Ghoul

For a variety of reasons, the living may deign to eat the flesh of their dead. A particularly harsh famine or perhaps certain religious believes can all encourage this behavior. Should the meat, however, be touched by the dark magic of the undead, the eater may find themselves the victim of a foul illness. One that eventually strip them of their mind, turning them into a ghoul.
Ghouls are slavering scavengers and hunters of the undead. The flesh of the dead sustain them and lacking undead, they may raid graves and tombs for the decaying corpse meat they crave. It is when nothing is available that ghouls become the most dangerous, turning to making corpses when none are present.
Ghouls may have lost much of their intelligence during their transformation, but they are not stupid. They hunt like pack predators, harrying enemies and attacking from multiple angles.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Ghouls retain a lot of features from their original form. Teeth and claws usually lengthen notable, the jaw expand and the structure of the body warps to allow for quadrapedal(Or however many limbs they have) movement. Internal organs adopt for a diet of usually decaying meat. Natural restraints fade, giving the ghoul a boost in strength and toughness compared to its mortal form.

Genetics and Reproduction

Ghouls can pass on the same disease that transformed them. This is usually through injuries, but any exposure to their bodily fluids can transmit it.

Growth Rate & Stages

The transformation into a ghoul is a torturous process. First comes an extended bout of pain, as parts of the body, including the bain, necrotizes. Eventually, teh victim sinks into a deep, death-like coma, often resulting in their burial. Afterwards, their body warps, limbs lengthen, the jaw strengthens, organs transform and so on, before they awaken. At this point, only the parts of the brain that will serve the ghoul in the hunt remain and thus the original personality effectively dies.

Ecology and Habitats

Ghouls prefer to dwell in areas where access to corpses, or even other undead, is plentiful.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Ghouls are necrovores, preferring the dark infused flesh of undead above anything else. If that is not available, corpses, of their former species if possible, is acceptable.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Ghouls often hunt in packs when conditions are right. Depending on circumstances, these packs can have anywhere between 3 and 25 members. Larger packs centre around one or more ghasts whom the ghouls eagerly obey.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Ghouls can occur in any area where dark magic is practiced and are thus found in many spheres.

Average Intelligence

The process ruins whatever sapience there once might have been, leaving only a feral, predatory mindset. This should not be confused for stupidity, as ghouls possess a animalistic cunning and can form basic tactics to get what they want.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The nose of the ghouls adopt to be especially sensitive to the scent of decay and necromancy, making them skilled trackers of the undead.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Ghouls, if they have name, are usually descriptive and more used by others than the ghoul itself.

Scientific Name

Esuurit Mortus

Origin/Ancestry

Undead

Lifespan

Does not age

Average Height

Varies depending on original species, but a typical ghoul is somewhere in the 1.2 to 2.4 meter range.

Average Weight

Varies depending on original species, but a typical ghoul is somewhere in the 27 to 227 kilo range.

Average Length

Varies depending on original species, but a typical ghoul is somewhere in the 1.2 to 2.4 meter range.

Average Physique

The strength and speed of a ghoul is usually increased by the process.