Favorite Ratfolk?

[DrunkonDuty]

I also like the Nezumi. They're well developed and believable as a people.

I like the standard Golaion ratfolk too. Curious and social they make excellent candidates for exploring crashed star ships.

 

[Alzrius]

There's also Wicked Fantasy's roddun (affiliate link), though it got a rather low review from Endzeitgeist.

 

[CleverNickName]

I was always a fan of the Rattkin in the Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant computer game. They were a stereotype for a criminal underworld, an organized crime syndicate. Cheesy and campy and fun...they made me want to adapt them to D&D years before I heard about the Skaven or the Nezumi.

 

[darkbard]

Cheesy

I see what you did there.

 

[corwyn77]

Skaven, for sure.
When I started my Dungeon Fantasy game last year, I started with the included scenario and its sequel, Attack of the Rat-men. And then immediately started mutating them with warpfire. One mini-boss in the game was a giant Rat Ogre which shocked everyone by actually being stronger than the party's dedicated grappler.

 

[aramis erak]

So in my upcoming 5e game in a homebrew setting with a lot of non-D&D influences I am planning to run the Pathfinder 1e Iron Gods Adventure path in a Thundar the Barbarian/Mad Max style Numeria nation of barbarians and humanoids over ancient crashed sky cities (space ships). Reading the sourcebook one of the areas is run by Ratfolk and one of my PCs is interested in ratfolk so I am looking to explore some sources for some flavor.

What are your favorite varieties of ratfolk type stuff?

Here are the ones I am aware of:

Skaven the ratmen of Warhammer. Evil underground rats with warpstone and disease and ogre rats and their own ninjas.

Ratkin White Wolf's Werewolf rat shapechanger breed book, I am not that familiar with them but another PC is going for a druid white wolf werewolf concept so that might be neat.

Slitheren Scarred Lands D&D ratmen spawned from rats that fed on the spilled blood of titans in the Godswar.

I remember some in Rokugan but can't remember the specifics from the big 3e campagin setting book or find the old sourcebook on drivethru anymore. Can't remember if it was dual stat 3.0/Legend of the Five Rings or just L5R, either way I would only be interested in the cultural stuff that seemed cool and stealable. I vaguely remember them being the big nonhumans who were decently integrated into the setting as a friendly race.

Other stuff I should watch out for with cool narrative stuff?

Thanks.

I love the L5R Nezumi. And the WFRP Skaven.

Mouseguard is mice, not rats...

The other ratmen I've seen i gaming are all variations on wererats.

 

[GrahamWills]

Pathfinder also has a nice take of Ratfolk as who have turned their old scavenging instincts to a commercial bent as merchant tinkerers who adventure in order to find new markets and new commodities for their warrens to trade. They can also swarrm

That's my current character; his best skill is Mercantile Lore; he works as a circus "butcher" -- working the stalls and selling trinkets and foodstuffs. It's quite a fun race, even if there seem to be a few too many feats about exactly what you can stuff into your cheek pouches. My wife is playing a catfolk, so my character is terrified of her ...

The polite term for pathfinder Ratfolk is "Ysoki"

 

[TBeholder]

If you count CRPG, Ratkin from Wizardry are fun. They are noticeably mafia-like (Don Barlone?), though mostly PCs meet the street thugs.
Then again, Skaven are tinker rats with crazy toys like monowheels of doom.