Do wererats really have to be evil?

[Turanil]

Everytime I have used wererats in D&D games, I made them evil stinking bastards of the worst sort. And I have used them often, as I in fact quite like these critters. Then, the MM states that wererats are always (lawful) evil.

However, I have now a "problem"...

I am taking care of someone else's rat while that person is on vacation. (I mean, in real life.) And then, I have taken a liking for the small animal. This kind little critter wouldn't harm anybody. Just a funny little rodent full of curiosity, who loves to climb on my shirt when I open his cage. Nothing evil in him. After all, this isn't a predator feeding on flesh, just a small rodent who likes grains and cheese. Now, I think next time I portray wererats in a game, I will have them to be really shy creatures suffering from prejudice, not dangerous and bloodthirsty stinking abominations. (By the way: the rat regularly cleans himself, much as a cat does.) In any case, I think that next time I play a wizard, I will take a rat for familiar!

 

[Romnipotent]

Always Evil is 95%... Or how I like to think of it; 5% Good, Low in essential vitamins.

 

[Aris Dragonborn]

Everytime I see a Wererat, I think Splinter from TMNT - or the Skaven from Warhammer.

You could create a small monastic order composed entirely of wererats. They seek to control their lycanthropic urges through the strict regimen of meditation and martial training. In time, they hope to learn to master their animalistic side.

Well, that's not exactly a masterpiece, but you get the general idea.

 

[der_kluge]

Rule zero, dude.

Wererats are what you want them to be.

 

[physicscarp]

I actually ran a homebrew game sans alignments, where the PC's discovered that the village they were in was a breeding ground for wererats. I had developed them so that the only way for wererats (and all lycanthropes) to reproduce was to infect others. It didn't make one evil, but it certainly changed your outlook on things. Many prominent people, including some friendly to the PC's, were wererats.

Eventually, they tracked these "creatures" to a lair (actually a home away from non-converted townsfolk) outside of town, where they discovered the sheriff of the town and some of his deputies conversing with the wererats. Without warning or listening to the conversation, the PC's leaped into the fray and slaughtered all of the wererats, including the deputies. The sheriff surrendered.

At this point, the PC's were faced with a wonderful dilemma - Do we kill the sheriff? He's unarmed and bleeding. When asked, he says he'll certainly continue to "breed", just as any other creature would. He's not going to go and bite every person he sees, but overtime, he will certainly sire a number of other wererats. He does work to protect the town in everyway and cares for the people a great deal. So, the PC's find themselves with this deliciously moral ambiguity (I like those! )

In the end, they couldn't bring themselves to kill him, and they left him in the lair.

 

[IronWolf]

If changing their alignment fits into the plot or what you want to see in your world, by all means change it. Despite what the MM may say, you should go with what works best for you and your game. The rules police won't come knocking!

 

[Tonguez]

Of course you can have good Were rats, I'm currently working on a setting with Lawful Good Werewolf Rangers and Gnoll Paladins! (the main culture descends from nomadic hunters and their god has the form of a Wolf-Dog)

 

[Hjorimir]

D&D is nothing more than a set of rules to resolve conflicts (be it physical combat, social, skills, etc.).

Don't let what is presented limit your creation of the games you play. Just do what needs to be done in order to have fun while maintaining some sort of game balance and I'm sure it will be great.

 

[painandgreed]

They are what you want to make them and could come up with many excuses for them to be good (or neutral) if you wanted. Apparently, lycanthropes have an inherent alignment that is caused by their curse/disease. Wererats are evil because of their association with filth, plague, and secrecy. A very urban look at rats. You could say there is a chaotic good strain of wererats, a more rural version. It might be a the original strain until it was corrupted by some magics or curse. Perhaps the original strain was true neutral but then it split into the good and evil strains. From there you could even have them in conflict with warring wererat factions.

 

[Nifft]

If they're clean and CG, they must have a fluffy tail. It's required.

-- N