D&D General Poll: Have You Lost a Character to Ghouls.

[Ralif Redhammer]

Inspired by @Whizbang Dustyboots ruminating on the danger of ghouls, how many of you have lost a character to ghouls/ghasts and their paralysis?

RIP J'rrik Greysword, eaten by a pair of ghouls in 3e.

 

[CleverNickName]

I've lost many characters to liches, banshees, and vampires (and a skeleton once, because of a lucky shot). But never to a ghoul.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[toucanbuzz]

Does this question apply to DMs as well? (Have you ever killed a character with a ghoul?)

EDIT: with that option, then yes, in Curse of Strahd. I saw no reason once a player was paralyzed that ghouls, as beings possessed of unending hunger, wouldn't tear into a meal. They began to eat the character alive.

 

[Jediking]

Not a player, but the player's animal companion and faithful Mastiff mount.
The Gnome wizard was unconscious at that point, it was tough fight and the bard was only able to save one...

Tito was a good boy, then he was a good meal.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Mmm, good point. Added a fourth option to the poll.

Does this question apply to DMs as well? (Have you ever killed a character with a ghoul?)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Not to ghouls, but I did lose a character to a creature that uses paralysis: a cave fisher.

”Fast Eddie” Edylrith Clark, plucked untimely from the air over an underground chasm.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

“She”, but otherwise, yeah!

Although...my REAL “stopp'd before he could start” PC was Klor-Kon, a .5Orc Bounty-Hunter (Ranger) who busted down a door in a dungeon and...fell into an underground chasm.*

This was just after the first encounter.



* hmmm...I’m seeing a pattern.

 

[One Horse town]

No. Lost an ad&d cleric to a single kobold once though, but we don't talk about that...

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Stormonu]

Lost an elf Sorcerer (enchanter) to a ghast. Charm person no work on undead and it had to be ghast leading the ghoul pack.

Oh well, as DM I’ve sent plenty of characters to their doom via ghouls - including the ones in the sample 1E DMG sample dungeon.

 

[Lanefan]

I was in a 4th-ish level 1e party once that was nearly TPKed by a single ghoul.

Tight narrow tunnels, ghoul could freely attack with its claws but we couldn't really bring our spells and weapons to bear, and it just rolled up the line. Oh, and the party was all Humans and Hobbits - nary an Elf in sight.

If memory serves the only reason any of us got out of there was one of the dead PCs' corpses plugged the passage; by the time the ghoul had chewed through it the two survivors (out of six) were long since back outside in the sunshine!

 

[iserith]

Never lost a character to one, but did kill some characters with ghouls as DM. It's one of the creatures that I have attack PCs when they're down.

 

[Stoutstien]

Do ghasts count?

 

[tetrasodium]

in 3.5 those things were so freaking scary that you made sure the answer would probably be no at any level. in 5e they are harmless

Spoiler: 3.5 ghoul

Spoiler: mostly harmless 5e ghoul

 

[Umbran]

I think back in 1e, and it was a mixed pack of ghasts and ghouls.

Been very careful of them since.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Does this question apply to DMs as well? (Have you ever killed a character with a ghoul?)

EDIT: with that option, then yes, in Curse of Strahd. I saw no reason once a player was paralyzed that ghouls, as beings possessed of unending hunger, wouldn't tear into a meal. They began to eat the character alive.

I've taken so many with Ghouls in my S&W Rappan Athuck game, including a TPK. The lamentations were barely drowned out by my mad cackles!

They fear the ghoul.

As a player its been a long time but they don't have quite the bite they used to IMO.

 

[ccs]

Honestly I don't recall.
If I did it'd have been back in the 80s playing B/X & 1e. There were many many games with many non-memorable characters getting killed in a variety of ways.
Maybe a casualty to ghouls during random games at Cons in trhe 90s?

I can tell you with certainty that I have not lost a character to ghouls 2006-present.

As the DM I've killed characters via ghouls in every edition. Most recently about a year ago during ToA.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yes, they certainly do!

Do ghasts count?