Ferek

Ferekkin (singular: Ferek) are a race of ratfolk native to the World of Farland setting for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, detailed in the splatbook "Realms Under Shadow". Residents of an underdark realm in the land of Yrrkune, they were once a race of particularly savage and cunning giant rats - just smart enough to use flint weaponry and imitate human speech. They waged bloody wars with the people of Yrrkune over territory and food, which, to these proto-ferekkin, was "anything made of flesh or vegetation that can't run away fast enough", until finally the Kunese accepted vassalage under the Dweller in Wintervale, the setting's Sauron analogue, in exchange for the military might needed to drive the ferekkin down into their deepest portion of their underground lairs and seal them there. There, bottlenecked in the resource-starved depths of the earth, the ferekkin had only two choices; evolve or die. Miraculously, they succeeded at the former, and now are unquestionably a more noble, benevolent, and culturally advanced race than the Kunese themselves, who have barely advanced at all in thousands of years of slavery!

In that pressure cooker, where starvation and disease ran rampant, survival favored the smartest, the toughest, and also the most sociable - those ferekkin who could form alliances with others, could outthink their bestial rivals, and survive longer on what limited food they had were the ones who thrived and bred. Their metabolic rates declined, a process aided by their developing of monk-like systems of subjugating the body to the will, and each generation grew hardier and longer-lived than the former. They formed complex social bonds, and learned how to fight with the power of ki. And thusly, a millennium after they were presumably driven to their deaths, they returned with a vengeance, repelling the Kunese occupiers and forcing them to adhere to a truce, or face total military annihilation. The Kunese hatefully accepted, but have done their best to maintain some manner of blockade ever since. The ferekkin have waited patiently since then, watching the forces of darkness on the surface, and holding themselves above their savage ancestry, seeking to aid the forces of good in the world however they can. Some exceptional individuals even leave the safety and comfort of their warrens behind and dare to venture onto the surface to take up arms against evil as adventurers.

PC Stats

Ability Score Increase: +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom

Size: Small

Speed: 30 feet

Darkvision 60 feet

Prehensile Tail: Your tail can be used as a third limb to accomplish feats of crude manipulation, such as manipulating or holding objects. It also gives you Advantage on Athletics checks made to climb or swim, and on Acrobatics checks made to keep your balance.

Wise: You can gain Advantage on a Wisdom saving throw or ability check once per day.