[Novocrane]

Strain 1A:
Human - Nosferatu
Troll - Mutaqua
The other metatypes are killed by this strain

I was under the impression after reading through RW, that other metatypes (dwarves, at least) not killed by 1A turned into something akin to vampires.

[SpatulaODoom]

So does that make you the one we need to thank for HMHVV being close to unresistible and very easily transmitted in 4th ed?

No, I'm the one trying to clean that up.

Well thank you then. Thank you very much. The general concept of HMHVV creating "undead" is great, but the execution kind of messed up the way they could be used in games since they became PC killers.

@Novacrane: Runner's Companion says that HMHVV I in dwarves creates goblins.

[Mara]

Oh..so Mr. Goodman is the one responsible for trying to keep Krieger Strain from being the Ghoul Apocalypse? I look forward
to seeing how the rules are written to make it so there is SOME means of fighting Ghouls and not becoming one eventually.

[Solo]

I am sure that I am missing a lot of the background info, so please tell where I am wrong.

The strain is very infectious. What stops intelligent ghouls from creating a swarm of feral ghoul to attack specific areas of the barrens and infecting a lot of people. This could be repeated in different spot of a town to mess up the armed forces in presence.

OR they find a way to travel to small villages and take them over, slowly extending their presence until they take over the world...

I guess that this will depend on the proportion of feral to intelligent ghouls (and other infected) and if they fail a major ghoul hunt will be started...

[mtfeeney = Baron]

Nukes.  Nukes stop that.  Smaller arms would work, too, but nukes for certain.

[GiraffeShaman]

Or napalm if you want to be subtle. I loved the smell of charred ghoul in the morning.

[bannockburn]

The following assumes at least half sentient ghouls:

For one thing, ghouls are still human. Yes, they have a craving for dead meat. No, this doesn't mean that they're comfortable with that. Most people also don't like considering genocide on a grand scale. It is entirely plausible that a high majority of ghouls just want to be left alone and gnaw on a few fingers once in a while, when the craving gets too strong.
Also: Why would you want to create more of the suffering you went through? Why would you want to inflict that horrible pain of transformation on anyone? Probably not.
Also, this wouldn't further your supply of dead meat very much.
There's another thing to consinder, and I'm going on dangerous RL  terrain here, so let me preface the following with the fact that I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. If I do so by accident, I want to apologize.
AIDS victims who know of their condition usually don't go around and stick syringes with their blood in unassuming people. This is a decidedly less contagious condition, and they're still often singled out by society at large.

Yes, the ghoul strain of HMHVV is too contagious RAW. It's a recipe for apocalypse. Patrick's unofficial errata however fix the vector to injection and lower the power level. IF infected, it's still stupid hard to resist (but not impossible anymore), but to actually BE infected requires a ghoul attacking you, doing damage or slavering into your mouth or mucous membranes.

With RAW, you better go ghoul hunting with chemically sealed MilSpec armor with internal air tanks.

[Solo]

For one thing, ghouls are still human. Yes, they have a craving for dead meat. No, this doesn't mean that they're comfortable with that. Most people also don't like considering genocide on a grand scale. It is entirely plausible that a high majority of ghouls just want to be left alone and gnaw on a few fingers once in a while, when the craving gets too strong.

Fair point... I have been assuming that their psychee was changed with the infectious... That was a stupid assumption

[bannockburn]

To a degree it is. But even feral ghouls don't try to propagate their infection, they try to eat your face off, and if you get out alive, you're infected by accident.

Yes, the craving is there. It might even drive a ghoul insane to a point where he's pondering world domination plans. But yeah, those guys usually end up with bullets in their heads. The sixth world pretty much sucks for everyone, more so for ghouls.

[SpatulaODoom]

Well I had a quick look at the unofficial errata by Mr. Goodman. As far as fighting ghouls goes, changing the vector of type 2&3 to Injection means that if you armor up you can avoid it (can't inject you with teeth and claws if they never penetrate the armor) until you're beaten down.
Power and penetration are both lowered, so it's possible (albeit still difficult) to resist even they do sink their claws into you.

A normal wageslave is still hosed if they run into one, but that's appropriate. Your average runner now has a chance against them even if they get close. Ghouls have gone from “Oh god everyone run, it's a ghoul. What did we do to piss off the GM?” to something you can actually include in game and have the players take on (with an appropriate amount of caution).

Another point against the ghoul apocalypse is that intelligent ghouls know that a ghoul apocalypse results in them all dying of starvation. Feral ghouls on the other hand might not take kindly to other ghouls trying to direct them or push them around. Herding wet cats comes to mind. Feral ghouls are very dangerous yes, but they're also dumb, and mankind has been killing creatures like that for all of recorded history. We're pretty good at it, and our tools have gotten better and better.

[bannockburn]

Another point against the ghoul apocalypse is that intelligent ghouls know that a ghoul apocalypse results in them all dying of starvation.

Not entirely correct. Nothing stops Bob Ghoul from eating his dead chummer Mike Ghoul. But yeah, the competition is higher

[SpatulaODoom]

Hmm seems ghouls still count as metahuman, which indeed means they can feed on one another. Interesting. Would not have thought that.

[Boomstick]

So does that make you the one we need to thank for HMHVV being close to unresistible and very easily transmitted in 4th ed?

No, I'm the one trying to clean that up.

Why has it to be cleaned up (true question here)? Wasn't HMHVV created to be dangerous and something PCs should not mess with?
Doubled with the fact that it could only infect people if only they were drained with the power, to 0 Essence, I don't think it was broken.
So why?
(Edit; think you were actually talking about Strain III. But if I remember well, you had to spend time for risking infection by respiring it and so on?)

Don't clean it up.  Just make HMHVV-infected PCs less likely to be killed on sight by the entire world population.

Again, apart of some population fringes and misfits, who would be kind to some "natural predator" of your own kind?
They drain people to live. you can argue that this is not their fault, but still, people will mostly consider them as potential dangers and parasites, and as such, will be prone to kill them with fire and nasty things.

What stops intelligent ghouls from creating a swarm of feral ghoul to attack specific areas of the barrens and infecting a lot of people. This could be repeated in different spot of a town to mess up the armed forces in presence.

Nukes. Dragons. Ordo Maximus (Vampires would not let lowly ghouls take them over). And for what they are worth, human (as they are finely ingenious to find creative and efficient ways to kill each others with everything at hand, be it wood, chemical and biologic substances, or laws of physics

Also: Why would you want to create more of the suffering you went through? Why would you want to inflict that horrible pain of transformation on anyone? Probably not.

Well, some people react in the opposite sense. "Why me and no the others? Let's share the pain!".
But they are mostly psychopaths I guess.

With RAW, you better go ghoul hunting with chemically sealed MilSpec armor with internal air tanks.

Not so bad, if the least redneck could go after them, they would not last for long, as there are wages on them.

[cold iron]

You forgot one

Type 2
Koala-> Drop bear

[Automaton]

Don't clean it up.  Just make HMHVV-infected PCs less likely to be killed on sight by the entire world population.

Actually it would be pretty awesome if it would take the entire world population to kill you.

You'd be the number one cause of death in the world. The uber antideluvion of vampires, the first in the strain. All the strains would have originated from you!

Okay, okay, I know I'm just being silly...