Hey Veeky Forums. In my OC Donut Steel setting, I plan to feature psuedo rat people called Quicklings as replacements for hoobits. I don't want them to be strictly idealized, but I do want to avoid the many common and completely false cliche's about rats while making them more like actual rat people.
>3-4 feet tall >short lives, 30-40 years >fully grown by 6 though >usually born in litters of 2-6, singles are incredibly rare and considered auspicious >have large families >very hygienic, every household will have a water basin outside for washing the hands an face and a rug for feet >despite this their settlements tend to look ramshackle to outsiders - often springing up inside or on the outskirts of the cities of other races, sprawling mazes of burrows and huts that are thrown up quickly called 'quick towns' (hence the name for the species, obv they have their own name for themselves) >not actually 'furry', per say, they have largish ears, scaly tails, nimble clawed fingers and thin whiskers >men will often grow mustaches around their whiskers, making their whiskers whiskers. Few beards, mutton chops are common >have bad reputations that aren't entirely warranted, but aren't entirely undeserved, due to their tendency to have population booms and the fact they're always under-foot >also they tend to pick through trash. Their communities will often have public middens and it's perfectly acceptable to pick through them for interesting or useful stuff. This earns them reputations at thieves, which again isn't (always) warranted >this is probably also why they fucking wash constantly mind you >mostly regarded as fucking pests by many >very kind and neighborly though >very good with their hands, do excellent carvings and scrimshaw and tinkering >natural agility makes them good runners or deliverymen
I'm looking for a few more idea's and i'm open to suggestions. Should I go muzzles or flat face? Muzzle would be cuter but full furry. Flat face would be interestingly alien when combined with slightly further apart eyes and their teeth (largish incisors, small sharp teeth) but may make them look... unsympathetic or horrific. I'm thinking they should have scaly/leathery patches of skin on their feet, knees, hands, elbows etc that act as natural protection, so many go shoe-less or with foot wrappings - the long clawed toes help - hence the door rugs!
Culturally:
>tend to be somewhat subterranean >their own myths hold that the world is a honeycomb egg, and that all life has crawled out from inside of it >this puts them at odds with other races who believe in Gods or this and that >tend to adapt to the dominant culture around them aside from their own clannish customs
Adrian Cruz
I've owned a lot of rats and all of this looks pretty accurate. Here's something fun for you to have them do: when two rats are pissed at each other, they settle the issue by having staring contests youtube.com/watch?v=0DZRl8GZCNk
Austin Flores
now THATS interesting, I learned a thing
Henry Lopez
so how does this work are they like, just jockeying for position and the first one to blink or break away accepts submission?
Andrew Miller
Yeah, basically. The way to show dominance is to pin the other rat and forcibly groom them, so whoever breaks nose contact leaves their side wide open to get tackled.
It's fucking hilarious watching two rats roll around their cage wrestling, then suddenly STOP and start just staring at each other for like a minute at a time. Rats are awesome.
Jackson Young
>forcibly groom them
So they...pin each other own and force them to wash?
Parker Rogers
Yep, the winner is the one who gets to lick and nibble the other's neck. So have the ratfolk like, hell, have the winner be decided by whoever licks the other's neck first.
Luis Evans
A muzzle would make it easier for them to groom themselves like real rats. That could be another thing that other races would find strange or plain disgusting.
Elijah Collins
This looks pretty interesting actually
Anthony Brown
the other idea I have is to make my elves cervine-esque with broad flat noses and horns who believe they aren't natives at all, but rather came here from another world on a rainbow bridge, and are trying to get back.
They're pretty Norse.
Chase Clark
>and are trying to get back. PS: Except for the Worldbound, who have decided they like it here and want to stay. They tend to have Ram horns. They're the 'dwarves'
Isaac Moore
oh you mean like those dickhead satyr elves from Lorwyn?
Ian Jones
How about basing them capybaras instead of the usual rat?
Joshua Carter
FUCK, Simpsons did it!
But yeah, they would look...well, exactly like that, or more like this, really. But only with one rack of horns. These curved downwards horns would be indicative of the tribe/clan who would separate from their race on mount fuck huge and go on to become the Earthbound.
Tyler Turner
most would have smaller antlers than this, a big rack like this indicates extreme age
And then there's the ones with the moose plates
Jackson Johnson
I'm thinking of making the moose elves the assholes, but that may be one too many kinds of fucking deer furries.
Brandon Green
How did the decision to stay cause them to diverge as a species?
Grayson Gray
It didn't, rather, one clan composed primarily of that 'ethnic group' decided to stay. As a result, 'most' worldbound are rams, but not all. It's purely a 'cosmetic' variation like skin colour for us (inb4 pol)
Thomas Evans
The sort of "backstabbing" deal that GW gave to Skaven is probably based on things like the slightly inaccurate idea that rats eat their young.
Mice do it waay more often, usually from stress. While if I remember right Rats have a higher tolerance for that and will generally only resort to cannibalism/infanticide if they are starving.
Nathan Russell
>The sort of "backstabbing" deal that GW gave to Skaven is probably based on things like the slightly inaccurate idea that rats eat their young.
Nope. Skaven are the flaws of man concentrated. Skaven backstab because people backstab. They're rats because rats are associated with being lowly and contemptible.
Matthew Lewis
...
Gavin Howard
>Have four rats >Two of them are sisters >One of them is ridiculously tiny for some reason >They have a squabble and start boxing >On their hind legs small one is literally half the size of her sister >Most hilarious boxing match ever
Rats are great.
Carter Bennett
Rats have an innate ability to never get lost if they have been somewhere before. In real life, that's why they tell you to empty humane rat traps at least a mile from home, as rats can always find their way back if they know where they are. In game they would be expert scouts as long as they have traveled a path before.
Adam Jackson
This would be the fucking best thing.
Bonus points if they are a warrior race that is strong in combat.
Leo Morales
Very cute. Love it.
Sebastian Williams
>the winner is the one who gets to lick and nibble the other's neck Sounds more like how canines bare their throat as an act of submission to their alpha [it also why when told off by their human masters, the dogs instinctively roll over and go prone
Julian Sanchez
There are (apparently) some very early illustrations of Hobbits as rabbit-folk. Because miscommunication and confusion
Camden Gutierrez
How would you implement rat kings into your story? Rat kings are when all there tails get stuck together in a knot.
Jose Gonzalez
Have it be custom/tradition that when the rat council meets, they must interlock their tails and discuss until reaching an agreement, only then are they allowed to untangle from each other.
Joshua Hughes
I love this picture. I am going to start talking to everyone like that bottom picture.
>6'8"
Ian Nguyen
>A little rat with a stick guiding you up the mountain. >She struggles with the climb but insists you don't help her. >You help anyways.
Anthony Rodriguez
>muzzle or flat face These are meant to be protagonist or generally likable, right? Do the thing that makes them more likable. Flat face would be more alien and horrific, definitely, walking near uncanny valley. They aren't like literal-foxes-or-wolves-walking-around-furry, if they have muzzles, but it does bring them into fringe furry territory.
I'm biased towards alien. I know it's going into uncanny valley territory, but from the way you've described them their general demeanor would probably be more than enough to make them likable.
Jack Myers
I meant to say flat faced.
It's late and I should really go to bed.
Dominic Smith
Give them a berserk-like ability that increases movement speed and stealth for a few rounds.
Jordan James
Personally I'd go with the deer antlered ones being the assholes and the moose antlered ones being generally jolly.
Adrian James
>manlets being buttblasted, now in convenient visual form!
Julian Rodriguez
So like gypsies, except better.
Luke Walker
It's kind of sad that /a/'s shitty "about is out" meme makes boards like Veeky Forums so afraid to have muzzles on any kind of beastrace for fear of it being "too furry". I'd much rather my bestial races not look like anime cosplayers.
Flat faces a shit. Ultimately do what you want with your own race, but don't worry about what some internet group thinks of you.
Joshua Campbell
*"Snout", not "about". Geez.
Nicholas Murphy
Did someone say quicklings?
Brayden Diaz
Rats can't vomit. Idk, may turn out useful
Oliver Thomas
Ah.
Yeah.
The reaction to furry whatever is pretty excessive. If Buggs Bunny is out as a design, I don't want to be in.
Tyler Walker
I made the ratfolk in my setting the descendants of wererat gnomes who discovered a cure for lycanthropy, but ended up becoming much more rat than gnome.
I added in monster based on ratkings as the remnants of ancient experiments to expel said curse by trying to force the curse onto others, first done by martyrs and ancient heroes, then extended to felons and undesirable.
Isaac Smith
I considered running a Mouse Guard game replacing weasels with highly advanced rats that look down on mice and use slightly superior technology. Rats are twice as big as mice and are generally considered smarter and more well-mannered. What sort of Nature do you think they might have? The same as mice or with one or two swapped out or added? For quick reference: >Nature is rated from 0 to 7. The higher your Nature rank, the more mouse-like you are. The lower your rank, the more “human” you are. For mice, there are four aspects that follow: >• Escaping >• Climbing >• Hiding >• Foraging
Henry Rivera
As well as being intelligent, adaptable, and highly social be sure to give your rat-men a good sense of humour. Real rats love to laugh even if the sound is out of the range of human hearing
