tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post3312191429208788611..comments2024-03-26T22:17:42.458-04:00Comments on Semper Initiativus Unum: What's the Matter with Giant Rats?Wayne Rossihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11347401495298367324noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-37283386321165081152013-04-09T12:59:06.774-04:002013-04-09T12:59:06.774-04:00As one of the players from the now-infamous rats-a...As one of the players from the now-infamous rats-and-copper thing, and someone who lives in a rural area, I agree entirely.<br /><br />The primary complaint -- which wasn't that big, really, but <i>really</i> got blown out of proportion -- was that the encounter didn't make sense. Nine rats, exactly 2000 copper pieces (plus some incidental rather valuable jewelry... it was horribly evident to usthat James was just rolling randomly and throwing things together.<br /><br />What you describe, giant rats an an ongoing thing, opportunists that will pick at you from the crevices when it's advantageous to them, but they generally aren't worth the trouble to hunt down until they annoy you enough... this really, <i>really</i> seems right to me.<br /><br />Justin Alexander suggested (in a forum, as I recall, no link handy) inflating the encounter into the weird, where the nine rats are dancing around an idol and the copper coins are more or less neatly heaped in appropriate places for a ceremony, and that would have been pretty good too. Weird, imaginative, and could possibly have gone somewhere (one of the rats breaks away from the 'ceremony' and makes a motion like it's asking for a donation... what do you do?).<br /><br />The problem wasn't 'rats and copper', but the lack of imagination demonstrated. Justin had a good idea, but a dungeon full of that sort of thing could seem like an odd place indeed. Your idea of more realistic, and potentially really annoying, behavior really appeals to me.<br /><br />My players are going to regret my reading this.Keith Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08411665536982769550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-32144047094551819042013-03-14T23:46:41.708-04:002013-03-14T23:46:41.708-04:00Holmes in his Sample Dungeon had rat tunnels from ...Holmes in his Sample Dungeon had rat tunnels from which the rats could burst through the dirt walls into the crypt. Delta <a href="http://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/2012/11/fearful-symmetry.html" rel="nofollow">suggested</a> this was inspired by Lovecraft's Rats in the Walls.Zenopus Archiveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14069501995927451558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-58026918541837695982013-03-14T17:00:19.415-04:002013-03-14T17:00:19.415-04:00This is good stuff here. Interesting comcepts I wi...This is good stuff here. Interesting comcepts I will definitely put into play. Keep it up!The Azebronitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607320519752632328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-3471541116392015452013-03-14T16:46:45.406-04:002013-03-14T16:46:45.406-04:00I like your thinking here - I've taken to repl...I like your thinking here - I've taken to replacing giant rats with various things, and when not doing that reading them as slightly larger than the D&D norm. <br /><br />More a hunting pack of crafty predators than darting scavengers. Rats the size of a medium dog (say a pitbull) are dangerous and when they run in groups of ten or more, a real threat to a 1st level party. I also let them get around most space related limitations to their attacks, leaping onto defenders and climbing around each other to nip. Also what of giant "rat kings" you'd think in D&D land that six to twenty giant rats with their tails fused together would be able to cast spells like a 7th level cleric at least. Well something like that. <br /><br />I guess this is to say - you're right, giant rats need some attention but can be a lot more than a cliched random encounter.Gus Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872819206286105195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-86907005303645938982013-03-14T16:05:50.824-04:002013-03-14T16:05:50.824-04:00Nice. I just ran a party through a giant rat enco...Nice. I just ran a party through a giant rat encounter--or rather, I read "Giant rats" in the module text and decided to skip it. Had I read this post first, something far more interesting might have come of it.Timrod https://www.blogger.com/profile/15308269015770538709noreply@blogger.com