Ratfolk
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 "humanoid animal" angle. Catfolk and dog-people, such as D&D's Lupins 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).
Basic Traits
Ratfolk are, like most tabletop beastfolk 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.
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.
Prominent Ratfolk in /tg/ Media
The most obvious and well-known of Ratfolk in anything related to /tg/ are the Skaven, who are Dark Fantasy/Dungeonpunk takes on pretty much everything about the "evil ratfolk" standard depiction.
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.
Ratfolk appear as a benevolent race of traders and merchants in the Pathfinder setting. They're highly communal, but they won't tolerate shit from anybody, least of all humans who think they can be pushed around due to being smaller. These are perhaps the second-most well-known ratfolk race of /tg/.
Their Wicked Fantasy counterparts, the Rodduns, have more of a noble gangster vibe. They're literally "Friendly Neighborhood Gangsters" in the form of giant talking rats, complete with running around in gangs called mischiefs. For more information on rodduns, check out this handy pastebin copy of all their lore from the WF corebook: https://pastebin.com/i7qJ1mSJ
Starfinder also has a ratfolk race of its own, called the Ysoki. They're still the master techno-geeks of the setting. It's deliberately made ambiguous if the ratfolk of the original Pathfinder were Ysoki or if they're a case of convergent evolution and cultural appropriation.
Nezumi are one of the only two non-hostile non-human races in the Legend of the Five Rings universe, the other being the Naga. They are characterised for being heavily resistant to Taint and for having a more practical outlook 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.
Ironically, the plane of Kamigawa in Magic: The Gathering also has a race of ratfolk called Nezumi. They inhabit the region of swampland called Takenuma and are considered Rat-type Creature cards. The most famous of these cards is Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, an oni-sworn female nezumi ninja who appeared in the Betrayers of Kamigawa expansion.
The Jawa of Star Wars have hoods that mask their faces but the novelization of the original film and The New Essential Guide to Alien Species both state they are rodents under the hoods. They are scavenging desert dwellers that supposedly have a horrible smell, but this is rarely brought up.
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. But they can't hold their elf-forms forever, forcing them to revert to their ratfolk forms every so often to recharge, usually by gorging themselves into a stupor on fresh garbage. This still occasionally surfaces on /tg/ to this day.
/tg/ also came up with a race ratfolk called the Faestir in the days when the Unified Setting was a thing, basing them upon the Burmecians of Final Fantasy. In fact, they were originally a straight-up translation of burmecians until /tg/ decided to steal the look and write their own backstory & culture for them.
In fact, ratfolk are older than many newcomers suspect; they actually appeared in the Fritz Leiber story "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: The Swords of Lankhmar", where the titular city is revealed to house a magical "Undercity" one can reach through size-shifting magical portals, which is inhabited by sapient rats, humans allied to said rats, and the halfbreed progeny of the two races. In fact, the Gray Mouser actually has sex with one of said hybrid ratwomen, who mostly looks human, save for her eight breasts.
PC Statblocks
Since 1d4chan is awesome and shares stuff like this, we provide the details for the ratfolk of Golarion. For details on the other RPG-playable breeds of Ratfolk PCs, check out the Ysoki, Nezumi, Roddun and Slitherin pages.
Pathfinder Ratfolk:
- +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength
- Humanoid (Ratfolk)
- Small
- Base speed 20 feet
- Darkvision 60 feet
- Roden Empathy: +4 racial bonus on Handle Animal checks against roduents.
- Swarming: Two ratfolk can share the same square at the same time. If they then attack the same foe, they are both considered to be flanking that foe.
- Tinker: +2 racial bonus on Craft (Alchemy), Perception and Use Magic Device.
Alternate Racial Traits:
- 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.
- Scent: Replaces Tinker. Gain the Scent trait, suffer a -2 penalty to Perception checks based on sight and hearing.
- 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.
- 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.
| The Races of Pathfinder | |
|---|---|
| Player's Handbook: | Dwarf - Elf - Gnome - Half-Elf - Half-Orc - Halfling - Human |
| Advanced Race Guide: |
Aasimar - Catfolk - Changeling - Dhampir - Duergar Drow - Fetchling - Gillman - Goblin - Grippli - Hobgoblin Ifrit - Kitsune - Kobold - Merfolk - Nagaji - Orc - Oread Ratfolk - Samsaran - Strix - Suli - Svirfneblin - Sylph Tengu - Tiefling - Undine - Vanara - Vishkanya - Wayang |
| Bestiaries: | Android - Astomoi - Caligni - Deep One Hybrid - Gathlain Gnoll - Kasatha - Munavri - Naiad - Orang-Pendak Reptoid - Rougarou - Shabti - Trox - Yaddithian |
| Adventure Paths: | Being of Ib - Kuru |
| Inner Sea Races: | Ghoran - Monkey Goblin - Lashunta - Skinwalker Syrinx - Triaxian - Wyrwood - Wyvaran |
| Ultimate Wilderness: | Vine Leshy |
| Blood of the Sea: | Adaro - Cecaelia - Grindylow - Locathah - Sahuagin - Triton |
| Planar Adventures: | Aphorite - Duskwalker - Ganzi |
Ratfolk vs. Kobolds
Since ratfolk tend to be given the role of "small, stupid, swarming, low-threat monstrous humanoid", the same role classically given to Kobolds, it's not unheard of for ratfolk to either replace kobolds or to be given their name.
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!"
It isn't impossible to feature both in the same setting, but it would require a fair bit more effort on the DM's part to explain where they come from. For example, ratfolk may favor tinkering and tech, scavenging goods from humanity's garbage dumps and reassembling them - sort of like a less batshit crazy-stupid and more skilled version of Pathfinder Goblins - whilst kobolds may prefer to tap into the spark of arcane magic within them, in better emulation of their beloved dragon kinsfolk. So thus you have a new way to play out the Magic vs. Tech paradigm.
Gallery
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In settings dominated by sword and sorcery, ratfolk will sometimes take a third option.
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Like the uvandir, roddun can draw magical powers from gemstones to increase their own potency.
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A Ranatagi is a ratfolk psychic who can create dimensional rifts with psychokinesis.
Monstergirls
 | This article or section is about Monstergirls (or a monster that is frequently depicted as a Monstergirl), something that /tg/ widely considers to be the purest form of awesome. Expect PROMOTIONS! and /d/elight in equal measure, often with drawfaggotry or writefaggotry to match. |
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 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 catgirls/cowgirls in my setting?" thread would do.
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.
Ratfolk monstergirls, when they occur, are usually... pretty close to goblins, 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 artificers is a less common depiction, but has weight given the /tg/-canon of the skaven and the ysoki.
In the Monster Girl Encyclopedia, there are three rat-girl mamono so far.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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, 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.
 | This article contains PROMOTIONS! Don't say we didn't warn you. |
- Generic Ratfolk
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It's surprising what the right art-style can do to make a female beastfolk seem cute.
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Case in point
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Then again...
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She may hail from /v/, but Freya the Burmecian was the first cute ratgirl that many fa/tg/uys encountered.
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As mentioned above, human-faced ratgirls are something of a minority on /tg/.
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But that doesn't mean they don't get some attention.
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Ratfolk don't have to be sewer-dwelling vermin, after all.
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Yes, there are folks who think shes charming, in her own scuzzy sort of way.
- Ink-Eyes
As a canonical female Kamigawa Nezumi character (practically the only one, in fact), to say nothing of being a badass ninja-witch, Ink-Eyes attracts her share of cheesecake fanart. Or even official art.
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Ink-Eyes' art from her official MtG card; you can see how little WoTC minded that she might appeal to furries.
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- MGE Ratfolk
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The original murine mamono.
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Just in case the original Large Mouse was too hyper for you.
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A kung-fu fire-rat with the only decent curves in the family, so far.
- Female Skaven
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.
- Clan Sniek
One mad skaven-fan's attempt to create an entire rogue skaven clan of free female skaven.
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Considered by some to be the least impropable way of getting a female skaven.
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A ninja ratfolk does not become less deadly for the presence of a few extra curves.
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Clan Moulder does love tinkering on itself.
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Because ratfolk girls love their guns too.
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Even Verminlords are not immune to Rule 34.
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Almost alluring enough to forget she's a daemon. Almost.
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Master Assassins need no armor to kill their targets.
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A nubile dominatrix ratgirl is either your worst nightmare or your darkest fantasy. Or both.
- Others
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Sneaking around in the human's storehouses clearly has its advantages.
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We won't make the obvious pun.
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Being high in the clan's totem pole has its perks.
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Some Master Moulders go a lot further than others when it comes to fleshcrafting.
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