Ghouls

Dekades8 on Devinatart

I feel a little silly including ghouls in my series of Undead revisions, since my model for this project, Arnold K's Monstrome, contains an extensive entry and my vision for this monster overlaps significantly with his. Nevertheless, ghouls are one of my all-time favorite classic D&D monsters and I want to crystalize my ideas in text (for my own use if for no other purpose).

Ghouls are an excellent utility monster that I find myself reaching for again and again while stocking my dungeons. With their multiple attacks and paralyzing touch, they are an absolute nightmare for players and remain a real challenge even for parties well above their level. 

Paralysis Death Spiral

I play in an OSE Arden Vul campaign and we recently encountered a mixed pack of ghouls and ghasts. Being a mid-level party and filled with hubris, we foolishly believed we could tank our way through. In one round, we were utterly thrashed, our best fighters paralyzed and several characters killed. We fled with half our number still living and a burning desire for vengeance. We came back, better prepared, and they kicked our asses again. This seems typical.

Ghoul's combat prowess borders on the unfair. A lot of people, both players and DMs don't like the brutality of Ghouls. Arnold removed their paralysis effect replacing it with a fear mechanic, saying "I don’t like how paralysis can disable half the party in a single turn, creating an instant death spiral (especially when surprise is involved), so I think this is a good change."  I disagree.

Ghoul's overwhelming abilities creates a fear and hatred of them that emotionally impacts the players in a way that few other monsters do. Having just experienced this, the frustration of rapidly losing characters that we'd spent months advancing, is fresh in my mind. When (on the third attempt) we finally beat them with an elaborate barbed-wire, tower-defense style ambush the sense of victory was incredible. 

A ridiculously overpowered, perhaps even un-fun, enemy from time to time adds something special to the game. It's exciting to have something to really fear.

Hot Springs Island

Weaknesses

For all their lethality, ghouls are not that tough themselves. They typically don't have armor and with just two hit-dice, they fall pretty quickly once attacked. On average, they have single digit hit points. 

According to the 1e Monster Manual: "These creatures are subject to all attack forms except sleep and charm spells. They can be turned by clerics. The magic circle of protection from evil keeps these monsters completely at bay." 

In a different game I play in (in Stonehell) we encountered a ghoul infested area with a 7th level cleric and a paladin in the party. They melted like snow. 

Skeletons

Van Gogh

Of all the monsters in D&D, skeletons are the one most often depicted in art (of the non-game related sort). They are a constant theme. Drawn, painted and sculpted throughout history. A reminder of the inevitability of our own deaths and the monster that lives inside each of us, hidden behind a mask of meat and skin. 

William Blake

So of course I want to make them into a goofy cartoon monster. I want puppets and stop motion aesthetics. 

When you fight skeletons in my game, I want you to almost see the marionette strings. When you strike a mighty blow, they should burst apart with a clatter of scattering bones.

Disney

If you're going to take an easy, low-level undead fight for granted... these are the ones.

And yet... we still need them to be at least a little challenging to fight. They can't just be a very small stack of hit points.

Harryhausen

Strengths

Unlike the classic skeleton (BX/OSE and 5e), my skeletons are immune to slings and arrows (an outrageous fortune) and take half damage from piercing weapon. This makes them difficult to fight at range or if they are behind bars or a grate. This sets up lots of opportunities for adventurers to be harassed by weak monster that are difficult to get at. The challenge of the fight isn't rolling bigger numbers, it's figuring out how to get from here to there.

A complimentary feature is skeletons' ability to see in the dark and shoot further than torchlight extends. Arrows out of the darkness terrify players. This can be used to good effect to emphasize the importance of light.

Finally, skeletons have time on their side. They don't get hungry. They don't need a pee break or a nap. You can put them in a cage and hang them from the ceiling or brick them up behind an arrow slit. They can be a trap or an environmental hazard.

Weaknesses

In addition to being flimsy, skeletons are incredibly stupid. They are easily tricked. 

Zombies

Maybe it's a fools errand, but I want to make the zombies in my game a little more interesting and threatening. I want my players to be genuinely scared of the undead.

I tried an iteration of this last year that fell bit flat so I've tweaked the recipe a bit.

Justin Moll

Sponge Monster

Zombies should shrug off weak hits and soak up a lot of damage before collapsing. On the flip side, in keeping with the tropes, one really big hit should take a zombie out. 

Instead of giving them a ton of HP, they'll get damage resistance (reduce the damage of each incoming hit by 4).  This will make them very resistant to arrows and small hand weapons. You'll want to hit these things with two-handed swords and polearms.

Deadly Infection

A zombie will first attempt to grab victims. Once grabbed, zombies will make bite attacks with advantage.

Any character bit by a zombie will contract grave rot, a deadly wasting disease that most low-level parties will not be able to cure. Getting bit by a zombie usually means death. 

Grave Rot: Every hour, lose 1/4 of your max HP. Hit points lost in this way can't be healed until the disease is cured. If you die while under the effect of Grave Rot, you'll return as a zombie (or occasionally some other undead). Grave Rot spreads from the point of infection. If it's on a limb, quick amputation can be a viable cure.

In B/X, 2HD crab spiders have save-or-die poison, so this doesn't feel too punitive.

Weaknesses

Zombies are slow and stupid. They always lose initiative and move at half normal human speed. If you can get out of their sight for one combat round, they'll forget you exist.

If a victim is brought down, zombies may stop fighting to consume it, ignoring anyone nearby unless directly attacked.

They are nearly always unarmored and make no attempt to avoid being hit. 

 

Darkest Dungeon

Maggots the size of a golden retriever. Slow moving, they are drawn by the smell of living flesh. They will attach themselves to any living creature and begin to feed. Any puncture of their thin skin releases a thick adhesive that can easily entrap attackers. 

Tar Body Maggot

Armor Class: 8 (unarmored). 

Hit Dice: 1d6 (HP4)

Attacks: First attack to attach (no damage), + 0 to hit, ignores armor. Once attached deals automatic damage each round until removed. First round deals 1 HP, second 2 HP etc. damage escalating as it chews its way further into the victim's more vital bits.

Move: 1/2 speed of unencumbered human. Can move on walls and ceilings.

Saves: 13+

Morale: Very stupid and will mindlessly pursue prey. Can be driven back temporarily by intense heat or cold.

Number Appearing: d10 x 3

Special: Hitting it with a bladed or piercing weapon releases super sticky goo. It will trap & tangle the weapon and potentially the attacker too (a la the folkloric Tar Baby). If killed, they melt into a big gluey puddle that will trap anyone stepping/contacting it. This smells intensely sweet and will attract other scavengers.