Homebrew Ratfolk Species Details
"A group of five of them came through my shop! Didn't want gold for their wares, strangely; just trade, in as many books and gadgets as they could carry. I would have sworn them to be a group of fellow gnomes, but for what I heard from them after they passed through the gates. Thinking themselves alone, they turned to one another, and, I swear! The chittering and squeaking they made--like a nest of rabbits or wild vermin, it was. Mark me, there's some sort of strange beasts infiltrating this city, and you'd never know it, so skillfully they magic themselves into looking like everyday folk."
In secret tunnels stretching beneath the deadly blighted ocean, the warrens of the ratfolk are colorful, cozy, and warm. Close-knit communities of some dozens of individuals, often shuffling their population with other warrens, echo with enthusiastic squeaking conversations on various topics of study & practice. Some warrens specialize in a certain craft or school of design, while others specialize in research on the outside world, the study of medicine, performing arts, or the development of new arcane technology. Ratfolk desire to understand the world (its delights as well as its dangers), to keep their warrens safe and prosperous, and to delight in the pleasures of life and legacy. They love cuddling in great piles together, creating ambitious works, and pursuing perfection in their chosen field of research.
Curious & Creative
A ratfolk's desire to explore and experiment is in conflict with their strong instincts to hide, avoid danger, and survive. This internal conflict most often find its resolution in ambitious scholarly or creative pursuits. Ratfolk typically stand 3 to 4 feet tall and weigh 35 to 45 pounds. Their brown, grey, white, or black fur is short, straight, and soft. Most ratfolk have fur in patches of different colors, rather than a full coat of only one, but all have solid black eyes that shine brightly. They have long tails without fur, which they tend to hold in hand when nervous. Ratfolk have large, round ears, sensitive whiskers, and twitching noses at the point of their furry snouts.
Quiet and fastidiously clean, most ratfolk are quite deliberate in their personal style. Ratfolk clothes are usually simple cuts, with intricate use of pattern and color to make unique pieces for an individual. Fur is often stained with arcane dyes for further self-expression--individual ratfolk vary widely in aesthetic tastes, but almost universally enjoy indulging and sharing their creative sensibilities.
Small Lives
Ratfolk treasure time spent with friends and time engaged with their most beloved subject(s) or skillset(s), whatever that may be for each individual. Ratfolk live to about 35-40 years old, and consider their short life an opportunity to be unabashedly, enthusiastically themselves, and to boldly pursue their unique contributions to the legacy of their people. They believe that everyone has something wonderful to do in their life--an amazing something that they were destined to create, discover, or share with others. Further, it is thought best to learn what that thing is as early as possible, maximizing the time available to work in a chosen field.
Ratfolk support each other in self-exploration and wildly creative dreams. As a society, they have strict standards for food production and distribution, to ensure everyone gets enough to eat and no group of individuals is denied time to pursue their passions. Most of the population will live in multiple warrens during their lifetime, and although each warren has its own subculture, expectations of shared responsibilities are universal throughout the tunnel network. Ratfolk are habituated to generosity and gratitude for one other, and forever curious about each others' wants, needs, and feelings.
Ratfolk expeditions have collected many artifacts from the outside world and returned them to storage tunnels, where they await study by researchers. Most numerous among these treasures are books. Ratfolk originated speaking the common tongue. Once freed, they constructed a language of their own design called Rattus. It is written in modified Elvish script, peppered with diacritical marks to phonetically reflect their squeaking, chirping, and chittering tongue. While ratfolk libraries contain tomes in many languages, the majority of books brought from the overworld are in Gnomish. Modern ratfolk speak and understand Common, Gnomish, and Rattus.
Ratfolk operate a secular society, and religious faith is rare amongst individuals, though some are called to worship deities that they have come across in their research about the outside world. There is a broad self-consciousness that unlike many--if not most--humanoid subtypes, ratfolk had no patron deity in their creation. It is a matter of historical record that they were created through arcane experimentation, i.e., without regard for their long term survival or well-being. Huddling below a toxic ocean of demonic seabeasts, researching a world above filled with dragons and monsters; curiosity about the patron gods of other races is common. The ratfolk possess a collective self-awareness that they lack such divine protection, which has helped to maintain their isolationist way of life for generations.
Bedrock Warrens
Ratfolk live under the ocean, in secret tunnels branching through the bedrock. Outposts along the seabed provide opportunities for careful observation of the sea above, and rare exploratory parties take winding paths to and from their tunnel entrances. Passages to the overworld are secreted under debris on beaches, designed to be deliberately collapsed in case of discovery by the outside world. They keep their homeland--indeed, their whole species--well hidden, guided by the meticulous records and research of dozens of generations of ratfolk before them. Visitors, should they have any, would be greeted with immense caution and gravity, but also intense curiosity. Ratfolk have been in deliberation for some time about the terms of visitors, or opening the warrens to the outside entirely. Such debates represent a long-held fascination with the possibility of Ratfolk integration into the overworld. While that project remains hypothetical, strong emotions have remained tempered by the theoretical nature of the discussions.
Ratfolk who leave the warrens to explore other lands are commonly formed from a team of researchers with different specializations: cartographers, engineers, healers, botanists, etc. Before leaving home, there are many obstacles to being properly prepared, and many individuals from whom help must be sought to execute an expedition. , the use of magical items to disguise oneself, and even some combat training are required of anyone hoping to go outside. Ratfolk adventurers are driven, thorough, and supported by their communities--otherwise, they would never have made it into the adventuring life.
Ratfolk culture holds in high esteem the branching lines of roots as a metaphor for life. The network of tunnels that are their birthright branch off from one another in a physical legacy of the ratfolk people's survival and growth. The divisions of scholarly and creative specialization are considered to be branches of a great organism, representing the sum total of ratfolk knowledge. Interconnection between subjects and intricacy of design are respected in all kinds of work.
The ratfolk keep a remarkably complete history of their people, including documented testimony from the first ratfolk to escape from the military arcane research labs of the collapsing western country. The initial tunnel dug under the seafloor was deliberately collapsed to protect themselves from the impacts of the cataclysm, once they had discovered a naturally occurring cave system in the bedrock. That undersea haven became the first free settlement of the new humanoid species.
Ratfolk Names
Sweet and affectionate with each other, Ratfolk each have one or more names from childhood given to them by siblings, friends, parents, or grandparents. Most retain a childhood name as a casual first name throughout their life. Ratfolk love to express their passions, and by adulthood have chosen a last name--once they discover the favorite subject, craft, or skill for which they would like to be known. Ratfolk adventurers might name themselves for their scholarly passions, or they might name themselves for their adventuring talents: their chosen weapon, style of fighting, or favorite spell.
Childhood Names: Betcho, Dergi, Ekko, Erbo, Kubi, Lupo, Meep, Muko, Noggins, Pippa, Sissa, Talbi, Terrick, Wiki, Zora
Adult Names: Bones, Brush, Carver, Earthmover, Fisher, Fletcher, Hammer, Healing, Joist, Mycelium, Painter, Protection, Thunderbolt, Wandmaker, Weaver, Wrenches
Seeing the World
A ratfolk adventurer likely chose that path as a way to satisfy their curiosity in a way they never could if they lived their whole life in the tunnels. As lovers of knowledge, some take to adventuring as way to pursue research and expand the collections and libraries of their society, at great risk to themselves. Some find that their curiosity about the world simply cannot be satisfied remotely, and they take on the danger of bringing resources home in exchange for the chance to travel above. Whatever calls them to adventure, Ratfolk find it challenging to go without the physical closeness of so many loved ones left behind, and are fiercely determined to someday make it home safely--without putting their home at risk.
Ratfolk Traits
Your ratfolk adventurer has certain characteristics defined by their rodent traits.Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Intelligence Score increases by 1.
Age
Ratfolk mature at about age 8, and most are expected to find their passions between the ages of 10 and 18. They can live to 35-40 years old.
Alignment
Ratfolk are most often good. Those who tend toward law are food production supervisors, archivists, engineers, tunnelers, investigators, historians, or watchfolk at undersea outposts. Those who tend toward chaos are mages, painters, carvers, entertainers, designers, inventors, writers, or philosophers. Those who lean chaotic are also more likely to become adventurers. Ratfolk are generous, kind, and almost universally gentle in demeanor.
Size
Ratfolk are between 3 and 4 feet tall and average about 35-45 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 25 feet. You also have a climbing speed of 15 feet and burrowing speed of 5 feet.
Darkvision
Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Rodent Senses
Your long whiskers increase your spacial awareness, and your rodent ancestry gives you keen senses.
You cannot be surprised while you are conscious, and you can take a turn at the beginning of a surprise round gained against your party.
Ratfolk have a +2 bonus to Initiative rolls.
Smallfolk Disguise Item
All ratfolk adventurers are equipped with a ring that allows them to magically alter their appearance to that of a gnome or halfling.
When you create your character, add and equip the item Ring of Smallfolk Appearance (HB item), which will allow you to use a limited form of the Disguise Self spell.
Scholarly Upbringing
Ratfolk are all brought up within a society devoted to researching the world. You have proficiency in the History skill.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common, Gnomish, and Rattus. The Ratfolk language, which uses modified Elvish script, is notable for its phonetic structure and elegant grammar.
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