Homebrew Ratkin Species Details

Ratkin 

Ratkin are not a true race; they are the result of horrific genetic experimentation on dire rats and gnomes. Every ratkin knows the story even if the specifics are blurred or contradictory. Often the facts of their history as a species are manipulated in a way which would best suit the individual ratkin, but generally it involves a cruel ancient Netherese wizard who used their powers to alter the genetics of dire rats and gnomes so that they could crossbreed. These stories often include a progenerator ratkin named the ‘Rat King’ who liberated their species by blowing up the mythallar their master owned. Although they became liberated only the ‘Rat King’ it can breed others of their species he has dubbed ‘Lords’ who are themselves capable of producing other ratkin; however, these ratkin are incapable of breeding creating a natural population bottleneck.

Hated by other races, the ratkin learned to band together, surviving on the scraps and trash of other races while they transversed the Faerunian diaspora led by their ‘King’ seeking a cure for their affliction. During these travels before any of their species save their ‘King’ can remember they encountered one of the noble houses of the Drow of Menzoberranzan who because of their shared animosity for the surface dwellers took them in. It just so happens that the leader of the house was also secretly the owner of the largest generic alchemical producer along the Sword Coast and through-out the Underdark. She came into control of the company by assuming the identity of a legendary human alchemist who happened to her husband. Eager to find a cure through alchemical means, the ratkin embraced an alliance and under the direction of the drow the ratkin began making a handful of very common potions her company distributed highly addictive. After a few years, the addicts who were unfortunate enough to imbibe one of these addictive potions instead of a normal one along with the incarcerated, homeless, debt ridden, unwanted, as well as young adventurers gullible enough to agree to it were tricked into selling themselves into slavery as ‘colonist’ through various fake companies offering them redemption on the far away continent of Maztica. These poor souls would board ships to sail for two and a half months or sometimes more across the ocean to an untamed, unmapped, frontier without means of communication nor teleportation circles allowing them to easily return or warn others. Upon arrival the memories of each colonist were wiped during processing and for a few who already were adept at sailing new ones were implanted to ferry more ‘colonist’ to Maztica while the others were sent to the plantation to work or made to construct the settlement. No one would miss these indentured peoples, nor would they miss anyone.

Thirteen colonies each controlled by a local ‘Lord’ ratkin along the northeastern coast of Maztica were built each to support the plantations of the drow exporting some of the rarest and strongest alchemical components on all of Toril. Certain species of flora and fauna being completely alien having come from a lost planet known as Abeir, could only be located on the continent of Maztica. So, it was for several years and all of it unknown to all but the most esteemed drow until very recently a rumor began to spread that the human alchemist married to the drow who promised to help their 'King' find a cure appeared in the colony of New Fork to provide the cure. Only it wasn’t the doing of the drow or their ‘King’. He claimed the exact opposite, that they had stolen his notes to create them and that they had the cure all along but refused to give it to them. It wasn't a curse but something that was engineered into them when they were created. This alchemist then taught them how to make the cure for themselves, allowing all ratkin to breed and not just the nobility! As a result, a fledgling group of ratkin scattered about the colonies have begun discussing rebelling from ‘King Rat’ who now believe their King has been intentionally stifling their population as a means of maintaining power to form their own nation ruled by popular vote and exploitative capitalist enterprise.

Physical Description: Ratkin generally look like humanoid rats, roughly gnome size with a rat’s head and tail and covered in hairy fur. This unfortunately makes them resemble were-rats and many small ratkin communities were wiped out during a were-rat infestation “just to make sure.” An example would be:

 

Before you is the horrible amalgamation between both a dire rat and a gnome. Despite many common gnomish mannerisms such as predominantly walking around upright on the hind legs, the beast is still extremely rat-like. Hunched over the creature stands shorter than a kobold with little doubt that it would continue to be more diminutive in stature even if it could stand fully erect. The fur that covers the creature is molted with little life other than the grease and grime that coats the pelt. The filth that covers the hair of the vermin does provide some respite as it seemingly muffles the putrid smell permeating into the surrounding ozone. Filling the twisted gullet of the thing are several jagged teeth which appear to have a lethally sharp point. Noticeable discolored saliva, no doubt carrying a plethora of diseases, constantly swirls around the long tongue of the rodent. Sunken deep into the skull of the varmint behind their long nose are a pair of beady red eyes filled with constant irritation, anger, and contempt. They are approximately 26 inches tall and weigh 30lbs.

 

Society: Ratkin tend to form small tribes or bands, living in areas that other races avoid. In the cities, ratkin congregate in slums or sewers or infest the walls of buildings making them excellent spies. While ratkin appreciate protective laws, they are unconvinced that the authorities have their interests at heart splitting their society between loyalist to their King and revolutionaries who seek democracy. The 'Lords' and their retinue are extremely well armed and equipped often with heavily enchanted items or masterwork equipment from their King ensuring their loyalty. Opposite of the upper crust those within the revolutionary forces are extremely poorly equipped and often sparsely armed but ferociously passionate inspiring others to their cause. Of course, just like the Loyalist they often find their efforts being thwarted by those who are disloyal enough to join their ranks as each one thinks they are more intelligent than the other or better in some other way making them an ideal leader. Due to this quarrelsome nature the Revolutionaries have agreed, for now at least, that once they are liberated from their 'King' who lives with the drow across the ocean in Menzoberranzan they should have a government based on democracy. Instead of killing each other to gain power they can vote on it coupled with a free market economy so that corporations can rise and fall based on profits rather than blood. However passionate the Revolutionaries might be they are very few, very disorganized, and not nearly as well equipped as the Lords and their loyal retinue who have managed to maintain control over the other ratkin who see to the slaves they have imported from Faerun to Maztica and other daily operations. As a result, there is strong stratification of power between the peasant and ruling classes of their society.

Regardless of their politics they believe that the institution of slavery enacted by the drow is inefficient due to their extreme cruelty for the sake of being cruel. Although treatment of slaves may be marginally better the expectations and working hours tend to be much more extreme as the ratkin often run experiments to try to improve productivity. Ratkin overseers will force their slaves to drink potions of haste to increase their speed or running trials to see how long a particular species can survive under certain conditions so that they can force the rest to work almost to the point of death. In ratkin society the whip will not be what keeps their slaves in line. A mind-altering scheme, alchemical solution, or Rube Goldberg type of social mechanism engineered from behind the walls of their colonies are their preferred sources of work motivation. Slaves are commonly unknowing participants having contracted some illnesses the ratkin gave them in secret, then sold them a cure for which happened to be addictive forcing them to find a street dealer of the potion which cured their initial ailment. Once hooked they are swiftly taken for all they have before being nudged towards a harbor to sign an agreement for passage to colonize Maztica aboard one of their boats.

As a society they are highly competitive and see obtaining wealth only to see it rot as the measure of someone’s worth resulting in rampant capitalist exploitation. The most esteemed ratkin may own enchanted items, often extremely rare ones that they have intentionally disenchanted and left to rust as a trophy. This does not mean that the ratkin will not keep items enchanted, quite the opposite as they are extremely progressive as Artificers due to being a species born from alchemy. However, those they do not need or objects of exceptional desire are reserved for decay. If a ratkin was to find the Hand of Vecna they would disenchant it to keep as a trophy incurring the rage of all others who desired it and they would probably let others know they disenchanted it just for the sake of making those other people angry. Then they would try to create something equally as horribly powerful just to make those who were happy about the Hand of Vecna being destroyed equally as angry. This includes their finest slaves whom they often force into working in competitions based on productivity metrics until they die.

Relations: Ratkin tend to get along with no one but will manipulate other “outcast” races, such as half-ogres, half-orcs, and saurians, or any race that is a minority in the geographic area through whatever means necessary to obtain what they want. Among themselves ratkin get along to a certain point but often are the cause of their own downfall as each one of them feels like they are superior to the other. As ratkin have a reputation for being dirty disease carriers, most races give them a wide berth. Still, a ratkin may be tolerated when isolated from other ratkin, and their skills often determine their worth.

Alignment and Religion: As a created race, the ratkin do not necessarily have a patron deity. Instead, ratkin worship a living progenorator known as the Rat King who took upon themselves the curse of immortal life along with his the Rat Queen. Due to a genetic mutation from the magical experimentation at the hands of their former 'Netherese' overlord they are the only two ratkin able to still produce offspring who can reproduce offspring creating a natural population bottleneck. Despite this the progenorator being generally believed and known by all ratkin they do not worship them as a deity. Instead, their approach formal religion as they do everything else; they generally worship deities that have been discarded or fallen out of favor within a particular pantheon. Ratkin priests occupy abandoned temples to such deities and fuse old remnants of rituals with ratkin philosophy. Ratkin tend to be neutral in alignment and very rarely good.

Adventurers: Ratkin favor speed and stealth over brute force and martial ratkin tend to be ranger and swashbucklers. This also accounts for there being more ratkin priests than clerics (and, since ratkin don’t feel a connection to the natural world, few are druid or shamans). As befitting a race of scavengers, a large number of ratkin are rogues. While magically created, ratkin have had little interbreeding and as such arcane casters tend to be wizards rather than sorcerers and warlocks who receive their powers through ancestry or from a patron. Favored most among ratkin however is the artificer as trades within this class are often completely intuitive for them.

Ratkin Traits

Ratkin are not a true race; they are the result of pseudo-magical and alchemical genetic experimentation on dire rats and gnomes.

Extermination Survivor

Due to being carriers of various disease, to which they have an immunity, members of other races have constantly attempted to exterminate them throughout history. As a result, ratkin have developed strong resistances to the effects of poison as well as acid.

• You have Resistance to poisons.
• You have Immunity to diseases.

Darkvision

This creature has darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. A monster with darkvision can see in the dark within a specific radius. The monster can see in dim light within the radius as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. The monster can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. Many creatures that live underground have this special sense.

Carrier

Emboldened by filth and illness the ratkin commonly carry and transmit plagues giving them a natural immunity to most diseases. If a ratkin loses a saving throw against disease, they become a carrier and can transmit the disease through contact. If an unarmed melee attack hits or a successful sleight of hand check is made, then a disease it is carrying is transmitted to the target. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw of DC 10 + the ratkin's Constitution modifier or become infected with the disease the ratkin is carrying. The carrier loses the disease they chose to transmit once they have used this ability but may be a carrier of multiple diseases and will lose all the diseases, they are a carrier of if they spend a short rest bathing in water with soap.