Ghouls

The ghoul bridge

For each ghoul rule, ask what the Blood gives the character and what it takes away.

Mortal hunter first

A ghoul keeps the mortal Attributes, Skills, Health, Willpower, Creed, Drive, Touchstones, cell, and hunter pressure tracks. The character is alive, not a weakened Kindred.

One Edge and one Perk

The ghoul keeps exactly one usable Edge and one Perk. The missing Edge is the price of the Blood, stays marked as lost, and cannot be bought back while the character is a ghoul.

The domitor's power

The ghoul gains one level-1 power the domitor actually has, from the domitor's highest-rated Discipline. Discipline dots stay at 0. The effective rating is 1 only for a Discipline in which the ghoul has a power.

Vitae and Bond

One Rouse-worth of vitae lasts about a month. Separate qualifying drinks build a Blood Bond up to strength 6, with a complete Bond at 3. Bond strength decays by 1 per month without a qualifying drink.

1. 01

   The Blood gives a narrow power

   The starting power is not an automatic Potence dot and does not create a normal Discipline sheet. Extra level-1 powers cost 10 XP, must be powers the domitor possesses, and never raise Discipline dots. If a power would make a vampire pay a Rouse Check, it costs the ghoul one Aggravated Health instead. Level-1 powers are otherwise free.

2. 02

   The vitae clock is a real tracker

   While the clock is active, aging pauses and may reverse a few years, non-fire healing runs at about twice mortal speed, and the ghoul's powers work. When the clock lapses, powers turn off, healing returns to mortal speed, and the clock deteriorates quickly. Long-term aging can catch up and kill a ghoul. Bottled vitae can ghoul for a few days if kept airtight and out of sunlight, but it cannot create a Bond.

3. 03

   The Bond is separate from ghouling

   Ghouling supplies the vitae clock. The Bond comes from qualifying fresh-from-the-vein drinks on separate nights. One thrall has one regnant and is immune to other Bonds while bound. At Bond strength 3 or higher, resist orders with Intelligence + Resolve against the Bond strength, once per turn in the regnant's presence or once per scene away from them.

4. 04

   The hunter loop survives, with a lock

   The ghoul keeps Creed, Drive, Desperation, Danger, and Despair. A Bonded ghoul cannot spend Desperation dice on a test that directly defies the domitor. Redemption that requires hurting the domitor needs a successful resistance first. Envy redemption cannot be met through the domitor's own Blood or approval.

5. 05

   Withdrawal is the cost of staying alive

   When vitae lapses, the ghoul enters Despair until they redose or the cell meets the Drive's redemption condition. Rejecting the Blood ends the ghoul state and permanently removes the power slot unless they drink again. A ghoul has no Hunger dice, mending, frenzy, torpor, or wassail. Thin-blood vitae cannot make one.

Ghoul scenes at the table

The supernatural benefit and the human cost should stay visible in the same scene.

• The first drink

  A mortal hunter accepts vitae from a domitor whose highest-rated Discipline is Auspex.

  The new ghoul keeps one Edge and one Perk, gains one level-1 Auspex power the domitor actually knows, and starts a month-long vitae clock. The character remains a hunter with no Hunger dice.

• The order

  A Bond strength 3 ghoul is told to abandon a protected witness while standing beside the domitor.

  The ghoul rolls Intelligence + Resolve against Bond strength once for the turn. Because the test directly defies the domitor, Desperation dice are unavailable even if the action fits the Creed.

• The missed month

  A ghoul's vitae clock lapses before the cell reaches its next safe house.

  The power turns off, healing returns to mortal speed, and withdrawal puts the cell in Despair. Redosing or meeting the Drive's redemption condition can lift that Despair.

How Vampiro Life handles ghouls

The app treats the ghoul as a bridge character with explicit anchors: domitor, power, drinks, Bond, vitae clock, and the hunter block underneath.

• Ghoul state stores the domitor, granted powers, last drink, qualifying drinks, and rejection state. Campaign time derives the clock and Bond strength.
• The character kind stays ghoul, so Hunger, feeding, frenzy, mending, and vampire damage rules do not enter the sheet.
• The granted Edge is marked lost, and XP cannot buy it back while the character remains a ghoul.
• Withdrawal, Bond defiance, and extra powers are recorded as mechanical outcomes, with reasons the Storyteller can use in play.

Frequently asked

Is ghoul play an official second vampire type?

No. Ghouls here use our homebrew adaptation of the mortal hunter loop. It supports a ghoul hunter archetype in a Vampire chronicle.

Do ghouls have Hunger dice or Blood Surge?

No. A ghoul is living and uses the mortal damage and recovery rules. Vitae is a clock and an addiction, not Hunger.

How many Discipline dots does a ghoul have?

Zero. The ghoul has an effective rating of 1 only for a Discipline in which they hold a granted power. They cannot buy Discipline dots.

Can a ghoul learn a power the domitor does not have?

No. Starting and extra level-1 powers must be powers the domitor possesses, from the domitor's Disciplines.

When is the Blood Bond complete?

Bond strength is the number of qualifying drinks, up to 6, and the Bond is complete at strength 3. The tracker decays by 1 per month without a qualifying drink.

Can bottled or thin-blood vitae create a Bond?

Bottled vitae can ghoul for a few days but cannot Bond. Thin-blood vitae does not ghoul.