Ghoul
| Ghoul |
|---|
 |
| Traditional depiction of Ghoul. |
| In-game name | roguelich CoolGhoul |
| First iteration | 1.0 |
| Metagroup | Ghouls, Strykergang, Norse |
| Nationality |  Poland |
| Ethnicity | Journalist |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Associated players | Lemon_Shot stryker123abc |
Ghoul (from his first /int/craft username coolghoul), also known under a variety of other names including nervyzombie, roguelich and rogalik, is an ancient player currently best known for being the editor-in-chief of the /int/craft blog. He is one of the few /int/craft players still around from the server's earliest days and one of the very few remaining players from version 1.0.
Due to his highly aggressive playstyle and combative demeanour, he quickly made himself a highly recognizable and divisive figure in the community. In the early /int/craft he led a string of high-profile factions such as Poland(1.0), Byzantium(2.0), Carthage(3.0) and Fatimid-Khazar Caliphate(5.0). Later on, as his own meta-group disassembled, he joined the nascent strykergang and remained in its high command until he founded the neo-Norse in i33(Epoch v1) with Lemon_Shot. His military and political record is viewed as mixed as his early leadership stints prompted his critics to call the strategy of mass recruitment of low-quality players the ghoul doctrine and many of his nations, although often large and powerful were frequently plagued by violent in-fighting and leadership challenges.
Besides his in-game activities, ghoul had also engaged in various community-related projects such as the /int/craft Wordpress, 8chan's /int/craft board, the Intman Lounge and administrated the short-lived i21.
Table of Contents
Player Record
1.0
Ghoul(back then known as 'coolghoul') first joined /int/craft most likely during 1.0's Grace Period(a period after the so-called 'pre-grace'). He joined a little-known and remote Polish faction of Glaciemarium, situated somewhere in the European Arctic, east of Scandinavia and west of the AMMH's base. Glaciemarium's initially dealt mostly with the AMMH, which was rather hostile, and NektarN's Suomi with which it started a cordial partnership. Ghoul had quickly become the town's second-in-command.
As Glaciemarium's strategic awareness increased, it was decided to move to a more central location in Poland, which increased the group's international standing. Poland took an active part in the Cimmerian wars, siding with the broad anti-Cimmerian Coalition. As Cimmeria consisted of well-organized veteran pvpers - the only such faction during that time, it scored a string of victories against the Coalition. Just like many other towns, Poland was sacked in one of Cimmeria's offensive operations. With Cimmeria's leadership generally not pursuing a policy of devastation, a respectable deal(conversion to Cimmeria's promoted Slavic Native Faith as well as a pledge not to harm Cimmeria) was offered to Poland which then quickly recovered from destruction. Cimmeria's successful and wide-ranging campaigns drew attention from the admin staff, and eventually, the iteration's de-facto head admin Freddy120 burned Cimmeria and banned its members for alleged RP violations.
Cimmeria's disappearance resulted in a power vacuum, which profoundly shifted the server's geopolitics. Ghoul, now Poland's leader, jointly with Suomi's NektarN orchestrated the large Continental Coalition(CC), which was internationally advertised as aimed to prevent “future Cimmerias”, but more immediately aimed against the perceived threat of Swiss Dave's Helvetia, effectively encircling this centrally located nation. The formation of the Coalition prompted some resistance from the sections of the server's player base, most significantly from Britain's high officer and former leader BeefTenderloin, who went on to found the anti-CC Celtic nation of Aedui. Some of the CC's initial members such as Britain promptly left the coalition due to his pressure. With the Continental Coalition was founded on the principle of collective defence, even relatively minor skirmishes against any of its numerous members could rapidly spiral into major international crises as it was in the case of the Belgian Crisis. Polish skirmishes against the Aedui yielded mixed results, and after some time, BeefTenderloin disbanded it, proclaiming its goals accomplished.
By the end of the 1.0, as the general activity on the server collapsed, Poland had established itself as a major power, the architect of the CC and a militarily potent force. Throughout the server's duration, it remained an all-Polish faction. His group largely supported Ghoul's ascendance in his first iteration, however, it also earned him a lot of critics and enemies outside, most of all BeefTenderloin with whom he often publicly clashed on numerous points regarding in-game politics and server development. Swiss Dave made another high-profile ideological opponent of Ghoul.
2.0
As a result of 1.0 Poland's relative success and the decision to admit non-Polish members, it was possible for Ghoul to radically expand his faction's player count. Byzantium immediately began as the largest nation on the server, with coolghoul, infamau5 and JitCamBRA its three founders and members of the all-powerful Byzantine Council. In this semi-composite faction, Ghoul assumed the role of the official leader of the nation and the emperor.
Byzantium, with its raids around Europe and beyond quickly antagonized many other states, and a coalition was formed by Alamannia, Eranshahr, Mediolanum and Yamato. While Alamannia, as a diplomatic solution was reached, eventually opted out before any large-scale confrontation, the rest launched an attack on Constantinople, which initially managed to breach the city walls and overwhelm the defenders. A timely and effective intervention by Ghassanids, Byzantine allies, saved the city from further damage, however.
Even though the anti-Byzantine coalition collapsed, criticism of Ghoul's performance as the emperor mounted. Infamau5 formed a conspiracy to bring down Ghoul and install a new emperor, the scheme eventually involved the majority of Byzantine members. As the conspirators voted to oust Ghoul, he was forced to either step down or fight in an admin-arranged battle. Although the martial option was briefly entertained, Ghoul decided to yield peacefully, and JitCamBRA was crowned the new Byzantine emperor. Afterwards, Ghoul went on to campaign in the Far East against Yamato, somewhat unsuccessfully.
As the server's activity dwindled, perhaps out of boredom, JitCamBRA deleted the Byzantine faction, which resulted in an international rush to secure Byzantine riches. The most successful in this task was the Hephthatlites, who stretched an enormous line of chunks from their base in Central Asia right to the centre of Constantinople. After hearing this news, Ghoul chose to reclaim Constantinople from the invaders, which he managed to take back the leadership of the empire. The city of Constantinople was repaired, and the faction experienced a mild revival till the end of the iteration.
3.0
Shophet of Carthage
As in the case of Byzantium before, Ghoul once again opted for a semi-composite faction with shared leadership to attract possibly the maximum number of players. The nation of Carthage was founded by Ghoul, Jurri, Federico and infamau5 who formed the Council of Carthage, its supreme ruling body. Councillors were nominally equal, however, Ghoul was made the official in-game leader as the Shophet of Carthage and was generally seen as the leading figure both internally, with strong backing from his two Polish friends and some other former associates, and internationally as a leader with prior experience and status. Initially, the nation consisted of its North African capital as well as far less populous Sardinia, founded by Federico.
Although Carthage counted as one of the most populous nations on the server right from the start, a rapid rise in the population and possessions of the Roman Republic alarmed Ghoul, who was anxious to maintain total superiority in numbers. Alliances were sought to counterbalance Rome in case Carthage could not match Roman demographic and territorial expansion. In an unlikely turn of events, Ghoul formed a partnership with his erstwhile archenemy BeefTenderloin, the chieftain of Celtiberia, which also grew wary of Rome's waxing strength. In addition, the incorporation of a significant town of Jerusalem into the Carthaginian Empire was secured. The city was populated by some of the ancient /int/craft's most recognizable players - HeyItsJinx, SkyZ0ne, Teshup but also then relatively unknown Lemon_Shot.
As the grace expiration loomed, Ghoul put himself in charge of the pro-war faction in Carthage and managed to convince the Council to assent to the declaration of war on the Roman Republic. The hostilities began the very moment the grace was lifted and combined Carthaginian-Celtiberian forces besieged Rome. The siege was ultimately repulsed and combat shifted onto Carthage herself, where defenders were initially pressed hard by surprisingly deep Roman incursions, partially enabled by covert actions of infamau5, who deliberately dug holes in the city's walls, likely in another bid to undermine Ghoul and effect a change of leadership. Notwithstanding the difficulties, Carthaginians prevailed in the defence of their capital and launched a counter-offensive against the closely located Sicily, where Rome was decisively beaten as helpless Sicilians acceded to join the Carthaginian Empire.
Carthage's triumph raised it to the hegemonic status in the Mediterranean Sea and temporarily made Ghoul the server's most powerful leader, administrating an empire of 3 big cities(Carthage, the server's largest, Jerusalem and Sicily) and 5 other settlements, mostly located in the Western Mediterranean. Internally, the matter of insiding was known to be an issue but at this point, neither Ghoul nor the rest of Carthage's high command besides infamau5 himself knew of its source. Incidentally, infamau5 was expelled from the Council on somewhat unrelated grounds and as he did not decide to actively pursue vendetta with the sleeper agents he installed in Carthage, for the time being, Ghoul did not face any substantial internal opposition. He was though highly distrustful of Sicilians whom he thought likely to yearn for revenge and cooperate with Rome.
Set on continued expansion, Ghoul set his sights on Egypt to gain another foothold in the region where Jerusalem was the empire's sole outpost. After his attempts to kowtow Egypt into submission failed to yield the desired results, he decided to launch an invasion, using some earlier, rather innocent Egyptian provocation as a legal casus belli. The battle-hardened Carthaginian army swiftly overpowered rather weak Egypt, the whole operation, however, was fast stopped in its tracks by fierce opposition from Carthage's ally Celtiberia, which demanded immediate cessation of hostilities and guaranteed Egypt's independence. BeefTenderloins veto infuriated Ghoul, who slowly began perceiving Celtiberia as an obstacle to Carthage's further growth.
Another major flashpoint came as Carthage received reports of troubles in the Eastern Mediterranean, involving Jerusalem and Teutons. Details on what exactly occurred and who sparked the conflict are murky, it is also unknown if Teuton raiders were fully aware of the consequences of harassing Jerusalem. Ghoul, confident in Carthaginian military prowess and eager to start another campaign, decided to make an example of Teutonica, launching a full-scale invasion into Central Europe, which was somewhat outside of Carthage's usual theatre of operations and without any friendly bases in the vicinity. Notwithstanding these difficulties, the first rally of Carthage was sizeable and quite easily stormed through the walls of Teutonica's Dansekorra. The lightning offensive was stopped in its tracks, however, by the iteration Head Admin, Swiss Dave, who believed the war to be illegal and himself went around the battlefield killing the invaders in god mode. Eventually, after receiving explanations on casus belli, he allowed the war to continue, but by that time, the Carthaginian momentum had evidently stalled, and Teutonica was more prepared to meet the invader. Waves after waves of Carthaginian assaults stubbornly carried out on Ghoul's orders, were repulsed, which resulted in the growing dissatisfaction with his command. As the night progressed, several Jews openly began speaking of a rebellion which combined with severe equipment losses and many troops logging off for the night made Ghoul himself lose hope in achieving any positive result. Meanwhile, Teutonica went over to the offensive, proceeding to besiege and sack Jerusalem, with ease as the Jews were left practically helpless and gearless. Expecting an impending invasion of Carthage's capital city and her doom, Ghoul was bewildered by Teutonica's willingness to open negotiations and Carthage got peace in exchange for a mere pledge of non-aggression towards Teutonica.
Although Carthage escaped a total disaster, the Jerusalem Jews, discontent and disillusioned with Ghoul's leadership accused him of betrayal as no Carthaginian aid whatsoever was sent to assist Jerusalem in her one-sided struggle against Teutonica. Although Ghoul maintained there was no aid to be sent as Carthage's own stockpile was utterly depleted, the conflict could not be avoided, and the Jews rose in the Maccabean Revolt. Ravaged Jerusalem was abandoned and the Jews originally moved to the Balearic Islands, granted to them by Rome's second-in-command and a staff member Edrahil, a prominent Ghoul enemy with whom he clashed already back in 2.0. Western Mediterranean location was not attainable for a now openly anti-Carthaginian faction, however, as Carthage, even despite the loss of the vital part of her army with the Maccabean Revolt, still boasted considerable military strength. Ghoul's rapid action to dislodge the Jews before they had a chance to establish themselves in the Balearics properly met with success and the Maccabeans subsequently had to flee the entire region of the Mediterranean for fear of Carthaginian raids.
Despite increasingly precarious international and domestic standing, Ghoul continued his hyper-aggressive policy in a bid to make up for a disastrous Teutonic War and for Carthage to regain some of her former authority. Celtiberia's Beef was seen as an increasingly erratic partner and suspected of colluding with the Maccabeans. In conjunction with Teutonica, which was then harassed by Beef, Ghoul declared war on Celtiberia, and combined forces, consisting mainly of Teutonic troops, besieged and ruined the tribal nation, burning the sacred Celtic tree. Beef's frantic interventions to Carthage's two other Councillors almost caused a complete collapse at Carthage's high command, as Ghoul was accused of unjustifiable betrayal of his former ally, his unilateral decision to start war deemed illegal and autocratic. Ghoul managed to navigate this crisis, however, his relationship with other Councillors, especially Jurri, remained highly strained.
Celtiberian War was catastrophic in its implications for Carthage, as she contributed to the ruination of her only, if uncertain, ally in the Mediterranean. The Celtiberian leadership resettled to Epirus in Greece and vowed revenge. Although Carthage still commanded considerable manpower, she now faced potentially overwhelming odds, with the Maccabean revolts and her old enemy Rome joined by Epirus. Attempts to nip the Greek issue in the bud failed, and the vast anti-Carthaginian forces eventually laid siege to the server's largest city. Facing impending defeat, Ghoul resorted to the use of combat hacks(which he also did several other times during the iteration, as did other parties), was caught red-handed and thereby banned from /int/craft. Carthage was subsequently disbanded and the city deserted.
Exile
Ghoul's break from 3.0 did not last long, as in a few days after his ban he came back on an alt account(/int/craft was back then still in offline mode, therefore alting necessitated a mere change of nickname before logging on). His first target was a British town, formerly a possession of the Roman Republic, with which he had a feud for earlier insults thrown at him and Carthage. He was invited into the town, and as its inhabitants logged off for the night he stole its valuables and cobblemonstered its premises. Afterwards, Ghoul managed to infiltrate the Roman Republic, feigning interest in building up its military force, as Rome was plagued by the constant threat of the then-raging Norse. Ghoul attempted to fight off the Norse and intervene in the British Isles to restore some Roman influence there and also built a Roman-style military camp(castrum) in south France. His mission to strike at the Norse in their Scandinavian bases failed, and the Norse retaliated with deadly force to besiege and swiftly capture his military camp.
Concluding that his Roman operation was likely to remain unproductive, Ghoul moved on to infiltrate the rising powerhouse of the Norse. He was admitted to one of the lesser towns and thereby joined the Norse on their raids, including gruelling cross-Siberia assaults against Japan. He also took part in the vain effort to defend almost unmanned Thule from a large(10+) Japanese attack.