Ghoul Guidelines

The guidelines provided below are taken directly from V20 Ghouls & Revenants, please ensure you know the mechanics properly when playing a Ghoul.


When does one become a Ghoul?
A Ghoul is considered a Ghoul from the very first drink, however they may only start learning Disciplines from the third taste, and will develop the first level of Potence for free.


How much blood can a Ghoul have in their system?
Generally speaking, Ghouls can store 2 Blood Points in their system. However, after every 200 years (100 for Revenants) the Blood Pool of the Ghoul increases by 1.
For each point of Stamina, a Ghoul may exceed their Blood Pool rating by 1. However, cramming Blood Points in such a fashion is dangerous.
Ghouls with crammed Blood Points benefit from +1 Dexterity. However, they must make a Perception + Self-Control/Instinct roll at the beginning of each scene to avoid violent hallucinations (which are up to the Storyteller). In order to spend a crammed Blood Point the Ghoul must make a Stamina roll (difficulty 8). Should the roll fail and they suffer from one Lethal damage per Blood Point beyond their maximum. Additionally, all crammed Blood Points then become useless, and the Ghoul is unable to spend more Blood Points until they take an entire scene to vomit the crammed Blood Points which are now useless.


How does aging work for Ghouls?
Ghouls with 0 Blood Points will start aging again until fed. Ghouls who are 100-250 years old will age 10 times faster, and ghouls who are older than that will instantly crumble to dust. The same is not true for revenants, however, for their bodies naturally produce vitae and their natural lifespan is approximately 300 years. Any additional blood they drink from a vampire will cease their aging process, just as it would a ghoul. Missed feedings, however, will have varying effects on their bodies, as they are a product of magic and biology.


How do Ghouls heal?
Ghouls are capable of spending Blood Points in a similar (but not identical) fashion to vampires in order to heal injuries and regrow limbs.
Unlike vampires, Ghouls must also spend varying amount of Willpower and make a Stamina roll (difficulty 8) to regenerate limbs.
Should the Stamina roll fail or botch, and the Blood and Willpower Points are not only lost, but the Ghoul will also never be able to regrow the said limb.
For every 100 years a Ghoul had lived, the difficulty of the Stamina roll decreases by 1.
Finger, tongue, eye, etc.: 1 Willpower Point
Foot, forearm, etc.: 2 Willpower Points
An entire limb: 3 Willpower Points


How do Ghouls soak damage?
Ghouls after the third sip, as well as Revenants, may soak Bashing and Lethal damage at difficulty 6.
Elder Ghouls (200 years+) and Revenants (100 years+) also halve Bashing damage (after the soak roll), in the same fashion as Vampires do.


Can Ghouls Frenzy?
As a matter of fact, Ghouls face Frenzy checks more often than vampires themselves!
However, the difficulty of frenzying and the amount of successes required to stave it off is up to the Storyteller.
As a rule of thumb, the difficulty to resist Frenzy is 2 lower, and requires 2 successes less than a normal vampire.
(The reduced amount of successes does not apply when facing supernaturally-induced frenzies.)


Do Ghouls suffer from Clan Weaknesses?
Yes they certainly do.
Ghouls will start suffering from their Domitor's Clan Weakness after imbibing at least 5 Blood Points. Should a Ghoul imbibe 5 Blood Points from different vampires and they will suffer from one of the Clans Weaknesses (up to the Vampire Moderator). Should a Ghoul imbibe a total of 12 Blood Points and they will suffer from the Clan Weakness for the rest of their time as a Ghoul. Revenants on the other hand, are already suffering from a Family Weakness, which is tied to their mutated genetics. While they can still catch a Clan Weakness, they can get rid of the "Permanent" version of it if the blood of that Clan is not present in their system for 5 months.
Regardless, upon the Embrace all previous weaknesses are replaced with their new Clan Weakness.


What happens when a Ghoul has no Blood Points in their system?
Vitae, the forbidden fruit, the intoxicating substance that all Ghouls crave, is potent enough to bring the mightiest down on their knees, begging like a spineless worm for another taste. When a Ghoul's Blood Pool empties, they will start suffering from withdrawal effects for a number of weeks equal to 6 - Stamina rating. Withdrawal effects vary widely, and depending on how long the Ghoul has been feeding on Vitae. In general, the symptoms of intense Hunger are physiological and psychological. For example, they may include seizures, fever, nightmares, and disorientation. During withdrawal, the Ghoul needs to make a Self-Control/Instinct roll (difficulty 7) whenever the opportunity to take blood arises. In addition, the Ghoul must make a weekly Intelligence + Self-Control roll (difficulty 6) in order to not to succumb to her cravings and translate them into human desires (food, sex, drugs). These cravings might be resisted by spending a Willpower point.