Feast: A discussion/speculation on Ghouls and their Ghoulplay

[Sundowner]

There have been forum posts about references to potentially use for the design of the ghoul as well as other posts discussing the lore of the ghoul, but as far as I know there hasn't been a thread dedicated exclusively to the gameplay of the ghoul. So here I am to speculate and theorycraft everything gameplay related.

So let's start with what we do know about ghouls:
We know that they sit between the material Realm and the essential realm on the trinary archetype system.
We also know that they eat stuff to beef up (pun intended).
That's about it really. (correct me if I'm wrong)

Feasting
The way I see it there are a few different ways this can be done:

Option 1 Om Nom Finisher:
The ghoul uses special finishers on enemies to consume their flesh (kind of like the vampire's drain finisher) and this grants them a short buff based on either the enemy type or the type of finisher done to the enemy. These finishers would be gruesome as you'd be eating a live human being. If this option is the one picked for the ghoul then it would lend itself well towards a fast paced berserker playstyle and possibly some stalker/stealth-like elements to quickly get the first feast on an enemy before engaging completely.

Option 2 A portable snack:
After killing an enemy, the ghoul may butcher the corpse for organs/body parts that can be consumed separately for a buff. This would lend itself to a slower, more methodical setup for dangerous fights. You'd stock up on human feet before going into a big dungeon for example, and eating them right before the fighting starts to buff up. This option could also mean that cooking and recipes could exist. Combining a human's glutes and spleen to make a sandwich or something. It could work like potions in more traditional rpgs.

The effects of feasting
Now that I've theorised how to feast. Its time that I theorise what effect feasting will have. Again, there are multiple options:

Option 1 Eat stuff to beat stuff: Upon feasting you gain a buff. This buff could be anything really so I won't dwell on it for too long

Option 1.5 Digestion and you:
I made a comment on a thread on the steam forums a while back about this so I will simply repost it here:
"I think it would be a really cool risk/reward playstyle if the ghoul’s buffs from feeding were permanent, but they had a «digest» ability that would remove their oldest buff in exhange for health and making that the only way for the ghoul to restore health. I personally think it could lead to really engaging gameplay to make the buffs more of a resource rather than just a buff."
The assumption here was that feasting would simply give you a standard buff to begin with. This is why I numbered it "option 1.5"
If this is the way feeding works then that would lead to a very tactical yet action-packed playstyle.

Option 2 Prototype 3: Feasting causes you to alter your physical appearance and abilities. Maybe you grow wings or claws that changes your combat options.

Sadly this was all I could think of at the moment, I may update this post if I get more ideas.

What do you guys think the ghoul will/should be like? I'm excited to hear your feedback and/or see Golden Xan hijack this thread with his much superior ideas and implementations of said ideas.

 

[Livin]

I posted this at the other ghoul page but felt it fits here as well, maybe a little more. I'm personally partial to option 2, expanded a bit with what I've suggested below.

I also have some suggestions that I'd like to share. I'll be upfront and admit it's a pipe dream but maybe some of it can apply.

I'll start with what has already been said, that specific parts of a human's body will have a particular benefit for the ghoul and it's stats. Here is a possible association based on what has already been said with some of my own and I'd like to suggest that no matter which of these it eats it will refill the health bar so long as it is healthy and not decayed or otherwise tainted.

Lungs- Stamina
Heart- Vitality
Kidneys- Resistance (Poisons)
Liver- Resistance (Toxins from decayed food)
Brain- Intelligence
Bones- Defense
Muscle- Strength
Eyes/Ears/Noses/Tongue- Perception

Now for stuff other than human. Eating them could generate either abilities or even objects that develop from the ghoul itself, changing their bodies to something of a hybrid between the ghoul and what they eat. I'd like to break these changes down to levels of mastery.

Tertiary Mastery: Mild changes that are temporary or easily overwritten by what the ghoul eats after if its diffferent, requiring the ghoul to eat again if they want to get the first set of changes back.

Secondary Mastery: Changes are no longer temporary and can be recalled at a cost of either essence or mana, perhaps nature of the change determining which one it requires. Experience and levels gained using this form furthers the change's evolution, increasing its effect on both the ghoul's form and abilities.

Primary Mastery: Achieved once the changes have reached the peak of its evolution, turning the ghoul into a near perfect hybrid. Summoning this form no longer requires mana or essence. Individual components of the form and abilities can be manifested outside of it.

How do you get to Secondary Mastery, you ask? The obvious answer would be to eat enough of what it is that causes the change; but I'd like to suggest an alternative that involves crafting, namely cooking/chemistry. You get your material and mix it with ingredients to make something akin to mutagen that is far more potent than what the material could provide on it's own. This could start off with stuff that makes the changes last longer, increasing its impact on the stats, or simply brings it further to achieving secondary mastery. There could even be concoctions or dishes that automatically bring about secondary mastery on their own.

It could be possible to mix and match the different changes after primary mastery is achieved. I'd prefer the option to control the form, mixing and matching features and using the abilities without having to take the form at all.

Hypothetical Scenario: Ghoul eats bats, getting temporary abilities like sonar and a mild cosmetic change. Ghoul eats enough bats or makes the right dishes out of them to lead it to Secondary Mastery and can conjuer both the cosmetics and abilities at will. As the ghoul levels up that form the bat cosmetics become more pronounced and new abilities appear while others get stronger. Eventually the changes peak and the final bat form is achieved with primary mastery, making the abilities accessible without needing to take on the form. The ghoul has complete control of the bat cosmetics, able to apply them as it sees fit and can mix them with other cosmetics from other forms that the ghoul has achieved primary mastery with.

 

[GaiaGreen]

I'd like to see the ghoul be able to sort of act as the shock-troops archetype. Being where they are on the trinary, and the relation the Essential seems to have with the more eldritch horror tropes, I'd imagine the act of tearing into the living and feasting on them should have some adverse effects on enemy morale. Fast-paced, in-your-face attacks that leave enemies in disarray. I'd imagine some decent crowd control abilities in this line of thinking, being able to stun small groups and pick out the prey.

Ideally I'd like to see this contrast against the heavy-duty beatdown that seems to be the case with Revenant. If they are the wave to enter the fray and get stuck in, I'd imagine a ghoul is the initial wave that breaks the enemy line and allows the heavy hitters to move up.