	lb.	× () lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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