Zombies and Ghouls

[IamLEAM1983]

a) Zombies
b) Ghouls

Zombies
- first off, you need to understand demonic possession

- possession involves forceful acquistion and control of a mortal coil
- high-tier demons are *highly* efficient in that regard. They'll grab you, force you to commit suicide or kill you in a slightly supernatural manner, then assume control. That's it.
- low-tier ones, like those that basically form Hell's version of the animal kingdom, are weaker. They'll fight you for control. They can't overpower you. They can only wear you down.
- this defeats the point, since possesion by minor demons tends to lethally exhaust the host body over time
- minor demons will drum up confidence in themselves by lying. Most are dumb enough to pretend to be the Devil
- high-tier demons *do not* mistreat their chosen shells. They kill their hosts quickly because they need their body intact, healthy and usable. High-tier demons *do not* brag. Not usually. :)

- demons like Leonard or Melmoth can't be removed from their shells. There's no suppressed soul waiting to take control in them.
- minor demons can be exorcised
- see Roland Doe, Anneliese Michel

- these minor demons will also occasionally get desperate, or put themselves under the employ of a necromancer.
- in both cases, they'll want to acquire a body. Easiest catch for unskilled and low-power Fiends is a reasonably fresh corpse
- these entities are never particularly intelligent. A demon who's intelligent enough to make his dead body speak wouldn't pick a dead body as a vessel to begin with
- considering, the end result usually is a shambling corpse, restricted by rigor mortis and decomposition, that tries to scratch and bite its way through innocents
- dangerous vector for various diseases, obviously. Septicemia is a concern during zombie outbreaks

- there is no "zombie disease" to spread, and "zombie apocalypse" scenarios are unlikely. The Pit's lowest dregs would have to overpower their masters, breach Limbo's barriers and enter the mortal plane...
- then massively claim corpses all at the same time. They don't have enough powers of deliberation to pull that off
- zombie outbreaks are extremely localized and usually easy to contain. Can be fairly lethal, but will never overrun more than a few blocks before being eradicated
- can be more problematic if it happens in the open country. Zombies have more range to wander off, in this case. Harder to pick off if they get out of sight
- worst thing that can happen is running into dedicated minor demons. You kill them, they take other corpses and come back. You dismember these, new ones get up, etc.
- can be repeated a few times until the minor demons are exhausted and forced to retreat to the Pit

- not to be confused with Voodoo zombies
- Voodoo zombies are from a use of TDT + unknown volatile compound agents secret to houngans and witch doctors
- results in near-death that can fool clinical observers and severe brain damage that turns living individual into a thrall of sorts
- living and enthralled people respond to pain and have emotional responses. Zombies don't.

Ghouls
- are produced when a mortal soul does the above. Essentially produces a sentient zombie, holding itself together with sheer willpower
- essentially humans and anthros made completely immune to pain and no longer dependent on respiratory or circulatory systems to survive
- allows for ghouls to resort to fairly desperate and violent tactics that may freely involve self-harm, if needed
- can push their bodies to absolute peak of human and anthro capabilities, and risk going beyond if they don't mind degrading them faster
- applies even if body is overweight, obese or disabled. Ghouls will squeeze every last bit of capability they can out of their envelope
- nonexistent reactions to pain guarantee a tough time taking Ghouls down. Complete dismemberment is required
- perk is also a con: ghouls don't feel their own continued decomposition processes. Gas buildup, necrosis, rigor mortis, etc.
- start out a bit like the T-1000. Unstoppable on sheer physical levels. They peter out the more time passes, though. Modern embalming techniques buy them some time, but not an infinite process
- the more time passes, the more trouble they'll have at accomplishing what they claimed a corpse for. Especially when social tasks are concerned. Smell and looks still matter. :)

- usually produced by unusually stubborn souls. Persons who see themselves as being on a mission. People who HAVE to come back, no matter what
- can involve drama, but sheer pig-headedness works too. Not everyone is an easy fit for Pandemomium or feels comfortable in Heaven
- can sometimes involve people who simply feel Pandemonium is too controlled, while Heaven is too safe and secure for their tastes. People who aren't satisfied with the Shadowlands either
- can also involve people who flat-out refuse to die despite their mundane and mortal conditions. People who still want to seek out immortality

- unfortunately, via is a very volatile element that doesn't lend itself well to working with dead tissue
- ghoul practitioners can be a problem, because they aren't afraid to literally burn themselves out
- some liches had a transitional period as magic-enabled ghouls, actually. See Thomas Quint

- ancient ghouls put together rituals that can be used to transfer someone's vital essence into their flesh. Someone's who's successfully "marked" like this will be tethered to his or her body and unable to be freed from if, if killed.
- soul of hapless individual is then cut up into pieces, along with the body itself, and eaten. Rituals aren't widely known, originate from somewhere in ancient Arabia, and aren't exactly shared between ghouls.
- "lucky" ghouls and Osirites have that technique or come to learn it. This is the only way they know to knit their flesh together and affect a semblance of life for a short while. A week or so.
- ghoul mages have to learn this, more or less, or else they'll have to keep restricting themselves to keep their bodies intact. Gives you a week of standard biological life and all the spell-slinging perks that come with it