Faction Overview
The port city of Luskan squats along the northern frontier of the Sword Coast. It is a den of thieves and murderers that attracts criminals like moths to a bright-burning flame. Luskan is controlled by a consortium of gangs, war chiefs, and would-be rulers, few of which last more than a season. The Dead Rats are one of the exceptions. That thieves' guild has earned respect and fear of the populace through a campaign of intimidation. Its members are known for their stealth, their ruthlessness, and their treachery. It is rumored correctly that the most deadly members of the gang are wererats. Like the creatures from which they derive their power, the Dead Rats can penetrate any safe house, no matter how secure. Initiation into the gang involves a blood ritual with one of these wererats, imbuing members of the guild with a sneaky and twitchy demeanor, particularly on nights of the full moon. Every member of the gang is fiercely loyal to a captain named Toytere-a halfling bard noted for his ability to see the future. Whether he genuinely possesses such sight or not, "King Toy" has never fallen to any of the attempts made to overthrow him. He has frequently rooted out would-be betrayers before they act, and he punishes anyone who attempts to leave the gang. However, your own split from the Dead Rats was a more complicated affair.
History
Before 1479 DR, the gang's leader, Toytere, sent Rsolk to Neverwinter to establish a branch of the gang in the Jewel of the North. The Neverwintan Dead Rats claimed they left Luskan after a falling out split the gang. After the death of Cymril, the Dead Rats joined forces with the Nashers to depose Dagult Neverember; however, Rsolk's true objective was to eliminate the Nashers, whom he saw as rivals to the Dead Rats. The Dead Rats aided the Nashers in smuggling supplies into Blacklake District. The gang was most notable for having a large number of wererats within their ranks. In Neverwinter, they recruited lowlifes and infected them with their lycanthropy to ensure loyalty.
(Dead Rat poison master unleashing their latest batch on their victims)
(Dead Rats gang gambling in their lair)
Wererats
Wererats are cunning lycanthropes with sly, avaricious personalities. They are wiry and twitchy in humanoid form, with thin hair and darting eyes. In their humanoid and hybrid forms, wererats prefer light weapons and use ambush tactics rather than fighting as a pack. Although a wererat can deliver a nasty bite in its rat form, it favors that form for stealthy infiltration and escape rather than combat. A wererat clan operates much like a thieves’ guild, with wererats transmitting their curse only to creatures they want to induct into the clan. Wererats that are accidentally cursed or break loose from the clan’s control are quickly hunted down and killed. Wererat clans are found throughout urban civilization, often dwelling in cellars and catacombs. These creatures are common in the sewers beneath major cities, viewing those subterranean areas as their hunting grounds. Rats and giant rats are commonly found living among wererats.
One of the most ancient and feared of all curses, lycanthropy can transform the most civilized humanoid into a ravening beast. In its natural humanoid form, a creature cursed by lycanthropy appears as its normal self. Over time, however, many lycanthropes acquire features suggestive of their animal form. In that animal form, a lycanthrope resembles a powerful version of a normal animal. On close inspection, its eyes show a faint spark of unnatural intelligence and might glow red in the dark. Evil lycanthropes hide among normal folk, emerging in animal form at night to spread terror and bloodshed, especially under a full moon.
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