Adventure in the underground world with the uplifted mice and rats who live there and those who rule those domains - the Rat Kings! Help us create this latest book for the Realms of Pugmire TTRPG in PDF and PoD versions!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Sneak Peek: The Bug Hive
3 months ago
– Tue, Aug 04, 2026 at 06:17:04 AM
Hello Tail-blazers,
We've got one final chapter in our draft manuscript, but it's massive and we'll be splitting it into two sections as we deliver the entire draft version of the book to you before the end of the campaign.
And it kinda breaks into two sections quite nicely. The first half is an interlaced adventure designed to test your characters' courage as well as a wide range of encounters to include in your stories. The second half is big set-pieces dealing with each of the Rat Kings themselves, sort of larger chapter and story-ending climaxes for your tales of the Underneath.
Today I've got a sneak peek from one of the encounters from the first half of the chapter. We'll get the entire text for the Adventures + Encounters half tomorrow, but until then, enjoy some BUG HIVE.
The Bug Hive
As you walk through the underground caverns, you begin to notice that the tunnels you’re in seem to have a uniformity about them, as if they were purposefully dug. They clearly weren’t shaped by tools or paws, but they’re all smooth-walled and similarly sized, as if hewn by a large instrument of some sort.
If the players succeed at a Cunning check (Notice or Survive) at difficulty 10, they realize the tunnels are part of a network leading to a massive insect hive. On a triumph, they also know some of the digging was recent, as if the insects were digging new tunnels or simply maintaining older ones. If they choose to stay and keep pressing into the tunnels, they will encounter giant ants (Realms of Pugmire, pp. 179-180). As it’s dark inside the colony, characters who can’t see in low light or darkness need to maintain some sort of light source to effectively fight the ants. As the party makes its way toward the center of the hive, roll on the encounter table to see how many and what kind of ants they encounter, adjusting if needed for party size.
Bug Hive Encounters (d4)
1d4 giant ant drones
1 giant ant warrior
1d8 giant ant drones
1d4 giant ant warriors
If you’d prefer not to roll the random encounters, have them face an escalating number and type of giant ants as they make their way toward the center, culminating with the queen. The following progression is a good example of play.
Approaching the Entrance
The entrance to the hive proper is meticulously dug out, with mounded soil off to the side and a gently sloping entrance. The acrid, musty scent of ant pheromones is everywhere, smelling of bitter citrus and faint mold. Either roll on the encounter table or simply have the characters encounter a few giant ant drones here. They’re easily scared off but even if they don’t flee, the hive is alerted to the characters’ presence, as ants share a hive mind.
Tunnels
The packed-earth tunnels are remarkably neat, and all twist their way toward a central chamber, if circuitously. You can hear many ant limbs moving in the darkness.
As the party explores the tunnels, they will encounter more ants attempting to keep them away from the central chamber. Some ants are simply drones, and might be startled by the characters, but as they fight more warriors will show up to join the fray. Either roll on the table or have a combat begin with one giant ant drone for every party member and then bring in a warrior near the end. Have as many encounters as makes sense to you or is dramatically appropriate before reaching the final encounter with the queen.
Other Chambers
Throughout the hive, there are chambers dedicated to various things, including garbage disposal, food storage, and rearing larvae. Sprinkle a few of these in throughout the encounter, or simply describe each once as the characters explore. Any of these rooms would be a good spot for a tight encounter, where the characters can’t get as much as range as they might prefer between themselves and the giant ants.
Food Storage
This large chamber is clearly a place the ants use for food storage. Piles of food in various stages of decomposition line the stained walls, from well-preserved seeds to reeking meat. The ants clearly don’t have a discerning palate.
Lining the walls of those foul-smelling room are piles of food the ants save for later or to feed their queen and larvae. It ranges from nuts and seeds to grubs, unidentifiable meat, and the occasional whole corpse of an animal. If the characters choose to search the piles, they may find some things suitable for rations, as well as an explosive egg of a type of your choice (Realms of Pugmire, p. 161).
At any time while in this room, drone ants may come in bearing foodstuff, and they will attack the characters if they’re spotted, though they can hide behind the food piles if they hear the ants coming with a Cunning (Notice) check, difficulty 10.
Nursery
Larvae and pupae in various stages of development lie in large depressions dug into the dirt of this chamber, and those old enough to move gambol around and over their fellows. Four drones tend to the young, cleaning them and feeding them some sort of mash.
This chamber is clearly some sort of creche or nursery, as the characters would understand it. The young are noncombatants, but the workers will defend themselves and their charges ferociously, calling in one or two giant ant warriors if they feel it necessary. If the characters attack the young in any way, one giant ant warrior for each player will storm the room, regardless of if the prior fight is finished.
If the players want to adopt an ant to raise as their own, they may take up to one larva each, each of which is the size of a typical feline. A fully grown giant ant can be a mount for a rodent as long as they’re on the smaller size, but requires several consecutive Presence (Handle Animal) checks, difficulty 15, to truly tame one, as they would prefer to get back to their hive. If tamed, the giant ant uses its usual drone stats, but doesn’t have its grab or acid sting, and otherwise acts as a horse or other pack animal. It is impossible to tame a giant ant warrior or queen.
Trash Disposal
This chamber smells worse than the food storage chamber or the ants themselves. It’s filled with bones, molted exoskeletons, and other refuse. Among the biological waste, you can see pieces of cast-off armor and rusting weapons, presumably from others who have tried and failed to defeat the queen.
This room is set apart from other chambers, and will probably be walled off soon as the ants fill it and require a new refuse chamber. Most of the equipment seen in the pile is useless, having rotted or rusted away, but if you want the players to find a fix or wonder here, that makes perfect sense. This is also another good place for a drone encounter, should you so choose.
The Queen
As you near the central chamber, you can hear chittering insect sounds ahead of you. When you round the corner and your light reveals the chamber’s contents, you see a gigantic ant in the center of the chamber. This is clearly the queen, and she’s busy laying eggs while other ants attend to her needs. When her multifaceted eyes turn toward you at your sudden intrusion, she lets out a clicking wail that echoes mournfully through the tunnels.
The ant queen is terrifying, and is attended by 1d6 drones and 1d4 warriors. If the characters attack her, the whole ant colony rouses to her defense, sending reinforcements each round the queen is undefeated. If the characters defeat the queen, the rest of the hive flees, taking their eggs and young with them, along with as much food as they can grab. If you want to reward the players for this encounter, the queen’s chamber is an excellent place to have a relic, wonders and fixes, or a lot of plastic, perhaps given to the queen in tribute or offerings to dissuade the colony from attacking.
The Dead Tunnel
The stench of rotten flesh grows as the party moves deeper into a tunnel. Stepping past a series of stalagmites, the ground becomes soft and the stench grows more profound. Bugs and worms move along the chamber walls, feeding on the rancid material. Realization strikes. This isn’t a tunnel. It’s a corpse. An Intellect (Know Nature) or Cunning (Survive) check at difficulty 10 — made at a hindrance by those from the surface other than rodents — reveals this as a dead Spelunking Gullet (p. xx). If the party is brave enough to explore the creature’s mouth or descend into its belly, they may discover a valuable bounty. The Guide should roll on this table, select their preferred option, or use these items as inspiration for other objects the party might uncover:
Bounty in the Dead Tunnel (d6)
Among the partially digested creatures littering the area, you find the remains of a nameless rodent, dog, or cat adventurer. While most of their gear is ruined, you find a torch and a container of ammunition within what remains of their rucksack.
Some foul energies have animated the dead here. The floor quivers as several partially digested adventurers shamble forth, reanimated as zombies (Realms of Pugmire p. 192).
A surviving, but traumatized creature — or group of creatures — claws its way out of the gullet as the party approaches. Use any combination of the enemies. Stomach acids have seared the creature’s flesh and eyes causing them to be Blind. They are in agony and lash out as a result. This causes them to automatically succeed on morale tests regardless of their tags.
The monster’s belly is filled with riches left behind by its former meals. Fill the monster with 1d10 items, including relics, fixes, or wonders from any Realms of Pugmire book.
The party finds an egg sac nearly the size and weight of a full-grown rodent. A successful Cunning (Survive) or Intellect (Know Nature) at difficulty 12 reveals the egg contains a gestating Spelunking Gullet (p. XX). A triumph reveals the egg will hatch in 2d4 weeks.
From deep within the gullet the party hears a squeaky voice call out, “A little help here!” A grappling hook emerges from the dark maw, embedding in the rotten wall. A rope connects to the hook, descending into the deep, dark chasm below. Almost immediately, the hook begins to pull loose from the wall. If the party wishes to help, one character must make an Agility test at difficulty 10. A second character may use the Help action to grant a boon on this test. Success allows the party to catch the hook before it breaks free. They may then easily pull up the rodent on the other end of the rope. The grateful explorer introduces themself as one of the famed Underneath explorers, infamous salvagers of Spelunking Gullets, and proprietors of the Gus’s Goods family business. The Gus family are well known as reputable merchants. This merchant could be any of the Gus siblings: Ann Gus, Angus Gus, Esoph Gus II, or Prodi Gus. They all use the stats for the Clever Trapmaster (p. xx). The mouse is drenched in rot and filth but seems unbothered. They thank the party for their aid and offer them any supplies they need. Treat this member of the Gus family as a well-stocked merchant, willing to give each party member one non-masterwork item for free as thanks. They are willing to barter for additional items and their disposition level toward the party is Liked.
So that's a sneak peek at one of the many, many encounters that are in this chapter, alongside a full adventure. Pieces to build your story and adventure in the shadows and under the Realms of Pugmire.
Check back tomorrow for the full draft manuscript for Chapter 5 PART A, and then a sneak peek at the Red Paw Gang on Thursday. On Friday, I'm gonna have an information and scheduling page as we get into our final week, so you'll know what to expect over the last days of the campaign.
But for now, please continue to spread the word and share this campaign on your social media and in your social circles, and let's see if we can upgrade another map for this chapter before we're done!! This is the third and final upgrade and has to do with the big climatic location that we'll see in the second half of Chapter 5, coming in one week!
At $8,000 in Funding - LAIR OF THE RAT KINGS MAP UPGRADE III
Map Upgrade 3 - Secret Lair. The big set-piece Secret Lair map will be upgraded and built to add excitement to this underground experience.
Enemies! [Backer Draft Manuscript Preview #4]
3 months ago
– Fri, Jul 31, 2026 at 06:19:14 AM
Hello Tail-blazers,
What fun would it be if it were easy to just walk around in the world below the Realms of Pugmire? No challenges, no opposition, no adventure.
Well, luckily that's not the case. There are absolutely dangers in the dark. The Cult of Labo Tor is a big one, and other creatures (some of which we've previewed) lurk in the shadows.
Today, we get the complete draft version of Chapter 4, which covers all of the enemies in the Lair of the Rat Kings.
Draft Manuscript Previews
Over the course of these 4 weeks, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Lair of the Rat Kings, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in squeak-sized treats throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next 28 days, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.
Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.
In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: <Lair of the Rat Kings Feedback Form>
You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Pugmire developers and help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.
Digital and Print-on-Demand Rewards
We know times are hard these days, particularly with rising costs and economic uncertainty, so we’ve designed this crowdfunder to be as painless as possible. We offer a wide variety of digital options for backing, as well as leveraging print-on-demand technology to have physical products printed as close to you as possible to cut down shipping and reduce tariff concerns.
Creating and fulfilling physical versions this way gets you the best price, fastest delivery, and excellent customer support!
DriveThruRPG's printing partners are located both within in the USA and the UK (and expanding), making shipping cheaper and avoiding the tariffs incurred by international manufacturing and shipping!
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Reply to this Update" or "Learn More" button on the bottom and I'll see you below this title treatment.
Sneak Peek: Drodo, Phooph, Shroops
3 months ago
– Thu, Jul 30, 2026 at 07:08:25 AM
Hello Tail-blazers,
Another preview today ahead of our complete Enemies chapter coming tomorrow. This time, all of the fun names!
Drodo
(OL 1; Enemy)
Drodo are strange, flightless, metamorphic birds with crystalline bodies whose conical, metal heads perch atop segmented metallic necks. Their unique physiology allows them to merge with other drodos, increasing their mass, number of heads, and ability to wield horrifying elemental powers.
The smallest drodo has a single head, is the size of a large turkey, and has a body formed of a monocolored crystal. When two drodos merge, to form a drododo, they become the size of a pony, the two heads of the new drododo perched atop a crystal made of the blended colors of the original bodies.
Drodotos are horse-sized and their three heads rest atop a body covered in a tiger-stripe pattern reflecting the coloration of the drododos that formed it. On rare occasions, two drodotos merge into a building-sized drodoquo, whose body ripples iridescently with the colors and patterns of its constituent parts. This is also the only type of drodo whose wings are said to be capable of flight, although few believe such accounts as a four-headed, eight-winged creature the size of a small house must be a flight of fancy.
Tactics: Fueled by rage, drodos live to cause chaos and hunt the target of their ire. This is seemingly random, but once a drodo has set its sights on its prey, nothing can prevent them hunting it down. They don’t need to rest and think little of destroying anything in their way.
Tricks: Low-light Vision; resistant to electric damage
Combination Form: A drodo’s stats are different based on the number of heads it possesses. For every head after the first: its OL and Defense increase by 2; its maximum stamina points increase by 20; its experience bonus increases by 1; it gains the Notice (two or more heads) and Intimidate (three or more heads) skills; it can deal heat (two or more heads) or cold (three or more heads) damage with its elemental gaze attack; it can make a number of attacks equal to the number of its heads; its attack dice increase by one stage (e.g. 1d6 becomes 1d8); and it becomes resistant to the new damage types of its elemental gaze.
Disintegration: A drodo reduced to 0 stamina points crumbles into crystalline dust.
Reintegration: When two drodo are within 5 feet of each other, they may reintegrate as a supplemental action. If a smaller drodo merges with a drodo with more heads, the larger drodo regains stamina points equal to half the smaller drodo’s maximum total. If the drodo have the same number of heads, they merge into the next largest drodo with its stamina points at half its maximum.
Phooph
(OL 1; Minion)
Few things in the Underneath are benign, but phoophs are the closest to it that anyone can remember encountering. Their sponge-like, star-shaped bodies drift slowly, and absently, through the empty tunnels and caverns of their home, and they form small shoals for mutual protection and socialization.
Natural telepaths, they passively read the minds of any they encounter and share their pain when attacked. Rodents who travel the further reaches of the Underneath know to run when these largely harmless creatures turn hostile, as it’s a good indicator that something much larger and hungrier is nearby; likely something that has forced the phoophs from their home cavern and is now looking for more prey.
When not chased from their homes, phoophs are content to let travelers pass peacefully through their territory.
Tactics: Phoophs flee danger automatically. They instinctively use their Think About What You’ve Done trick when provoked and use the resulting mental agony to distract their attackers.
Defense: 12 (squishy hide) Stamina Points: 1 Speed: 20 ft. / 5 ft. flying Experience Bonus: +1 Attributes: Agility +3, Might -2, Vitality +0, Cunning +1, Intellect +1, Presence +0 Attack: Slam (-1 melee, 1d6 - 2 blunt, plus Think About What You’ve Done) Morale: N/A
Tricks: Immunity to Blind, Deaf, and Prone; resistance to blunt damage; weak to mental damage
Think About What You’ve Done: On a successful slam attack, the target takes 1d4 mental damage at the start of each of their turns and can’t apply their experience bonus to attack or damage rolls. Making a Cunning test (difficulty 13) prevents this damage and the effect. Targets who fail may attempt the test again at the end of each of their turns until they succeed, ending the effects of this trick.
Hurlenflee: Once per battle, the phooph may vomit the contents of its stomach in a 15 feet cone to escape an opponent. Every character within the cone is covered in a brightly colored, sickly-sweet spray and Immobile until they make a Might test (difficulty 13) as an action or another creature uses their action to make a Might (Traverse) check at difficulty 13 to break them out. Making an Agility test (difficulty 13) prevents this effect. The stubborn, cotton-candy smell remains for 1d4 hours, imposing a hindrance on Hide checks, unless the target takes the time to clean themself and their equipment in fresh water.
Psychic Sensitivity: The spongy makeup of the phooph makes them extremely sensitive to psychic abilities. The phooph hears any telepathic communication that occurs within 60 feet of it. It has immunity to any effects that allow a creature to sense emotions or read thoughts.
Shroops
(OL 3; Enemy; Amphibious)
Shroops are psychic crustaceans that share some similarities with fungi and can sometimes be found living alongside rollust colonies, but are more often encountered in the largest underground lakes and waters, dwelling amongst the brightly-colored corals that thrive within the Underneath. They form a symbiotic relationship with the corals they live amongst, becoming host to part of the reef in exchange for a portion of the energy generated by the polyps that take “root” upon their shell.
They are pacifists by nature, and their colonies spend most of their waking hours engaged in telepathic conversations concerning water temperature, the health of the reef, and other simple matters. They can converse mentally with explorers, but few choose to do so and fewer still have the opportunity. When threatened, or startled, a shroop can send the stillness found at the bottom of their lake into the mind of an explorer, causing them to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When this occurs above the surface of the water, the shroop will flee slowly towards the sanctuary of the deeps. When explorers stumble upon a shroop colony in its territory, however, they often drown as the shroops are unaware that most creatures need air more often than they do.
Many stories abound concerning the origin of shroops, but the most popular is that they are the dreams of Men who drowned in the time before time. Some rodents believe that if they could connect with a shroop colony on a deep, psychic level, and survive the experience of being far below the surface of the water, they might learn secrets that have been forgotten since Man disappeared.
Shroops regularly shed their shells as they grow, seeking larger and larger replacements, and these cast-offs are valued by a handful of collectors throughout the Underneath for the plastic content that can be processed from them with enough time and effort.
Tactics: Shroops aren’t inherently aggressive and will use their Sleep of the Deep trick at the start of their first turn. Should this prove ineffective, they attempt to flee their aggressors, hiding amongst the coral reef or retreating to the nearest body of water.
Hivemind: Any shroop within 240 feet of another can sense when one takes damage.
Sleep of the Deep: Once per combat, the shroop can use an action to overwhelm a character with calming vibes, causing them to fall Unconscious. Making a successful Cunning test (difficulty 15) prevents this. The target may attempt the test at the start of each of their turns and remains Unconscious until succeed, take any amount of damage, or can finish either a rest or a nap.
Who doesn't want to encounter some Phoophs and Shroops now?
We're halfway throught he campaign now, with two weeks behind us and our final two weeks ahead. Still lots of cool stuff to come! Remember to spread the word and get ready for the dangers of the Underneath tomorrow!
Sneak Peek: Bodak, Canoptic, Geocatcher
3 months ago
– Tue, Jul 28, 2026 at 08:02:27 AM
Hello Tail-blazers,
On Friday, we'll get our complete enemies chapter. Until then, a small preview of some nasties...
Bodok
(OL 3; Enemy)
When at rest, bodoks are indistinguishable from the large, ancient microchips found in the ruins left behind by Man. Flat, covered in a faded, green, chitin-like material, and decorated with delicate golden traceries, the tines of the “chip” extend into tiny, scuttling legs when the bodok awakens and hunts its prey. It feeds by latching onto its prey’s neck and inserting a metallic proboscis into the unfortunate creature’s brain.
Due to their strange anatomy and incomprehensible nature, rodents who have studied them are unable to say for certain what they truly feed on — mental energy, brain matter, or blood — but as they are most commonly found within those places Man carved out for experiments of a highly technical nature, bodoks are believed to be able to subsist on the lightning Man trapped within copper wires.
Left to their own devices, it’s hypothesized that bodoks will hibernate indefinitely — awakening only to defend the territory they’ve claimed — and few willingly travel from the Underneath. Even when possessing their prey, bodoks instinctively remain below ground, venturing out only when necessary, or when threatened, to secure more food.
Due to their size, a single adult can sustain a bodok for months, during which time the bodok will remain attached to the back of its prey’s neck, using its mental connection to control the creature’s actions.
Tactics: Bodoks are ambush predators. Their low Speed and small pool of stamina points make them easy to kill, so they typically ambush their prey in large numbers, prioritizing any characters dealing electric or mental damage.
Once a bodok has possessed a character, they will use that character’s abilities to protect the other bodok’s nearby, ensuring their fellows can also use the Possession trick.
Tricks: Resistance to all damage except electric, weak to mental damage
Hostile Takeover: A bodok within 5 feet of a living target can attempt to take over the target against their will. It latches onto the target, crawls up to the back of their head, and inflicts 4d6 mental damage as an action. Making a successful Cunning test (difficulty 15) halves this damage. If the target is reduced to 0 stamina points, they are automatically subject to the Possession trick, or, if they have any remaining stamina points, they may attempt a Might test (difficulty 15) to remove the bodok.
Possession: The bodok may take over any character at 0 stamina points. When the bodok takes over, the character regains half their maximum stamina points, is Possessed by the bodok, has access to all their skills and abilities, and can’t remember anything. The target makes a Cunning test (difficulty 15) every 24 hours and returns to normal — removing the bodok — when it succeeds.
Canoptic
(OL 4; Enemy)
Covered in black, leathery skin, this bat-like creature hangs from the ceilings of the caverns it calls home, almost indistinguishable from the shadows around it. The only warning its prey has of the canoptic’s approach is the sound of air rushing over wings as it dives, or the slight hum that the barbed horns adorning its head make as it falls upon its target.
These horns are both a sensory organ — amplifying its ability to navigate the Underneath through echolocation — and a gruesome weapon. Not only can they draw blood with the slightest touch, the canoptic also uses them to grapple its prey and carry it to great heights, before releasing it to fatally fall onto the rocky floor of the Underneath. The canoptic will then eat the internal organs, leaving only a broken, hollowed-out corpse.
Those who have fought these canoptics shudder whenever they’re mentioned, calling them “barbed shrouds”, “shrieking darkness”, or “biting shadows”, and many stories told by rodent parents use them as figures of punishment for misbehaving youngsters.
While all canoptics are highly territorial, some, most often those who live near ruins left behind by Man, have learned to hunt packs, coordinating through a complex system of wing gestures, horn movements, and echolocation clicks. Such swarms will work together to bring down large prey and feast upon the corpse together. Lone hunters will target single individuals, attacking groups only when no other option presents itself or when driven to desperation by hunger.
Tactics: Canoptics ambush their prey, observing from the safety of their hidden perch before striking without warning, often when their target is deep within the canoptic’s territory.
Canoptics use their ability to fly to great effect, staying beyond the range of most attacks and dropping their prey from as great a heigh as possible. Their ability to hide in almost any shadow allows them to swoop upon their foe, drop them from a height, and then reposition without being seen, striking from another quarter with their next action.
They target spellcasters and characters with ranged weapons first, dealing with the most immediate threats before harrying those who can’t attack back.
Echolocation: The canoptic has a boon on Notice checks to detect hidden creatures.
It’s the Stop at the End: After a successful horns attack, the target of the attack is grappled by the canoptic’s horns and the canoptic immediately uses its remaining movement to fly straight up and drop the target, which takes 1d8 damage per 10 feet fallen, modified by spells and special abilities. Making a successful Might test (difficulty 16) prevents this.
Nimble Escape: The canoptic can take the Disengage or Hide action as a supplemental action on each of its turns.
Geocatcher
(OL 6; Enemy)
The Underneath is full of strange creatures, and geocatchers aren’t an exception. It’s believed that Man created these chameleonic animals as a lesson in greed, a warning to those who would exploit the natural world, or just as a joke.
They are indistinguishable from massive geodes when resting. Their craggy grey “skin” is enveloped by veins of mineral and crystal, and they’re found clinging to the walls and ceilings of caverns, or clustering together in large craters, where they seem content to rest indefinitely. When disturbed, either accidentally or through the actions of a foolhardy miner, the crystalline veins that adorn their exterior become a writhing mass of razor-sharp tendrils.
They use these tendrils as harpoons, impaling their prey and using their strange biology to drain their opponents of their very life force, reducing them to nothing more than statues. Many rodents know stories of caves full of stone figures contorted by agony and, whenever one such place is found, it’s quickly shunned by all right-thinking folk.
For the greedy or desperate, however, it’s said that the heart of a geocatcher is a geode of incredible purity that has been infused with the life essence of all its victims and can be used as a masterwork of great power.
Tactics: Geocatchers are largely unthinking creatures. They lash out when disturbed, deal with the threat, and then return to their rest. Some have developed the habit of dragging their opponents up walls and dropping them from a height, but others remain immobile, refusing to leave the ground they have chosen to rest on.
Tricks: Darkvision; multiple attacks (4 tendril slams, Drains, or Leashes in any combination)
Spider Climb: The geocatcher can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Drain: The geocatcher makes a character that they are grappling Sickly and deals 3d10 deathly damage. Making a successful Vitality test (difficulty 15) prevents the condition and halves the damage taken. The geocatcher regains stamina points equal to half the damage dealt and characters who die because of this damage petrify instantly.
Grasp: After a successful tendril slam attack, as part of the same action, the target is grappled by the geocatcher. Making a successful Might test (difficulty 18) prevents this. Until the grapple ends, the target is Restrained and has a hindrance on Might checks and tests. The test can be attempted as an action on the character’s subsequent turns. The geocatcher can grapple up to four characters and can’t target grappled characters with their tendril slam attack.
Leash: The geocatcher can use an action to move every character it’s grappling up to 20 feet in any direction. Making a successful Agility test (difficulty 15) prevents this.
I've got some recovery to do tomorrow, but I'll be back on Thursday with another sneak peek and then our full enemies chapter on Friday!
Bones of the World [Backer Draft Manuscript Part 3]
3 months ago
– Mon, Jul 27, 2026 at 07:22:04 AM
Hello Tail-blazers,
We're in the middle week of our crowdfunding campaign. Normally, this period is a little quieter when compared to the first and final 48 hours, but we're going to see if we can make it a little bit more exciting with two manusript previews this week!
Today, we're looking at Chapter Three: Bones of the World. This is full of advice for the Guide on how to run the Underneath as a giant underground adventure, along with suggestions and expanded advice on exploration and survival, as well as rules for exciting encounters in which a group of heroes battles a single foe. It also contains great information about various villages and other interesting locations within the Underneath.
Digital and Print-on-Demand Rewards
We know times are hard these days, particularly with rising costs and economic uncertainty, so we’ve designed this crowdfunder to be as painless as possible. We offer a wide variety of digital options for backing, as well as leveraging print-on-demand technology to have physical products printed as close to you as possible to cut down shipping and reduce tariff concerns.
Creating and fulfilling physical versions this way gets you the best price, fastest delivery, and excellent customer support!
DriveThruRPG's printing partners are located both within in the USA and the UK (and expanding), making shipping cheaper and avoiding the tariffs incurred by international manufacturing and shipping!
Draft Manuscript Previews
Over the course of these 4 weeks, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Lair of the Rat Kings, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in squeak-sized treats throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next 28 days, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.
Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.
In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: <Lair of the Rat Kings Feedback Form>
You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Pugmire developers and help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
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