AC 13
HP 36 (8d8; bloodied 18)
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 13
Damage Resistances necrotic
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed , fatigue , paralyzed , poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common
Stench. A creature that starts its turn within 5 feet of the ghast makes a DC 10 Constitution saving throw . On a failure, it is poisoned until the start of its next turn. On a success, it is immune to any ghast’s Stench for 24 hours.
Turning Defiance. The lacedon ghast and any lacedon ghouls within 30 feet make saving throws against being turned with advantage .
Undead Nature. Lacedon ghouls and lacedon ghasts don’t require air, sustenance, or sleep.
ACTIONS
Paralyzing Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage. If the target is a living creature, it makes a DC 10 Constitution saving throw . On a failure, the target is paralyzed for 1 minute. The target repeats the saving throw at the end of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, it is immune to any Paralyzing Claw for 24 hours.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one incapacitated creature. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) piercing damage.
Combat
Ghasts are bolder than ghouls and don’t fear radiant damage or elves. A ghast retreats only if it sees another ghast defeated.
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or Religion check, characters can learn the following:
DC 10 Anyone who practices cannibalism may transform into an undead creature known as a ghoul. Though primarily carrion feeders, ghouls prefer the flesh of living humanoids.
DC 15 Ghouls use their claws to paralyze their victims before devouring them. Elves, however, are immune to a ghoul’s paralytic touch.
DC 20 Ghasts are similar to ghouls, except they emit a noxious stench, and elves are susceptible to their paralytic touch.
Lacedon ghouls and ghasts are aquatic undead. Many were once sailors who turned to cannibalism to avoid starvation at sea or after being shipwrecked. Others are the handiwork of evil underwater creatures such as sahuagins and aboleths, who use magic rituals to create them.
1 Donning the clothes taken from recently-devoured human adventurers
2 Sitting at a dining table
3 Preparing a blasphemous ritual
4 Feasting on corpses; attacks intruders
1 DC 13 Perception check: muttering, like low conversation
2 Gnawed humanoid bones
3-4 The smell of rotting flesh
5 A half-devoured human corpse. DC 13 Perception check: bare human footprints lead away
6 A torn and bloody hat or other article of clothing. DC 13 Perception check: marks on the floor suggest a body was dragged away
Ghouls haunt graveyards and catacombs near inhabited areas.
CR 0–2 1 or 2 ghouls ; ghoul with 1 or 2 zombies 1 or 2 lacedon ghouls
Treasure 40 gp, 3 sets of tattered and blood-stained nobles’ clothes (25 gp each if mended), 2 potions of healing
CR 3–4 3 or 4 ghouls or lacedon ghouls ; ghoul with 3 cannibal degenerates (see gnoll ); ghast with 2 ghouls
Treasure 10 pp, 30 gp, 2 silver chalices set with blue quartz (75 gp each), cloak of displacement
CR 5–10 2 ghasts with 1d4 + 2 ghouls ; 1d6 + 4 ghouls ; ghost or wight with 2 or 3 ghasts ; 2 lacedon ghasts with 1d4 + 2 lacedon ghouls
Treasure 500 gp, 1,000 sp, gold bracelet (250 gp), 1 warhammer (named Whisper, made of silver-runed black stone; once per day, its wielder can cast the silence spell as an action, centered on the hammer), ring of water walking