http://i743.photobucket.com/albums/xx71/ivernover9000/1278354174532.jpg


Technically he IS right, Ghoulification makes Ghouls

(He's just unclear about what Ghoulification IS)

imagine u would live 300 years .... how beautiful and agile would u be ....... alot smarter yes but the body will decay

Actually, if memory serves, Ghouls are physically in a state of limbo, their body itself isnt decaying, it's something about the actual skin.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Set

Looks like more than just his skin is decaying.
But yeah they're sort of decaying and regenerating.

"The reason for this longevity has to do with differences on the cellular level, and the ability of ghoul DNA to regenerate at a rate unmatched by normal human nucleic acids. Occasionally, in a ghoul, additional genetic material is added as a result of the mutation[3]. The unnaturally long lifespan of a ghoul is also due to a mutation within the autonomic nervous system of certain individuals following exposure to specific combinations of ionizing radiation with wavelengths below ten picometers. Radiation that has such a short wavelength, less than ten picometers, is known as gamma radiation and is normally lethal to healthy humans in even moderate doses. The mutation in response to gamma radiation that produces ghouls disrupts the normal process of decay in the neurotransmitters along the spinal cord.

Specifically, the neurotransmitters affected in a ghoul's mutation are those responsible for cardiac and respiratory function in a healthy human being. These transmitters are continually regenerated at a greatly accelerated rate after the mutation sets in, carrying sufficient oxygen to sustain the life of the subject while being insufficient to retain dermal elasticity and avoid the resulting necrosis (much like what happens during the course of the disease once called leprosy), the result of which is the decaying, corpse-like appearance of post-mutation humans.

In physical appearance, a ghoul's flesh is constantly rotting off, appearing very raw and discolored from necrosis. Lips and eyelids are sometimes absent, and noses are in almost every case completely rotted off. "
- Wikia entry.

I don't mind at all.
Ghouls were only supposed to have emerged from Vault 12 anyway; I was annoyed that there were any in FO3 to begin with, and at the existence of the feral / reaver ghouls.

This may be one of the more hilarious posts I have ever seen on the internet. I almost want to put it in my signature. :bowdown:

I can't believe you used virginity as an anology to ghoulification. Bravo. In all seriousness, you might want to check out the wiki page about ghouls so you're on the same page. That info Gabe posted is a good place to start.




This is a lore complaint that I don't get. When was it ever said that ghouls are only from Necropolis? I've said it before, it seems more ridiculous that the mutation only occurred in one place. The idea behind ferals and them being called ghouls on the other side of the country I get as a complaint, but not the Necropolis thing.

There are a couple reason.

Not as many nukes hit the Mojave which means less Ghouls.

Fallout has shown there is/was a long history of shooting ghouls on site. Even Lyons BoS in Fallout 3 still shoot them if they come across them.

Information cam be your friend.

To live that long without insane amounts of money and tech, you have to have been turned into either a ghoul or a super mutant. House isn't a ghoul, he's Rip van Winkle.

Umm... anyways, how will this discussion run in circles? There are concrete answers to how ghoulification works.

Anyone else get the glitch where feral ghouls and roamers talk?

Only after 3:00am, and too much wine...

I loved the reavers. Somthing I actually had to think while killing, because of their massive hp. They may have even been more or a walking tank than your character.

Well you got some anyway, and buy the looks of things ^^^^^ You need it bad. You shall spend 3 hours reading about fo in wiki for your crimes.

I could take on one at a time, but when you get jumped by 2 or more... just too much bullet sponginess goin on.

Yes, I remember creating pipe bombs and carrying them with me just for the specific purpose of dealing with reavers.

Unfortunately in FNV you can create a total of 2 pipebombs because cherry bombs are the rarest item in the world!

Raul alone makes more than up for that.

Rare!? They're in every bloody mailbox I open! It's like all the kids before the bombs fell were incompetent hoodlums!

No, they are not, I always systematically search every area including mailboxes(the most common item in them are magazines), there are enough cherry bombs for 2 pipe bombs in the whole game...this was not the case in Fallout 3, even without specifically looking for cherry bombs I was always able to have more than I needed.

No I just thought the quote fit here. And technically I'm a necromancer not a wizard.


Actually feral ghouls were added by Fallout 1. They've always been around. Fallout 3 just added the ridiculously durable reavers and gave them more defined tiers. And considering there were surviors of the war who didn't take shelter in a vault. It makes sense there should be other ghouls created. Vault 12 was simply a highly concentrated population of people who took shelter in a vault designed to protect them from everything except the radiation.

IIRC, every ghoul in FO1 & 2 was from Vault 12; and I'd say it was meant to be an isolated event.

Its hard to take anything seriously after FO1 (including Van Buren), because by then, nearly all of those responsible for it were gone.

Doesn't make too much sense though (imo).
I mean, what makes 12 so much more special that only it's inhabitants became ghouls?
And if so, what are the requirements for creating ghouls?

Trogs for example has a formula:
* A couple of hundred rednecks
* Throw them in a cave
* Let radiation seep in over the course of generations
= Trogs.

So what made V12 so special that originally only "it" could create ghouls?
All it had was a door that weren't meant to close down.
So wouldn't people outside of vaults all over the world have turned into ghouls?

To further explain this:

Pitt Trogs can only be created at The Pitt.
They're an isolated mutation.

Swamp/hillfolk can only be created at places infected with the red plauge and large doses of radiation.
They're isolated mutations.

Lobotomites can only be created at Big Empty (speculation but I'm fairly sure this will turn out to be true.)
They're an isolated experiement.

Super Mutants can only be created by being dipped/gassed in FEV.
They're isolated mutations. (That have spread out after Unity's defeat.)

And Ghosts can only be created at the Sierra Madre due to it's mutagenic gas and suits that cause a symbiotic relationship between the wearer and the suit.
They're an isolated mutation.

So what used to make the V12 ghouls so special?
All I can see is that they got splashed with radiation.
Radiation is everywhere.
So why should the original ghoul design be isolated to V12 survivors exclusively?

As I see it, the problem seems to be that Fallout was world unto itself, and the ghouls came of a freak "Heavy Metal-esque" creepy accident. With Fallout 2, the world was bigger, and some of the ghouls were still around, but a lot of the game's atmosphere had changed. With Fallout 3 (Personally, I honestly believe that the series got only a cursory glance by the team that would make its sequel); The world had to be suddenly overworked with detail, and chock full of identifiable notables from the previous game ~cause that's all we'd be getting of the previous game. The world, and the underlying ideas were lost in translation (and in some cases perhaps apathy).

Personally I would not choose to apply an empirical method to all the things in Fallout or Fallout 2; I would have it that Necropolis (and the VATS) be the only source of generating their respective monsters castes.
This... for the same reason, is why I'd prefer the aliens with the Elvis poster, be the only aliens that visited the planet, and to have their veracity and origin remain a complete mystery. :shrug:

IMO the entire series should play out a bit like a story out of 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAPcriHC96k'; that's surely the sort of 'vibe' that I got from the first one.
(But this didn't happen. :sadvaultboy: )

I second that

I think you're being a bit to staunchly anti-Fallout 3. I really see no flaw in Fallout's presentation of old characters. I do somewhat agree on foe naming but to be fair, Ghouls look like, well, ghouls, plus it's been 60-80 years since Fallout, it's more than plausible passing Ghouls in DC spread the term too. As for Super Mutants, either the BoS, being from California, likely mass spread the term, or, the more likely one, they're mutants, and are super strong compared to a human, it's a pretty generic description name to be honest.

Also, You can't really fault Fallout 3 for not presenting all of the series past. When I first picked up the game, I learned the world is messed up because of a 200 year ago war. I learned alot from Fallout 3, but after doing research, I came upon the fact that the 3 wasn't mere cosmetics, and I thought 'Wow, Fallout 3 was amazing, the old ones can't be anyworse!', and sure enough, I was right. I feel Fallout 3 presents enough to understand the series premise, but not enough to understand the past events in the series, for that, you'd have to go back and play the older games to do so. Fallout 2, in my opinion, does the exact same thing.

I don't see flaws in ~well... actually I do see a big flaw in the way they handled Harold; but otherwise, no big problems. IMO, Harold [in the Fallout series] is almost like D&D's Eleminster (not exactly, but similar in a way).

IIRC, It is a fact that most if not nearly all of the Bethesda team, had only heard of Fallout if that, before working on Fallout 3. I do believe that FO3 was derived from TES and draqed in the tinsel of the Fallout IP. :shrug:
That's no slight on it's merit as a game, but it is [IMO] on its credibility as a sequel.

Yeah unless Harold evolves into a Treant we won't be seeing him again in future games. Though a giant walking tree would be pretty hilarious.