Rat Men!

There are no drow in the Lunar Lands. I don't like using them for a number of reasons - probably most notably, the fact that they've become so intimately associated with the Forgotten Realms that they seem out of place anywhere else to me (even if they originated in Greyhawk, my personal favorite of the TSR settings, I just can't see them fitting in the lore any more). I also don't believe there really need to be six million kinds of elves for every biome in the world, and if one wants to make an elven villain, you can go ahead and make them your average elf - the old stories of the Fair Folk are a bottomless font of inspiration as-is. That, and I just find them overdone in general.

I do, however, enjoy the concept of vast subterranean ecosystems with their own cities and empires beneath the surface. Dwarves are a good solution (and, in my opinion, duergar are woefully underused, probably due to the aforementioned preponderance of drow). But for the other predominant subterranean race of the Lunar Lands, my eye turns to one of my greatest inspirations, Warhammer Fantasy.

Among the denizens of the World Beneath, the Rat Men are perhaps the most numerous, but far from the most formidable. An able-bodied human could easily overcome a single Rat Man - but a single Rat Man is rarely encountered, as they favor strength in numbers and swarming tactics, sending in hordes to deal with incoming threats with claws and knives while others stay on the sidelines to pick off targets with bow and arrow. They know they aren't the sturdiest of beings, and they prefer to travel in darkness beneath the watchful eye of those around them. But if they feel threatened, they can be vicious indeed, and will rarely surrender unless they know they are truly outmatched.

Nearly every large surface city hides a warren of Rat Men beneath it - they are just as aware of what makes an advantageous location for a settlement as those that live above them, and they take advantage of the refuse their surface neighbors produce as sources of food, salvage, and materials. However, few who walk the surface have seen the Rat Men or their maze-like tunnel networks that honeycomb the earth, ranging from vast caverns with dens hollowed into the walls to twisting passages only large enough for a human to traverse on their stomach. Those who have may be brushed off as telling tall tales - the most famous account of the Rat Men comes from the songs of the bard Jeremy of Elbermark, sung by many unaware of their truthfulness - and the reclusive beings are content to squabble among each other and the other denizens of the underground, rarely risking a journey up to the dangerous and unfamiliar surface world. However, every once in a while a raiding party of Rat Men may risk a journey up from the depths to grab shiny valuables - or captives for slave labor.

The Rat Men speak their own tongue, a system of squeaks and hisses that sounds to many like meaningless chittering. However, their language is mutually intelligible with that of the common rat, and they can commune with each other, often using rats as spies to seek ahead and report back their findings, or dire rats as guard animals. They also raise rats as a food source. For delicate human minds, it is perhaps best not to think too deeply about how they can understand the words of their own livestock, but it bothers them not. Life in the shadows is ruthless.

Accustomed to the darkness and the sunless corridors of the World Beneath, Rat Men fare poorly in bright light - some who have braved the underground realms have misinterpreted this as indicative of the ability to see in the dark. In truth, Rat Men do not see very well in darkness or in light. Much like the average rat, a Rat Man possesses a keen sense of smell and hearing, and they use these to navigate instead. However, if plunged into bright light - especially that of the sun - they can often find themselves in unfamiliar territory and panic. After all, they do see, just not well, and a change in lighting is unexpected for them.

Art by haikai13

Of the unusual traits of Rat Men, perhaps the most puzzling one to surface-dwellers is that they seem to have no upper limit to size. Some are born larger than others, but as they gorge themselves on food they can grow greater and greater. In fact, the social hierarchy of the Rat Men is based more on size than anything else, with the larger individuals using their great bulk as leverage to exert their will upon their smaller and weaker kin. While the average Rat Man ranges from the size of a halfling to a stooped five feet, reports speak of truly massive rodents that tower above the heads of mortal men, some so corpulent that they can only squat immobile in their caverns and shout orders to their underlings. These make up the royalty of the Rat Men, whose subjects pay tribute to them with shiny objects and offerings of food that make them grow larger and larger, some even needing to have wider and wider chambers tunneled out of the earth to sustain their growth. Records speak of wars being fought between Rat Men and dwarves or goblins when the expansion of such rooms broke into those of other civilizations. If such constructions are close enough to the surface, they can even risk breaking through to the outside...

Using Rat Men in Games:

For 5e, Rat Men have the stats of a Kenku (both as monsters and should one wish to play as one), with the following changes:

• Rat Men can be Small or Medium (player's choice).
• Instead of the Mimicry and Expert Forgery features, Rat Men instead have Sunlight Sensitivity (as Drow).
• Rat Men have Blindsight to 60 feet. Beyond this, they must rely on their vision.
• Rat Men have Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell, hearing, or feeling with their whiskers. They have Disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on vision.
• Rat Men can speak and understand the languages of rats and mice, including dire rats, and giant rats.