So I'm considering making a ratfolk rogue/thief with a little rat familiar and eventually want to get beastmaster with him for a Rat animal companion as well.
Their is currently no Giant Rat Animal companion option so I looked at the Giant rat entry in the beastery and comparing was able to get these stats using the "young" animal companion base stats with 2 advances:
Size Small Speed: 30 Climb: 10
Str:+2 Dex:+3 Con:+2 Int:-4 Wis:+1 Cha:+0
Low light vision, Imprecise sent 30'
Attack Jaws 1d6 (Agile/Finesse)
Skill: Stealth
Now my biggest issues are what would be it's support benefit and what would be it's advanced maneuver?
The beastery gives it filth fever disease but as a Ratfolk and how it would be well taken care of I am shying away from that. (But if that's what they have I can accept it)
I was thinking of just borrowing/stealing another animal's support/advanced but which one?
Top of my list would be Ape
Support Benefit Your "RAT" threatens your foes with menacing squeaks. Until the start of your next turn, if you hit and deal damage to a creature in your rat's reach, the creature becomes frightened 1.
Advanced Maneuver: Frightening Display
I find this works as many are afraid of rats all out of proportion to their actual size and threat. (Can anyone say ROUS's)
The other option would be the Vulture's
Support Benefit The "RAT" retches and vomits onto a foe within 10 feet. Until the start of your next turn, if you hit and deal damage to the target, the target must succeed at a Fortitude save or become sickened 1 (sickened 2 on a critical failure). The DC of the Fortitude save is 12 (or 14, if the RAT is a specialized animal companion) + your level + the RAT’s Constitution modifier.
Advanced Maneuver Feast on the Fallen
Now this would reflect the "sickness" aspect of Giant rats. Though I might make it adjacent instead of projectile vomiting lol.
What do you all think?
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I would copy wholesale from the Badger entry if it were me. Badger Rage isn't perfect for a rat, but I once saw a little rat my cat was hunting rise up on its back legs and time a jump right as my cat's face descended on it so that the rat managed to jump up and bite the #^@& out of my cat's nose.
The rat didn't survive. But man... if I had an ounce of the courage that little rat had, I could rule the world.
I think I lost my way in this post. I was saying something about badger rage being OK for a rat? yeah.. Ok if that one rat was capable of such a feat, I think a little melee booster action is at least plausible for a rat.
:)
Oh, also, I tend to be leery of homebrew as it tends to fall to one extreme or the other... either too powerful, or else too cautious and thus unsatisfactory. But simply renaming something that a professional game designer has already made, tested and published? Ought to be fine :)
If I were gonna take another animal and reskin as rat exact I'd go ape just change fist to bite. Yah it's a bit beefy in the str department but it would work with climb speed and intimidation or Maby Cat but that seems just wrong lol.
So I'm considering making a ratfolk rogue/thief with a little rat familiar and eventually want to get beastmaster with him for a Rat animal companion as well.
Yep, mix and matching existing animal campanion templates for a new animal is a good idea to get the animal you want.
Yeah, for something quick, I would use the stats of a badger, except with the advanced maneuver of a dromaeosaur or wolf.
The advanced maneuver that is probably most appropriate for a pathfinder giant rat would be a swarming maneuver where the rat gets a flank with you regardless of its positioning adjacent to the foe, and you get a circumstance bonus to attack when flanking with the rat, say +1.