Dire Rat (3.5e Monster)
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Note
You may be looking for the Dire Rat from the SRD instead.
This monster is balanced to fit in a rogue level game. I have taken the liberty of not using the standard D&D rules for determining various statistics for this monster. As a result, it may seem a bit stronger (or weaker) than some SRD monsters of the same CR and that is fine. I think it will pose an appropriate challenge for rogue-level characters of its CR.
Dire Rat
N Small Animal | |
Init/Senses | +3/Low-light vision, scent; Listen +4, Spot +4 |
AC | 15, touch 14, flat-footed 13 |
hp | 14 (1/2 HD) |
Fort/Ref/Will | +3/+4/+2 |
Speed | 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 20 ft. (4 squares) |
Melee | +5 Bite (1d4 + Filth Fever) |
Space/Reach | 15 ft./10 ft. |
Base Atk/Grp | +0/-1 |
Atk Options | Filth Fever |
Abilities | Str 10, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 4 |
Skills | Swim +4, Climb +4, Hide +6*, Move Silently +6 |
Advancement | — |
Filth Fever (Ex) | Dire rats' teeth are dripping with infectious pus. A single bite will cause an instant reaction to even the toughest warriors. Filth fever is a disease, but unlike a normal disease it uses the rules following this paragraph. For the purposes of combat, when a dire rat hits with a bite attack, the creature must make a fortitude save DC 13 or else take 3 damage, have its maximum hitpoints reduced by 3 (this can only happen once), and take a -2 penalty to attack rolls and DCs of abilities. See below for after combat effects.
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Dire rats are omnivorous scavengers, but will attack to defend their nests and territories.
A dire rat can grow to be up to 4 feet long and weigh over 50 pounds.
Strategies and Tactics
Dire rat packs attack fearlessly, biting and chewing with their sharp incisors.
Dire rats carry a very dangerous disease: filth fever, which can kill even a strong man in a matter of days and has immediate consequences. They are smart enough to try to spread disease to as many enemies as they can. By doing this, the rats often scare off predators with the immediately painful disease effects and can sometimes even follow their would be predator and wait for it to slowly die before feeding on its diseased carcass.
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