Roleplaying a were-rat character?

[TheCorsairMalac]

Hu is a compulsive liar, a subtle thief, and an attention whore who wants people to think he's some sort of wizard. When he learned about were-rats an idea struck him. The ability to transform was inherently wizardly, and their nimble nature would boost his own talents. So he sought them out, and submitted himself to the curse. All in secret of course. Hard to pass it off as a spell if everyone knows the truth.

So that's the gist of my D&D 3.5 rogue character. But now that he's a were-rat, and transformed willfully, his alignment has fallen from chaotic neutral to chaotic evil. I'm looking for suggestions of were-rat themed evilness.

What sorts of evil mischief do YOU think a were-rat should get into?

[Geddy2112]

Become a complete and utter materialist. Let your evil manifest in your caring for objects but a complete disregard for life(possibly even letting your own suffer to gain more...stuff). Fill yourself with envy and avarice to the point of obsession.

Steal anything of value that you can, and horde it. Steal and horde so much that you end up living in squalor, but have lots of trinkets and magic gizmos to make you seem like a magic user.

Eat anything and everything. Its harder to steal gold from a stomach than a pocket. Consume food so other people can't have it. Poison things with a toxin you are immune to so nobody can have it if they take it from you.

[Maglubiyet]

I would think the first few gaming sessions would be about Hu covering his obligations to his new were-rat patrons, because they certainly didn't give him this "gift" out of the kindness of their hearts. Either that or him dodging hits by a vengeful lycanthropic thieves' guild after they realized they'd been duped.

[Vrock_Summoner]

I second Geddy's suggestion.

Though it scares me slightly that I'm tempted to call his solution "a valid RP reason to become what many people play adventurers as anyway."

[TheCorsairMalac]

Ah! These are all good ideas. :)

Hoarding things is such a rat-like thing to do. I'm definitely going to use that idea. Steal everything that isn't bolted down and hoard it all in a cluttered room on our boat.

Animal appetites, and eating in general, were something I'd thought of. Perhaps some stealthy cannibalism. Hmm...

Maglubiyet, you bring up a good point. Hu did in fact pay a member of a lycanthropic thieves guild, but it was off the books, so he and the guy that infected him would probably see some backlash from the guild. Sadly, my DM has an overall plot he's just starting, so it may have to be skipped. I'll pass the idea along though. :)

[Garktz]

Look for "Skaven" lore from warhammer fantasy.
They are basically humanoid rats, very similar to a were-rat.
They are evil and really chaotic, their clans would group to go to war, just to backstab and the leave other clan mid-fight just to get some advantage over them...

Also, "Styx: master of shadows" pc stealth based game, you are a goblin thief/assassin, but i think its a great concept and im sure it can inspire you

[Flickerdart]

Rats don't hoard. Rats chew. They feed on everything, and can cause severe structural damage that nobody notices before it's too late.

Have him ramp up his stealing. What he can't steal, he destroys. Use his deception skills to destroy the social standing of the people he steals from, so that nobody in the community feels compassion for them, and the social net they expected to catch them in the case of a disaster suddenly falls apart. The Joneses got robbed? Serves them right for being baby-murdering cultists!

[Geddy2112]

I second Geddy's suggestion.

Though it scares me slightly that I'm tempted to call his solution "a valid RP reason to become what many people play adventurers as anyway."

It is indeed bad when people who try to pass off chaotic neutral as blank slate to just do whatever they want. Even worse when the so called neutral and good heroes are cold blooded psychopaths. A CE wererat is being honest to what he is. There is nothing wrong with being a stealing, biting evil wererat, just call it what it is.


Look for "Skaven" lore from warhammer fantasy.


You could probably find a cheap single skaven model on ebay if your group uses models and a map.


Ah! These are all good ideas. :)

Hoarding things is such a rat-like thing to do. I'm definitely going to use that idea. Steal everything that isn't bolted down and hoard it all in a cluttered room on our boat.

Animal appetites, and eating in general, were something I'd thought of. Perhaps some stealthy cannibalism. Hmm...


I don't think a rat would steal everything, and what you steal depends on how ratlike you are. If you are in full wererat mode, you might take some rotten food over the crown jewels. A good mix of stealing valuable things and taking random things to put in your nest/den/lair of filth is a nice mix. Nobody thinks to look for the crown jewels in a pile of trash.

[Maglubiyet]

I don't think a rat would steal everything, and what you steal depends on how ratlike you are. If you are in full wererat mode, you might take some rotten food over the crown jewels.

Real-life rats are attracted to shiny baubles. They steal jewelry and hide it in their nests.