Ghouls

The ghoul is an enemy and potential party member in Fear & Hunger. There are two instances in the game where a ghoul can be a living enemy, and additional instances where ghouls can be found as a corpse. Using the Necromancy skill on a ghoul with raise it and turn it into a party member.

Location & Behavior
There are two living ghouls that can be found in the game. The first can be found in the first floor; he is found blocking the door forward or guarding the bookshelves here. The second one can be found crawling around one of the cells of the prison on the third floor.

The first ghoul will scratch the player (9-11 damage, 25% to cause bleeding, 30% each for infections of the hand and leg) with each arm, and use Nasty bite (16-24 damage, 30% to cause leg infection) with their head. Cutting off both of a ghoul's arms will cause them to use Tackle (16-24 damage). A ghoul can only be killed by dealing sufficient damage to the torso, as they can still fight without a head.

The ghoul in the prison is significantly weaker, as it can only attack with its right arm. Presumably, being crippled makes it more difficult for this ghoul to fight.

As a Party Member
The ghoul is auto-controlled, and will automatically attack random parts of the enemy in combat. These attacks will deal roughly 35-53 damage, enough to sever limbs. Ghouls deal Blunt damage, which will be seriously reduced when attacking limbs. The ghoul cannot use any items or wear any equipment. They can succumb to the same status effects that a human can, despite being undead.

Ghouls can be thought of as a more disposable form of a human ally. They cannot fight as well, but are easy enough to find that they can be killed or sacrificed with minimal loss to the team. They are always willing to be sacrificed or form a Marriage at a prayer circle, and their limbs can be removed as a food source in a pinch, since they don't use any weapons.

Strategy
The ghoul's torso has 700HP, and must be destroyed in order to defeat the ghoul. Like most enemies with a torso, you can deal 25% of this damage (175HP) to defeat it after it finishes its turn.

The approach to the encounter on the first floor will be different than most because the ghoul can attack you every single turn, and doesn't die when its head is removed. Techniques like kiting or removing the legs to get at the head will only prolong the time spent taking damage and increase the chances of getting a bad status effect.

To avoid this, it's better to focus on hitting the torso; any starting character will be able to deal enough damage to defeat this enemy in two turns. Additional human party members can also attack the torso to expedite this. A weaker character such as the Girl or Kid Demon may be able to attack a limb to remove it and reduce the damage dealt, or use a Throwing knife to attack the torso and finish the battle in a single turn. Uncontrollable characters such as undead or the Moonless can be useful to remove the limbs, or may hit the torso and help end the encounter in one turn.

The ghoul in the prison is much weaker and can easily be defeated by attack the right arm, then focusing the torso to kill it, as it cannot attack with its other limbs.

The Dark Priest can use the Counter-magic skill to undo the magic that keeps the Ghoul alive, defeating them immediately.

Talking to a Ghoul is a valid strategy as the magic keeping them animated is weak and threatening or questioning will stop the Ghoul attacking. Only pleading with it to stop fighting has no effect.

Lore
"Those whose physical and mental fortitude couldn’t hand the ever-pressing darkness. They lost their mind. -New gods, about Ghouls"Ghouls are products of Necromancy, and can be destroyed by telling them this. It's unclear whether these prisoners were raised by some other magic-user or unholy force, or became essentially dead as a byproduct of suffering from the supernatural effects and horrors of the dungeon.

Each ghoul has their own unique origin. Speaking to them will give dialogue text saying that they'd like to tell you their story, but cannot, although the text tells you of their origin:
 * A farmer who resorted to graverobbing in desperate times, only to succumb to the dungeon.
 * A guard who locked himself in a cell to avoid the horrors other guards committed against each other.
 * A guard who was used as a blood sacrificed and drained by the dark priests.