Race: Ratfolk

Crafty Innovators

In their scramble to find new ways to survive, many ratfolk find innovative ways to use the limited resources at their disposal. These ratfolk make for natural tinkerers, artificers, and engineers, and their creations are built to deliver powerful results at any cost. This mindset results in many brilliant but perilous designs. The weapons created by ratfolk are often as dangerous to the wielder as the weapon's target. Successful engineers have others test their devices for them, only using the most tried and true designs themselves.

Ratfolk Names

In some settings, ratfolk take names similar to those of nearby humanoids. Other times, ratfolk develop naming conventions of their own. First names are usually short, squeaky, and chittering. Surnames emphasize imposing traits or deeds, and ratfolk often take on new surnames they find useful for maintaining their status. Some ratfolk will even discard their first name altogether and only be referred to by an imposing title. Ratfolk names generally don't distinguish between the genders.
Ratfolk Names: Skeetch Plaguebreath, Threk Bonechewer, Rikket Demoneyes, Gutterking, Kreet Craventail, Rotfang

Ratfolk Traits

Your ratfolk has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age. Ratfolk live mature quickly and usually live brutally short lives. They reach adulthood at 8 and have a natural lifespan of 40 years, though most don't even live half that long.

Alignment. The cutthroat nature of ratfolk society results in them leaning heavily towards chaos over order. Their emphasis on survival at all costs pulls ratfolk towards neutrality, if not outright evil, though exceptional individuals may push back against this.

Size. Ratfolk are usually shorter and scrawnier than the average human. Adult ratfolk usually reach 4 to 5 feet in height and weigh 70 to 110 pounds, with exceptionally well-fed individuals reaching 6 feet and weighing as much as 160 pounds. Most ratfolk walk with a hunch, making them appear shorter. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet

Darkvision. . 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.

Crevice Crawler. You can move through and stop in a space large enough to fit a creature one size smaller than you without squeezing.

Bite. Your razor-sharp jaws are a natural weapon you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice) instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. You can also use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack rolls you make with your bite.

Overwhelming Swarm. When you damage a target with an attack or a spell, you can cause the attack or spell to deal extra 1d4 damage for each of your allies within 5 feet of the target that isn't incapacitated. You can benefit from up to 3 allies this way. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

At 5th level, the damage dice change to d6s. At 10th level, they become d8s. At 15th level, they become d10s. And at 20th level, they become d12s.

Scurry Away. When a creature you can see ends its turn, you can move up to half your speed away from it as a reaction, and you are frightened of it until the end of your next turn. This movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks. While frightened, you can only take the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Hide action. This trait ignores immunity to the frightened condition.

Verminous Instincts. You gain proficiency in Perception.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Undercommon.

Ratfolk Adventurers

Most settings do not feature ratfolk, let alone playable ratfolk. However, the DM and some players in the group may want the opportunity to try playing such a character without needing to shoehorn an entire race into the world. In this case, the following options can provide some possible origins for ratfolk individuals in settings otherwise devoid of them:

New Ratfolk Feats

Cunning Crafter

Prerequisite : Ratfolk Race

You've become adept at tinkering and using devices in devious ways, granting you the following benefits:

• Increase your Dexterity or Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You can use your action to perform object interactions and use magic items while frightened by your Scurry Away trait.
• You gain proficiency with one type of artisan's tools of your choice, and you can use that type of tool as a spellcasting focus for any spell you cast that uses Intelligence as its spellcasting ability.

Devious Adversary

Prerequisite : Ratfolk Race

You've practiced scurrying in and out of combat and dispatching foes in underhanded ways, granting you the following benefits:

• Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• When you use your Scurry Away trait on a creature within 5 feet of you, you may choose to make a bite attack with disadvantage against that creature as part of the same action before you move.
• When a creature you have been frightened of by your Scurry Away feature since the start of your last turn misses an attack against you, any fear you have of that creature ends. You may then use your reaction to move up to half your speed towards it. If this movement brings you within 5 feet of the creature, or you were already within 5 feet of it, you may make a bite attack against it with advantage as part of your reaction.

Hordemaster

Prerequisite : Ratfolk Race

You’ve learned how to summon and command hordes of rats to devour your foes, granting you the following benefits:

• Increase your Strength or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

• As an action, you can summon a number of giant rats equal to your proficiency bonus, which appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within 30 feet of you. The summoned rats are friendly to you and your companions. In combat, the rats share your initiative count, but they each take their turns immediately after yours in any order you choose.
  On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action to command any of the rats within 30 feet of you (if you control multiple creatures, you can command any or all of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). You decide what action the rats will take and where they will move during their next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular area or run up and attack a specific creature.
  If you issue no commands, they can move and use their reaction on their own, but the only action they take on their turn is the Dodge action. Once given an order, the rats continue to follow it until their task is complete or they end their turn more than 30 feet away from you. Each rat disappears after it drops to 0 hit points, after 10 minutes have passed, or you use this feature to summon more rats.
  Once you summon rats this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher. When you summon rats this way, you create a number of rats equal to twice the level of the spell slot expended.

Plague Rat

Prerequisite : Ratfolk Race

Your body is riddled with diseases that perversely grant you vitality while also allowing your bites to inflict debilitating infections, thus granting you the following benefits:

• Increase your Constitution or Strength score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• Once per turn, when you hit a creature with your bite attack, you can force it to make a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier) or become infected by your disease. While it is diseased, whenever the infected creature makes an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, it must roll a d4 and subtract the number rolled from the ability check, attack roll, or saving throw. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the disease on a success. Once a creature is cured of the disease, or it succeeds on saving throw against the disease, it can't become infected by this disease again for 24 hours.

Tail Master

Prerequisite : Ratfolk Race
You've trained your tail coordination to the point where you can use it like a third hand. You may use your tail to perform actions you would normally need a free hand for. Your tail can wield simple weapons with the light property, but no other types of weapons and no shields. When you take an attack action while wielding a weapon with your tail, you may make an additional off-hand attack, allowing you a maximum of two off-hand attacks.

Under Speaker

Prerequisite : Ratfolk Race
You've learned how to communicate with your fellow rodents, keeping you well informed by a vast network of verminous spies and granting you the following benefits:

• Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

• You gain the ability to cast the beast sense and speak with animals, but only as rituals and only targeting rats. The spells' spell casting ability is the ability increased by this feat.

• You can cast animal friendship and animal messenger, but only targeting rats. Once you cast either of these spells in this way, you can't cast that spell in this way again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast these spells using spell slots you have of the appropriate level. The spells' spellcasting ability is the ability increased by this feat.

Unrivalled Killer

Prerequisite : Ratfolk Race
You know how best to capitalize on any opening left by your opponent, granting you the following benefits:

• Increase your Dexterity or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You learn the true strike cantrip. You can cast it without somatic components, and Wisdom is your spellcasting ability when casting it. You can cast this spell even while you are frightened by your Scurry Away trait. If an attack that was granted advantage by the spell hits, you can use your Overwhelming Swarm trait even if you have no uses of the feature left, and doing so does not expend any uses of it.
• When you use your Overwhelming Swarm feature against a creature that can't see you, you gain the maximum number of additional damage dice possibly granted by that feature, regardless of the number of allies within 5 feet of your target.

Ratfolk NPCs

The following traits can be added to any NPC that's not a specific race to make it into a ratfolk NPC. A pair of example ratfolk NPC stat blocks have also been included showing NPCs from the Monster Manual with ratfolk traits applied to them.

• Darkvision. The ratfolk has darkvision out to 60 feet.

• Crevice Crawler. The ratfolk can move through and stop in a space large enough to fit a creature one size smaller than it without squeezing.

• Keen Smell. The ratfolk has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

• Overwhelming Mass. The first time each turn that the ratfolk hits a creature with an attack, it deals an extra 1 damage per each ally within 5 feet of the target that isn't incapacitated, up to a maximum of 3 extra damage.

• Scurry Away. The ratfolk has the following reaction option:
  When an enemy the ratfolk can see ends its turn, the ratfolk can move up to half its speed away from the creature and become frightened of it until the end of the creature's next turn. This movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks. While frightened this way, the ratfolk can only take the dash, disengage, dodge, or hide action. This feature ignores immunity to the frightened condition.

Art Credits

• Mukotai Ambusher -
  Raymond Swanland, Wizards of the Coast
• Nezumi Bladeblesser -
  Ilse Gort, Wizards of the Coast
• Nezumi Prowler -
  Joseph Weston, Wizards of the Coast
• Ruin Rat -
  Shreya Shetty, Wizards of the Coast
• Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni,
  Wayne Reynolds, Wizards of the Coast
• Nezumi Shadow-Watcher,
  Pete Venters, Wizards of the Coast
• Skullsnatcher,
  Matt Cavotta, Wizards of the Coast

Revisions