Wererat

A wererat is a therianthropic creature in the shape of a rat. The term is a neologism coined in analogy to werewolf, used in the fantasy or horror genre since the 1970s. The concept has since become common in role playing games and fantasy fiction inspired by them. Were-rats are commonly portrayed as sewer-dwelling scavengers and opportunistic thieves. Brad Steiger has written about wererat sightings in Oregon, mostly by children.

Games

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the wererat is one of several different types of animalistic forms. They are classified as "lycanthropes", despite the fact that the term reflects a lupine, or wolven, form. In the Oriental Adventures supplemental sourcebook, they appear as the Japanese mythological creatures, the Nezumi; these "ratlings" as they are often called by humans, are a race of bipedal ratlike humanoids. They are also found in various games inspired by or based on Dungeons & Dragons such as Legend of the Five Rings, NetHack and Neverwinter Nights.

Wererat (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the wererat is one of several different types of animalistic forms. They are classified as "lycanthropes", despite the fact that the term reflects a lupine, or wolven, form.

Publication history

The wererat (or rat men) first appeared in the Greyhawk supplement (1975).

The wererat appeared in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual (1977). The wererat appeared as a player character race in Dragon #24 (April 1979).

The wererat appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977, 1981, 1983). The wererat appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991). The greater wererat appeared as a player character class in Night Howlers (1992). In a review of Night Howlers by game designer Rick Swan, he notes that wererats are protected from normal weapons when in human form.

The wererat appeared in the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), and was reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The wererat was expanded in further detail in Dragon #251 (September 1998).