Ratling Berserker

Medium humanoid (ratfolk), chaotic evil

Physical Description

The ratling berserker stands nearly 5 feet tall, with a muscular, hunched frame that dwarfs its scout counterparts. Its coarse fur is patchy and scarred, often stained with dried blood from previous battles. The berserker's eyes glow with an unsettling reddish tint—a sign of the unnatural rage that constantly simmers within it. Its incisors are unnaturally large and often filed to sharp points, while its powerful forearms end in hooked claws capable of tearing through armor. Crude tattoos and ritual scarification mark its body, and it typically adorns itself with trophies taken from fallen enemies—teeth, finger bones, or scraps of clothing tied into its fur.

A guttural shriek echoes through the chamber as the massive ratling lunges forward, muscles bulging beneath matted fur. Froth flecks from its mouth as it swings its weapon in wild arcs, its eyes blazing with unnatural fury. The creature's movements are chaotic and unpredictable, driven by a bloodlust that seems to border on madness.

Lore

Rage Specimens. Berserkers represent the most physically imposing members of ratling society, often subjected to experimental breeding programs and alchemical treatments designed to enhance their strength and aggression. The process leaves their minds permanently damaged, trading intellect for raw combat potential. They serve as the shock troops of ratling war bands, unleashed when brute force is needed.

Ritual Scarification. Ratling berserkers undergo painful ritual scarification that both marks their status and is believed to enhance their connection to primal rage. These scars often follow patterns that hold religious significance within ratling society, typically devoted to dark entities that embody destruction and chaos.

Unstable Minds. The same treatments that grant berserkers their formidable strength also damage their neural pathways, making them dangerously unpredictable. Even their ratling commanders approach them with caution, as pain or threat can trigger indiscriminate violence. In battle, they have been known to turn on allies if no enemies are immediately available.

Expendable Assets. Ratling society views berserkers as valuable but ultimately disposable weapons. They are kept segregated from the general population, brought out only for raids or when territory needs defending. Their shortened lifespans—a side effect of their enhancements—means few survive beyond a few years of service.

Berserker Creation

"The process for creating these abominations is as cruel as it is effective. The strongest pups are identified early and fed a diet laced with alchemical stimulants. Those that survive the initial treatments are subjected to regular pain rituals and forced to fight each other for scraps of food. By the time they reach maturity, only the capacity for rage remains in their broken minds." — Excerpt from "Ratling Social Structures," by Archivist Vellen

Stats

• Armor Class: 14 (natural armor, shield)
• Hit Points: 45 (6d8 + 18)
• Speed: 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)	8 (-1)	10 (+0)	7 (-2)

• Skills: Athletics +5, Intimidation +0
• Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
• Languages: Ratling (cannot speak coherently, only make screeching noises)
• Challenge: 3 (700 XP)

Rage (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). As a bonus action, the ratling berserker can enter a rage for 1 minute. During this time, it has advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws, and it gains a +2 bonus to melee damage rolls. It has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

Unstable Mind. Every time the berserker takes damage, it must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or be compelled to attack the nearest creature (enemy or ally) on its next turn.

Reckless Attack. The berserker can choose to attack recklessly. Doing so gives it advantage on melee weapon attack rolls during this turn, but attack rolls against it have advantage until its next turn.

Multiattack. The berserker makes two battleaxe attacks while in rage.

Battleaxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) slashing damage, or 10 (1d10 + 5) while raging.

Throw Comrade (Recharge 5-6). The berserker grabs a willing smaller ratling ally within 5 feet and hurls it at a target within 20 feet. The thrown ratling makes a bite attack against the target with advantage. If the attack hits, the target takes normal damage from the bite, and the thrown ratling can make one additional claw attack against the same target as a reaction.

Tactics

Ratling berserkers charge into battle with little regard for personal safety, activating their Rage ability immediately and using Reckless Attack to maximize their damage output. They prioritize the largest and most heavily-armored opponents, seeking to prove their strength. While reasonably effective in combat, their Unstable Mind makes them dangerous to allies as well as enemies. Ratling commanders typically position berserkers away from other troops and point them toward the enemy lines, treating them more as living weapons than as soldiers.

The berserker towers over its smaller kin, its breathing heavy and labored as it surveys potential targets. Without warning, it slams its fist against its own chest, drawing blood that mingles with countless scars. Its eyes roll back momentarily as it enters a state of unnatural rage, muscles swelling with dark energy as it charges headlong toward the nearest threat, heedless of any danger to itself.