Rodent-folk

The Rodent-folk are a rarely-sighted species of humanoid rodents that dwell mostly within the Deep-dark. Much like Deeplings, Rodent-folk prefer to make their homes in subterranean warrens and caverns. There are two subspecies of rodent-folk, and these distinct peoples have been bitterly divided for hundreds of years.
The first are the Skitch, small omnivorous humanoids whose appearance is reminiscent of rats and bats. The second subspecies are the Moulenov people. Like their brethren, they too are omnivorous, but they take on the appearance of humanoid, furless moles. Due to their race's history beneath the surface, they have underdeveloped eyes, to the point of blindness. Instead of sight, they rely on sound and smell.

The Bloody History of the Rodent-folk

Centuries ago, Skitch society was the brightest beacon of technological innovation in the Deep-Dark. Skitch society thrived on a type of wealth and steam-driven technology that rivaled modern Dwarves. This was due to their innate collective intelligence. At the time, Skitch society was a caste-based system focused heavily upon birthright and association to specific noble families, which denoted a Skitch's role in society.

The highest among these were the blood relatives of the Rat King, the lord of all Skitch. Within the Skitch aristocracy, treachery, backstabbing, and politicking were common ways to climb the social ladder, and the most powerful noble families even practiced outright warfare between each other. The daily life of the Skitch was often marked by continuous fights and power struggles for supremacy.
Those born blind and bald were only seen to be fit as workers to keep Skitch society functioning. These 'mutations' of Skitch became the foundations of Skitch society, working behind the scenes to keep boilers running, airflow into caverns fresh, and to keep the upper caste fed and content. They were the under-caste; the insignificant and expendable slaves or workers.
This culture of treachery and infighting was the rotten underbelly of Rodent-kind society. The concept of life and individual freedom to the under-caste was next to worthless. Survival was considered paramount to the individual, and so was the ascension of social status. Life was a miserable world where the weak were killed by their own kind, and the strong survived, provided they constantly watched their backs against rivals. Amongst the under-caste, back-stabbing and betrayals were not considered dishonorable behavior, but simply the most traditional way to advance in society.

Mouletor, Rikkit, and the Bloodied Revolution

This unstable system of betrayal among both the aristocracy and the under-caste collapsed under its own weight when a violent, revolutionary figure called Mouletor emerged within the under-caste and roused a movement within her kin. She showed her brethren how to create sound-based weapons from the steam technology they had been forced to slave over for generations. No longer could the under-caste be kept in servitude from their lack of sight. She preached that the under-caste were the 'oppressed', and the Skitch aristocracy were the 'oppressors'. This new ideal quickly spread among the under-caste, and the idea of a violent revolution took hold. Her people renamed themselves the 'Moulenov' and rose up against the Skitch as a collective, initiating a long series of bloody revolutions and violent purges that saw death in untold numbers.
Rikkit. Despite the attempted genocide of the Skitch by the Moulenov, some Skitch managed to survive thanks to the efforts of a lone Skitch smuggler called Rikkit who used his own tunnels to smuggle thousands of Skitch away from the revolution to rebuild their lives. Among those fleeing were the noble descendants of the Rat King. Rikkit was found to have enabled their escape, to which he was executed by Mouletor for aiding the oppressors of the under-caste.
Moulingrad. The Moulenov usurped the grand city of the Skitch and rebuilt it in their own image, demolishing and erasing Skitch art, history, and any such memory of their enslavement by their oppressors. The name of the once-great city of the Skitch was purged from history and the city has since gained the new name of Moulingrad, located underneath the mountains of Djora. Eventually, Mouletor established the premiership and the Commissary of the Molitariat, which has firmly ruled over Moulingrad for nearly three centuries.
The Great Borough & the Rat King's Council. Skitch society was left broken and scattered, and many have since forgotten their own history. As small collectives and enclaves of Skitch gathered, they created new cultures and new histories for themselves. The Great Borough was eventually built far beneath Wulfenholme, where the tunnels and warrens of the City of Scavengers reach as far as the Karthan Isles and even Meyland. The descendants of the Rat King's lineage formed the Rat King's Council, a loose type of governance within the most fortified depths of the Great Borough, to which many Skitch clans rally around today.

Life as a Skitch

Today, the fragmented nature of Skitch society means that they cannot be said to have any true form of government, but within a colony, the fastest speaker or 'passer of information' amongst them will inevitably become a leader in any stable group. This leader is seen as the first among equals and is allowed to make strategies and plans for the future of the colony. The closest things to local governments are small groups of Skitch elders who will congregate together, often linked to the cycles of the moon, on a regular basis to share important information, discuss events of the past cycle and make plans for their warrens for the next cycle. If there is any center of the Skitch's government and culture, it would be the Rat King's Council, a small council of the heads of the most influential clans. Due to the Skitch's adaptive nature, and their ineffectiveness in creating unique things, It is likely the Skitch took inspiration from Deepling society, namely the Deeptop Committee.

A colony of Skitch may be intelligent enough to reach an agreement or treaty with another race, which they will honor as long as they are capable. However, if the group thins too much, these agreements might be forgotten and the Skitch may act against their former allies.

Group Intellect

The Skitch communicate mainly using a series of swift, near ultrasonic chirrups and chitters. While this sounds like a buzz to most others' ears, the Skitch have exceptional hearing and so can communicate a great deal of information in a short period of time. This may be the basis of their group intelligence; larger groups of Skitch are capable of expressing a greater number of ideas and making a greater number of decisions in a shorter amount of time, so despite the short attention span of an individual Skitch, a large group can collectively possess a formidable intellect and a full-fledged colony can rival even Imps or Dwarves in their ingenuity and cunning.

Skitters, Warrens & Nests

Skitch living conditions reflect their scavenging nature. The only farms they run are those which require an absolute minimum of work to maintain, so they tend to prefer cooked meat and fungi harvested from underground, or food stolen from the surface world. They prefer to live in large hollows or caverns. These large settlements of Skitch are known as "skitters", using rocks and underground passageways to build safe environments.
Ramshackle Residences. Skitch have the architectural ability to build huts or structures within the main area of their hollows out of the items they scavenge, particularly sheet metal or wooden planks, slapping together make-shift hovels that serve the moment. A Skitch settlement will often have a perplexing number of structures packed into a small place. More often than not these places become overbuilt to the point of becoming safety hazards of precarious scaffolding and haphazard walkways, since Skitch structures tend towards ramshackle collections of debris and detritus. Few structures have foundations, and if so, it’s because a collection of Skitch happened to gather together enough intelligence between them at the right moment to include one. These high concentrations of Skitch in their skitters means they are at their most intelligent.
Fire Hazards. As a result of this shoddy architecture, fire is a constant threat, and buildings collapse regularly. On occasion, these buildings might be built within sensible lines, along paths or even roads, but again, such quality stems from chance-gatherings of Skitch intellect, and never genuine forethought. Even the better buildings are rarely finished, given the life expectancy of Skitch themselves. Most settlements are collections of incomplete and plundered structures.
Sleep Together. The sleeping areas used by the Skitch are communal. Skitch bedding and nesting areas are made out of anything that they can scrounge. From straw, animal skins and furs, to old clothes and discarded cloth. Position in the sleeping area is largely dependent on social status, with the most influential sleeping closer to the top of the pile.
Types of Skitch Settlements. Each skitter is different. They reflect the personality of the Sktch clan that calls it home. Some sprawl over a great distance, others are compressed areas of intertwining tunnels and passageways that loop and twist over and beneath each other like tangled ropes. Some of the largest skitters, such as the Great Borough, are sprawling complexes that are self-sufficient, and can easily accommodate from 5,000 to 10,000 Skitch, though populations vary.

Warrens are Skitch settlements classified as smaller than skitters. While not completely self-sufficient, warrens are typically able to support themselves so long as they can trade with or steal from other settlements for products they do not produce. They can be both a boon to Deepling, Deep-dwarf, and Dwarven settlements, or a curse. The population of a warren can range from 1,000 to 5,000. The smallest Skitch communities are commonly called nests. Nests are rarely home to less than 50 individuals and are typically affiliated with a single clan.

Scavengers at Heart

Skitch are opportunistic hedonists. They take what they can, when they can, and often pay in blood—but their numbers are enough to make up for these losses. They plan little and their tactics rarely extend beyond exploiting an opening when they see one. They are a naturally curious species, and in a large enough group, they can eventually discover the nature and operation of any item they obtain—much to the chagrin of other subterranean races like Deep-dwarves and Deeplings.
Skitch value useful items and things they cannot create themselves above others, although in smaller groups they revert to a preoccupation with shinier objects, and will more often than not try to make anything they come across shinier. They understand material worth and will value newer or more technologically advanced items over others.

Skitch Families

There is no societal distinction between male and female Skitch. Other species often have difficulty following Skitch in conversation. Skitch will often speak rapidly without specifics assuming the listener would understand them as another Skitch would. Male and female Skitch are similar in appearance; any difference is only detectable for those particularly familiar with the race. The Skitch are capable of rapidly multiplying—female Skitch may give birth to litters approximately three to five times in their lives.
Skitch families are large and chaotic. It is not uncommon for Skitch children to have many brothers and sisters. Because of this, many litters rapidly become self-sufficient and move out to live on their own only a few years after they're born.
Religion & The Cult of Rikkit. The many Skitch revere the great Skitch hero, Rikkit, whom they see as a liberator and savior from the bloodshed of the Bloodied Revolution. Had it not been for Rikkit, the Skitch would have been wiped out. Rikkit represents all things the Skitch are or wish to be. Stealthy, opportunistic, cunning, and most of all possessor of all things shiny and valuable. Most importantly, Rikkit cares for his people and wishes to see them thrive, diverting the attention of surface dwellers and the Moulenov away from the Skitch's machinations. Rikkit taught his followers that the world is a harsh place and that one must steal and use the shadows to survive.
By no means do all Skitch revere Rikkit. Some Skitch life cloistered lives on the surface world, engaging in a form of nature worship in small woodland groves. Others put their faith in the Pantheon of the Wild, seeing the spirits as wise leaders in a harsh world. Some Skitch even revere the Old Gods.

Cats?!

Perhaps one of the strangest quirks of Skitch is their attitudes towards cats, both wild and domesticated. Many tales have been told and exaggerated by Skitch surface-explorers regarding furred quadrupeds called 'felines'. It is unclear how this irrational, species-wide fear came about, but widespread superstition surrounding cats is pervasive within Skitch society. They are depicted in many scrawlings and scribblings as great, fanged predators who wish to see Skitch wiped away from the world. Skitch are told to run from such creatures if encountered, though this is not to say some Skitch haven't seen the ridiculousness of such tales.

Moulenov Society

Moulenov society is brutally efficient and mechanized. A highly collectivist society, the Moulenov people know very little of the concept of individual liberty and individuality. To most Moulenov, everything must be for the collective good of the people, regardless of how such results manifest. The 'Common Good' often involves bolstering the powerful governing bodies of Moulenov society, which enables its efficiency. Moulenov government is centrally-planned and organized from the top-down by the Commissary of the Molitariat. At its head is the Premier, a role which is said to honor the revolutionary figure of Mouletor. The premiership is always held by a female Moulenov, and its countless advisors and secretaries are also only available to females

Family Life

Male and female Moulenov have strict gender roles within Moulenov society. Females are typically larger and stronger than males, and thus are often chosen for leadership roles, such as commissars or factory owners, while male Moulenov are seen as more expendable, and are usually chosen at birth to either become soldiers or workers. Female Moulenov can typically choose their mates, and will typically bear a litter multiple times throughout their lives. Such a pairing is strictly for the benefit of the greater collective. A Moulenov mother will rarely show any attachment to her children, and the children will rarely know their mother and father.
Indoctrination at a Young Age. Moulenov children are usually taken from their mothers at birth and are collectively educated in a 'Den' by a member of the Commissary, imbuing within them a reverence for the Common Good. It is from these Dens that Moulenov Society perpetuates its reverence for the concept of an 'Eternal Revolution', and the 'Dictatorship of the Moletariat' above all else. To the Moulenov people, these ideas magnify the concepts of freedom from slavery and the overthrowing of oppressive regimes.
The Glorious Leader. Part of these Dens' education is instilling within the populace a reverence for the seat of the Premiership. To most Moulenov, the Premier is a deific figure—a perpetrator of the Eternal Revolution. This cult of personality permeates throughout Moulenov society, and the devotion of the Moulenov people to their leadership is near-unanimous, despite some defectors. Many individuals will possess some sort of engraving of the Premier on their person or within their homes to which they will give thanks every day.

Moulenov Colonies

Moulenov settlements are often built in great caverns, ravines, and caves. They are also incredibly industrious, and will quickly carve out large colonies, the first concern of which is defense, but older colonies can grow to become underground forge-cities filled with generations of industrial production. The Moulenov's expertise in industrial metal-working enables them to reinforce their subterranean colonies with strong metals such as iron, but Moulenov care remarkably little for aesthetics, and architecture within their colonies is plain, brutalist, and functional. Some dwarves would opine that Moulenov colonies lack the 'soul' of their strongholds.
Living Quarters. The Moulenov carve and forge their colonies underground for a variety of reasons. Their prowess in mining, metalworking, and masonry that rivals that of the Dwarves makes them ideal candidates to use the subterranean realm for living quarters, and considering their distrustful outlook on the rest of the world, the Moulenov wouldn't have it any other way. Their blindness to sight and hypersensitivity to subtle tremors in the earth also enables them to navigate the Deep Dark without issue.

Whenever a mine has been stripped clean of resources, the Moulenov will then remake it into an extension of the original settlement. Here, generations of Moulenov will burrow and construct their homes in and around the newly emptied tunnels, which will usually become overcrowded with sheet-iron hovels and walkways.
Heart of the Foundry. Mouulenov colonies are always built near subterranean places of geothermal activity, and the central feature of any Moulenov colony is the Foundry, a massive structure of wrought iron and pipes which is always be fueled by a supply of hot lava. The Foundry is the beating heart of any Moulenov colony, and it is the Foundry that powers much of their steam technology—pistons, forges, factories, supply lines, central heating, and even the generation of rudimentary electricity. Workers must regulate the Foundry throughout all hours of the day to maintain its surrounding civilization. Should a Foundry fall, its colony will soon follow.

Work is Good

The commonfolk of Moulenov society work every day in a strict routine of tireless drudgery for the Common Good. Factory work is among the most common type of work, where male workers will monotonously construct steam-based contraptions on conveyor belts, while the factories themselves will belch black smoke from their rusted smokestacks made from scrap metal. Other workers construct coal mines that branch far away from Mouulenov settlements, all for the sole purpose of fueling their rapidly growing industries and creating new habitats for future generations.
It is through this endless drudgery that work is seen as a universal, austere virtue. Asceticism is also seen as a public good, as the excesses, and the decadence of the Skitch aristocracy is what lead to their downfall. However, some of those closest to the Premier live more lavish lifestyles than the common folk, holding grand dinner parties with representatives from other Moulenov colonies.

Strength in Numbers

To some degree, the Moulenov's collectivist approach to their society isn't without some degree of merit. Born from the unwanted offspring of the Skitch during their time under the Skitch aristocracy, they still retained some degree of collective consciousness. While this had no bearing on their intellect—the aristocracy preferred to keep their workers comparably less intelligent than them—but during their time as the under-caste, the Moulenov were laborers and workers prized instead for their instinctive skill with machinery, which was magnified while in great numbers. This is still true today, and the Moulenov take full advantage of this in their work, referring to it ideologically as the Strength of the Moletariat.

Rodent-folk Names

The Rodent-folk are very different in their naming conventions. Skitch names tend to have no distinction between male and female and are often conjunctions of two-syllables with harsh-sounding consonants. Sometimes they sound similar to the chitters and chirrups of Skitch speech. Skitch tend not to have last names, as while families exist, Skitch tend to identify more with their Clans.

Moulenov are very different. They typically adopt the naming conventions of surface-dwellers. Since most of their colonies span throughout the lands of Djora, they usually adopt vaskan Human names. Moulenov also have family names, though much like their Skitch brethren, little emphasis is put upon family and lineage, as all Moulenov are equal under the sight of the Premier.

Skitch Names: Rappatat, Kispik, Rikkit, Chikchik, Plippik, Nimmit, Chirrik, Kritchit, Nippkit, Raknak, Chitchit, Mikkit, Putput
Moulenov Names: (Male) Vladimir, Boris, Sergiov, Sigurd, Charov, Kerchov; (Female) Estrid, Helga, Yelizaveta, Dariya; (Surnames) Burrowsnout, Earthward, Ironclaw, Deepdrill, Moundigger

Rodent-folk Traits

Rodent-Folk Traits

As a Rodent-folk, you have the following traits.

Ability Score Increase. Increase one ability score by 2, and increase a different one by 1, or increase three different scores by 1.
Age. Rodent-folk mature to adulthood at age 10, and very rarely live over 40 years old.
Size. Rodent-folk are between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh between 40 and 80 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Superior Darkvision. You can see in dim light 120 feet as if it were in bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.
Claws and Teeth. Your overgrown buck teeth and unkempt claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your claws, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the normal bludgeoning damage for an unarmed strike. If you hit with your bite, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the normal bludgeoning damage for an unarmed strike.
Pack Tactics. You have advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of your allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Rodent's Immunity. You are immune to disease. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and have resistance against poison damage.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Trade-tongue and Under-tongue. You can also speak Rat-tongue, a language spoken almost exclusively by Rodent-folk. Rat-tongue consists of a rapid, high pitched series of chirrups and chitters that is almost too high pitched for most normal humanoids to hear.

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Skitch

As a Skitch, you also have the following traits.

Alignment. Despite the existence of a loose order within their societies, most skitch tend towards chaotic alignments.
Rat King's Court. You gain advantage on all Intelligence checks while within 10 feet of another skitch.
Speed. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.
Scavenger. You may gain proficiency in either the Stealth, Sleight of Hand, or Survival skills. In addition, you gain proficiency in all improvised weapons.

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Moulenov

As a Moulenov, you also have the following traits.

Alignment. Moulenov are indoctrinated from youth to believe in a well-ordered society and the Eternal Revolution. Most Moulenov tend toward lawful alignments.
Tremorsense. This trait replaces Sunlight Sensitivity and Superior Darkvision. You cannot see. Instead of Darkvision, you have a Tremorsense radius of 60ft. In addition, you are immune to being blinded.
Calloused Hands. You gain proficiency in the Athletics skill.
Strength of the Moletariat. You gain advantage on all Wisdom checks while within 10 feet of another moulenov.
Speed. You gain a burrowing speed of 5ft and can only burrow through unworked dirt and stone as an action, which normally leaves a 3-foot diameter tunnel in your wake. You must use an action to collapse the tunnel behind you.

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Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Rat

Lifespan

30 years

Average Height

3' 5"

Average Weight

60 lbs

Geographic Distribution

• Deep-dark
• The Known World

Roleplaying a Skitch

Skitch live a life of hardship and are seen as pests by almost all forms of society, especially those on the surface. As such, a Skitch is erratic, suspicious of others, and often cowardly. Like Kobolds, Skitch understand their weaknesses, and will usually flee or hide at the first sight of danger. While this outlook might seem disdainful to other, larger races, a Skitch sees no downsides to such a perspective. To flee is to survive another day, and to hide is to evade the gaze of a nasty predator—all to enable the continued survival of the Clan.
A Skitch is content to avoid conflict at all costs, and if left alone, will steal what it can when it can, such as food, valuables, and leftover scraps in order to see to its continued survival. A Skitch will engage in combat only when necessary and only when it senses it has a distinct advantage over its opponent. However, should a Skitch become cornered, it can become erratic and dangerous and will lash out with whatever means it can when frightened.
Skitch tend to speak in the first person when communicating with others and, especially when speaking other languages, will tend to combine words for emphasis. A routed Skitch may call to its allies: "Flikflik will run-flee now!".
Skitch share Kobold's lust for treasure, but this isn't because of any draconic heritage. It is instead Skitch culture that ingrains within them the same desire for riches. To Skitch, the most influential Skitch Clans possess the most amount of treasure. To a Skitch, treasure can be anything: a silver spoon, a pretty picture frame, an ornate plate, a silken tapestry, or even a top hat. There is no amount of 'pretty things' that a Skitch will not seek to plunder.