Ghoul 5e: Stats, Paralysis and Why Elves Don't Fear It

A ghoul is a CR 1 Medium Undead (200 XP) with AC 12, 22 hit points and a 30-foot speed. Everything about it hangs on its Claws: a hit forces a DC 10 Constitution save, and a creature that fails is Paralyzed. Elves and undead are exempt in both editions. The 2014 ghoul gets one attack a turn and its paralysis lasts up to a minute. The 2024 ghoul bites twice per turn with extra necrotic damage, but its paralysis only lasts until the end of the target's next turn.

Table of Contents

• •Ghoul Stat Block (2014)
• •The Ghoul in the 2024 Rules
• •Ghoul Paralysis and the Elf Exception
• •How Ghouls Fight
• •How Many Ghouls for a Level 2 or 3 Party?
• •How Players Beat Ghouls
• •Ghoul Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Ghoul Stat Block (2014)

The SRD 5.1 ghoul:

Read the actions carefully, because the 2014 ghoul is easy to run wrong. It has no Multiattack. Each turn it picks one attack:

• •Bite: +2 to hit, 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage. The SRD prints the +2 that way, two points lower than the Claws, even though both attacks use the same ability modifier.
• •Claws: +4 to hit, 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage, plus the paralysis save for any creature that isn't an elf or undead.

On a normal turn the Claws are better: higher accuracy and the chance to paralyze. The Bite only makes sense against a target that's already paralyzed, when Advantage and automatic critical hits turn it into 16 (4d6 + 2) damage on average.

The rest of the block is plain. No damage resistances, immunity to poison and the Charmed, Exhaustion and Poisoned conditions, darkvision 60 feet, and Common as a language. A ghoul can talk, which matters for encounter ideas later.

The Ghoul in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 ghoul (SRD 5.2.1) has the same defenses and CR and a different offense.

What that means in play:

• •More steady damage. Two 2024 Bites at +4 against AC 16 (hit on 12+, 45%) average 7.2 damage a round. The 2014 ghoul's best routine attack, Claws, averages 3.15.
• •Shorter, more reliable paralysis. The 2014 paralysis can last ten rounds if the target keeps failing saves. The 2024 version always lasts exactly one of the target's turns, with no save to end it early.
• •The Claw is now a choice. The 2024 ghoul can't Claw and Bite on the same turn. A pack works best when one ghoul Claws and the rest Bite.

Ghoul Paralysis and the Elf Exception

The save

The paralysis save is DC 10 Constitution in both editions. How often a character fails:

Combine that with the Claw's 45% hit chance against AC 16 and a single Claw paralyzes a Con +2 character about 16% of the time (0.45 x 0.35). Three ghouls clawing the same target land at least one paralysis about 40% of the time.

What paralysis does

A Paralyzed creature is Incapacitated, can't move or speak (2014) or has Speed 0 (2024), automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saves, and grants Advantage on attack rolls against it. Any hit from within 5 feet is a critical hit. Every ghoul attack has a 5-foot reach, so every ghoul hit on a paralyzed target is a crit.

The numbers on a paralyzed character with AC 16:

• •2014 Bite with Advantage: +2 needs a 14, so 1 - 0.65 x 0.65 = about 58% to hit, for 16 (4d6 + 2) on the crit. About 9 damage per ghoul per turn.
• •2024 two Bites with Advantage: +4 needs a 12, so about 70% each, for 16 (2d6 + 2 piercing plus 2d6 necrotic) per crit. About 22 damage per ghoul per turn.

Three 2024 ghouls biting a paralyzed level 2 character deal around 67 expected damage, several times its hit points. The character drops after a hit or two, and from then on every hit from within 5 feet is a critical hit, which counts as two failed death saving throws. Two more bites kill it. That is why ghouls have their reputation.

Why elves are immune

Both ghoul stat blocks exempt elves from the Claw paralysis: the 2014 text says "a creature other than an elf or undead," the 2024 text says "a creature that isn't an Undead or elf." It's part of the monster, not an elf trait, so it applies to any character who is an elf regardless of subclass or background.

Two details catch tables out:

• •Ghasts don't share it. The ghast paralyzes any creature that isn't undead, in both editions. An elf who walked through a ghoul fight unbothered can still be paralyzed by the ghast leading the pack.
• •Half-elves are a DM call. The 2014 SRD has a separate Half-Elf race, and neither stat block says whether "elf" includes it. Decide before the fight. The 2024 SRD has no half-elf species, so the question mostly disappears there.

How Ghouls Fight

Ghouls move 30 feet, as fast as most characters, and they are hungry and not stupid (Intelligence 7). Run them as a pack that picks one target and swarms it.

Isolate, claw, then bite. The pack goes for whoever is alone or at the back of the marching order. In 2014 every ghoul Claws until someone is paralyzed, then the rest switch to Bite. In 2024, one or two ghouls Claw and the rest Bite. The Claw is worth the most when the clawing ghoul acts soon after its target in initiative, because then every other ghoul gets a full turn against the paralyzed target before that target's next turn ends.

Avoid the elf. Ghouls know who they can't paralyze. A smart pack ignores the elf ranger and goes for the human cleric.

Fight in the dark. Darkvision 60 feet lets them ambush a party whose light source shows them exactly where everyone stands. Crypts, sewers and battlefields after dark are home ground.

Drag the body. A pack that drops a character will try to carry it off rather than fight to the last ghoul. Ghouls want to eat, not to win. That gives the party a reason to chase, and a fight on the ghouls' terms.

Mix in a ghast. In 2014, the ghast's Turning Defiance gives ghouls within 30 feet Advantage on saves against turning, and its Stench poisons anyone who starts their turn next to it (DC 10 Constitution). The 2024 ghast keeps the Stench but drops Turning Defiance.

How Many Ghouls for a Level 2 or 3 Party?

Ghouls are 200 XP each in both editions. For four characters, using the 2024 budget:

Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines, used by our encounter difficulty calculator, three ghouls (600 XP, doubled to 1,200 for a group of 3 to 6) are a Hard fight for four level 3 characters and past the Deadly threshold for four level 2 characters.

Our advice: treat ghoul fights as more dangerous than the XP says, especially at level 2. Paralysis plus automatic crits can kill a character outright, and level 2 characters have very little hit point buffer. Two ghouls are plenty for a level 2 party. At level 3, three is a solid fight. Make sure a cleric or paladin is present, or give the party a way to see the ambush coming. From level 4 up, ghouls work best as the hungry rank and file of a bigger undead: a wight whose zombies hold the doorway while ghouls slip around the flank, or a haunted crypt where specters come through the walls while ghouls come up the stairs.

How Players Beat Ghouls

Bring the elf to the front. An elf can stand in the ghouls' path without risking paralysis. Put the elf next to the most vulnerable character, not on the far flank.

Kill them fast. 22 hit points and AC 12 with no resistances. A Fire Bolt or a longsword hits AC 12 on a 7 or higher for a +5 attacker (70%). Thunderwave, Burning Hands and Shatter all deal full damage.

Turn Undead. A ghoul's Wisdom save is +0, so it fails against DC 13 60% of the time. Turned ghouls stop attacking and flee. In the 2014 rules, a level 8 cleric's Destroy Undead destroys a ghoul that fails (CR 1 or lower). Watch out for a 2014 ghast: its Turning Defiance gives nearby ghouls Advantage on that save.

End the paralysis. Lesser Restoration ends the Paralyzed condition in both editions, and in the 2024 rules it's a Bonus Action. Against 2014 ghouls, where paralysis lasts up to a minute, that spell can save a life. Against 2024 ghouls, the condition ends on its own after one turn, so killing or pushing away the ghouls next to the victim matters more.

Protection from Evil and Good. Undead have Disadvantage on attacks against the warded creature, which cuts the Claw's hit chance against AC 16 from 45% to about 20%.

Don't stand alone. The pack chooses one victim. Stay within 5 feet of an ally so a paralyzed character has someone to step between it and the ghouls.

Don't waste: poison, charm effects (immune), or Exhaustion-based effects.

Ghoul Encounter Ideas

The overflowing ossuary. A city's paupers' ossuary has run out of room, and the gravediggers are refusing to work at night. Four ghouls have dug in from an old drainage tunnel and are eating the newest arrivals. The party can wait in the dark among the corpses, but the ghouls come up through the drain under the slab, already inside the room.

The siege camp. A war ended a month ago, and the battlefield was never cleared. Ghouls feed at night and fight anyone who comes to bury the dead. A noble wants her brother's body found among the thousand others; his signet ring is on a ghoul that kept it. She has a reward. The ghouls have numbers and patience.

The hungry guests. A ghoul with good manners approaches the party's camp and asks, in Common, to share the fire. It's starving and says it will lead them to the treasure of the tomb it came from, if they give it the bandit corpses they left on the road. It's telling the truth about the treasure. The rest of its pack is waiting at the tomb, and they weren't consulted.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a ghoul in 5e?

A ghoul is CR 1 and worth 200 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 12 and 22 hit points.

Are elves immune to ghoul paralysis?

Yes. Both the 2014 and 2024 ghoul stat blocks exempt elves and undead from the Claw's paralysis. The ghast's paralysis has no elf exception, so elves are only safe from the ghoul.

How long does ghoul paralysis last?

In the 2014 rules, up to 1 minute: the target repeats the DC 10 Constitution save at the end of each of its turns. In the 2024 rules, the target is Paralyzed until the end of its next turn, with no save to end it early.

Does a ghoul get two attacks?

The 2024 ghoul has a Multiattack of two Bites, or it can use a single Claw instead. The 2014 ghoul has no Multiattack and makes one Bite or one Claws attack per turn.

What's the difference between a ghoul and a ghast?

A ghast is the CR 2 (450 XP) pack leader: 36 hit points, AC 13, a Stench that poisons adjacent creatures, and paralyzing claws that work on elves. A ghoul is CR 1 with 22 hit points and paralysis that elves ignore.

Can you cure ghoul paralysis?

Yes. Lesser Restoration ends the Paralyzed condition. In the 2024 rules it only takes a Bonus Action to cast.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.