From the midst of a swamp called travel prep, I come bearing—— rats.

[hider=Rats][color=silver]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/3XqX7o9.jpeg[/img]
[h2]Swarm of Rats[/h2][sup]
[i]or to friends, colleagues and that one guy in middle management who actually remembers them (thank you it means a lot to them), simply,[/i][h1]Rats[/h1]
[h3]1★ | Rats | Level 1[/h3][/sup][/center]

[indent][b]Appearance:[/b] They look exactly the way you imagine them to; a mischief of pretty regular-looking rats in various shades of grey, black and brown. There's seven at the moment, six if we ignore Larry (we usually ignore Larry).

[b]Personality:[/b] The hivemind known as Rats consists of multiple different bodies that each share a (fairly simple) mind — which, for the most part, is concerned about survival and its various aspects. That doesn't mean Rats are selfish or lack the ability to work in a group however; quite on the contrary. Because while food and water are important for survival, so is fighting off the creatures trying to invade your home [i]and [/i] avoiding getting exterminated by someone angry at upper management — or worse, getting [i]fired[/i] in this job market. So while Rats can be overly curious and [i]certainly [/i]overly greedy when it comes to things they can devour (and if you ask them, they think they can devour quite a lot of things), they're also diligent and resourceful workers who do their best to follow orders — the way [i]they [/i]interpret them, anyhow. 

Constantly scurrying about doing [i]something[/i] they deem important, Rats are very rarely caught resting (are they actually just regular rats...?) and seem to be at their happiest when they have a project to work on. If they aren't handed one, they make one up for themselves, and [i]that [/i]usually means they're the [i]only ones[/i] happy though, so it's best to make sure their grubby little hands are occupied at all times. Otherwise you might find them rearranging every rock from the Entrance to the Core, usually in a way that's quite a tripping hazard.

Famously, they also have a knack for avoiding trouble, being very good at running away [i]and [/i]having developed quite a heartwarming apology dance (Larry notwithstanding).

[b]Abilities:[/b][indent] 

[b][We are Rat][/b] ➤ in the good, the bad and certainly the ugly. But this is the abilities section, so we don't need to point out the obvious downsides of being rats in here. Instead, we're going to focus on how keen their sense of smell is, how they can squeeze through tight spaces, move quickly and quietly, and apparently scare the shit out of elephants. Pretty useful stuff.

[b][We are Many] [/b] ➤ one rat isn't very strong. Two rats aren't very strong. Many rats—— are still not very strong, but they sure are annoying. To kill them, you need to kill every rat, and that sucks if you don't have reliable AoE or don't want to waste it all on the first floor of that dungeon you're trying to raid. They're pretty good at fighting together too, so it's easier for them to land hits when there are multiple of them focusing the same target. Most annoyingly, their numbers also seem to replenish in time, so they are never [i]not many[/i] for long.

[b][We are Hungry][/b] ➤ their bite hurts some, but you know what hurts way worse? [i]Hunger[/i], and they're pretty good at causing it, even if unintentionally. So you'd better keep your eyes on everything edible on your person, otherwise, those rations in your bag? Gone. That snack bar you forgot in your back pocket until it melted there? Gone. Whatever monster you happened to turn into a gourmet meal recently? Dude, not cool, but also gone.                                                                                                                                            

[b][We are Heard][/b] ➤ in your head, multiple times, whenever you want to communicate with them — that is, [i]if[/i] you're a monster. Their weird hivemind telepathy doesn't seem to work on humans. So yeah, while their fellow monsters get to communicate with them fairly effortlessly, humans are stuck listening to squeaks and enjoying their — continuously [i]improving[/i], mind — pantomiming routine.

[b][We have Trenchoat][/b] ➤ it's true, they do. It's pretty neat, looted from some fashion-unconscious adventurer or something. If enough of them pile up inside, they can pass as a human. An itchy, twitchy, squeaky human, but that's hardly [i]the [/i]weirdest human you've ever seen, now is it? Be honest.

[b][We are Plague][/b] ➤ well, not literally [i]the plague[/i] (not at level 1, anyway), but they don't exactly wash themselves, and like we learned in an earlier ability description, they kind of eat everything remotely edible without a care for expiration dates. So if they bite you or otherwise hang around your foodstuff, you aren't going to feel very good for very long.

[hider=future abilities wip][b][You are Us][/b] ➤ eventually, once they've gorged on enough juicy exp, they'll be able to make you — yes, [i]you[/i], human, join them. How? The way vampires and werewolves do it, except the end result is less a Majestic Creature of the Night and more another nameless vermin added to the pile. But hey, you'll never, ever be alone again. 

... So yeah, better either avoid getting bitten or get working on that constitution.

[b][TBA][/b] ➤ ... go grind first.[/hider]
[/indent][/indent][/color][/hider]
Also yeah, will be afk for the next two weeks, in case that affects the picking decision and all.