Mindless ghoul

	For an overview of feral ghouls in the Fallout series of games, see feral ghoul.

Mindless ghouls are creatures in Fallout.

Background[]

When the Vault at Bakersfield was closed, its door did not seal properly, causing radiation to seep into the shelter. Over time, the residents were transformed into corpse-like beings, and came to be called ghouls. Some of them lost their minds, and others began to glow. When they emerged from the Vault, they renamed their municipality Necropolis, the City of the Dead.

While sensible and peaceful ghouls generally stay indoors or underground, some wander the streets aimlessly, attacking any normies they might encounter. This is not considered a concern by the city's leader Set, who does not desire peace with humans.

They appear to correspond to the feral ghouls first seen in Fallout 3.

The degeneration into a feral state (referred to as ferocious post-necrotic dystrophy) is not fully understood. It is known that it is a result of a degeneration of the brain (which is not affected by the regenerative mutation of the spinal cord) and emerges following the atrophy of higher brain functions, accompanied by an increased level of aggression and appetite. When the loss of capacity for thought is complete, a ghoul is considered feral.^[1][2] The factors that may cause a ghoul to enter this state are unclear, but anti-social or isolated ghouls are more susceptible to it.^[3] Exposure to intense radiation may also be a factor; feral ghouls have no body heat and emit lethal levels of radiation, indicating that feral ghouls are for all intents and purposes dead, their functions sustained only by their high irradiation. This allows them to survive for centuries, relying only on the energy provided by radiation, at the expense of a horrifying, emaciated appearance. The process is irreversible.^[4][5]

Characteristics[]

Biology[]

The bodies of mindless ghouls have been ravaged by necrosis, and they now resemble shambling corpses. Differentiating them from normal ghouls, though, is the equally ravaged mind; they have long since lost their sense of reason or higher thought and as such follow basic animal instinct.

Gameplay attributes[]

As mindless ghouls have lost their capacity for reason or complex thought, they exhibit underdeveloped tactics. They simply shuffle towards the closest enemy. While one has little to fear when engaging in combat with meager isolated individuals, mindless ghouls often travel in groups, and can overwhelm their victims during large fights.

Mindless ghoul[]

Name (Proto ID)	Statistics	DT/DR	Abilities
Mindless ghoul 00000305	? ? 60 HP: 42 H.Rate: 1 AC: 5 Sequence: 4 AP: 7 Melee Dam: 2 Crit. Chance:	Normal: 0/ 0% Laser: 0/ 0% Fire: 0/ 0% Plasma: 0/ 0% Elect.: 0/ 0% Explosion: 0/ 0% EMP: 0/ 0%

Notes[]

• Vault 12 is full of glowing ones, but unlike most glowing ones from later games, they are capable of proper speech and allow the player to pass them in peace unless provoked. Caged glowing ones are also seen in the church.

Appearances[]

Mindless ghouls appear only in Fallout.

References[]