The Rat Pack

Rats have infested Stonewood and have become a real nuisance.

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Rats have been plaguing the city as of late. No one is sure why they have suddenly increased, but most are blaming it on an early spring and the loss of the rats natural predators. These rats are giant, unusually so, feeding off of last years grain and the city’s refuse. Some have also been attracted to the Bloody Fist’s castoffs, and have grown to crave the taste of human blood. Now, whenever blood is spilled near the city, you can expect a colony of these rats to show up and feed shortly.

A single rat by itself is nothing to worry about, but these rats are traveling in colonies. Groups of Bloody Rats have been big enough to cause concern for travelers and small groups, as they are attracted to humans as food. They will attack someone until they fall, and feed from their dying corpse.

While the rats have proved to be just a nuisance in the city proper, the farms around the city are being terrorized. The farmers cannot keep up in culling the masses, and the rats keep getting bigger, well fed from last years grain and the Bloody Fist’s leavings. The farmers are calling upon the city authorities to do something. If something isn’t done, the city could starve in the coming months.

In response to the farmer’s cry for help, the city has put a bounty on rat tails. The pay is one silver for every tail taken. The rats can be primarily found on the farms surrounding the city, but can also be found in great numbers around the city’s refuse center and in little used places in the city, undisturbed by people. A few colonies have been seen moving through the streets, preying on a lone traveler or small group.

    Bloody Rats

    A human sized brown or grey rat, covered in blood

    Cornelius Grayson

    Giant Field Rat

    A human sized brown or gray rat

    Giant Sewer Rat

    A human sized brown or gray rat

    Goodwin Copperriver

    Rat Facts

    Rats laugh when they’re tickled. Scientists have found that when rats are happy or excited, they emit very high-pitched squeaks (too high for us to hear), which is rat ’laughter’. Rats remember which humans have tickled and played with them in the past, and prefer to spend time with those people. Another way to tell if a rat is happy is that their ears turn pink!

    A group of rats is called a mischief.

    Rat King, Single Rat

    A human sized brown or gray rat tied by the tail to other rats

    Rat Poster

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    There are three breeds of rats in the city

    Giant Field Rats are primarily found around the farms and food stores. The Giant Field Rats want only to eat and multiply, and dislike fighting to the point where they will only attack if attacked first and they will defend one another if one is attacked.

    Sewer Rats have primarily lived in the sewer, as the name suggests, but now are so prolific that they are moving into and are making the refuse site unsafe to use. These rats can cause weakness and disease if they get too close to someone, and if in a large group, they are aggressive and can be a threat.

Periodically, a Stonewood Courier will come into town and approach everyone asking if they have rat tails for the bounty. He will pay 1 silver per rat tail [BRING OUT YOUR TAILS].

One of the City’s major grain stores have been invaded by GIANT FIELD RATS. Having already eaten though months of grain in a frighteningly short period, the city wants them cleared out, quickly and with prejudice [A GRAINY SITUATION]. The rats, driven from the grain stores, are reeking even more havoc on the farms in the countryside. Many farmers are coming into town, asking for help in getting rid of the rodents on their property. Each farm is besieged by a colony of Giant Field Rats 15 plus strong. These rats have also been seen in similar numbers in town, seeking food [ROUS].
** The authorities can’t seem to find anyone to go into the refuse area of the city to clear out the rats there. These rats, SEWER RATS, are diseased, having spent their lives feeding off garbage and other waste.[CLEARING THE GARBAGE].
** A hunter who has been hunting down the rats for bounty comes into town, saying that he has tracked a huge nest of rats and needs help clearing them out. He spotted them some distance off and came looking for a bigger group, as he knew he couldn’t handle them all. He is happy to share the bounty. The nest is in a cave with a narrow entrance. When approached, it becomes obvious that the rats are feeding off of dozens of victims that where trapped in the cave. Old, bloody fists can be seen painted at about head height around the cave. There bodies are in various states of decay. There are skeletons of all ages in the cave. Once the BLOODY RATS see or hear the PCs they will attack unprovoked, unlike all other rats [THE BLOODY RATS]

Having had their colony upset and cleared out, the Bloody Rats are now being seen coming into town, being drawn by wonderful, bloody smells left behind by the PCs. These rats prove to be more of a nuscence than their non-bloody counterparts, and they are super aggressive toward anything not-rat. **[THOSE BLOODY STINKING RATS]
** A pair of hunters collecting bounty come into town, saying that they found the source of the rats, but there are too many for just those two and they need help. They said they tracked the rats to a cave, but when they lost count at 40, they backed away and went for help. When the PC’s approach the cave, scratching and squeaking can be heard. When they enter the cave, they are set upon by the rat colony. At the back of the cave, the RAT KING is found [FIGHTING THE RAT KING].