Rat

Basic Information

Rats are medium-sized rodents which are generally regarded as vermin. They are often associated with plagues.

They are also used in laboratories as test animals, and occasionally as pets.

"Rat on A Stick" appears in quite a lot of genres as primitive fast food (and is the staple of Dwarvern "Hole Food" in the Pratchettverse), and indeed is consumed in several real world cultures - although the breeds of rat that humans actually eat are generally not the same ones that infest our cities: rats are one of the very few species that SAS survival instructors directly instruct trainees not to consider as a food source.

See Also

• Rat King

• News: Archaeologists Discover Biggest Rat That Ever Lived
• News: Palisades Rathouse

Sources

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia entry

2. Fiction: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

3. Movie: Willard (1971)

4. Movie: The Secret of NIMH (1982)

Game and Story Use

• Use rats liberally if you want to gross out your player characters.
• Rats often dwell in dilapidated buildings and old sewers; just the kinds of places adventurers are likely to explore.
• A single rat, or a small group of rats skittering in the background make a nice way to establish a creepy atmosphere, even if you don't plan to sic an enormous swarm of them on the players later on.
  • Aw, go ahead. Swarms of rats are fun.
• A domesticated rat can make a good familiar or animal companion.
  • Just ask Ron Weasely. Wait. Bad example.
  • Just ask Willard.
    • You know, Willard? Horror movie? 1971? Geez, kids these days.
• A lab rat that has been experimented on by Weird Science might exhibit unnatural qualities.
  • Such as high intelligence
  • Unnatural viciousness
  • Regeneration/Hard to Kill
  • Venomous or infectous bite (the latter of which a normal rat might have)
  • Trapped by Dean Koontz covers this pretty wll.