Ghouls

[Mechashef]

Ghouls have a nasty venomous bite which paralyzes the victim until they die by losing 1 CON per day.

However it can counteracted by an antidote (spider venom is half effective).

Can you take an antidote to purge venom from your system even if you are not paralyzed? 

• For example: If an adventurer with a CON of 12 has been bitten and currently has venom POT 10, then takes an antidote of POT 6 (12 before being halved), presumably that drops their current venom to POT 4? 

 

Can the POT affecting the adventurer exceed their CON or is it capped at their CON?

• For example: If an adventurer with a CON of 12 is bitten and their accumulated POT is 14, is the POT that needs to be reduced by the antidote 14 (the POT of the venom) or 12 (their CON value)?

 

If an adventurer is paralyzed, do they need to be given enough antidote to bring the POT down to 0, or is it sufficient to merely bring it to below their CON?

 

Regarding their howl, the bestiary mentions that Countermagic, Shield and Neutralize do not protect. 

Can spells which remove magic, such as Dispel Magic, Dismiss Magic and possibly Neutralize Magic remove the effect?

 

Thanks

 

[Scotty]

On 6/17/2022 at 6:24 AM, Mechashef said:

Ghouls have a nasty venomous bite which paralyzes the victim until they die by losing 1 CON per day.

However it can counteracted by an antidote (spider venom is half effective).

Can you take an antidote to purge venom from your system even if you are not paralyzed? 

• For example: If an adventurer with a CON of 12 has been bitten and currently has venom POT 10, then takes an antidote of POT 6 (12 before being halved), presumably that drops their current venom to POT 4?

Yes. 

On 6/17/2022 at 6:24 AM, Mechashef said:

Can the POT affecting the adventurer exceed their CON or is it capped at their CON?

• For example: If an adventurer with a CON of 12 is bitten and their accumulated POT is 14, is the POT that needs to be reduced by the antidote 14 (the POT of the venom) or 12 (their CON value)?

Yes. It can exceed their CON.

On 6/17/2022 at 6:24 AM, Mechashef said:

If an adventurer is paralyzed, do they need to be given enough antidote to bring the POT down to 0, or is it sufficient to merely bring it to below their CON?

Below their CON is okay, but they are still poisoned, note that natural Healing means that per page 200, An adventurer cannot engage in strenuous activity—rest is necessary for healing! 

On 6/17/2022 at 6:24 AM, Mechashef said:

Regarding their howl, the bestiary mentions that Countermagic, Shield and Neutralize do not protect. 

Can spells which remove magic, such as Dispel Magic, Dismiss Magic and possibly Neutralize Magic remove the effect?

No. It's a magical effect, not a spell. However the effect of the Demoralize can be cancelled by casting Fanaticism spirit magic or can be countered by Harmony, Fearless, Inviolable, etc.

2 hours ago, Mechashef said:

Are you sure about their venom doing damage?

Corrected.

Change: With its rotten fangs, a ghoul can inject magical paralysing venom with a potency equal to its CON.

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by Scotty
correction

[Mechashef]

On 6/17/2022 at 8:19 PM, Scotty said:

... but they are still poisoned, note that natural Healing means that per page 200, An adventurer cannot engage in strenuous activity—rest is necessary for healing! 

It is debatable whether this would apply.

Unlike damaging venoms, ghoul venom does not have any effect until it equals or exceeds the victim's Con.  If reducing the POT to below the victim's Con is enough to un-paralyze them, then I can see an argument for there not being any healing and thus no rest required.

 

The only "healing" is purging of the remaining venom.  This doesn't follow normal natural healing rules:

Quote

An adventurer bitten by a ghoul, yet not paralyzed, purges the venom of points of POT equal to their natural healing rate each day.

So most adventurers will purge 2 or 3 points of POT per day.  

Whether rest is required to purge ghoul venom would seem to be an ambiguous point, falling into a GM's call.