Ratkin

Ratkin
Faction(s)	Ratkin
Nicknames	The Scourge, Underkin, The Swarm, Skitterfangs
Race(s)	Gnorr, Ratkin Brutes, Rat-fiends, Night Terrors
People
Leader	Mother Cryza Vol’rikk
Notable Members	Bigtooth Spinebreaker Chitter Twitchtail Nekhesh Venomclaw Scudku-z'luk Sharpclaw Gutpeeler Twitch Keenear Zruleek
Characteristics
Language	Chitter
Events
Notable Conflicts	The Great Revolt
References
Facebook Group	Ratkin (Kings of War)
Shop Link	Mantic Store
STL link	Ratkin STL List
Sources	2.0 - Uncharted Empires 2nd Edition Rules 2.0 - Clash of Kings 2019 Kings of War – 3rd Edition Rulebook 3.0 - Uncharted Empires 3rd Edition Rules 3.0 - Clash of Kings 2021: Halpi's Rift 3.0 - Clash of Kings 2022 3.0 - Clash of Kings 2024 Kings of War – 3rd Edition Compendium Kings of War – World of Pannithor

Ratkin are a faction comprised of different types of Ratkin including Gnorr, Ratkin Brutes, Night Terrors and Rat-fiends

About

Rats are everywhere. Rats are vicious, hard creatures that can survive in the harshest of conditions, living in filth and eating worse. They thrive in adversity. The darkest, most miserable places in the world are the domain of rats. If ever a race would survive in the shadowy parts of Pannithor, it would be the vermin.

They are the vermin of Pannithor, their domain is the most miserable darkest places in the world.

History

The creation of the rat-men, known as Ratkin, is one borne in agony and madness. Their desperate life began under the ruthless watch of an Abyssal Dwarf called Bharzak the Grim, overmaster of the Gift-Piers of Zarak. Desperate to fuel the sacrificial pits of Zarak, he needed more victims to appease the Wicked Ones.

Bharzak began to experiment. Consumed by his madness, he locked himself away while he worked in a frenzy on his project, rarely seen. Strange chittering screeches and agonised wails came from behind the locked doors of Bharzak’s laboratory. After a while, Bharzak was forgotten and a new overmaster took his place.

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Some thirteen years after Bharzak had sealed himself away, the heavy doors opened once more and Bharzak reappeared triumphant. As he emerged from his self-imposed exile, behind him streamed a vast pack of rats, but not rats as they had been. These were something new, something terrible—a horrifying hybrid of rats and other races: dwarf, human, elf, goblin. In their eyes there was a smouldering malignancy and their rapid, jerky movements were spine-chilling and beyond natural. Bharzak had bred a new race to sacrifice, a race he named Gnorr. Ones that could do more: work harder, work longer and, most importantly, produce more sacrifices for his wicked masters.

With the biggest brutes he had created, Bharzak reasserted his authority and quickly rose back to a position of power, even greater than before. Over the years that followed, the Ratkin became a commonplace sight in the worker pits, and their endless supply saw them sacrificed, tortured, maimed, worked, and discarded in inconceivable numbers. The Ratkin were bred for oppression and were thus cruelly exploited.

File:Ratkin.jpg

But vermin thrive in adversity. The darkest, most miserable places in the world are the domain of rats. They watched. They learned. They plotted and schemed. The revolt and breakout were a maelstrom of blood, fur, teeth, and gore. When they turned on their masters and creator, they showed no mercy. Thousands of Abyssal Dwarfs died as the vast pack boiled though the halls on its way deeper into the earth. Unknown to their overlords, the Ratkin had been preparing for this moment for years. Miles and miles of new tunnels had been burrowed away from the Abyss, far away in an escape route that could expedite the flight of a new species of evil, somewhere they could form their own destiny and plot revenge on the wickedness that had spawned them.

More than a century after the exodus, the Ratkin are a menace that have plagued many of the civilised lands. Tales of savage beasts, of arcane magics and bizarre contraptions all heading to war. Names have attached themselves to the rumours like moths to a flame: The Scourge, Underkin, The Swarm or Skitterfangs. The Ratkin have learned from their masters too. They have built their own battle engines, having stolen the knowledge from the war factories of the dwarfs and fashioned them in their own image. They have learnt about cruelty and suffering first-hand as they watched from the shadows. They saw the iron-casters in their forges, blending machine, flesh, and magic to construct lethal artefacts of war.

The result is a new menace that burrows it way into the very heart of Pannithor… and it is only starting on its journey to bring the land to its knees. Soon all will squirm like a cornered rat. Having watched and learned from their previous Abyssal Dwarf masters stealing the knowledge from the war factories they were slaves in, they have built their own battle engines. having been created, bred, lived in perpetual cruelty they know how to inflict the most amount of pain.

They still look to their creators for inspiration both in war and how to conduct themselves, it's all they really know. They are a cruel faction, but the cruelty was nurtured in them, so are they really to blame for fighting and employing the most cruel tactics.

The Ratkin have a short, but eventful history. They were literally born into servitude and until a relatively short time ago, that’s all they knew. It’s important to recognise what they did next – despite being slaves themselves, Ratkin didn’t take the moral high road. They have slaves in their armies. They took what they learned from the Abyssal Dwarfs and paid it forwards in the worst possible way.

The Ratkin are a scitterish race with a strength in pack mentality, a few are brave enough to venture outside of the pack and become enforcers, warcheifs or warlocks.

Their weapons are barbed or spiked, looking like they would cause horrific damage to anyone impaled. The unit leader has a whip – which is a trend that carried on up to the characters, too – the Ratkin understand that whoever has the whip is in charge. That’s how it always has been for them. There are pieces of broken Abyssal Dwarf metal making up some of their amour and shields – relics or trophies from their escape. They all wear gloves, as they commonly handle caustic chemicals and deadly poisons – some of which are kept in bottles on their person.

The Warriors form vast blocks of teeth, claws, steel, matted fur and spears, those born bigger and stronger form the shock troops, whose role is to soften the enemy for the warriors to then overwhelm with vast numbers.

The Wretches are the runts of the pack, they are pure fodder, both cannon fodder for the enemy and for the rest of the lair. Typical rats scamper and are goaded by their handlers into a carpet of vicious teeth, and a handy snack if a warrior gets hungry.

The albino Swarm-Criers carry aloft the Ratkin’s war banners and totems are created from bones, skin, skulls and runes.

Conversion of a Goblin Slasher to the Mutant Rat Fiend by Si Brand

Conversion of a Goblin Slasher to the Mutant Rat Fiend by Si Brand

Ratkin continued on with the experimentation started by the Abyssal Dwarfs. From this they created blightcraft, foul, noxious instruments of war, a pestilence which assaults the enemy before the Ratkin even arrive.

The agile and adept Scurrier teams train as scouts, striking at the enemy weak points, Assassins learn the the basis of their trade craft from these teams.

The captured beasts, if they are nimble enough are used by the Hackpaws to beat into submission and ride.

The Ratkin Clawshot rifle is a long-barrelled contraption used to strike the enemy from a safe distance, or behind a Pavese.

The Warchiefs are the most vicious and cunning of the Ratkin and are both feared. The Warlocks study the dark arts, magic and sorcery from the depths of the Abyss. The taint of the Wicked Ones courses through their veins. They are twisted, evil individuals, but cunning and dangerous, too.

Ratkin Machines

Similar to the Goblins, the Ratkin have an fascination with machines. They excel at creating machines that deal pain, violence and death.

• Death Engines - Looking rickety, crewed by "volunteers" are the Death Engines, churning spinning blades and striking out with dark energies.
• The Shredder - A smaller but no less deadlier device is the Shredder, spinning blightcrafted poisoned blades.
• Weapon Teams - Mobile Weapon Teams re-engineer stolen Abyssal Dwarf weaponry, or cruel crude homemade designs, carried by those mad enough to pull the trigger on these devices.
• Tunnel Runners - Originally conceived and built by the Ratkin, (The Abyssal Dwarfs copied this design for themselves), Tunner Runners are used to relay messages quickly through the tunnels, they are equipped with spikes and driven like chariots into battle.

After the Great Revolt

After the Great Revolt and the Ratkin’s escape from the Abyssal Dwarfs was only the start of their spread across Pannithor. Like a disease they have wormed they way into all the dark corners of the world, waiting to strike against those who are too weak to fight back.

It is rumoured that while the Ratkin were suffering under the cosh of the Abyssal Dwarfs, a slave known as Zruleek was contacted by one of the Wicked Ones in the Abyss. It whispered evil things to Zruleek and he learned of the Eternal Dark, the Seven Circles, the wild lands of the Hellequins… nothing was sacred. Zruleek and his followers began to worship the Abyss itself, rather than their torturous masters, and were overtaken by a religious zeal.

Once free from clutches of the Abyssal Dwarfs, the Ratkin clung to their new faith with a fierce obsession. Yet, as they spread further from the Abyss, the whispers of the Wicked Ones grew more distant and more intermittent. Without the guiding voice, the first Ratkin nests were fraught with savage anarchy as would-be leaders strived for supremacy.

It is claimed that Zruleek was forced to lead the way in these early days. Stating he had received a vision from the Abyss, he said the nest must be built in a mirror of the Abyss itself. The Ratkin should dig seven levels, in honour of the seven circles of the Abyss. With tooth and claw, the first Ratkin slaves dug through the dirt to build the layers of their new home – each a shrine to the Abyss itself and a twisted reflection of that awful place.

Ratkin Nest

File:Ratkin-nest.jpg

First level of the nest

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Finally, we reach the most disgusting part of the nest: the slave pits. This is where you will find the vast majority of the inhabitants of a Ratkin nest. A stinking, hideous labyrinth of squalor, the slave pits are home to Ratkin Wretches and any other slaves unfortunate enough to be captured by the beasts. Forced to live on scraps of food – or each other – the slaves are kept in line by ruthless Brute Enforcers, who grow fat on a diet of slaves they have killed.

Cages line the walls of the pits and inside you will find all-manner of wretched creatures. From Ratkin too weak to fight their way through the ranks of the nest to goblins, humans, orcs and dwarfs caught while mining. When roused to war, the slaves are let loose from their cages and herded into battle by the Brute Enforcers. Many are trampled to death in the initial rush for freedom but the Brood Mother does not care, there are always more to replace them.

Second level of the nest

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Next, in a bizarre tribute to the blasted wastelands of the Hellequins, the Ratkin let their own flea-bitten cavalry roam wild on the second level of the lair. The Mawbeasts stolen from the goblins regularly break free of their pens and cause havoc – eating the gathered Ratkin before being captured or killed. Those that are broken-in by their captors are ridden with a kind of wild glee by their owners. After all, there aren’t many beasts that are lower than a measly Ratkin, so mastery over another living being must send them dizzy with power.

Third level of the nest

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The third floor of a Ratkin’s layer is home to their Scurriers. These are the scouts of the nest – sent out to scavenge for food and resources under the cover of darkness. It is possible they’re housed towards the top of the lair to make it easier to drag back the supplies and distribute them through the colony. Due to their role as scouts, the Scurriers are among the most cunning of the Ratkin. They are constantly scheming amongst themselves and against the other parts of the nest to rise through the ranks and better themselves – only the birthing-daughters rival their calculating nature.

Fourth level of the nest

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So far, we have travelled from the Brood Mother’s dank lair, to the chaotic realm of the Warlocks and then the battle pits of the War Chiefs. Following that, we come to the laboratories of the blightcraft scientists. There is a fierce rivalry between the scientists and the Warlocks lower in the nest. The scientists believe it should be them, armed with their lethal, if unreliable, contraptions that should have the honour of being close to the all-powerful Brood Mother.

Within the ranks of the scientists there are two distinct camps – engineers that favour to build machines powered by arcane alchemy and splicers that prefer to work on live subjects. Unsurprisingly there is bitter competition between these two camps, with both trying to prove their methods are the most successful.

Fifth level of the nest

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From the realm of the Warlocks, you travel up to the home of the War Chiefs and their strongest warriors and shock troops. A Ratkin nest will have many War Chiefs all vying for the attention of the Brood Mother. Like children fighting to gain the recognition of an uninterested parent, the War Chiefs push themselves to greater feats of cruelty and violence to rise through the ranks of the pack.

This is a part of the nest that is fraught with in-fighting as the War Chiefs battle for dominance over their own kind, each attempting to prove they are the most powerful. It is something the Brood Mother encourages, as she is keen to find the strongest leaders for her brood when it marches to war. It is also the responsibility of the War Chiefs to carry out the commands of the Brood Mother – as passed on by the birthing-daughters.

Sixth level of the nest

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From the Brood Mother’s lair, you travel upwards to the rune-encrusted halls of the Warlocks. A Ratkin nest will typically only have a handful of Warlocks among its ranks, yet they are respected and feared almost as much as the Brood Mother and her birthing-daughters. They are respected because many claim to still hear the whispers of the Wicked Ones and recite these words as though they were religious texts. As they continue to draw on the almighty influence of the Abyss, they’re mutated by its impact – becoming a bizarre mix of Ratkin and Abyssal. It is not uncommon to see Warlocks sporting the hooves of a Lower Abyssal, the wings of a Seductress, the tail of a Succubi or even a second demonic head, for example. Their fur can even take on a red hue over time as they continue to touch the influence of the Abyss.

As they travel further from the Abyss and its influence becomes more tenuous, Warlocks capture Abyssal Imps to use as familiars and lackies. During battle, when they’re required to draw on the magic of the Abyss, Warlocks will sacrifice or even eat the imps to conjure more powerful spells. This only helps to speed up their mutations and make them more pronounced.

Seventh level of the nest

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In the deepest, darkest depths of the Ratkin lair you will find the bloated, near-blind monstrosity known as the Brood Mother. She lives to further the cause of her horde. Only females are allowed in her musty cave and she is tended by a plethora of birthing-daughters – carers for the mewling, sightless Ratkin pups. From her birthing-daughters, the Brood Mother will carefully select those that are allowed to breed with males throughout the lair. She will typically pick the most loyal and weak-willed, constantly fearful that one of her daughters will attempt a rebellion and try to become a Brood Mother herself.

From the safety of her lair, hidden deep on the seventh level of the nest, the Brood Mother leads with a ruthless cunning. She dispatches her birthing-daughters to scurry throughout the clan and deliver her commands. However, it appears it is not uncommon for these messages to be interpreted in a way that will greatly benefit the receiver. The War Chief that first receives the message often claims the Brood Mother has given his battalion the easier flank in battle or extra troops, for example. There are shrieks of treason if any dare questions the legitimacy of the Brood Mother’s instructions. The birthing-daughters are keenly aware of their own powerful influence in this process and will readily accept bribes from recipients keen to ensure they’re first in line for the Brood Mother’s instructions.

File:Ratkin - Kings of War - Lore

Army List

Heroes		Infantry		Cavalry		Special
Named Heroes	*Mother Cryza *Scudku-z'luk, Demonspawn of Diew *Twitch Keenear	Basic Infantry	*Shock Troops *Spear Warriors *Warriors *Wretches	Basic Cavalry	*Hackpaws	Named Titans	*Tangle
		Ranged Infantry	*Scurriers			Swarm	*Vermintide
General Heroes	*Night Terror *Brood Mother *Swarm-crier *War Chief *Warlock *Brute Enforcer *Master Scurrier *Birthing Daughter	Heavy Ranged Infantry	*Clawshots			War Machine	*Shredder *Weapon Team
		Large Infantry	*Nightmares	Chariots	*Tunnel Runners	Monster	*Death Engine Impaler *Death Engine Spewer
		Named Titans	*Tangle			Titan	*Mutant Rat-fiend
2nd Edition Units (Retired Units)
*Assassin *Artillery *Blight *Tunnel Slaves *Blight Lord *Demonspawn *Enforcer *Brutes *Death Engine

Formations

Clash of Kings 2018		Clash of Kings 2019	Clash of Kings 2022
Lab Rats	Dusk Crawlers	Turbo Runners	Smoke and Mirrors
	File:Dusk CrawlersFormation.PNG	File:Turbo RunnersFormation.PNG	File:SmokeFormation.PNG

Gallery

• Ratkin Art
  Ratkin Art

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