The Ratspeakers

Look and Feel: The Ratspeakers clothing reflects the abilities of those that they venerate. Brown rats are dichromates which perceive colors rather like a human with red-green colorblindness, and therefore browns, greys and blacks are common. Reds, greens, oranges and the like should not feature. Rats, however have excellent perception of the colour blue, and can see into the UV spectrum. High ranking rat speakers should have blue and even UV detailing on their costumes.

Ratspeaker camps are fairly ramshackle affairs, clustered around a central communal area. Ratspeakers generally like to be low down, and often situate their bedding below their stalls, or enclosed by boxes or crates – nooks and crannies are rats best friends! Camps are much like their clothing, dark in colour and shades of brown and black so that the occupants blend in.

Group Set up: Ratspeakers live in large, hierarchical groups. There will always be an alpha of an individual pack. This is not necessarily the strongest ratspeaker, though this is common, but an alpha should be the best person to lead that group, whether they be the most intelligent, the boldest or the most cunning. The alpha will generally pick a beta who compliments their skills to ensure the strength of the clan. Below the alpha and beta, the rat speakers organise themselves into a hierarchy based on factors specific to each clan, and each individual will know the importance of their number and their place. When food or other resources are in short supply, the rat speakers lower in social order are the first to be risked and/or die.

Religious/Magic: Earth magic is common within ratspeaker colonies. Blood magic is rare and practitioners are often feared even amongst their people. No other magics are found within this group.

Customs: Ratspeakers commonly groom each other and sleep communally where possible. Groups of ratspeakers tend to "play fight", which can involve any combination of jumping, chasing, tumbling, and "boxing". Play fighting involves them going for each other's necks, while serious fighting involves strikes at the others' back and hamstrings.