This is an old revision of the document!
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 record 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.
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 entered a profitable 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, on the side of the 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, also Poland was sacked as a result 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 BeefTenderloin, who went on to found the anti-CC Celtic nation of Aedui. Some initial members also left due to his lobbying. As 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 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. Ghoul's ascendance in his first iteration was largely supported by his group, however, it also earned him a lot of critics and enemies outsides, most of all Beeftenderloin with whom he often publicly clashed on numerous points both regarding in-game politics and server development.
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 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 and 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.