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[3.x D&D] No Giant Rats?

Started by Drohem, March 09, 2010, 02:36:26 PM

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Drohem

March 09, 2010, 02:36:26 PM
I am running a PbP game of the TSR super-module T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil over on RPoL using the 3.5 D&D rules set.  I am converting an encounter with giant rats and, much to my surprise, it seems there's no giant rat in the 3.5 D&D Monster Manual, MM2, MM3, or MM4.  Did I just miss it somewhere in those books?  Is there some other WotC product, or 3rd party product, that has the giant rat?

Yes, converting the monster is easy and not the issue.  I am just mildly surprised that this classic D&D monster wasn't brought into WotC's 3.x version of D&D.

One Horse Town

#1
March 09, 2010, 02:44:36 PM
I think you need to look under Dire Animals (IIRC).

Thanlis

#2
March 09, 2010, 02:45:12 PM
Quote from: Drohem;365827I am running a PbP game of the TSR super-module T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil over on RPoL using the 3.5 D&D rules set.  I am converting an encounter with giant rats and, much to my surprise, it seems there's no giant rat in the 3.5 D&D Monster Manual, MM2, MM3, or MM4.  Did I just miss it somewhere in those books?  Is there some other WotC product, or 3rd party product, that has the giant rat?

Yes, converting the monster is easy and not the issue.  I am just mildly surprised that this classic D&D monster wasn't brought into WotC's 3.x version of D&D.

Look under dire rat.

Drohem

#3
March 09, 2010, 02:47:18 PM
Quote from: One Horse Town;365833I think you need to look under Dire Animals (IIRC).

This is a great moment for a Homerism- D'oh!

Gratzie! :)

Ian Absentia

#4
March 09, 2010, 06:23:42 PM
One of my favorite moments from my early, misbegotten days of 1e AD&D:

   GM: Okay, in the room you find a giant rat trap.
Player: Wait...is that a giant rat-trap, for a trap for giant rats?
GM: ...They're the same thing, dumbass!

!i!

(P.S. I need to check -- are there rules for dire horses?)

Drohem

#5
March 09, 2010, 06:41:06 PM
Quote from: Ian Absentia;365873One of my favorite moments from my early, misbegotten days of 1e AD&D:

   GM: Okay, in the room you find a giant rat trap.
Player: Wait...is that a giant rat-trap, for a trap for giant rats?
GM: ...They're the same thing, dumbass!

!i!

(P.S. I need to check -- are there rules for dire horses?)

Hehehe..:)

Yes, the Dire Horse is in the Monster Manual II book by WotC.

RPGPundit

#6
March 10, 2010, 08:25:08 AM
It could have also been a giant rat-themed trap.

RPGPundit
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Ian Absentia

#7
March 10, 2010, 01:16:40 PM
You know, the semantics of the phrase "giant rat trap" have returned to haunt me many times over the years.  It could have been a giant trap to catch many normal rats, or even just a single, enormous trap intended to catch just one small rat.  It could even have been a very, very small trap that is, none the less, intended to catch a giant rat.  I hadn't considered the possibility that it might have been a trap for humanoids, but decorated to look like a giant rat, or simply decorated to evoke the thought of giant rats.

The possibilities are endless!

!i!

Narf the Mouse

#8
March 11, 2010, 12:43:10 AM
Or a trap filled with giant rats.
The main problem with government is the difficulty of pressing charges against its directors.

Given a choice of two out of three M&Ms, the human brain subconsciously tries to justify the two M&Ms chosen as being superior to the M&M not chosen.

Ian Absentia

#9
March 11, 2010, 02:23:24 AM
Or even a giant trap filled with ordinary rats.

The mind boggles.

!i!

Imperator

#10
March 11, 2010, 02:56:34 AM
When I saw the thread title I read [3.X D&D] No Giant Rants?

All these edition wars are affecting me.
My name is Ramón Nogueras. Running now Vampire: the Masquerade (Giovanni Chronicles IV for just 3 players), and itching to resume my Call of Cthulhu campaign (The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man).

Hairfoot

#11
March 11, 2010, 07:43:13 AM
You need to gain a few levels before taking on dire rants.

Narf the Mouse

#12
March 11, 2010, 03:19:57 PM
Quote from: Hairfoot;366276You need to gain a few levels before taking on dire rants.
Also, many of the usual tactics, such as flaming oil, caltrops and focusing your efforts on one enemy at a time, just makes the Giant Rant more powerful.
The main problem with government is the difficulty of pressing charges against its directors.

Given a choice of two out of three M&Ms, the human brain subconsciously tries to justify the two M&Ms chosen as being superior to the M&M not chosen.

Garnfellow

#13
March 11, 2010, 04:27:05 PM
On a more serious note, converting giant rats on a one-to-one basis to dire rats may cause problems for low level parties.

An individual dire rat, while weak, is much tougher in 3e than one giant rat in AD&D. (And most AD&D giant rat encounters tended to have large numbers of those buggers.)

For some conversions you might look at using the 3.5e rat swarm instead of dire rats.
 

Drohem

#14
March 11, 2010, 04:41:32 PM
Quote from: Garnfellow;366403On a more serious note, converting giant rats on a one-to-one basis to dire rats may cause problems for low level parties.

An individual dire rat, while weak, is much tougher in 3e than one giant rat in AD&D. (And most AD&D giant rat encounters tended to have large numbers of those buggers.)

For some conversions you might look at using the 3.5e rat swarm instead of dire rats.

Yeah, I'm tweaking them a bit.  Good advice, thank you. :)
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