Animals:

Rats

Rats didn’t just survive the Great War – they belong to the life forms, that have adapted wonderfully to the new world and that have, in part, even grown larger. In principle, the larger a rat is, the more aggressive it might be against the greatest predator: humans. Common, small rats rarely attack humans and then only if those are already weak and injured and can hardly move.

Pig rats are sometimes more aggressive, sometimes shyer. Mole rats however are large enough to wrestle down an unarmed (or badly armed) human. And they will do so, if one enters their territory.

Common rats are 15 to 25 cm long (without tail, the tail can be about 2/3 of the body length of the rat). Rats are social animals and are mostly found in a pack with other rats.

Pig rats are much larger versions of rats. They are between 25 and 40 cm long and about 15 cm high at the shoulders. Their tail is tiny compared to common rats. Pig rats, too, live in packs with other pig rats.

They are rather hairless. Some believe that pig rats are simply the young of mole rats, but as usual, there is no consent on that.

Mole rats are, despite their name, not related to the cute, small moles: they are about 80 cm high and up to a meter long beasts, that can without much effort bring a human to ground before devouring them.
Unlike pig rats, mole rats are rather hairy beasts. Their fur however is not sought-after for clothing. At most, some trappers in colder regions wear it.

The statistics of rats:

As with all life forms, no value may lie under the minimal value or above the maximal value. For common rats, 23 points may be added, for pig rats 28 points and for mole rats 31.

The statistics of (common) rats:

The statistics explained:

STRENGTH:

PERCEPTION:

ENDURANCE:

CHARISMA:

INTELLIGENCE:

AGILITY:

LUCK:

COURAGE:

Strength decides on how much damage a rat does in combat and furthermore decides about extraordinary feats of strength that the animal might have to perform.

Perception works for rats as it does for humans: it shows how well the animal perceives a threat or even an escape route or an obstacle in the way or things like that.

Endurance co-determines the hit points of the animal:

Rats have 6 + EN * 2 hit points.
Pig rats have 9 + EN * 3 hit points.
Mole rats have 15 + EN * 4 hit points.

Furthermore it decides whether or not the animal succeeds in hard efforts.

Animals can suck up, too. This value shows how docile the animal is. Rats, even docile rats, are however dangerous creatures and one should only try to tame one, if one knows what one does.

Each point of intelligence of the animal gives a +5 bonus to training.

For each point of agility a rat an move for 4 cm in a combat round, a pig rat for 3.5 cm and a mole rat for 3 cm.
(AG = action points)

As with humans, luck influences everything and nothing as well as the critical hit chance.

Courage is the value that shows how urgently an animal tries to stand up to a danger. Roughly said, the smaller a rat is, the more likely it is to run away from a threat.

Food:

Rats are usually omnivores. They are creatures that are well adapted to the harsh wasteland. For a common rat a quarter pound of food is enough for up to a week (meat, plants, nuts, whatever one wants to give the animal or whatever it finds on its own in the wasteland).
A pig rat will eat the same amount in a day, a mole rat one or two pounds a day. All variants of rats can imbibe heavily radioactive water of which a small bowl is enough for a small rat and mole rat can and will drink one to three liters a day.

Training:

Rats are, for their size, very intelligent animals. Especially when one raises them from birth, they are very devoted and loyal companions that aren’t skittish around humans. The smaller the rat, the easier it is to domesticate. Furthermore on should remember, that beginning with the second generation, that is the generation of offspring that lives among humans from birth, the animals are much more dependent on humans and therefore easier to train.

A common rat can be trained in one to two weeks and this with only a skill of 20 on training. However, the rat will not be able to do much more than sit on a shoulder and look cute.

A pig rat is somewhat larger and therefore about as useful as small dog and one can in fact teach it tricks. It takes twice as long as for a normal rat and requires a skill of 30 on training.

A mole rat is a rather large animal and very intelligent (according to rumors, several trappers claim to even have heard a mole rat talk). They can be trained in 4 weeks, but only if one knows how to. Due to their size it’s dangerous work, and needs a skill of training of at least 50. But, if successful, one then has a very loyal and fear-inspiring companion, for example for hunting trips.

Movement and combat:

For each point of agility a rat can move for 4 cm in a combat round, a pig rat for 3.5 cm and a mole rat for 3 cm.


As pertains the armor rating, the following holds true for rats:

Normal damage:

Laser:

Fire:

Plasma:

Explosive:

Electrical:

‘common’ rats:

2

2

1

1

2

2

pig rats:

4

4

2

2

4

4

mole rats:

6

6

4

4

6

6