What is a Ghoul

Ghouls are created when a vampire feeds vitae to a living creature. Mechanically, this vitae is treated as a single point - for one lunar month, the ghoul has a point of vampiric blood in his system and acquires all the benefits of ghouling. Ghouls can hold multiple blood points in their system, but if they try to hold more than a human capacity, it has unpleasant side effects until the vitae replaces their normal blood. As long as a ghoul has vitae in his system, he remains a ghoul: vitae is lost at the rate of one point per month, and when used to power Disciplines. While a ghoul has blood in his system, he will not age.

Ghouls can learn vampiric Disciplines, but at a much slower rate than vampires. In addition, the maximum level learnable by a ghoul is a function of their domitor's Generation.

Animals can also be ghouled, a tactic particularly favored by the Nosferatu. Animal ghouls tend to grow larger and mutate, the result being a somewhat horrifying parody of the original creature. In addition, almost all ghouled animals develop a taste for blood, regardless of their original diets.

Ghouls are prone to frenzy, although not as strongly as a vampire. In addition, they are addicted to vitae. Ghouls are subject to horrible side effects when the supply dries up. Without vitae, a ghoul will rapidly age physically to his actual chronological age, and ghouls over a century will crumble to dust quickly.

Ghouls tend to fall into three major factions: Vassals, who are the stereotypical blood-addicted servant of a vampire; independent ghouls, who eke out an existence trading favors for blood, and revenants, the hereditary ghoul families