Ghul

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-->]] Ghule sind lebende Kreaturen, die durch Mutation infolge von Strahlung entstehen, anstatt von ihr getötet zu werden. Der Mutationsprozess, der als Ghoulifikation bezeichnet wird, hat je nach Spezies und individuellen Umständen unterschiedliche Auswirkungen. Bei Menschen führt dies typischerweise zu einer verlängerten Lebensdauer, wenn nicht sogar zu funktioneller Unsterblichkeit, und zur Echtzeit-Regeneration von Wunden, die das Wiederanbringen von Gliedmaßen ermöglicht, und zur Immunität gegen direkte Strahlenschäden. Es macht sie jedoch auch unfruchtbar und verändert ihr Aussehen, sodass sie wie verrottende Leichen, Brandopfer, oder wandelnde Leichen aussehen.

Infolgedessen werden Ghule häufig im Ödland diskriminiert, besonders in den bevölkerungsreicheren Gebieten, wo viele durch die Veränderung in den Wahnsinn getrieben wurden und verwildert sind. Viele bevorzugen es, in ihren eigenen Gemeinschaften zu leben, obwohl sie sich immer noch als Ghule bezeichnen. Doc Barrows, ein Ghul-Doktor und Wissenschaftler, benutzte den Begriff „nekrotische Post-Menschen“, um seine eigene Art zu beschreiben.

Ghule wurden erstmals in Fallout 1 eingeführt und sind seitdem in jedem Teil desr Franchise aufgetreten, obwohl ihr Aussehen und die Eigenschaften der Ghulifikation Veränderungen unterworfen waren. Der Prozess der Ghulifikation ist nicht auf Menschen beschränkt und wurde auch bei anderen Spezies beobachtet, wie z. B. bei Bären und Gorillas.

(KOMMEND) Fallout 76 wird in einem zukünftigen Update, das Anfang 2025 erscheinen soll, spielbare Ghule enthalten. Fallout Tactics und Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel boten zuvor vorgefertigte spielbare Ghule (Ghoul-Rekruten und Cain), aber Fallout 76 wird das erste Spiel sein, das es dem Spielercharakter ermöglicht, selbst ein Ghul zu werden.

Background

<section begin=Background />Ghouls are unique post-humans with a variety of advantages and disadvantages. The bulk of their population was created by the radiation unleashed during the Großer Krieg or exposure to high levels of radiation in subsequent generations. However, there is a small, unique group of individuals born before the Great War, due to the increasing refinement of medical sciences. This allowed controlled exposure to radiation to ghoulify pre-War people identified as capable of going through such a change, first experimentally, then as a means of obtaining immortality and radiation immunity in anticipation of the New World. Beyond controlled irradiation, biochemical means were also sought to trigger this transformation, for example, in the in das Commonwealth. Its known side effects are why Hancock sought out the last remaining dose.

New California

Necropolis, the single largest ghoul city in New California until 2162.

In California, ghouls were the first group of survivors to begin rebuilding civilization; the inhabitants of Vault 12 beneath Bakersfield founded the Necropolis in the summer of 2083. Less than a year later, in 2084, Set wrested control of the settlement from the original Aufseher and instituted his own reign, characterized by delusions of grandeur. The city would eventually decline, starting with the attack by Einheit in 2157, who expected to find an unopened Vault in the ruins of the city. After many ghouls were killed in the assault, Set negotiated peace with the Supermutants, after explaining that the ghouls are indeed the vault dwellers. The recovery operation failed, but Unity established a stronghold in the town to ensure Set's cooperation and watch for humans.

It would finally be destroyed and most of its population killed in a retaliatory expedition by the super mutants, sent to the city after the Bunkerbewohner raided the Vault and recovered the Wasserchip, eliminating the super mutant garrison in the process. This has led to a great migration and the eventual founding of a number of ghoul and ghoul-friendly settlements, including Broken Hills in 2185, the NCR state of Dayglow around 2189, and Gecko in 2235. Though problems with equality continue, ghouls are increasingly seen as equal members of society, though their numbers steadily dwindle.

In the Mojave-Ödland, they can be found in small amounts throughout the region, but no town is completely dedicated to them. There are usually a few ghouls living among humans in various communities performing jobs in order to survive, such as the guard Beatrix Russell and the comedian Hadrian, both of which are in Freeside. The only known community of ghouls in the region is the Bright-Bruderschaft, a religious faction located in the REPCON-Testgelände, founded and led by an intelligent Leuchtender named Jason Bright, who wants to leave Earth and go into space to find a "new world," a promised land foretold by Bright himself. There are also several ghoul rangers occupying Ranger-Station Echo, implying some level of acceptance of ghouls serving in the NCR. In contrast, Caesars Legion does not allow ghouls (along with other mutants) within their ranks, but do allow ghouls to live in their territory, such as Raul Tejada who traveled from Two-Sun to the Mojave. To Caesar, ghouls and other mutants are irrelevant to his plans to push westward.

In 2277, in Die Kluft, nuclear Gefechtskopfs triggered by the Kurier]]'s delivery of an automated nuclear launch device exploded and triggered rapid ghoulification of the Legion and NCR forces engaged in battle there. The Divide flayed them alive, causing them to become dead men walking, marked for death, sustained only by the intense radiation that permeates the area. As they never appear outside the Divide, due to the necessity of staying near radiation sources to remain alive, the Gezeichnete became a legend in the wasteland, like the Sierra Madre, the Burned Man or the Big Empty.

East Coast

The Slog, one of the most prosperous farms in the Commonwealth and ran entirely by ghouls.

The densely urbanized East had a great concentration of American population and was strongly affected by the nuclear fallout. People who took shelter in areas affected by it experienced radiation poisoning; those who did not die became ghouls. Within a year, the first ghouls began to appear and with them, the first fledgling settlements, like Underworld in Washington, D.C., which existed as late as 2277. Although in areas like Appalachia, ghouls were quickly sought out and exterminated, no matter what relation they may have had with others before they became ghouls. Another population of ghouls, transformed Chinese operatives stranded on American soil, chose to sequester themselves from the wasteland.

In other areas, like das Commonwealth, ghouls cohabited with humans. The most noticeable example was Diamond City. Ghouls were a part of the city's population from its foundation in the 2130s to the 2282 election. Diamond City was gripped by a wave of racism, thanks to a candidate by the name of McDonough. He ran for the city's mayor on the Mankind for McDonough platform and won the election thanks to the votes of the Upper Stands citizens. After his election, ghoul citizens were evicted. Entire families were thrown out of the city by their human neighbors, straight into the surrounding ruins to perish without a cap to their name. Those that survived scattered across the region. A refugee called Wiseman founded der Slog, the foremost Teerbeere farm in the Commonwealth. Many found refuge in the settlement of Goodneighbor.

Appalachia

A feral ghoul in Appalachia

After the War, a pre-War mall known as Valley Galleria became a haven for ghouls in Appalachia, referred to by survivors as "the Changed." Led by Lucy Harwick, ghouls sheltering in the Galleria welcomed others like them to travel there and be accepted with "open arms, and more importantly, open hearts." However, because of his experiences with feral ghouls, Duncan McKann would murder Lucy Harwick and several others in a single-minded pursuit for revenge, eliminating one of the only havens before human extinction in the region due to the Verbrannten-Seuche at the turn of the century.

Due to persecution by humans, many of them organized and made an expedition to the Ödland der Hauptstadt prior to 2102 to join a settlement of other ghouls.

After the mass migration and resettlement of Appalachia in 2103, ghouls returned alongside other humans, working with them to rebuild the work. Some examples include Eugenie, who worked for the Blue Ridge Caravan Company. Mordecai McCoy would find steady work entering radioactive areas to scavenge goods and a general handyman around Wayward. Gunther Jenkins and Betty Hill worked for Patricia Myers at Nuka-World on Tour. However, due to the prevalence of ferals, ghouls would still face discrimination. The two main settlements of Appalachia, Foundation and Crater, had their own reasons; Settlers came from the destroyed northwest and accordingly had a shoot on sight policy (which would be readily amended once a ghoul was identified as sentient, which would require one to mask up to enter the town), Crater raiders were more open on account of Lucky Lou, but he had to deal with Lev's enmity; the Russian raider despised Lou and manipulated him into suicide attempts, suggesting that he'd inevitably go feral.<section end=Background/>

Agent Mochou in the Deep

One of the largest concentration of ghouls in Appalachia was not American, but Chinese. Unlike the Morgantown facility, infiltrators based in die Tiefe escaped the notice of Enclave forces in Whitespring-Bunker. Despite surviving the War in the cave system beneath Whitespring, they underwent ghoulification, allowing them to continue Operation Trinitite indefinitely, operating in hostile territory with no hope of resupply. These communist soldiers remained loyal to the Volksbefreiungsarmee, in particular due to the influence of a pre-War commander as loyal as they were terrifying. Despite being trapped thousands of miles away from home, they continued their mission to acquire the Motherlode mining robot, presumably to tunnel into the Whitespring bunker and capture it for the Volksrepublik China. The mission was ongoing as of 2103, though with limited success.

Hugo Stolz seen in Fallout 76

Another community of ghouls formed in Vault 63, in the Skyline Valley region. After the Great War, issues with the massive Vault stretching beneath the region resulted in many of its inhabitants being turned to ghouls. As the single largest community in Appalachia, it has suffered greatly from the issue of feralization, focusing research on trying to find a cure. Due to a lack of success, many of the dwellers were either sedated or put in a state of suspended animation. The pride of the Vault's overseer, Hugo Stolz, has led to the emergence of Die Verlorenen, a unique ghoul variant formed by a combination of ghoulification and weather experiments conducted in the Skyline Valley.

Biology

Radiation resulting in ghoulification

Ghoulification

Vorlage:See also Ghouls are created when a human with a compatible biology is exposed to high levels of ionizing Strahlung of the right type (eg. gamma radiation) and in the correct amount. Precisely what determines which humans undergo ghoulification is not known, even centuries after the Great War. Most people who suffer radiation poisoning die a horrifying death due to a combination of violent hemorrhaging and widespread necrosis. Ghouls suffer the same effects, but also develop a mutation that results in super-powered regeneration of their bodies, allowing them to survive damage that would kill regular humans. This also results in their monstrous appearance; exposure to radiation still damages their bodies, leading to exposed muscle, flaking skin, and damaged connective tissue, including the loss of nose and ears.

The more violent the exposure, the worse the effects; ghouls who are created as a result of surviving nuclear blasts will usually be twisted by burns and other damage caused by the explosion, resulting in a generally much more horrifying appearance, with exposed bone, asymmetric deformations, and extensive, seemingly rotting wounds. The actual transformation can take anywhere from hours, to weeks, to as much as a year, depending on exposure levels. Age is also a non-factor, people with the capacity to become a ghoul can change as early as a pre-teen into old age.

Although some ghouls were born before the War, the majority of ghouls were created by the Great War and resulting exposure to nuclear blasts or Atomarer Fallout, with some created over the subsequent centuries by exposure to high levels of radiation; for example, at Camp Searchlight in 2281, an attack resulted in the town becoming blanketed by intense radiation, turning a majority of the NCR troopers stationed there into ghouls. Camp Searchlight also demonstrated the role of trauma in the effects of the transformation; it can cause a mental breakdown in the victim, causing a rapid degeneration of higher thought processes, and leading them to become feral. Particularly severe irradiation can lead to the creation of Leuchtenders.

In contrast, controlled mutation can result in a much better survival rate. Controlled irradiation still damages the appearance, but doesn't seem to trigger the risk of going feral. Biochemical means allow for the preservation of a ghoul's appearance, at least in the short term. An experimental radiation drug can trigger rapid mutation in a human, but without changing their appearance. However, the accumulating damage will change the ghoul's appearance over time, especially as the regeneration overcorrects and leads to scarring and other cosmetic damage. However, this does depend on the type of the drug.

Non-human ghouls

Ghulrilla

Ghoulification is not unique to humans and is a possible mutation for various families of animals. Animal ghouls seem to share all the disadvantages and advantages of becoming a ghoul as a human does, this includes rapid hair loss, the deterioration of the epidermis, severe cataracts and glaucoma of the eyes, elongated life-spans, as well as transforming into glowing ones through extended exposure to radiation.

Examples of affected species can be found throughout post-War America from Neukalifornien to the Ostküste. Known pre-War individuals include Ruzka, a circus bear that was performing around the Point Lookout area, and die Bestie von Beckley, a legendary wolf known to roam Appalachia. Roaming alpha mongrels can also be found to be wearing dog collars from their previous domesticated lives. Even non-native species, such as gorillas may become ghoulified. It is also believed by some caravan guards that blue ghoul whales exist.

Species that may experience ghoulification include:

• Biebers
• Black and brown bears
• Whales
• Gorillas
• Vicious dogs and mongrels
• Rabbits
• Erratic and devolved radstags
• RAD-Möwes
• Radrats
• Super mutants
• Sheepsquatch
• Squirrels
• Wolves

Extended lifespan

Due to a mutation within the autonomic nervous system following exposure to gamma radiation in specific combinations (technically, ionizing radiation with wavelengths below ten picometers), the normal process of decay in the neurotransmitters along the spinal cord is disrupted. The effect of the mutation is an extended lifespan. Ghouls can be considered functionally immortal, as unless they are killed due to violence or in accidents, they can live for centuries. A significant number of ghouls remains alive as late as 2296, nearly 220 years after the Great War, though many run the risk of feralization.

As ghouls retain their normal cognition and are generally no different than humans in terms of intellect, many ghouls benefit from their extreme lifespan and are capable of amassing skill and knowledge far beyond the ability of regular humans. Especially when they combine their original skills or education with this experience; Der Ghul combines his Marine training with two hundred years of working as a bounty hunter, though at the cost of carrying the most traumatic memories with them for the entire duration.

Supercharged regeneration

The mutation also greatly increases the regeneration rate of the ghoul body, allowing it to heal even the most complicated wounds, such as a foot crushed to a pulp by a Powerrüstung's foot, and even lethal injuries like an arrow to the neck, as long as the nervous system remains intact. The altered ghoul physiology is boosted in the presence of radiation, resulting in a rate of regeneration pushed even further. Ghouls may still use stimpaks for healing, but regular medical care combined with their regeneration makes them optional. In theory, a ghoul could survive anywhere, which is what made Set proclaim them the next step in human evolution. However, ghoul regeneration cannot heal all conditions: for example, Hugo Stolz, who was born blind, remained blind after becoming a ghoul.

Regardless, the regeneration is strong enough to allow for lost body parts to be reattached even long after they were removed from the ghoul. Once fixed in place, the ghoul's body will simply regenerate the tissue and restore functionality. While a medical professional is usually preferred, even simple needle and thread is enough to ensure a lost finger will knit itself back with a ghoul's hand. Ghoul organs may even be compatible with regular humans due to this regeneration, leading to some being captured, sold, and slaughtered for their organs.

Gezeichnete, an extreme variant of ghouls.

The regenerative effect of ghoulification also allows for further mutations and changes to occur. The marked men of the Divide, become sustained by radiation, allowing them to survive being flayed alive by Divide storms, but without descending into a feral state. An even more dramatic change occurred when the ghoul residents of Vault 63 were exposed to the meteorological experiments of Hugo Stolz; rather than being killed by striking lightning, their altered physiology allowed them to contain the energy of the lightning, permanently trapping it within their bodies. This changed them on a fundamental level, causing them to perceive the world as pulses and wavelengths. While this has restored a form of eyesight for Hugo Stolz, other victims were rendered psychotic, likely as a result of the mental stress of their altered worldview and the pain of the electricity they were charged with.

Immunity to radiation and disease

Ghouls are immune to the direct degenerative effects of radiation, allowing them to stride through even the most intense pockets of radiation without issue (although it is considered a possible risk factor in feralization). This does not mean radiation doesn't affect them; ghouls still accumulate it and may even begin to glow at sufficient concentrations. Glowing ghouls directly experience radiation as warmth, and lower levels of background radiation are considered chilly, with some joking they may develop frostbite.

A ghoul is also immune to most common diseases that affect unmutated humans. However, that doesn't mean ghouls are immune to all diseases, and diseases of the mind (not just feralization) can still affect a ghoul.

An indirect benefit is that ghouls have no need for most medicine, especially Rad-X and RadAway, allowing them to freely use such goods for trade or payment for services rendered.

Food and water consumption

The mutated physiology still requires ghouls to provide adequate nourishment for their body, especially Wasser and food. The loss of smell allows ghouls to eat Nahrung humans would consider repulsive, which coupled with the resilience of their digestive tract allows them to subsist on any edible items. The ability to ignore the taste resulted in some ghouls engaging in Kannibalismus, consuming the flesh of other humans and even ghouls, with one of these being Der Ghul's "ass jerky."

The Ghoul going on a drug and alcohol binge. The same mutation that allows him to live for centuries also diminishes the effect of drugs, requiring much larger doses.

However, their mutated physiologies have drawbacks; recreational drugs like Jet have a diminished effect on their physiology, requiring double doses or increased potency to work. This is likely because of the regenerative properties of ghoulification.Vorlage:Citation needed The neurotransmitters that would be firing at an accelerated rate during the use of a drug like Jet in a normal human would be quickly dealt with in the ghoul's body. This likely applies to all types of drugs, stimulants and depressants, that are not radiation cures or preventers.Vorlage:Citation needed

There are exceptions to the need for food and water; the regenerative properties of their mutated bodies can sustain them in the absence of either. While this is consistent with feral ghouls, who are technically dead, sustained only by radiation, there have been four confirmed cases of ghouls over nearly 220 years after the Great War, who experienced deprivation of food, water and even air for extended periods of time and coming out no worse for the wear. This sliver of the ghoul population includes:

• Coffin Willie, buried in a coffin for several months in 2241,
• Woody, who was exhibited as a mummy for weeks while in a state of deep sleep that same year,
• Billy Peabody, who survived the Great War trapped inside a refrigerator, surviving for 210 years until 2287,
• Der Ghul, who survived being repeatedly buried in a chained coffin for up to a year at a time.

The precise reasons for this ability are not understood, however, they may be connected to a form of hibernation. All four of these ghouls still retain the requirement for nourishment under normal circumstances and experience thirst and hunger like any other ghoul.

Complications

Appearance

A significant drawback of ghoulification is the changes in appearance. Ghouls are disfigured by radiation, at a rate influenced largely by the manner of their exposure; the more radiation received in a short amount of time, the more drastic the changes. Outward symptoms of ghoulification are more gradual with chronic exposure. In general, ghouls experience loss of skin and connective tissue in a manner similar to leprosy . Their outward appearance may end up looking like a noseless mutant with skin resembling tanned leather, a burn victims, or a rotting zombie with exposed muscle, blood vessels, and in extreme cases even bone and internal organs. Ghouls generally lose hair along with the skin, though this varies due to the unpredictable nature of the change. Some may retain their head and facial hair, even allowing it to be stylized. The loss of the nose in particular greatly limits their ability to experience smell.

Dean Domino, a particularly motivated ghoul and talented pre-War singer. The transformation granted its usual longevity, but spared his vocal chords.

Vocal cords and the larynx are also usually affected by the change, resulting in a raspy voice; though again, this varies, such as the vocal cords experiencing only minor degradation when ghoulification begins, resulting in a far less raspy voice, compared to those who have experienced it for far longer. It appears that a ghoul's pre-transformation occupation and its impact on their health may play a role, as performers like Cooper Howard or Dean Domino retained mastery of their voices without significant degradation.

Health issues

Other results of the change are widespread necrosis, rot, and other degenerative conditions like arthritis, cataracts, and glaucoma. Feralization and dementia can happen immediately. In fact, this necrosis can be exacerbated by a phenomenon whereby rotting flesh around sweat glands exudes macronutrients, which attract flies that further digest and consume the tissue of the ghoul.

Feralization

A pair of feral ghouls in das Commonwealth.

Three feral ghouls emerge to threaten Lucy MacLean and the organ harvesters.

The greatest complication a ghoul can experience is feralization, described by Barrows as ferocious post-necrotic dystrophy. This process results in the atrophying of higher mental functions, leading to an irreversible degeneration into a feral creature that attacks living beings on sight, with the sole exception of other ghouls, feral or not. The mechanism of degeneration is a degeneration of brain functions (which is affected by standard regeneration, but not the mutation of the spinal cord) and their atrophy, leading to an increased level of aggression and appetite. When the loss of capacity for thought is complete, a ghoul becomes feral. The long-term effects destroy the body, which may alternatively bloat or waste away, as a feral ghoul no longer experiences normal physiological processes, sustained entirely by accumulated radiation. As a result, they emit no body heat and take on ambient temperature.

While the mechanism of feralization is well understood, the precise factors that cause it are not. This has been a problem for ghouls over the centuries, with numerous attempts to figure out a way to prevent feralization or cure it once symptoms of its onset were identified. If possible, ghouls were placed in suspended animation pending research. Risk factors that may increase the rate of a ghoul going feral include:

• Social isolation: Anti-social or isolated ghouls are more susceptible to it, however, even communities of ghouls may succumb to it. Several examples of individuals living in groups yet still transforming include the co-workers and partner of Oswald Oppenheimer, while he himself did not transform. The crew of Captain Zao succumbed to turning feral aboard the Yangtze while the captain retained his faculties.
• Lack of focus or poor mental state: Ghouls of exceptional willpower or with an intense focus may retain their faculties, even if others around them succumb to feralization. Likewise, the trauma of ghoulification can cause a mental breakdown in the victim, causing a rapid degeneration of higher thought processes, causing them to become feral. Highly intelligent individuals and highly motivated ones may also experience lower risk of feralization.
• Exposure to intense radiation: While ghouls are immune to radiation, extensive exposure may contribute to the degeneration of mental state, if not directly affecting the brain matter.
• Individual genetic factors: Some ghouls may also be simply immune to feralization; despite being one of the most dangerous and single-minded ghouls in existence, Der Ghul still started manifesting symptoms of feralization.

By the late 23rd century, a drug was created that allowed ghouls to stop the degenerative processes. Administered orally, the drug would immediately bring the ghoul back to their normal self. Properly medicated, a ghoul can live for decades with access to the medication. However, it is both expensive and rare, in particular in Neukalifornien after the fall of Shady Sands. Isolated groups have continued to manufacture it in limited quantities, and making bank on desperate ghouls in the absence of law and order. A ghoulification serum, or "Elixier," shared the same appearance with the contents of the inhaler vials, and may be connected to ghouls in some fashion.

Glowing

<section begin="glowing one" />The transformation of a ghoul into a glowing one (luminous necrotic post-human), occurs when the organism of a ghoul ceases filtering radioactive particles from the blood, resulting in bioaccumulation and the gradual appearance of bioluminescence as a result. Luminous ghouls are usually feral, due to the damage to their nervous system and the time it takes to accumulate the radiation, though ghouls may develop luminescence before degenerating into a beast-like state, like the glowing ones of Necropolis, the Gecko reactor, Jason Bright, Oswald Oppenheimer, and Hank.<section end="glowing one" />

Sterility

Ghouls retain their genitals, which includes the penis and testicles in male ghouls. They also retain their sex drive and capacity for engaging in intercourse and some humans have a ghoul fetish. However, ghouls are sterile and cannot procreate like humans. Any children they may have are either adopted or were mutated into ghouls alongside their parents.

This was well known, and formed a basis for the religious tale of Saint Monica, reported to be an unmutated child of ghoul parents.

Discrimination

Lucky Lou from Fallout 76 is tied up and left to die mauled by a savage animal.

A ghoul works side-by-side with a human worker at Griffith-Observatorium.

The attitude towards ghouls in the wasteland varies from acceptance, through indifference, to outright hostility. This is predicated on a variety of factors, though a lot of anti-ghoul sentiment is caused by inexperience and ignorance. For example, in Neukalifornien of 2161, ghouls were almost legendary creatures, as their population had isolated itself within Necropolis, leading to the rise of rumors about terrifying zombies living within its borders. However, some daring souls (like Keri Lee of Karminrote Karawane) managed to make inroads and secure lucrative trade relationships with the ghouls of the city (or skags, as the Hubbers referred to them), managing to overcome their prejudices. Others believe ghouls to be carriers of disease, without ever having examined one, while others believe that all ghouls are inevitably bound to become feral and pose a threat to people around them, though this sentiment has some truth to it. This was the basis for the eviction of ghouls from Diamond City and the driving force behind McDonough's bid for mayor. His first act of office was issuing the Anti-Ghul-Gesetz von 2282, leading to a pogrom and the expulsion of the ghoul population of the City.

Broken Hills was an ambitious example of radical acceptance; an experimental community founded by Marcus, a former Unity soldier, in order to try and establish a way for mutants and ghouls to live side-by side. However, the largest systemic effort to accept ghouls was implemented by the Republik Neukalifornien, which extended legal protection to mutants, including ghouls, in 2205, and included Dayglow, a predominantly ghoul state as part of its federation. Laws also allowed a significant number of ghouls of both genders to serve in the ranks of the Ranger der Republik Neukalifornien, with the bulk of them being accorded veteran status due to their resilience and experience in combat. While some retrenchment happened after the Fall of Shady Sands and withdrawal of the NCR from New California, with towns like Filly banning ghouls, the tolerant attitudes persisted in areas of significant NCR presence, like Griffith-Observatorium.

On the opposite end was, Vault City a textbook example of hostility towards ghouls, rooted in racial prejudice. Since the atomic reactor in Gecko had damaged shielding, waste from the power plant started leaking into the local groundwater around 2239 and it eventually led to serious poisoning of the whole reservoir. Harold learned that a Hydroelektrischen Magnetosphären-Regulator was needed for the repair job, but no such part could be found in Gecko, so attempts were made to contact Vault City. However, the messengers were shot on sight by the Vault City Guard, marking the beginning of an official policy to shoot all ghouls on sight.

The situation worsened when Vault City residents started to believe that the ghouls had deliberately poisoned the groundwater, accusing them of terrorism against Vault City and demanding that they should be punished. The first citizen of Vault City, Joanne Lynette, even tried to hire someone who was willing to help stop the Gecko problem by any means necessary. As a result, while both communities had something the other wanted, power in Gecko and medical facilities that could help ailing ghouls, perhaps even fix some of the changes they experience in Vault City, the situation was at an impasse due to prejudice.

In regions away from New California, ghouls likewise experience a variety of attitudes. For example, in the Mojave-Ödland, ghouls are generally seen as equals and share both the misery of poverty and the prominence of the stage on equal terms with humans. Of course, not everyone is as egalitarian as the people of Freeside and New Vegas. The New Vegas Strip doesn't permit the entrance of ghouls or other mutants unless under the supervision of a human visitor, or with permission from a higher-up. The Bright-Bruderschaft is a cult centered around Jason Bright, formed in response to suffering its members experienced at the hands of humans. In some areas, ghoul lynchings also happen, while in others ghouls are considered a possible threat and are fired upon, like in Washington, D.C., where Lyons' Brotherhood of Steel members will routinely open fire on ghouls sighted in the city.

Ghoul attitudes

The situation is not helped by the ghouls themselves at times. Ghoul minds are fundamentally human, which includes developing misconceptions and prejudices of their own. While a majority of ghouls learned to live with their mutations, some don't get along with humans due to persecution and become belligerent. Even in the tolerant Underworld, some inhabitants have threatened Doctor Barrows over his research into ghoulification and its causes, claiming that "ghouls are ghouls and humans are humans." The harshest example was Set, the leader of Necropolis, who purposefully had most of the patrols entering the city killed, as was the case with two patrols Killian Darkwater sent into it, and practiced Kannibalismus. Roy Phillips, a disgruntled ghoul from the Ödland der Hauptstadt, obsessed with seizing Tenpenny Tower for himself. His increasingly threatening behavior when refused entry by Chief Gustavo led to suspicions that he might attack the Tower directly, only confirming the security chief's belief that all ghouls are walking ticking bombs.

Variants

Necrotic post-human (ghoul)

A ghoul in Underworld named Charon

Commonly referred to as ghouls, these men and women are no different from regular humans when it comes to intellect or personality. Ghouls possess the ability to talk, and they normally wear clothing, as well as carrying and using weapons. Ghouls often refer to humans as "smoothskins."

These ghouls also find terms such as "shuffler" and "zombie" to be offensive. The phrase is also used to threaten ghouls. Those bigoted towards ghouls use the two phrases interchangeably, stating that ghouls should be killed before they "go zombie" due to radiation destroying their brains. Some ghouls have embraced the phrase, such as those in Set's Zombies gang. Similarly, Raul Tejada uses the word zombie when referring to a nickname of his, "Raul the Ghoul, the zombie vaquero of Mexico City."

Of course, being people, hostile and murderous intelligent ghouls do exist, for the same reasons hostile and murderous intelligent humans exist.

Luminous necrotic post-human (glowing one)

A sentient glowing one, Jason Bright

Hauptartikel: Glowing one

A highly irradiated ghoul that has absorbed enough radiation to develop bioluminescence, glowing a ghastly green color that's especially visible in the dark. They are colloquially known by most as "glowing ones," and are often considered outsiders even by other ghouls.Vorlage:Citation needed Glowing ones are predominantly deranged or feral, especially considering the prolonged isolation usually necessary to acquire that much radiation. See this section for more details.

The original glowing ones of Fallout are seen in two places. Most are the remaining dwellers of Vault 12, hidden beneath Necropolis. This Vault population are able to speak articulately, but have been driven mad. They are not hostile unless provoked. Additionally, several glowing ones can be seen in cages at the church above ground, where they are not known to speak. Both groups are ostensibly under the protection of Necropolis. In Fallout 2, most of the technicians at the Gecko power plant are glowing ones.

From Fallout 3 onwards, glowing ones are almost always feral. They are particularly difficult in combat due to their resilience, as well as their ability to suddenly discharge radiation from their body in a burst that heals ghouls and harms their enemies. The Sonne des Atoms is a glowing one worshipped by the Children of Atom in Broken Steel. Jason Bright from New Vegas and Oswald der Ungeheuerliche from Fallout 4 are intelligent glowing one characters. Oswald is capable of resurrecting ghouls as well as teleportation, and attributes both abilities to magic.

Ferocious necrotic post-human (feral ghoul)

A feral ghoul

Hauptartikel: Feral ghoul

These are ghouls who have irreversibly transitioned to a feral state, sustained only by radiation they absorb. Ferals are invariably hostile to living creatures (with the exception of other ghouls) and tend to cluster together in packs. Feral ghouls are among the more unfortunate mutants whose minds have deteriorated from prolonged radiation poisoning, becoming instinct-driven savages, attacking anyone and anything relentlessly, save for other ghouls. They are roughly divided into groups according to the danger they pose:

• Regular feral ghouls wear torn, shredded civilian clothes and are very easy to dispatch.
• Feral ghoul roamers and stalkers are often wearing rags or no clothes at all. They are considerably tougher than a normal feral ghoul and considerably more dangerous with their attacks.
• Plündernder wilder Ghuls are the most deteriorated form of a feral ghoul, wearing bits of metal armor and metal flight suits. Radiation has melted and fused entire segments of their body, making them incredibly tough to dispatch. In Fallout 3, even worse is the fact that reavers have no self-preservation instinct and will readily rip out its radioactive guts and throw them at their targets.
• Withered, gangrenous, rotting, and charred feral ghouls are the rarest of feral ghoul subtypes and the most dangerous given their resilience to being dispatched and considerably deadly attacks.

The Lost

Some of the Lost in Skyline Valley

Hauptartikel: The Lost

The Lost were created in 2095 as the result of the first activation of the Vault 63 weather machine. Because Vault 63 was not fully complete when the Great War struck, its inhabitants were exposed to radiation, with those that survived becoming ghouls. Over time, the ghoul inhabitants began to go feral and sought to reverse the process with experimental science. By pure chance, the Vault researchers discovered that the weather machine in the meteorology sector was able to temporarily alleviate, if not reverse, the effects of feralization.

Marked men

A marked man wearing Rüstung des gezeichneten Soldaten, and carrying a light machine gun.

Hauptartikel: Marked men

A unique subtype of the ferocious necrotic post-human, marked men are indigenous to Die Kluft area. Wounded by the subterranean nuclear detonations of 2277 and flayed alive by the resulting storms of the Divide, marked men are sustained only by the high background radiation that permeates the area, which keeps the regeneration going despite otherwise fatal damage to their bodies. As a result, the marked men cannot leave the Divide, and have developed a unique culture due to retaining a semblance of cognition. Despite still being cognitive enough to carry weapons and utilize advanced tactics such as constructing outposts and utilizing guard towers, they are still immediately hostile to any and all outsiders that venture near.

Chinese remnants

Chinese remnants, Chinese spies, soldiers, and special forces units trapped in the United States following the Great War. Some may believe that they are still in a state of war, continuing to follow old objectives sent to them pre-War by the People's Liberation Army. Some fight for survival. Among the remnants of Appalachia, non-feral ghouls are occasionally seen working with apparently feral ghoulified countrymen, even coordinating with them in combat.

Noteworthy ghouls

Fallout
Garret	Set	Mindless ghouls
Glowing Ones
Fallout 2
Brian	Coffin Willie	Eric
Festus	Gordon	Hank
Jeremy	Lenny	Lumpy
Percy Crump	Phil	Set
Skeeter	Typhon	Woody
Wooz	Zomak
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Blake	Cain	Giese
Hieronymous	Salieri
Fallout 3
Ahzrukhal	Argyle	Barrett
Doctor Barrows	Bessie Lynn	Carol
Charon	Mister Crowley	Ethyl (feral)
Gallo	Gob	Nurse Graves
Greta	Jaime Palabras	Miss Jeanette
Mr. Keller (feral)	Meat (feral)	Michael Masters
Moira Brown (optional)	Murphy	Patchwork
Quinn	Roy Phillips	Samuel (feral)
Snowflake	Stefan (feral)	Tulip
Wastelander	Willow	Winthrop
Desmond Lockheart	Plik	Champion des Atoms (feral)
Badger	Carl	Connelly
Mother Curie III (optional)	Dunbar	Brother Gerard (optional)
Griffon	Kidd	Novice
Sanders	Sonne des Atoms (feral)	Wint
Fallout: New Vegas
Andy Scabb	Beatrix Russell	Bert Gunnarsson
Calamity	Dennis	Ghoul prisoner
Grecks	Hadrian	Harland
Jason Bright	Keely	Private Kyle Edwards
Raul Tejada	Faulfresse	Doctor Rotson
Dean Domino	Nummer 27	Nummer 34
Beast (Marked man)	Blade (Marked man)	Blister (Marked man)
Bonesaw (Marked man)	Gaius Magnus (Marked man)	General Martin Retslaf
Colonel Royez (Marked man)
Fallout 4
Arlen Glass	Bethany	Billy Peabody
Bob Stanson (feral)	Bobbi No-Nose	Bradley Ramone (feral)
Carol Peabody	Daisy	Deirdre
Edward Deegan	Edward "Eddie" Winter	Yangtze First Mate (feral)
Father Gabe	Ham	Holly
John "Hancock" McDonough	John Hatfield (feral)	Jon Elwood (feral)
Jones	Kent Connolly	Matt Peabody
Pre-War Sanctuary residents (ferals)	Rags	Sinjin
Slim	Slough	Theodore Croup
Tim Shoots (feral)	Tommy Lonegan	Trish
Vault-Tec rep	Wayne Gorski (feral)	Wiseman
Captain Zao	Frederick Gibbons (feral)	Patrick Gibbons (feral)
Steven Gibbons (feral)	Victoria Gibbons (feral)	Oswald "The Outrageous" Oppenheimer
Rachel Watkins	Security Chief Andersen (feral)	Julian (feral)
Overseer Valery Barstow	Candace "Candy" Isola	Johnny Morton (feral)
Mercy	Murderer	Phil Goodman
Raymond	Rod Stoddard (feral)	Roy Baker (feral)
Wally Mack (feral)
Fallout 76
Freddie Lang (feral)	J47 (feral)	Lucy Harwick
Sara Samir	Harvey Tinley (feral)	Billy (feral)
Cole (feral)	Lucas (feral)	Red (feral)
Agent Mochou	Bethy Mangano	Chase Terrier
Eugenie	Frida Madani	Agent Kensington (feral)
Lou	Mordecai "Mort" McCoy	Penelope Hornwright
Tommy Ten-Toes	Xerxo	Dentist
Longing refugee	Thirsty refugee	Betty Hill
Gunther Jenkins	Leo Petrov	Ticket clerk
Alex Guerra	Alfie (feral)	Audrey Stolz
August Stolz	Cassidy Stolz	Daniel Smith
Disciple Blair	Hilda Stolz	Hugo Stolz
James Oberlin	Julio	Laurence
Margaret
Fallout television series
Der Ghul (Cooper Howard)	Martha	Rose MacLean
Roger	Freed ghoul
One Man, and a Crate of Puppets
One-armed ghoul

Appearances

Ghouls appear in every Fallout game to date and in a majority of other works set in the universe.

Behind the scenes

“Ghouls are a type of mutant.

Harold is a ghoul. He's also a little special.

Super Mutants are humans with no or minimal radiation damage who have been exposed to FEV.

Ghouls are humans with significant radiation damage exposed to FEV.

Harold is, well, Harold.”— Chris Taylor, Fallout Bible 5

“I know we treated him as a ghoul, but not a Necropolis one. He may have been irradiated before or after. All I remember was that he went in there with the guy whose name I forget (the one who fell into the vat and became the Master), and only Harold came out. Harold's memory is totally whacked, btw. ...most people don't know when they get irradiated, so he [Harold] just may not know what happened to him. I do know that radiation and FEV do not mix. Mutants are immune to radiation effects, but an irradiate human is killed by exposure to FEV. So one thing is sure: Harold is not a mix of radiation and FEV. He's got to be one or the other, and I think he's a ghoul.”— Tim Cain, Fallout Bible 5

• A ghoul is described as "Bloodman" in an old Fallout concept art piece.
• Virtually every Fallout game includes ghouls in some capacity. Fallout Tactics had ghouls in the The Belt, including a nuclear weapon-worshiping cult in Kansas City. Both Quincy and Springfield also have some ghoul occupants, while Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel included ghouls in Los who turned after being locked outside the Corporate Vault. Later, in the same city, the Church of the Lost was created by former vault dwellers that had become ghouls.
• There is some inconsistency across the series whether the word "ghoul" should be capitalized, even within the same games.
• Van Buren would have included two more ghoul types:
  • Endless walkers: Ghouls exposed to the harsh conditions of the American Southwest for too long will become what is known as an endless walker. Years of the desert sun has cooked their brain, destroying the cerebrum and turning any normal ghouls that undergo the process feral. They are cursed to endlessly walk, forever searching for something to quiet their insatiable appetite. Their skin has hardened into a natural leather, making them more resilient.
  • Born ghouls: Through cruel experimentation on humans by Dr. Sebastian at the Reservation, born ghouls were created. They are ghouls who have not mutated from humans, but who were actually born into ghoul-dom. There would be only three known born ghouls.
• Among Fallout developers, Tim Cain stated that ghouls are only a result of radiation, consistent with an understanding of the science of radiation as it stood during the 1950s, Chris Taylor said that a mix of both radiation and FEV was involved. While Chris Avellone initially supported the latter view in his Fallout Bible, he was later convinced to support the radiation-only version.
• According to Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 voice director Kal-El Bogdanove, ghouls who have recently ghoulified have less raspy voices.
• In folklore, a ghoul is a monster or spirit that is associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh.

Gallery

FO1/FO2FO3FNVFO4FO76Other

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  Bloodman - early ghoul concept art for Fallout
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  Set's talking head
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  Fallout ghoul model
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  Glowing one model from Fallout
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  Fallout 2 additional ghoul model

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  Feral ghoul
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  Leuchtender
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  Chinese remnant
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  Gob
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  Charon
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  Mister Crowley
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  Carol
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  Roy Phillips
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  The wearable ghoul mask
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  Ghoulification

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  Raul Tejada, a ghoul companion
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  Jason Bright, a friendly glowing one
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  Pvt. Kyle Edwards
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  Grecks

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  John Hancock, a ghoul companion
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  Bobbi No-Nose, a female ghoul
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  Vault-Tec rep, a ghoul settler
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  Feral ghoul
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  Leuchtender
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  Zao
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  Billy Peabody, a child ghoul
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  Oswald der Ungeheuerliche, a glowing ghoul who worked as a magician

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  J47, a feral ghoul
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  Sara Samir, a dead ghoul
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  Harvey Tinley, a feral ghoul added in Wild Appalachia
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  Lucas, a glowing one added in Nuclear Winter
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  Mordecai McCoy, a male ghoul added in Wastelanders
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  Bethy Mangano, a female ghoul added in Wastelanders
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  Chase Terrier, a male ghoul added in Wastelanders
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  Penelope Hornwright, a female ghoul added in Wastelanders
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  Mochou, a female ghoul added in Wastelanders
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  Generic female settler ghoul, added in Wastelanders
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  Lou, a male ghoul added in Wastelanders
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  Tommy Ten-Toes, a male ghoul added in Steel Reign
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  Xerxo, a male ghoul added in Night of the Moth
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  Betty Hill, a female ghoul added in Nuka-World on Tour
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  Gunther Jenkins, a male ghoul added in Nuka-World on Tour
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  Leo Petrov, a male ghoul added in Nuka-World on Tour
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  Fallout 76 perk image
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  A cultist ghoul eating noodles

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  Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel "psycho" ghoul render
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  Cain artwork Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
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  Cain render Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
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  Glowing one concept art Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
• Jeff Jumper concept art Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
  Jeff Jumper concept art Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
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  Ghoul concept art Fallout Tactics
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  Ghoul concept Fallout Tactics
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  Ghoul concept art Fallout Tactics
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  Ghoul concept art Fallout Tactics
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  Ghoul concept art Fallout Tactics
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  A ghoul in superior ghoul armor render Fallout Tactics
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  Fallout Tactics ghoul model
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  Ghoul from Fallout d20
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  Van Buren ghoul render from design documents
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  Project V13 male and female ghoul concept art
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  Ghoul in Fallout Shelter
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  Ghoul survivor in Fallout: Wasteland Warfare
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  Feral ghouls and glowing ones in Fallout: Wasteland Warfare