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| Despite how much /tg/ doesn't like to admit it, when it comes to designing non-human races to fill a setting, if an author doesn't go for the "rubber forehead" angle - "human, but X", ala the [[elf]], the [[dwarf]], the [[halfling]], the [[orc]], etc - then usually their go-to for race design is the [[Furry|"humanoid animal"]] angle. [[Catfolk]] and dog-people, such as D&D's [[Lupin]]s and [[Gnolls]], are the most common races of this variety to show up, but other races do occasional rear their heads. One of the most common of these uncommon variants are the Ratfolk; humanoid rats (or, more rarely, mice).
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| ==Basic Traits==
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| Ratfolk are, like most tabletop furry races, colored by their bestial basis and perception of that race in common culture. So, at the least, ratfolk tend to be shorter-lived than humans, but produce large families. Because of the rat's general negative symbolism in Western culture as a filthy, swarming, disease-spreading pest, ratfolk are usually a "bad guy" race; they tend to be dirty scavengers if not outright evil, often of dubious intelligence, prone to diseases, naturally scheming and/or treacherous, and generally unpleasant. Needless to say, this slots them heavily into the "obvious bad guy" niche.
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| Ironically, those who have actually studied rats usually report that most of these traits are pretty much wrong. For example, rats are fastidious groomers, very social, and quite emphatic.
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| ==Prominent Ratfolk in /tg/ Media==
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| The most obvious and well-known of Ratfolk in anything related to /tg/ are the [[Skaven]], who are dark fantasypunk takes on pretty much everything about the "evil ratfolk" standard depiction.
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| Ratfolk called [[Slitherin]] appear as a Titanspawned race in the [[Scarred Lands]] setting. Originally purely evil, the 5th edition relaunch upgraded them to PC status.
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| Ratfolk appear as a benevolent race of traders and merchants in the [[Pathfinder]] setting. Their [[Wicked Fantasy]] counterparts, the Rodduns, have more of a noble gangster vibe. [[Starfinder]] also has a ratfolk race of its own, called the [[Ysoki]].
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| Nezumi are one of the only two non-hostile non-human races in the [[Legend of the Five Rings]] universe, the other being the [[Lamia|Naga]]. They are characterised for being heavily resistant to Taint and for having a more practical outview than the honorable-to-the-point-of-stupidity not!Japanese humans. The Crab clan, which shares their practical outlook, has a standing alliance with them that's survived several editions, and severe punishments await any dumbass that shows up with one of their heads instead of a goblin's, as they've just demonstrated a stupid inability to distinguish between friend and foe.
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| One memetically infamous thread came up with the idea that [[elves]] are actually a species of shapeshifting rats who adopt the "sleek, beautiful, glamorous, all-too-human" elven form out of shame at their own rodent-like features and to better mingle with the other races.
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| ===Pathfinder PC Statblocks===
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| Since 1d4chan is awesome and shares stuff like this... Check out the [[Ysoki]] page for their stats in [[Pathfinder]]/[[Starfinder]], and the [[Slitherin]] page for their stats in [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]].
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| '''Ratfolk:'''
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| ::+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength
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| ::Humanoid (Ratfolk)
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| ::Small
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| ::Base speed 20 feet
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| ::Darkvision 60 feet
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| ::Roden Empathy: +4 racial bonus on Handle Animal checks against roduents.
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| ::Swarming: Two ratfolk can share teh same square at the same time. If they then attack the same foe, they are both considered to be flanking that foe.
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| ::Tinker: +2 racial bonus on Craft (Alchemy), Perception and Use Magic Device.
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| ''Alternate Racial Traits:''
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| ::Cornered Fury: Replaces '''Swarming'''. When at 50% or less of max hit points and with no conscious ally within 30 feet, gain +2 to melee attack rolls and +2 to AC.
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| ::Scent: Replaces '''Tinker'''. Gain the Scent trait, suffer a -2 penalty to Perception checks based on sight and hearing.
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| ::Skulk: Replaces '''Tinker''''. +2 racial bonus on Stealth checks, suffer only a -5 penalty on Stealth checks against creatures they have distracted with a Bluff check.
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| ::Unnatural: Replaces '''Rodent Empathy'''. Suffer a -4 penalty to all Charisma-based skill checks against Animal-type creatures, and their starting attitude towards the ratfolk is one step worse. Gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC against Animal-type creatures.
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| '''Roddun:'''
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| ::+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom
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| ::Medium
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| ::Base speed 30 feet, Climb 30 feet
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| ::Blindsight 60 feet (Ex)
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| ::Plagueborn: Immune to non-magical diseases, +1 racial bonus on Fortitude saves against magical diseases. This bonus increases by +1 at every level divisible by 5 (so 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, etc).
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| ::Fast Healing: 1 hit point per round. This healing increases by +1 at every level divisible by 5 (so 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, etc).
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| ::Tooth & Nail: 1 Natural Bite Attack, 2 Natural Claw Attacks.
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| ::Available Classes: [[Barbarian]], [[Bard]], [[Fighter]], [[Ranger]], [[Rogue]], [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|Sorcerer]], [[Alchemist]]
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| ::Restricted Classes: [[Wizard]] - Junk Wizard archetype only, [[Ninja]] - Skootztik archetype only
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| In addition to the above, in a core game of Wicked Fantasy, a roddun also has this trait:
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| ::Mischief: Start play with 3 + Charisma modifier mischief points, and gain 3 + Charisma modifier mischief points each time you gain a level.
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| Mischief Points are a unique racial mechanic used for a sub-system to represent the race's mafioso-like tendency to establish control over districts in the cities. These rules haven't been reprinted because they're pretty niche.
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| ==Ratfolk vs. Kobolds==
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| Since ratfolk tend to be given the role of "small, stupid, swarming, low-threat monstrous humanoid", the same role classically given to [[Kobold]]s, it's not unheard of for ratfolk to either replace kobolds or to be given their name.
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| For example, in the [[Warcraft]] setting, kobolds are dim-witted ratfolk miners with an obsession with candles and characterized by their broken "English". Hence the infamous meme, "You no take candle!"
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| ==Monstergirls==
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| {{Monstergirls}}
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| Like with most [[beastfolk]] on /tg/, the depiction of ratfolk in an attractive light is a contentious issue. Whilst sexy fan-art of female [[Skaven]] and [[Legend of the Five Rings|Nezumi]] - mostly the female nezumi [[ninja]] known as Ink-Eyes - occasionally pops up on threads where people see an excuse for it, it naturally brings the anti-[[furry]] brigade out of the woodwork when it happens. And portraying them in typical monstergirl fashion often earns the same kind of mockery that, say, putting up a "how do I use [[catgirl]]s/[[cowgirl]]s in my setting?" thread would do.
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| But... not always. There are a surprising amount of fans of real-life rats on /tg/, and whilst portraying them in a sensual light is often a little uncomfortable, these fans still leap on the idea of portraying ratfolk in a role outside of the negative stereotype that skaven so wholeheartedly embrace.
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| Ratfolk monstergirls, when they occur, are usually... pretty close to [[goblin]]s, actually. They often fall into the same fetish fuel depictions as goblins, specifically in the Breederphile and Pervy Tinker format. Very physically affectionate, prone to polygamy (if not outright slutty), and usually very enthusiastic about expanding their family. Such beastgirls being adept [[artificer]]s is a less common depiction, but has weight given the /tg/-canon of the [[skaven]] and the [[ysoki]].
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| In the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], there are three rat-girl mamono so far.
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| * The basic "Large Mouse", a shout-out to that staple of fantasy low-level monsters, the [[Giant Rat]], is a pack-hunting, mischievous, cocky [[loli]] mousegirl who uses strength-in-numbers to capture men and fuck them into submission, piling on in lusty squeaking hordes. They are prone to being overwhelmed by their own built-up demonic energy, making them surprisingly aggressive and prone to biting people - a tactic to more easily swell their ranks by turning a man into an [[incubus]] and any women into new Large Mice.
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| * The Wonderland variant "Dormouse" is a sleepy mousegirl [[loli]] who spends most of her time lost in lustful dreams, relying on the abundance of demonic energy that she exudes whilst horny to turn a wandering man into an [[incubus]] to catch herself a physical mate. Steeping a dormouse in tea permeates the drink with her demonic energy; such contaminated tea induces wonderful erotic dreams, but transforms women into more dormice.
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| * The Hinezumi is a mousegirl from the not!China "Mist Continent". This is a passionate, dedicated, butt-kicking busty martial-artist mousegirl with the ability to envelop herself in an aura of burning flames as she fights. Naturally, [[Magical Realm|given what kind of setting this is]], splashing her with water will make her into a meek and stuttering little thing, easy prey for a dominating mate.
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| ===Gallery===
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| {{Promotions}}
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| ;Generic Ratfolk
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| <center>
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| <gallery>
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| File:Ratfolk Adventurer 1.jpg
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| File:Ratfolk Adventurer 2.jpg
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| File:Ratfolk Adventurer 3.jpg
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| File:Nezumi - Ink-Eyes 1.jpg
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| File:Nezumi - Ink-Eyes 2.jpg
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| File:Nezumi - Ink-Eyes 3.png
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| File:Nezumi - Ink-Eyes 4.jpg
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| File:Nezumi - Ink-Eyes 5.jpg
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| File:Nezumi - Ink-Eyes 6.jpg
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| File:Nezumi - Ink-Eyes 7.jpg
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| File:Freya Crescent.jpg
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| File:Ratwoman Mage.jpg
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| File:Ratfolk Scribe.png
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| </gallery>
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| </center>
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| ;MGE Ratfolk
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| <center>
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| <gallery>
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| File:MGE Large Mouse.jpg|The original murine mamono.
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| File:MGE Dormouse.jpg|Just in case the original Large Mouse was too hyper for you.
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| File:MGE Hinezumi.jpg|A [[monk|kung-fu]] fire-rat with the only decent curves in the family, so far.
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| </gallery>
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| </center>
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| ;Female Skaven
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| {{Heresy}}
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| Because you were warned that fem-[[skaven]] are a thing in the steamy underbelly of /tg/, where /d/ and /trash/ have their influence. If it really sets off your [[heresy]] meter so much, then think of them as generic ratfolk with the skaven's scavenger aesthetic.
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| <center>
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| <gallery>
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| File:Assassin of Clan Sniek.jpg
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| File:Grey Seer of Clan Sniek.jpg
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| File:Gutter Runner of Clan Sniek.jpg
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| File:Master Molder of Clan Sniek.jpg|[[Clan Moulder]] does love tinkering on itself.
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| File:Sorceress of Clan Sniek.jpg
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| File:Verminqueen.jpg
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| File:Audience with the Verminqueen.jpg
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| File:Master Assassin of Clan Sniek.jpg
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| File:Packmaster of Clan Sniek.jpg
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| File:Female Gutter Runner.jpg
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| File:Female Poison Wind Globadier.jpg
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| File:Female Stormvermin.jpg
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| File:Futa Master Molder.jpg|Some Master Moulders go a lot further than others.
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| </gallery>
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| </center>
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| ==See Also==
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| *[[Skaven]]
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| {{Pathfinder-Races}}
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| [[Category: Monsters]] [[Category: Dungeons & Dragons Races]]
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