Originally Posted by
OverlordRoo
Race Name : Ghoul
Ambassador: Overlord Roo
Life Span: Do not age or die of natural causes
While Ghouls may be incredibly diverse within their race, there are some key traits of these nightmarish creatures. While there is little unification in Ghoul culture, as most end up living in nomadic packs or wandering from place to place on their own, there are some values that seem to be spread world-wide, the most commonly known amongst Ghouls is their bitterness towards humans. This revulsion is rather ironic, in a way, as it is the human race that brings Ghouls into the world in the first place. Ghouls manifest from the accumulated nightmares of humans. There has never been any evidence that any other being's nightmares can spawn a Ghoul; only humans. It typically takes a few nights of collected nightmares for a Ghoul to come to existence, and the form the Ghoul takes depends entirely on the group which hosted the nightmares that formed them. For example, Ghouls spawning from the terror of children are generally more cartoonish in name and appearance, while adults, especially those with traumatic experiences, may be more haunting. A typical Ghoul is "born" with basic knowledge about the world, themselves and their powers, and of course this includes being able to access their second form with ease. Many Ghouls have a smaller, more humanoid form, and a larger more monster-like form, but this is not a constant among their race. Also, 75% of Ghouls are female.
Violence isn't terribly common among Ghouls. They have no need to kill, as they primarily feed off the fear of other beings. This process inflicts no physical harm on the beings they feed on; they simply have to induce fear. Ghouls can survive on more traditional means of consumption (people food), though instinct will drive them to prey off the fear of others still, no matter how much nutrition they take in. Lack of fear intake generally makes a Ghoul more ravenous, though they stil don't participate in needless violence, perhaps with the exception of territorial matters.
While it is very possible for a Ghoul to die, they also have the potential for immortality. Ghouls do not age, and can never seriously alter their form, for that matter. If a Ghoul has short hair, it was "born" with it. If a Ghoul has scars, it was "born" with it. Any attempts to add or carve away from their physical being, in either form, will heal within a certain time. The same goes for more fatal wounds. The amount of time a Ghoul takes to heal and can stay dead before coming to life varies from Ghoul to Ghoul. Ghouls cannot die of old age, malnutrition, poison or suffocation. They can die from any physical damage, but they will eventually heal as long as they are in a state which their bodies can fix itself without complication. For example, if a Ghoul was to get shot through the head with a bullet that went clean through, they would easily be able to heal within their designated time. If a Ghoul was decapitated, it would only be able to heal and come back to life if the head was put close to the neck. If a Ghoul does die, its entire body fades away. According to Ghouls' beliefs, they return to the nightmare matter they were manifested from, and this matter was spread all over and eventually took part in the formation of another Ghoul.
Along with the ability to change forms, to heal exponentially and potentially maintain incredible lifespans, they possess a number of powers to manipulate the mental state of other beings. There is quite the variety of what they can do ranging from illusions, establishing a state of dementia, amplifying fear, etc....though these powers cannot be used on their own kind. Ghouls can also view minds, which is not quite the same with as mind reading. A skilled Ghoul can sense the intentions and emotions of others, occasionally a current thought or two. They can also instantly sense what the fear of their victim is as well. They also have a dream self. It is difficult to control their physical body and their dream selves at the same time, though it's not unheard of. The dream self can either enter the nightmares and dreams of others if they're asleep, or if they are awake enter the realm of their mind.
The majority of Ghouls have no biological family, being formed from the manifestation of collective nightmare matter. The only true exception to this is twins, which are somewhat rare. Ghouls are generally nomadic, changing locations every now and again for fresh victims to terrorize, mainly so they don't get caught. While there are those who travel alone, it isn't uncommon for Ghouls to travel in packs. These packs vary in size, but almost always have an alpha of sorts. These packs are the closest thing the Ghouls have to family. While Ghouls won't typically attack their own kind, they do have territorial tendencies, so new Ghouls must prove their worth in order to become part of the pack.
Ghouls do need sleep, though dreaming is unusual for a Ghoul, and is quite literally inception. Sleeping on a bed is considered an extremely odd behavior; Ghouls typically prefer to sleep under beds, in closets, and various other unnatural places. This is obviously where the "monster under the bed" thing stemmed from. Ghouls are nocturnal. After all, that's when dreams are most alive. Most have heightened senses at night.
Ghouls have their own faith, and you will find almost no Ghoul exists outside of it. This belief system is similar to those that emphasize the unity, except instead of mana and chi they value dreams and nightmares. There are figures of importance in the Ghouls' faith, a noteworthy one being the Slenderman, who is considered a sacred being. He is celebrated, respected and even feared by Ghoulkind.
There are a lot of inconsistant variables with Ghouls. Other than the obvious differences in appearance and gender the amount/types of abilities fluctuates from Ghoul to Ghoul. The structure varies as well; not all Ghouls have internal workings, and thus don't bleed. Some have alternatives to skin covering them, rather glass, stone, rubber, etc. Essentially Ghouls can be anything, as long as there is someone in the world that will be afraid of it.
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