Do wererats really have to be evil?

[Orius]

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

-- N

But then they would be weresquirrels.

 

[Nifft]

But then they would be weresquirrels.

Exactly.

-- N

 

[VirgilCaine]

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.

So how did they know the wererats were evil? And if they didn't have any evidence, why would they attack the wererats (other than "all wererats are evil")?

 

[Nifft]

So how did they know the wererats were evil?

The little ratty tail. There's nothing [good] with a little ratty tail.

Icky = Evil. It's well known.

-- N

 

[davidschwartznz]

The little ratty tail. There's nothing [good] with a little ratty tail.

Icky = Evil. It's well known.

I'd say killing a quarter the population of europe = evil.

Okay, technically it was the bacteria spread by the lice carried by the rats...

 

[Breakstone]

Dude, if wererats aren't evil in your campaign, I'm going to call Wizards of the Coast themselves and tell them you're not playing by the rules!

 

[kolikeos]

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.

unless you stick your finger in its cage

Just a funny little rodent full of curiosity, who loves to climb on my shirt when I open his cage. Nothing evil in him.

animals are always TN, they don't have the brains to be anything else

After all, this isn't a predator feeding on flesh, just a small rodent who likes grains and cheese.

i had a rat once, it wouldn't touch 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.

those are the kind you usually find in the streets or sewers

(By the way: the rat regularly cleans himself, much as a cat does.)

all animals do, but the ones that don't live in a cage always look the worse for wear

In any case, I think that next time I play a wizard, I will take a rat for familiar!

i always have a rat familiar
anyways, the alignment for werecreatures is based on the original werewolf (bad and scary type) and on how the animal looks (how it looks to the creator of the MM at least) all animals are TN so i see no reason why wereanimals should have any ristrictions on alignment

 

[Dark Jezter]

Strictly going by the rules, wererats are "always evil" (which means that there might be good wererats, but they are incredibly rare).

However, if you want a campaign where wererats can be good-aligned, there's nothing stopping you.

 

[physicscarp]

So how did they know the wererats were evil? And if they didn't have any evidence, why would they attack the wererats (other than "all wererats are evil")?

They didn't know for sure. The town had recently been the subject of orc attacks led by a hobgoblin (homebrew PC race), and tensions were running high. When the PC's entered town, the hobgoblin in the party was accused of it by the mayor's widow. The sheriff took the group to his office for questioning but released them on their own recog. While investigating the attacks, the PC's became suspsicious of the sheriff and his men becuase they were missing at unusual times.

This group of players is typically very paranoid, so they followed one of the deputies when he left to travel to the "lair" outside town. When the arrived, they saw the sheriff and some of his deputies speaking with wererats in their hybrid form. The made a listening check and discovered that the conversation was a back and forth argument with the "wererat" group wanting to leave town, and the sheriff's group wanting to stay. Before, anything else could be gleaned, they formulated a battle plan and dove in to battle.

So, I'd say it was a combination of the "All wererats are evil" mentality and some purposefully vague information which they didn't take the time to investigate.

 

[Shining Dragon]

Yes.

Yes they do have to be all evil.