Rakghoul

A Star Wars Creature Feature

By Jeff Quick

Thousands of years before the Rebellion, the Sith were numerous and a persistent threat to the Republic. Jedi-Sith battles raged on in the galaxy after the Mandalorian Wars, and a planet called Taris briefly became the center of their feud. During this time, a mysterious disease ravaged the downtrodden Tarisians who lived on the planet's surface, beneath the rich population that lived in spires above.

The disease transformed Humans into aggressive creatures known as rakghouls. The disease was spread by infection from rakghoul attack, usually delivered by its claw or bite. The nature and effects of the disease were so sudden and spectacular that pathohistorians speculate that the disease was likely manufactured by an intelligent species rather than something that arose naturally. No concrete evidence exists to support this theory, however.

The rakghoul turning seems to have been mainly a Human phenomenon, although some near-Human species supposedly also were infected. Then again, given the radical physical transformation following infection, the victims' original shapes could have been nearly anything.

Subtle as a rancor, rakghouls charge toward anything that looks or smells like food. They travel in packs of four to eight, sometimes led by a more intelligent rakghoul known as a fiend. Rakghouls eat nearly any organic matter. Though they expend much effort running and fighting among themselves, they seem to survive on few calories. Witnesses have reported rakghouls living (and fighting) for days without food, only to wolf it down when finally acquired.

Infection

The origin of rakghoul disease is mostly a subject of speculation. The disease was most famous for its outbreak on Taris roughly 4,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. However, the disease had been on Taris for over a hundred years. More than sixty million people were thought to be infected over the course of the disease's run on the planet.

Infection was quick and painful after contact with a rakghoul. Once infected, victims had between 6 and 48 hours before they turned into rakghouls. The turning racked and distorted the victims' bodies, draining their skin pigmentation and altering their bodies into a tight, whitened corpselike state.

During the onset period, victims were weakened but still lucid. The disease was not communicable during onset, though few uninfected Humans wanted to be nearby in case the victim succumbed sooner rather than later. Many infected victims begged to be killed before they became full rakghouls. Others fled to exile outside community walls, while a few vengeful surface dwellers attempted to find their way up into the spires to infect the rich before the disease overcame them.

The Disease on Taris

On Taris, infection was exclusively limited to surface dwellers because spire officials let droids deal with the occasional straggler that found its way up.

Since the planet's surface was mainly a dumping ground for violent criminals and societal outcasts, most Tarisians felt little compulsion to protect or treat disease victims. For surface dwellers, infection was the death sentence that Tarisian officials were too "humane" to hand down personally.

Even uninfected residents of the planet's surface, however, were affected by the rakghouls' predations. In a state of panic and helplessness, the surface residents barricaded themselves behind fences, clustered around the few elevators to the cities above. Barred from traveling up by their outcast status, they clung together in small, junkyard shantytowns.

A serum for the disease existed among the Sith, who used it to inoculate their own soldiers when they had to go to the planet's surface.

Species Traits

Low-light Vision: Rakghouls can see twice as far as Humans in dim light (such as moonlight or underwater). They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

Rakghoul Disease: A Human bitten by a rakghoul must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 20) or contract rakghoul disease. If a Human contracts the disease, he or she must make a Fortitude save every hour or lose 1 point of Constitution damage. This ability score damage cannot be healed normally. The damage can be healed only by application of a serum or other agent specifically designed to combat rakghoul disease. When a target infected with the disease is reduced to a Constitution of 0, it dies and immediately becomes a rakghoul.

Targets with heroic levels become rakghoul fiends. They lose all class abilities but retain previous vitality points, base attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, and defense bonuses derived from class levels. Rakghoul fiends have -4 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, and -6 Charisma, to a minimum of 1. They also gain a +4 bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. Further, the fiend gains bite and claw attacks as a rakghoul, +6 natural armor, and rakghoul species traits. All vitality points are fully restored when the victim returns as a rakghoul fiend.

Rakghoul: Medium-size predator 2; Init +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Defense 18 (+2 Dex, +6 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16; Spd 10 m; VP/WP 9/17; Atk +4 melee (1d6+2, 2 claws), -1 melee (1d6+2, bite) or +4 ranged; SQ Species traits; SV Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +0; Face/Reach 2 m by 2 m/2 m; FP 0; DSP 0; Rep +0; Str 14, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 10, Cha 2. Challenge Code B.

Skills: Climb +5, Jump +5, Listen +4, Spot +4.

Feats: Improved Initiative.

Rakghoul Fiend

No intentional hierarchy exists among these mindless horrors, but some rakghouls exhibit a powerful leadership influence over normal members of their kind. These beings, known as rakghoul fiends, seem especially hardy and vicious. Fiends are generally thought to be Humans who had heroic levels in their former lives and maintain some of their former abilities.

Rakghoul fiends sometimes display vestiges of intelligence, directing lower rakghouls to ambush or trap new victims. They also have been known to use weapons. Rakghoul fiends do not wear armor. Below is a sample rakghoul fiend who was previously a 5th-level soldier.

Rakghoul Fiend: Medium-size predator 2/soldier 5: Init +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Defense 25 (+4 Dex, +5 class, +6 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 21; Spd 10 m; VP/WP 41/20; Atk +11 melee (1d6+4, 2 claws), +4 melee (1d8+4, bite) or +11/+4 (1d6+4, club) or +11 ranged (3d6, blaster pistol); SQ Species traits; SV Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +2; Face/Reach 2 m by 2 m/2 m; FP 0; DSP 0; Rep +0; Str 18, Dex 19, Con 20, Int 7, Wis 8, Cha 6. Challenge Code D.

Skills: Climb +5, Intimidate +8, Jump +5, Listen +4, Repair +8, Spot +4.

Feats: Armor Proficiency (light), Blind-Fight, Cleave, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Weapon Group Proficiency (blaster pistols, blaster rifles, heavy weapons, simple weapons, vibro weapons).

Speaking of the Sith, this month's Planet Hoppers takes you on a spooky ride to the haunted Sith tombworld of Korriban, the planet of lost souls!