I cannot for the life of me remember whether I’ve actually written this out anywhere before. If so, sorry. But, hey: it’s background for a story that I’m thinking of writing.
Transdimensional Ghoul Lords
The Transdimensional Ghoul Lords exist in – well, presumably it’s in another universe or parallel dimension. Perhaps they just live under our feet. Yes, crouching in the shadows, lurking in caverns noxious, dark, and corrosive, waiting to strike…
OK, yes, that’s rather stupid. They do live underground, for preference: the species is mildly crepuscular, which is a fancy way of saying that they prefer to operate at dusk and dawn. But the caves are decently-lit, spotlessly clean, have all utilities hooked in, and even have carpeting. They also smell incredibly foul to humans, but that’s not the Ghouls’ problem. As for crouching… well. A species with the Ghoul Lords’ power doesn’t need to crouch anywhere.
Ghoul Lords have three qualities about them: they are carrion eaters, they can live a remarkably long time (read: centuries), and they somehow can tunnel through dimensions and appear in different planes of existence. So far, much like Lovecraft’s ghouls: however, they’re civilized. In fact, they’re ethical: it’s wicked to kill people for their meat. Mind you, the average Ghoul Lord is unsympathetic to the idea that perfectly good rotting flesh should not be consumed simply because it used to host your Aunt Edna, but you have to expect these cross-species ethical dilemmas. Certainly few of the non-Ghoulish races ever stop to think just how rude it is to involuntarily gag at another sophont’s appearance. Or breath.
Of course, having free access to inter-dimensional travel generally makes a species rather rich, so the Ghoul Lords have the option of simply buying the carrion they desire. This makes them popular among adventuring parties, as adventurers tend to pile up a lot of monster corpses. When the mages and the alchemists have yanked all the spell components and organs out and all you’re left with is a slightly ripe pile of owlbear, a smart party knows that the Ghoul Lords will happily buy it.
And, in fact: the riper, the better. Strangely, the species actually does export some foodstuffs: specifically, alcohols and cheeses. They of course have to do some extremely stringent quality control to make sure that the ingredients would not appall and sicken non-Ghouls, but Ghoulish noble blightwine is still worth its weight in gold in a hundred different universes.
One last note: to most of the multiverse, a zombie attack is an apocalyptic event. To the Ghoul Lords, it’s the business opportunity of the century. Sure, you can farm free-range zombies. It’s done all the time. But it’s just not the same as getting one fresh from the grave. And the species currently suffering from the zombie outbreak will typically let the product go for insanely cheap prices…