Wererat
Medium Monstrosity (Lycanthrope) · · CR 2
- Monstrosity (Lycanthrope)
- Medium
- Tier 1
Wererat, CR 2, fills the medium monstrosity (lycanthrope) role with lawful evil disposition. Encounter regions: forest, urban, and any. Sourced from Monster Manual (5.5e 2024) and Monster Manual (5e 2014).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 2
- Type
- Monstrosity (Lycanthrope)
- Size
- Medium
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- Forest, Urban, Any
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5.5e 2024), Monster Manual (5e 2014)
Ecology
Wererats inhabit cities, sewers, and dockside slums, blending into criminal underworlds. Unlike most lycanthropes, they prefer urban environments and form structured criminal organizations rather than feral packs. Their condition spreads through bites and is stabilized by training in the wererat way. Some are born to wererat parents and grow into their dual nature naturally. Rat populations near wererat communities grow unusually intelligent through ambient lycanthropic influence.
Behaviour
Wererats are cunning, opportunistic, and patient. They prefer manipulation to violence, using rat-form scouting to gather blackmail before any confrontation. Within their own communities they are surprisingly social, forming tight family groups bound by oath. They distrust strangers but reward loyalty generously. Newly cursed wererats often spiral into anxiety and paranoia before community elders teach them control of the transformation and its instincts.
Origin
The first wererat was said to be a tax collector cursed by a witch-priestess of a rat-god after he extorted her temple. Other legends claim wererats descend from a fey bargain made by desperate plague survivors who chose vermin form over death. The wererats themselves rarely discuss origins outside their communities, valuing privacy as much as any other trait. Their mythology evolves with each generation.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Wererat
- What is the challenge rating of Wererat?
- Wererat's challenge rating is 2. A party in this band fits levels 1-5.
- What type of creature is Wererat?
- Wererat is classified as a monstrosity (lycanthrope) in D&D 5e, medium size.
- Where does Wererat live?
- The bestiary places Wererat in Forest, Urban, Any.