The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Ratkin
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Conclusions

Ratkin begins, like all of the tribe books, with a comic. Only this comic is actually a good! It begins with Chagas Cruzi as he makes history through his martyrdom. Even better, references to the comic pop up throughout the book in both artwork and text. Cool comic, relevant events, we're off to a good start!

All that, and the artwork doesn't suck. Some of the artwork looks suspiciously like Todd McFarlane drew it, but that's okay.

Introduction: The Shadow of the Horned Rat

The book starts out with a disclaimer, which sets the appropriate tone for Ratkin, warning how nobody at White Wolf is in favor of terrorism or exterminating the human race. This contrasts sharply with the disclaimer in Werewolf, which states simply that Werewolves aren't real and a whole bunch of psychological blather about how they symbolically represent humanity. There's nothing in Werewolf about "please do not tear up people who work at nuclear power plants that may contaminate the environment."

This is significant because while violence was assumed in Werewolf, Ratkin takes a darker, nastier, and grittier look at the world. Only makes sense, right? These are RATS we're talking about. They're mean, they're angry, they're nutty, and they're chaos incarnate.

As a matter of fact, they're a whole heck of a lot like Skaven from Warhammer Fantasy-Roleplaying: dirty, crazy, and vicious in large numbers.

Chapter One: Ratkin Legends

Here we have the obligatory fiction that sets up the book. We follow the plight of Gregor, a young wererat-to-be who is going through the horrible Birthing Plague. He struggles to survive his infection and make the transition from homeless person to Ratkin. And while he goes through the transformation, other Ratkin narrate their race's history.

I'm not overly fond of any fiction in White Wolf books, but the fiction in Ratkin is tolerable because it follows one character throughout. It basically rehashes what's explained in the introduction, but with more flair.

Chapter Two: Infesting the World

Gregor's transformation is completed, and we get the added bonus of an epilogue. So we actually find out what happens to a character introduced in the fiction. An excellent trend that made me feel the 18 pages dedicated to the fiction was worth reading.

The book then delves into the basic structure of Ratkin society. Or that is, the lack of structure of Ratkin society, since they're mostly anarchists. Not surprisingly, Ratkin breed like nobody's business, hang out in sewers, and spread disease.

The section on the spirit world is where the writer got bored, creative, or both. Apparently, Ratkin have a wicked sense of humor. We have the Television Zone, where the "memories of TV programs have thoroughly infiltrated the collective unconsciousness of the human race" and the "various rooms of this zone contain elements of many popular programs, past and present." To wererats, this zone is also known as the "Itchy Zone," and not because it makes you itch. Worse, Rat-spirits infiltrate the spiritual reflections of these shows and corrupt them.

But why stop there! There are also Freakachu, electronic rat-spirits that posess a device and cause lots of technical glitches. Truly proficient owners battle Freakachus against each other, then release them into computer networks surrounded by elaborate firewalls.

I'm not kidding.

This chapter mercifully ends with an introduction to the various Bete by Frankie and Jonny, who don't give a rat's ass about anything but the critters they think they might come across. It's actually entertaining, but marginally useful – and it takes up four pages.

Chapter Three: Crunch Bits and Shiny Things

This is the nitty-gritty rules section. Ratkin have several starting traits that make them unique amongst the Changing Breed, including the ability to step sideways, Blood Memory, and reduced Delirium effects.

The Freak Factor background covers the "crazy" part of wererats. It determines just how nutty your Ratkin might be. The "dirty" side of wererats is explored with the Plague background, which as you might guess, is the plague that runs through their veins and determines their lineage.

The Rituals are interesting, if a little silly: Ritual of the Shiny Thing starts out with someone shouting, "I demand…The Shiny Thing!" and includes the option of having the players run off after a specific object in real life. Legend speaks of one Shiny Thing being a nutcracker. I don't need to make the rest of that connection for you, do I?

Then there's a fetish called the Mystery Machine that Ratkin claim as a "crash space on wheels." It's an Umbra-traveling van that can dimension hop with a flick of its high beams. Wasn't that the name of the green van in Scooby Doo?

There's more in this chapter, but the Scooby Doo reference makes it all irrelevant.

Chapter Four: Aspects and Renown

Here we get a closer look at the various Aspects of Ratkin. Some of them are rather inspired, others are awfully familiar (Warlock Engineers, Gutter Runners, and Plague Monks are all here from WHFRP in the form of Ratkin Engineers, Knife-Skulkers, and Plague Lords), and still others are just plain goofy.

A few pages on Renown and the Litany of Survival sums up the Ratkin philosophy we figured out in the previous chapters.

Chapter Five: Systems and Storytelling

More rules, this time about gaining Gnosis and Rapture. Rapture is what happens to a Ratkin when he witnesses anything rating really high on the "Weird-Shit-O-Meter." Rapture results in a variety of effects that cause the Ratkin to freak out, all aptly demonstrated by using our old buddies Johnny and Frankie. There's also information on swarms, Renown, and some storytelling tips.

The problem with Ratkin is that they're a little too crazy and anarchistic to use in a prolonged campaign. For one, they expect the Apocalypse to happen "any day now." There's an entire psychology about what happens to zealots who realize the Apocalypse they expected didn't happen, but the lame Small Text Box on the Large Blank Page at the end of this chapter tries to convince us that the Apocalypse could be at any time.

I disagree. Keeping an entire race in perpetual apocalyptic hysteria seems highly antithetical to a belief system that is fundamentally about survival. If there was supposed to be a Y2K meltdown, it SHOULD manifest somehow in a chronicle. If it doesn't, Ratkin whose very lives were built around that expectation should be seriously impacted by the result, or lack thereof. The explanation in the book seems like a very poor apology for the Y2K bug being such a dud in real life (and thus, not much of a particularly useful plot point in Werewolf). Considering the coming Apocalypse frantically motivates much of Ratkin society, it deserves more than three paragraphs.

Another problem is that Ratkin aren't particularly likeable. The equivalent of the Dungeons & Dragons Thief class, one Ratkin in a group spices things up – several ultimately devolves into pettiness, thievery, and lots of backstabbing. Great for one shot stories, or only one Ratkin, not so great for prolonged chronicles. Especially when a Ratkin pack should generally consist of a Rodens to Homid ratio of five to one.

I imagine a one-shot Ratkin campaign would be very similar to a session of Kobold's Ate My Baby! That's a compliment.

Appendix One: Ratkin Gifts

Ratkin Gifts get interesting, if not a little weird. Witness the Rat Thing: your typical Rodent of Unusual Size that only Metis Ratkin can achieve. Or the Itchy form, which turns the Ratkin into a cartoon character (Toon, anyone?). A lot of fun abilities, most of them devoted to blowing things up.

Appendix Two: Rat Bastards

Templates, of course. Lots of them. Many so specific they aren't worthy of the term: the Bad Girl template has highly fashionable footwear that reduces the difficulty of all high kicks by 2. Amusing, but of limited use as templates go.

We finally reach the apex of absurdity with the Notable Ratkin section. Here we have Johnny Y2K (who invented that Apocalypse that didn't happen), Momma Rat, inspired by the character Momma from What's Eating Gilbert Grape. And Danny "Diz" Walton. You know, like Walt Disney, only they changed the words around and he's pissed that Mickey, not Rickey, has his own theme park.

The last time someone tried this kind of obvious humor was in the DC Judge Dredd comic, when a bunch of genetically mutated mice ran a technologically advanced theme park. I stopped collecting the comic after that.

Yersinia, Chagas' mate, who was referenced in the opening comic and the pregnant woman on the back cover, is absent. She was the only character with promise, and her omission is glaring from the rogue's gallery of cartoon characters.

Appendix Three: The Real World

The book ends on a high note. Since the Changing Breeds are as much about people as they are animals, it's refreshing to see the facts laid out clearly and simply, without the usual obfuscation common to White Wolf books.

Conclusions

Despite a few nitpicks, this is an excellent book for Ratkin. The concepts are often unorthodox because the writers had to stretch the concept of playing a wererat in a few places, but that's their job. Its biggest weakness is that the book gets silly a few too many times, a theme that simply doesn't jive with the "Savage Horror" of Werewolf.

In fact, the book reminded me of Freak Legion. It's definitely all about "splatterpunk" – a gaming element that Justin Achili made quite clear is "infantile" in the back of the Werewolf Players Guide.

This doesn't make it a bad book. It just makes it a different book. But then, Ratkin are a very different breed.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)