About the Ghouls of Necropolis controversy

What games? Fo3 & FO4 & FO5? —they don't count. ;)

Fallout 2? Typhon explicitly states (of the Ghouls): "There ain't any ghouls but old ghouls. We're all sterile, see, but we're incredibly long-lived. We're the first and last generation of ghouls".

https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Hctyphon.msg
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I think that Raul, and other ghouls from outside Necropolis, could just be mutants that look like ghouls. Like Harold, and I think there's another one in the first game but I could be wrong. The Marked Men aren't considered ghouls, even though they are just ghouls with armor. It wouldn't be so hard to believe that there are many mutants similar to ghouls, but not exactly the same. Besides, Raul can run while Lenny says ghouls can't. Probably just a sprite limitation but I'll consider it cannon anyway.
 
Ugly Kid said:
I think that Raul, and other ghouls from outside Necropolis, could just be mutants that look like ghouls. Like Harold, and I think there's another one in the first game but I could be wrong.
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There is; a former Vault 13 resident.

If you look close there are at least three vault dwellers sent out before yours in the game. Ed (at the door, one in Mariposa, and Talius—whom you mentioned; an FEV mutant.)
 
Gizmojunk said:
There is; a former Vault 13 resident.

If you look close there are at least three vault dwellers sent out before yours in the game. Ed (at the door, one in Mariposa, and Talius—whom you mentioned; an FEV mutant.)
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I mean, the games have never really settled on a singular explanation for ghoulification. You could just say that it’s caused by some type of gene mutation, and Vault-Tech just rounded up everyone with that gene mutation and put them in a Vault, but it still exists elsewhere
 
My headcanon is that Ghouls are born, out of chance, from a massive exposure to radiation. Long term exposure won't cause ghoulification, though.

Just use sci-fi speak to explain how the Vault's construction materials allowed for ghoulification to happen with a realiable chance, or somehow channeled the radiation to allow for ghoulification. Structures made of similar materials could thus have a chance of inducing ghoulification during the Great War as well.
 
Ghouls are better in small doses. The proliferation of feral ghouls as discount zombies was by far the biggest mistake in handling ghouls. Becoming a ghoul can't be a fluke if the Wasteland can support literal hordes of ferals.
 
Oh, and feral ghouls don't need to be ghouls either. I'm going to make something up off the top of my head, tell me if it's worse than feral ghouls. A third goul-like FEV mutant was created, but instead of just looking like a zombie, he actually acted like one. Unity just figured "not our problem", and threw him out into the wastes. When he bites you, you also become like him. And the zombies don't mind ghouls, because they look similar. Super Mutants and most animals are immune to zombification.
 
Ugly Kid said:
Oh, and feral ghouls don't need to be ghouls either. I'm going to make something up off the top of my head, tell me if it's worse than feral ghouls. A third goul-like FEV mutant was created, but instead of just looking like a zombie, he actually acted like one. Unity just figured "not our problem", and threw him out into the wastes. When he bites you, you also become like him. And the zombies don't mind ghouls, because they look similar. Super Mutants and most animals are immune to zombification.
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At this point you need to compile all your headcannon/lore change ideas together
 
Honestly? Keep it simple.

I think the "lots of radiation at once = Ghoul" explanation is elegant and works well. I would rather not involve FEV here, but it could definitively play a part.

Harold is a little bit of both rads and FEV.

Radiation + FEV mutation is better left for everything else that's not ghouls or Super Mutants. Like the Marked Men, who are clearly a sub-species of Ghoul but its clear that the Divide would have killed average Ghouls. Or Van Buren Trogs. Or Beast Lords. And general psykers.

I wonder if the Fallout 4 perk "Ghoulish" would't be a good sub-species of Ghouls as well. Essentially, people who look human but are actually more like ghouls on the inside. This could have all sorts of freakish implications.

You know what I'm surprised we never saw? Mutations happening because of Founder Effect. Imagine some long-lived guy (maybe even a ghoul) seeing and writing about how his post-apoc settlement started slowly but subtly changing over the generations after the war.
 
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