tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post2457174044133865627..comments2024-03-25T00:18:14.319-07:00Comments on Against The Wicked City: Ghoulstorm part 2: ghouls from G-WJoseph Manolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-10268931920019252312021-02-07T07:23:14.837-08:002021-02-07T07:23:14.837-08:00For additional comedy and tragedy, not all of them...For additional comedy and tragedy, not all of them are from the same place. Their discussions about which way to go are complicated by that fact, and what happens when they reach a homeland that's only where *some* of them are from?Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17718188146918003275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-53956556219689063682021-02-05T23:59:05.007-08:002021-02-05T23:59:05.007-08:00"There is a cure for this, but it is illegal...."There is a cure for this, but it is illegal."<br /><br />Simply beautiful.Norn's Dominionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01802928625469063307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-19007348385433164722021-01-03T16:26:57.069-08:002021-01-03T16:26:57.069-08:00They're all variations on the same theme, so m...They're all variations on the same theme, so makes sense that some are pretty close conceptually. While reading through the two posts, I loved practically every creature. I'm absolutely going to use a whole bunch in my games. The sheer cognitive dissonance of such varied and colourful beings all ultimately being hungry cannibals and ravenous corpse-eaters just doesn't get old.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-84611532713106583172020-12-30T04:18:56.718-08:002020-12-30T04:18:56.718-08:00> Ghoul gourmets
Don't you mean ghoulrmets?...> Ghoul gourmets<br />Don't you mean ghoulrmets?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-63218132331723863112020-12-29T14:56:50.491-08:002020-12-29T14:56:50.491-08:00Thanks - though on looking back over the list I...Thanks - though on looking back over the list I'm not sure that Great Ghouls and War Ghouls are really distinct enough to deserve separate entries, and Wood Ghouls stray rather far from the core concept. I hope you find a use for one or more of them in your own games, though!Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-67293210272962414972020-12-28T10:02:42.399-08:002020-12-28T10:02:42.399-08:00Man. Every single one of these is great. I want to...Man. Every single one of these is great. I want to name a favourite bt they're all amazing. Gourmets and royals are vivid as heck. Digging guys and the wolves are terrifying. Stalkers, hermits. They are all genius—every single one of these monsters is easily a favourite. Welcome back to blogging indeed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-90487077166030651202020-12-07T17:21:38.525-08:002020-12-07T17:21:38.525-08:00Yyyeah, that description definitely gives us more ...Yyyeah, that description definitely gives us more questions than answers. I do like the detail about the cure for ghoul madness being illegal, though. That poses some questions, too, but thy seem like the could be fun an interesting to answer.<br /><br />That's the kind of thing I like GPT-2 programs for: giving you half of an idea that begs you to fill in the blanks. It's like a huge, multi-step random table that you can't read until you roll on it.Matt Sheridanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01114884686181278683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-76407166744333831092020-12-07T01:48:36.182-08:002020-12-07T01:48:36.182-08:00Thanks, though I feel I've been slacking off o...Thanks, though I feel I've been slacking off on stat blocks and tactical mechanics for ages. I agree about the recipes, though. Stat-wise, most of these would be almost interchangeable, but the roles they could play in campaigns would be completely different!Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-17162546644019284742020-12-07T01:20:59.665-08:002020-12-07T01:20:59.665-08:00GPT-3 will render us all obsolete one day. There&#...GPT-3 will render us all obsolete one day. There's definitely the core of an idea, there - caged ghouls wailing in the dark, periodically released into the world to feed - but I wonder how one *sounds* like a smelly metal spider?Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-78552886781591992952020-12-07T01:17:32.440-08:002020-12-07T01:17:32.440-08:00I like all three of those, but the Xenophon ghouls...I like all three of those, but the Xenophon ghouls are the best. Simultaneously comic and tragic, especially if they've been gone so long that they might not actually recognise their homeland when they finally reach it...Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-27334253229648565322020-12-07T00:53:04.516-08:002020-12-07T00:53:04.516-08:00Okay, so I've been feeding your ghouls into a ...Okay, so I've been feeding your ghouls into a text-generating neural net. The results vary in coherence, as is usual, but I like this one.<br /><br />46: Chorus ghouls. Living in giant human-sized cages in the stinking bowels of many of the world's cities and towns, and using their wailing to keep the crowds of people down, these ghouls emit an inhuman pitch that enables them to sound like massive, smelly metal spiders. One of their distinctive features is a small bloodstained eye that follows you around, like a bug that has been driven mad, but they will only attack humans that try to enter the cage, which is incredibly difficult to break through in any case. Their cage is regularly lifted, allowing them to wander the Earth like ghostly mourners. Once outside the cage, they will tear the skin and flesh off of whatever they find, or they will feed on children that see them first, feeling an insane need to heal the broken glass of their minds before it breaks their bodies. This in turn causes their victims to slowly lose control of their minds and start killing them in the same way. There is a cure for this, but it is illegal.Matt Sheridanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01114884686181278683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-60920202868190033252020-12-06T12:14:22.904-08:002020-12-06T12:14:22.904-08:00These are very evocative. Your blog is such a rich...These are very evocative. Your blog is such a rich vein to mine when it comes to interesting mechanics for NPCs, and I've always enjoyed the tactical section of your stat blocs. <br /><br />The myriad of ghoul _types_ reminds me of Chris McDowall's post about NPC stat blocs as cocktail recipes. The gimmick is there are only like 6 cocktails, you just vary the ingredients somewhat. The "many types of ghouls" really hammers this home to me. Ghoul + variant, to taste.Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11103061574208320331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-89955882967274556812020-12-06T11:11:52.275-08:002020-12-06T11:11:52.275-08:00Xenophon ghouls - there are ten thousand of them. ...Xenophon ghouls - there are ten thousand of them. After the necromancer who intended to conquer the world with them went down, they regained their freedom and opted to go back to their homeland from back when they were alive; unfortunately, they don't really remember where it is. All they know is it lies somewhere near the sea. <br /><br />Yeti ghouls - they live in the mountains and munch on unlucky hikers. And you thought climbing Mt Everest is hard enough in itself. They have friendly relations with a bunch of local monasteries (some of them even take the vows), who don't really care about what they do with foreigners and to whom they pawn off the leftover gear.<br /><br />Zombie ghouls - these are the necromantic equivalent of opportunistic camp followers and unscrupulous army contractors. Namely, they pretend to be zombies (whom they greatly resemble) and join the undead legions of any passing necromancer to munch on the zombies. Some are in it for the thrill, others prefer when their food unearths itself, others yet are of the opinion that a cushy garrison post far from the frontlines is the safest place to be in a warzone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com