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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JoeGKushner" data-source="post: 2010020" data-attributes="member: 1129">The Complete Guide to Wererats isn’t quite Goodman Game’s answer to the Skaven of Warhammer Fame or the Rat Men of the Scarred Lands but does add depth and dimension to the wererats.The book starts off with a piece of fiction that provides a background reason for the creation of lycanthropes in the campaign setting.  A long time ago a gathering of spellcasters were deciding what shape to take and it was decided by the majority that the rat, due to their ability to thrive among men, would be the proper form.  Others disagreed and that’s why we have other were creatures.  Some of those who disagreed were the cause of the wererats not having the perfect form, so even among the rats there is dissension.  One of the nice things about this set up is that it allows the GM to not include any new gods or pantheons in his campaign as it was a group of spellcasters that did this.The book does a good job of providing the GM with different uses for the wererat by breaking them up into different factions.  While this is indeed reminiscent of Skaven and the Rat Men, I’ve long ago decided that there is little new under the sun and can either blast something for not being 100% new and creative or find ways to use what’s presented to me.  These factions or Broods, include the Asyra, mystics who focus on creating the perfect wererat.  Of course this involves lots of experimentation but hey, what’s a rats, dire rats, or human’s life really worth in comparison to crafting the ultimate survivor?  Then there’s the Grayking, manipulators who work behind the scenes in human empires.  How about the Oath of Flesh, an order of assassins that hunts down other lycanthropes.  Want something a little more exotic?  Try the Redtooth, a clan of humanoids that are infected with lycanthropy.Now some of you might be saying, “I don’t’ want to add broods and factions.  I just want some physiological information for random encounters and other good stuff.”  Well in that case, you’ll probably want to use the Ravers, groups of independent wererats who are often unaware of the greater wererat society.  This allows the GM to bring in other brood when he’s ready and still keep using a good portion of the book.Now for those GMs concerned with how best to use these creatures, the section Combat Strategies, provides some insight into darkvision, damage reduction, healing, rat empathy, and shapechanging.  Other tactics, like lying in ambush, using others to attack your enemies, and using dire animals and other creatures, are all popular with the wererat.  Of course no strategy would be complete without mentioning one of the things rats are famous for, and that’s carrying disease.  Now one of the broods, the Dorian, are masters of crafting plagues so there’s another chance for the GM to use something that rarely gets brought up in the campaigns. One of my favorite combat methods though is simply infection.  Why fight at all when you can literally turn the enemy into a friend.Those looking to play a wererat or customize existing NPCs can use the racial traits to get quickly rolling.  Some new classes like the Shifter, a wererat devoted to developing their full rat potential or the weaver, a modified wizard that specializes in transmutation.  New skills include Control Shape and Fleshweaving.  The former allows the lycanthrope more control over their shapeshifting abilities while the latter allows the user to create disease or use torture techniques with expertise beyond the standard.Those looking for that special wererat ability won’t be disappointed by the feats.  Alternative Forms include both bat and rat, allowing the wererat a slightly different change of form.  Improved Damage Reduction provides the character with augmented damage reduction while improved healing grants the creature better healing when shifting forms.  I can hear the concern now about power balance, but several of these abilities are available only to the Shifter class.Within the Appendix, we get statistics for a wererat in all three forms, human, hybrid, and rat with a leader, the Examplar, in addition to other NPC templates like warriors and weavers.  Those looking for something a little more exotic can thank the Asyra Weavers who’ve crafted the Dragon Rat as well as the monsters from the free download.So what would this product have to do to get a four star rating?  Well, this whole series is in direction competition with the Slayer’s Guides which don’t cost as much and make use of the front interior cover to provide an anatomical drawing of the race in question.  To counter that though, there is web support for the various products from Goodman that tends to be superior to Mongoose’s material.  In this case we get several new wererat creations from Keith Baker including the Draconian Wererat, a creature featured on the cover of this book.  The bad news is that in my opinion, a book has to stand on its own merits.  Web material is nice and can lead to further uses of a book prompting further sales but it’s got to stand on its own.This gets back to what this would need for a four star rating though.  I’d say either drop the price or use the interior covers.  With some creative layout use, the web material could’ve fit into this book.  Another weakness is maps.  There is some talk of various lairs but maps make a world of difference. If the art could be kicked up just a slight notch and the layout improved just a tad more, then for a guidebook, this could get a five star rating.Those looking to add some depth to their wererats without making a lot of world changes will enjoy the Complete Guide to Wererats.</blockquote>

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