Keeprats

"It is always possible the records are incomplete."

- Proverb of the Azurejays, Scholar-Knights of San Sylvester

This article is incomplete and will require additional work.

The Keeprats are an entire category of undead aberrations, of varying size and, mostly, of middling intelligence which can be found in Graven Keep. Asa subset of the Gravenlings, they are a species believed to have been created at, and exclusively found within, Graven Keep, during a disasterous experiment by Kerr Ultwin in the early first century of the Age of the Summer of Mortals, or in the centuries that followed. Despite the name they are neither pests (from the perspective of the Keep, anyway) nor especially rodentlike; the name comes from their reputed habit of infesting the walls of the keep and other structures that happen to be established nearby.

Appearance

Neither the lifecycle nor the growth habits of the Keeprats is well-understood apart from by the intelligent denizens of Graven Keep themselves. The overwhelming majority are small creatures, the size of hunting dogs, with six limbs ending in delicately-fingered hands, and humanoid heads. One survivor of a Keeprat attack described them as "crabs, if designed by someone who had never seen a crab before, with mans' parts to build them out of". They are hairless, moderately intelligent, and unlike many other forms of Gravenling, capable of speech, usually in Common or Orcish. Gravenlings of this size serve as the maintainers and workers of the keep, and are capable of remarkable feats of climbing and burrowing.

Medium and large variants exist, usually of increasing degree of specialization. Large Keeprats, known as Keeprat Maidens, produce a chitinous substance used in a manner similar to mortar or concrete by the gravenlings. It's theorized that Keeprats who survive to this size and are well-attended by their smaller bretheren eventually become the Crawlers Beneath, a type of aberration that is found throughout portions of The Deeps and has commonalities with both Pre-Baghar Culture artworks and other creations of Kerr Ultwin.

Ecology

Keeprats, all or in part, lack wills of their own. While they can demonstrate some apparent problem-solving ability, their utility - and daily activity - is confined to the activities necessary to keep Graven Keep from succumbing to age and the efforts periodically made to destroy it, as well as presumably to continue in their excavations of the warrens beneath the keep. On rare occasions, they are found outside the Keep, sometimes miles distant, on some errand or other, and can complete the task without the direct intervention of a Judge of the Change, though they are almost always acting out of a compulsion placed upon them by one - an effect similar to a Geas or Quest.

"It is neither wise nor desirable to attempt to know everything."

- Excerpt of the Handbook of the Angharite Janissaries

This article contains optional lore or worldbuilding that may or may not be true at the discretion of your Dungeon Master.

Keeprats are made from the bodies of humanoids that, one way or the other, fell in combat against Graven Keep, in a manner similar to the Graven Wardens. Unlike the Graven Wardens, however, they are not bred for, nor especially suited for, combat. Instead, they are grunt workers, and in that sense are actually in some ways seen as more intelligent. Also, their facility with speech allows them to be used - very, very rarely - as translators or messengers, in situations where Judges cannot pass their thoughts directly to a recipient.

Abilities

Keeprats have exceptional skills at climbing and burrowing, and startlingly sharp senses, including perfect darkvision. Most can produce, rarely, small quantities of the chitinous resin produced by Keeprat Maidens, and Maidens produce it in sufficient quantity that they can also attack with it, encasing their enemies in it in a bid to protect themselves and to make it easier for them to be collected later.

Large Keeprats that maintain their ability are often seen sweeping through a battlefield after the fact, collecting bodies for whatever nefarious purposes the Keep requires.

In Relation To Others

The Keeprats are the lowest rung on any hypothetical Graven Keep heirarchy.