You must be proficient with wind instruments to use these pipes. While you are attuned to the pipes, ordinary rats and giant rats are indifferent toward you and will not attack you unless you threaten or harm them.
The pipes have 3 charges. If you play the pipes as an action, you can use a bonus action to expend 1 to 3 charges, calling forth one swarm of rats with each expended charge, provided that enough rats are within half a mile of you to be called in this fashion (as determined by the GM). If there aren't enough rats to form a swarm, the charge is wasted. Called swarms move toward the music by the shortest available route but aren't under your control otherwise. The pipes regain 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn.
Whenever a swarm of rats that isn't under another creature's control comes within 30 feet of you while you are playing the pipes, you can make a Charisma check contested by the swarm's Wisdom check. If you lose the contest, the swarm behaves as it normally would and can't be swayed by the pipes' music for the next 24 hours. If you win the contest, the swarm is swayed by the pipes' music and becomes friendly to you and your companions for as long as you continue to play the pipes each round as an action. A friendly swarm obeys your commands. If you issue no commands to a friendly swarm, it defends itself but otherwise takes no actions. If a friendly swarm starts its turn and can't hear the pipes' music, your control over that swarm ends, and the swarm behaves as it normally would and can't be swayed by the pipes' music for the next 24 hours.
Notes: Summoning, Control, Instrument







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Posted Dec 6, 2019aw, rats
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Posted Feb 13, 2020rats
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Posted Apr 19, 2020Were-Rat to the Bard: "I have mixed feelings about you"
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Posted May 6, 2020this just reminds me of shovel knight. i slaughtered so many rats with that shovel.
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Posted Jun 25, 2020My name is G Moat and I support this message
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Posted Aug 8, 2020I'm confused. It says Basic Rules pg. 185, but the basic rules only have 180 pages?
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Posted Mar 3, 2021Flute of Calling the Boys
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Posted Aug 9, 2021my friend wants me to make him the pipes using my replicate magic item feature as an artificer he is a swamp druid who loves bugs and rats i don't know why.
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Posted Dec 26, 2021Then you darn well better make him some pipes.
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Posted Jan 16, 2022What does it mean that you need to be proficient with wind instruments? I don't know if it's a glitch, but my bard is proficient with flutes and I can't seem to attune to the pipes.
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Posted May 2, 2022Can you control wear rats or giant rats?
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Posted Sep 8, 2022i believe it reffers to instruments that you have to blow into to play
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Posted Jun 8, 2024Two years later and this is still an issue. Hello, Dnd Beyond Gods, will you please fix the stuff on the site before making new material?
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Posted Mar 29, 2025I just got this as a Barbarian 5 / Druid 1 and I plan to use it to summon rats I can talk to using Speak with Animals.