When you become a ghoul you end up getting a human mask to fool stupid humans.

I would say it's a possibility. This is mainly because people have made mods for it, both for Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas (a fairly popular one with over 18,000 downloads). So one way or another, either by Bethesda listening to the fans or by the modding community, I really think it will end up in the game.

I don't believe ghoulification is a thing. That perk looks more like Rad Boy, or something similar. As implied by others, the in-game implications would be outrageous, as well as the voice actor having to do everything in a ghoul voice as well.

As for fixing ghouls by making them basically synths, that would depend entirely on how we consider synths to be built in Fallout. If they're anything like replicants in P.K. dike's universe, they're all organic, with next to no mechanical parts. Harkness seemed to be such a synth, since he just had a chip buried somewhere, but would eat, bleed, [censored] etc. If that's the case, then you can't turn a ghoul into a synth. And as pointed out, it would cure them, only act as fancy makeup to cover up their affliction.

I think this is not possible, because the voice changes too, so they would need to make all the voices in ghoul tone, or edit them...

Ghouls are virtually immune to radiation, infact they regenerate health and become stronger when exposed to radiation. They also have an unnaturally long lifespan, and regenerate in general. Ghouls also have heightened reflexes, making them more perceptive. They are also far more resistant to chems.

Downsides of being a Ghoul is that the necrotic tissue makes them weak, as in they are less strong. There is also a general distrust/hatred towards Ghouls. And Ghouls risk eventually going insane and become mindless feral beasts. However Feral Ghouls don't seem hostile towards non-Feral Ghouls.

So if you'd become a Ghoul i could imagine something like:

-Radiation regenerates health

-Crippled limbs heal (when being exposed to a sufficiently high dose of radiation)

-Feral Ghouls don't attack you on sight

Since SPECIALs work differenty now instead of + or - points in a stat, you just get more or less benefit as if you had more or less of that stat.

-Increase in Perception

-Decrease in Strength

-Decrease in Charisma

That would seem pretty fitting of becomming a Ghoul in terms of gameplay effects.

Not just that... They would need alternate/or additional dialog for almost every NPC that will talk to the player; and script attitude changes in many of them.

In Fallout 2, it's made clear that Vault City [perhaps not alone] would shoot ghouls on sight. In a game with the protagonist as a ghoul, the gameplay would [should] in some places ~perhaps in many places, resemble a mix of Nosferatu PC play-style in Vampire:Bloodlines, and Sheriff Bart from Blazing Saddles.

I don't think they could pull that off.

Worse: I think that the bulk of the player-base would not accept permanent damage from the PC becoming a ghoul (meaning there would be a cure); or accept racial hostility by default from every town. (Like getting kicked out of the taverns, and refused trading by merchants. Getting shot at instead of questioned, for wandering into someone's house.)

If it was done exceedingly well, then I'd probably enjoy it as an advanced option that enforces restrictions... Like an alternate hard-core mode. I just don't believe they would choose to do it exceedingly well; and would choose exceedingly accessible instead.

Hmm, good point. Although not all ghouls seem to undergo a voice change. Take Desmond (?) from Point Lookout, for example.

Regardless, it's a good point. Ghouls with friendly, regular sounding voices would be weird.

Well my ghoul character would be getting some awesome (and completely free) maple syrup from time to time. In the wasteland, that might be a pretty strong motivation for turning into a horrific zombie-like creature.

Fallout 3 spoiler:

Maybe the voice changes over time?

I don't know about that. Ghouls like Desmond Lockheart and Dean Domino have been the way they are since the Great War. They're definitely some of the oldest ghouls around and they still retain their voices. And there is also Jason Bright who sounds perfectly normal, although I'm not sure whether he is a special case or not considering his...condition.

Still, I don't think the voice acting would hold them back from having ghoulification a feature.

Wait, Desmond Lockheart's voice is Ghoulie af though. They literally got the voice actor for all of the Dark Elves in Morrowind to be a raspy cantankerous jerkwad for Desmond...

I mean, Dean Domino and Moira Brown are still proof that you don't necessarily lose your voice upon ghoulification, but I still really doubt Bethesda will include it.

Considering the "staggering" amount of evidence we have is someone posting (very) inconsistent perk ideas and Todd mentioning lightning and radiation in the same sentence, i think it's safe to say it won't be happening.

You'd have to have some cartoonish level of horse blinders on to ignore all the evidence to the contrary.

I also wouldn't point to Moria and Desmond as proof that the voice change isn't necessary, but rather devs prefer interesting characters over consistent lore.

Moria being an almost psychotic level of happiness and smiles would be completely absent if she sounded raspy. Her entire character would have been gutted.

Desmond is more or less the same problem. His character a smooth talking entertainer. Axe that and you've only got a ghoul with a grudge, which describes just about every single one of them.

The rest have absolutely nothing special about them save they are ghouls. It's no coincidence that two of the more memorable ones also happened to be the only exceptions to the rule.

I always thought it was just raspy because he was just that cranky all the time. But yeah, you're probably right.

But honestly, the reason these characters voices are different is because that's what the writers had in mind when thinking of these memorable characters and decided to make exceptions for it. Ghouls don't have to have this set voice and the same can apply to a voiced player character, if ghoulification were a thing, in which I still doubt of course. There are many reasons why ghoulification is a silly idea for a feature, but I don't think a voiced PC would be one of them.

For Desmond's raspy voice- He has had a RRRRRrrrrrrrrrReal long time to drink scotch and smoke cigars.

Hey, what about Gob, Carol, and Charon? They were pretty memorable and they also had the raspy chain-smoker voices.

Only if the NPCs interact too it. Which would mean MANY rewritten dialogues,,,

They aren't going to have player ghoulification be part of the game. Its as simple as that, if I'm wrong I will eat a dog turd. I wouldn't be surprised if the progression of radiation sickness was more nuanced however

You're killing my wish! NNNOOOOOOOOOOO! Maybe I'll just cosplay this once my character gets too much radiation sickness. Although, maybe not because it might frighten my wife and kids...nah I'd better!

I wouldn't mind seeing some sort of optional quest for this rather than relying on a set radiation level for a set period of time... Say you are exposed to a certain amount of radiation quickly which knocks the player out, in which they wake up with the body and complexion of a ghoul. Simply since the process is irreversible and if players don't deal with their radiation due to some circumstances and are stuck as ghouls when they don't want to be... well, it would just svck imo.

At least if your working towards it in a quest and have the option to select if you become a ghoul (the 'choice' doesn't have to be presented in 'do u want to be a ghoul' but offer the player a choice which will spell out the consequences for you.)

Either way, more choices for players is always optimal and wanted.

I summon this thread to rise from the ashes!

ok just for u

become a ghoul like that Ghoul from the underworld explain take years, is true that on Fallout 3 after blowing up Megaton, Moria (if i remember the name correctly) become one in minutes, but that is just for the good of the game play or maybe since megaton was on a high irradiation hole all that irradiation plus the explosion allow her to become one quick.

Plus becoming a Ghoul, for a story point of view will make everyone pretty much hate u or look u with bad eye and discrimination.

So we only get 6 toes?

Don't pick on the Neeson! Remember that I have a very particular set of skills...

I kinda agree with this sediment, however the amount of storytelling and game-play changes (dialogue, PC relations with NPCs, ect.) required to do it right is kind of staggering, god forbid it is done like vampires were done originally in TES-Skyrim without DLC (I wasn't impressed). Not only that but there is a lot of uncertainty about ghoulifcation itself, there needs to be some lore building involving the subject.

I could possibly enjoy it, if done well, but I think it will have to be included in a DLC if done at all.

I got it, the skill to grow a extra toe.