Ghoul (Fallout)

The term "ghoul" in the Fallout series refers to human victims who were subject to prolonged exposure to radiation when they were caught outside during the Great War, a global conflict driven by the use of nuclear weapons which devastated much of the known world in the Fallout universe and provides the basis for the devastated world setting of the franchise.[1] Those who survive experience genetic mutations caused by elevated levels of radiation develop widespread necrosis or rot on their physical bodies, though their lifespans are greatly extended which allows them to live for at least hundreds of years if not effectively immortal.[1][2] Besides their prolonged lifespans, ghouls are no longer harmed by low-level radiation and even receive physical benefits when exposed to it.[1]

Ghouls who live within the rebuilt civilizations of the known world are similar to normal humans in terms of intellect or personality, but often suffer from discrimination due to their disconcerting physical appearance.[1] Ghouls turn into Feral Ghouls in that is referred to as "Going Crazy", "Going Feral" , or "The Illness" most people become feral immediately after becoming ghouls while many last years, decades, and as of the events of Fallout 4 there remains ghouls not feral after 200 years. Feral Ghouls, on the other hand, have all but lost their mental faculties due to radiation damage and will attack other non-ghouls on sight.[3][1] Feral Ghouls often roam together in packs and shamble around areas they are familiar with, such as a supermarket or a drive-in movie theatre, often with a form of muscle memory which vaguely drive them to relive aspects of the life they once knew, and trinkets looted from their corpses often provides hints or glimpses into their forgotten identities.[4] Some ghouls, colloquially known as "Glowing Ones", have managed to develop bioluminescence, rendering their bodies capable of illuminating dark areas with a glowing green light, though they also emit large amounts of radiation which can heal other ghouls and are dangerous to non-ghouls.[5][6] A new type of ghoul introduced in Fallout 76 are the Scorched, mutants infected with a virulent plague spread by large mutated bats known as Scorchbeasts; like Feral Ghouls, they are largely hostile to player characters but differ in their capability of operating firearms.[7][8]

Despite their robust physiology and resilience towards radiation damage, ghouls are not as physically formidable as other types of mutated beings in the series, such as Deathclaws and Super Mutants.[9]

Ghouls were originally conceived as "Bloodmen" during the development cycle of the original 1997 Fallout video game.[10] Media such as Forbidden Planet by Fred M. Wilcox and I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, along with real-life accounts of radiation poisoning, were cited as inspirations behind the concept of mutated creatures like ghouls and their exposed flesh for the early Fallout games developed by Interplay Entertainment.[2] Character model designs were physically sculpted before they were scanned into the game.[2] To produce the grotesque-looking skin textures of Feral Ghouls in Fallout 3, the first game in the series to be created by Bethesda Game Studios following their acquisition of the Fallout IP, artist Jonah Lobe reshaped photos of packaged chicken meat using modelling tools and filters to simulate a resemblance to human muscle tissue and create an "icky translucent" look for the relevant character models.[11] The visual design for ghoul characters in Fallout 4 is somewhat different, though they also have a pronounced lack of nose, lips, and skin; the texture of their faces was described by Kate Gray from Kotaku as resembling melted Peeps in appearance.[12]

Obsidian Entertainment, the developers of Fallout: New Vegas, initially considered allowing players the opportunity to play as a ghoul or a Super Mutant for their protagonist in New Vegas. The team faced technical limitations as New Vegas shared the same engine as Fallout 3, and the developers realized that the game engine's equipment system would not work properly for player characters which use non-human character models.[13] The officially licensed Fallout tabletop roleplaying game, developed by Modiphius and released in April 2021, allows players to assume the role of a ghoul character; Modiphius publishing lead Chris Birch said the inclusion of ghouls as a playable race among others was part of their design decision to make the game "authentically Fallout".[14] As Fallout 4 takes place more than 200 years after the Great War, the game's developers explored the concept behind the longevity of ghouls through a place called the Memory Den located in the settlement of Goodneighbor, where those who survived the nuclear fallout and have retained their sanity could access and revisit their pre-war memories.[15]

Ghouls have appeared in every Fallout media, both as non-player characters in civilized settlements, and as hostile antagonists found throughout ruined or disused localities throughout the Fallout series.[11] Players could also recruit ghouls as traveling companions or allies in several main series and spinoff video games: noteworthy examples include Dillon from Fallout Tactics, Raul Tejada from Fallout: New Vegas, and John Hancock from Fallout 4.[16][12] Hancock in particular is available as a romance option if the player character builds a positive affinity with him through eliciting his approval of their actions.[12] Before the Wastelanders update for Fallout 76, the Scorched was the only humanoid enemy faction that players would encounter in the game, replacing the series' standard human raiders.[7]

• Troughton, James (October 31, 2021). "Fallout's Ghouls Are More Horrifying Than We Give Them Credit For". TheGamer. Retrieved November 7, 2021.

• Ghoul at the Fallout Wiki