I'm convinced that the Ghoul is having the same speed effect as me everytime i tried to drink the speed potion when he's already chasing me. He walked slowly at first but when i paused to drink the potion, he instantly run. I didn't even get the chance to activate my speed :(
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That's pretty much what ghouls are about. They walk slowly but once they are close to you, it's pretty much over (Unless you are really overpowered). I did some testing and they work as intended. I waited in a cave for ghoul to spawn at t he oter side of the screen. Once he did, I saved the game, loaded it again and he was still walking because he was not close to me when I did save. Same with using speed potion. He only started sprinting when he was very close.
Fun fact, ghouls have speed 5 when they sprint. Speed potion also gives you speed 5, but because of how enemy movement is handled, you will be slightly faster.
Thats the point. They are very strong and you pretty much have to avoid them, which is not that difficult in most cases, but you will need some practice and plan ahead. Get speed potion and buy a lantern. Drink the potion before you enter the caves and switch speed when necesary. Try to lure the ghoul somewhere where you can slip past it without making it chase you at full speed. If it starts chasing you, switch to full speed, try to escape the map and return again.
If you want to fight them, try befriending Zacharias. He is the strongest NPC you can recruit without having to do anything else. Suong becomes the strongest NPC if you take her with you on the first meeting with Mr. White in the basement.
Again, ghouls are meant to be avoided and caves are meant to be very dangerous. But once you get really strong, they will become a good source of weapon XP, since they respawn forever without having to rest.
Easiest way is to kill kobolds. One group always spawns in the forest area with the ruins and a bear. You can also kill bandits, but these are way too strong to kill alone. Only humanoids killed by the main character count, which means you have to do the last hit. Companions can still deal damage to them.
More kobold groups will spawn as you keep killing, making the entire process easier and faster. Keep in mind that killing humanoids gives you large mood penalty. Picking the psychopath trait removes this penalty, but you can also just use alcohol, drugs or do other mood raising activities. Once you have enough kills, Mr. white will appear near your hideout. You can't miss him.