Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.

Rats have of course been in the game since its beginnings. They have an entry of their own in the Monster Manual and are present in the animal appendix in the Monster Vault.

The Lore

Rats are real world animals and have been historically reviled both for their propensity for eating people’s food stores and for carrying disease. That last one is something of an undeserved reputation, as the worst diseases are actually carried by fleas and not by the rats themselves.

Calling someone a “rat” is usually an insult implying cowardice, selfishness, and treachery, and D&D tends to ascribe these traits to rat-like monsters. Rats themselves are such a classic staple of low-level D&D play that they’re a bit cliche. “Clearing rats from a basement” was used as the tutorial quest for so many D&D-like video-games that the phrase has come to mean “trivial, boring and predictable adventure” on the tabletop.

In 4e, individual mundane rats are pretty much harmless to an adventurer, but they can be somewhat dangerous in large numbers, forming swarms which are likely more aggressive than their real-world counterparts. This being D&D, rats also come in Giant and Dire varieties, and these are indeed a lot bigger and more dangerous than their real-world counterparts.

The Numbers

Between both books we have no less than 5 rat-related stat blocks! Some of them are conceptually equivalent, but different enough that I think they’re worth discussing separately.

All rats are Natural Beasts, possess low-light vision, and have a climb speed.

Rat Swarm (MM)

A swarm of mundane rats is a Level 2 Skirmisher with 36 HP. As a swarm it takes half damage from single-target attacks and 5 extra damage from AoEs. It also has a Swarm Attack aura 1 that allows it to make a basic against any enemies who starts their turn inside. The swarm moves at speed 4 and climbs at speed 2.

Their only attack is a Swarm of Teeth that deals immediate and ongoing physical damage (save ends).

Realistically I think a rat swarm would be more interested in running away than fighting human-sized opponents, but this is D&D! Maybe someone is controlling them, or maybe they’re just plain mean. A swarm intent on fighting will likely park itself in a PC’s space and let the aura do most of the work, while using their standard attacks to put extra pressure on a specific PC.

They’re less dangerous than needlefang drake swarms because they can’t knock people down, but are otherwise a good example of a basic swarm monster.

Scurrying Rat Swarm (MV)

While conceptually the same monster than the MM Rat Swarm, this entry has a completely different stat block.

This rat swarm is a Level 1 Skirmisher with 27 HP and a ground speed of 6 (climb speed is still 2). It has the standard swarm resistance/vulnerabilities, and a Swarm trait in its stat block that helpfully summarizes the other rules it follows.

Its Swarm Attack aura 1 does a bit of automatic damage and slides enemies inside 1 square. The Swarm of Teeth basic attack does more base damage, and does extra damage if the rats moved at least 2 squares this turn.

This results in a rather more skirmisher-y monster that will keep running around for the damage bonuses rather than parking itself somewhere. Opportunity attacks are a minor concern for it, because it’s going to take half damage from most of them.

Giant Rat (MM)

Big enough to be a threat all by themselves, giant rats are Small in size, though probably on the smaller side of that. They’re Level 1 Minion Brutes with a speed of 6 (climb 3) and a basic bite attack that does “minion” damage. That’s all!

In practice you’ll still want to use a “swarm” of them, only now you’re tracking each rat individually. They’re about equivalent to the classic giant rats of editions past, which had like 1/4 HD.

Dire Rat (Both)

Dire Rats are even bigger than giant ones, and have that spiky aesthetic common to all D&D dire animals. They’re aggressive enough to actively start fights with the PCs even when they’re not cornered, and unlike their less terrible counterparts they do spread nasty diseases directly. There’s some disagreement as to their size category: the MM says Medium, the MV says Small. Either way we’re well into Rodent of Unusual Size country. Their speed is 6 (climb 2).

These beasts are simple Level 1 Brutes with 38 HP. Their only attack is a basic bite that does physical damage and spreads Level 1 Filth Fever. As usual for disease-vector monsters, infection is automatic under MM rules, and only happens if you fail a save after the combat under MV rules.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

The sample encounter is level 3: 2 kobold slingers, 2 rat swarms and 3 dire rats.

So yeah, if you were wondering who would train attack rats, there you have it. Kobolds do it, and goblins certainly do it too since they’re supposed to be adept beastmasters. Dire rats also tend to obey wererats.

I was never a rat enthusiast, and these stat blocks don’t sway my opinion. At the same time, I guess I’d feel like something was missing if the monster book didn’t have rats. The MV versions are slightly better, though there’s not much difference in damage for level 1 monsters.