The Rat King
A starting module for Last Arc: Tactics Analogue
Set-Up
The following module is a short
adventure intended to be a starting
point for a Last Arc: Tactics Analogue
campaign, providing an early level 1
adventure to start off from.
This adventure is designed for a
party of four level 1 characters. Level 1
is the very start of the game, which
means players may have more limited
options and will have to manage their
limited resources to succeed.
Session Zero
While the The Rat King module
is designed to be simplistic in
both application and premise, it is still
advised that the GM and players
should hold a session zero, during
which the players can create
characters, and a basic explanation of
the setting and rules can occur.
GM Notes:
Though it is an introductory
dungeon of sorts, Last Arc: Tactics
Analogue may have a bit of a learning
curve for players new to the system.
Last Arc is not as forgiving as some
other systems, a fact that can be
exacerbated by the early levels of a
tabletop game. That being said, having
your players create 2 characters for
this dungeon is a good idea, as you
might find it both convenient and
necessary to have a backup ready to
go.
Background
The heroes have been
contracted by the mayor of a small
village to deal with a ‘rat problem’ that
has been causing trouble in an old
manor on the edges of the town.
The manor was long abandoned
by a noble family that moved to a
different fief, and the building was left
empty for years. Recently, travelers
and townsfolk have been attacked by
rats in the area, and the local guard is
too busy watching the nearby
movements of a group of orcs to the
west to handle the issue themselves,
thus the party has been hired to deal
with it. When you are ready to begin
the module, read or paraphrase the
following text.
“Far from the edges of the town
itself stands a sizable two story
manor, its sprawling grounds long
overgrown with weeds and vines,
the building itself clearly long left in
disrepair. Shadowy shapes seem to
dart and flicker behind tattered
curtains, clear signs that whatever
beasts have made this place their
nest have fully taken over the old
noble manor. The town’s mayor has
charged you with clearing out the
place, dealing with the apparent rat
problem that has infested it. The
mayor and his guardsmen are busy
with other matters, which gives you
an opportunity to be paid well for
what will hopefully be a simple job.”
Room 1: Foyer
Room
Description:
When the party enters the
room, read or paraphrase the
following boxed text:
“The party enters through the
double doors of the old manor,
accompanied by the loud creaking of
hinges long lacking any oil. The
remnants of the old foyer has
tattered and torn up furniture
scattered around the room, some
tipped over and all in some state of
disrepair. To the left and right are
two ajar doors each leading to
further rooms, while to the far back
of the spacious foyer is a staircase
leading to the second floor.”
Enemies and
Hazards:
The tattered and worn furniture
block normal movement but can be
climbed or jumped over with a DC 12
Athletics check without otherwise
affecting their movement. Creatures
may take cover behind the furniture,
providing cover to medium sized
creatures, and improved cover to
small size creatures. Creatures below
small size have total cover. Cover
provides a +5 bonus to the Reflex
Defense of creatures behind cover
from an attack, while Improved Cover
provides a +10 bonus, and Total Cover
means they cannot be attacked from
that angle at all.
Combat:
Hiding underneath, behind, or
even inside of the furniture of the
foyer are 3 Dire Rats. Place these
enemies where you see fit. If not
detected these enemies will ambush
the party when they are closest to the
center of the room, and try to
surround them one at a time to use Defences Ref 16 (flat-footed 13), Fort
their Overwhelm ability. 11, Will 11
Hp 12; Threshold 11
Immunity Petrify
GM Notes: Speed 8 squares, climb 4 squares,
swim 4 squares
As the enemy rats are hiding in Melee bite +9 (1d4+1)
or around the furniture, you will Space 1 square; Reach 1 square
compare their stealth of 19 (Taking 10 Abilities Str 10, Agi 17, Vit 13, Int 2,
+ 4 [Agi mod] + 5 [Trained in Stealth]) Mnd 13, Chr 4
to the party’s passive perception. If Special Qualities overwhelm
Feats Agile Manoeuvres
successful, the rats remain
Skills Perception +7, Stealth +9,
undetected. However, should
Survival +7, Unarmed +9
the party at all be suspicious, they can Overwhelm- Dire rats receive a +2
try to reveal the location of hidden morale bonus to attack rolls for each
enemies with a Perception check. We adjacent dire rat.
advise against the GM calling for Loot Beast Fang (5%), Beast Mane
perception checks. This needlessly (20%)
Steal Health Potion (5%)
alerts your players to potential danger,
stifling the sense of drama and
suspense. Let them learn the merits of
caution and restraint on their own. Room 2: Sitting
The doorways to the left lead to The Room
Sitting Room (Room 2), while the
doors to the right lead to The Room
Kitchens (Room 3). The stairs at the
back lead upstairs to The Upper Hall
(Room 5).
Description:
When the party enters the
Stat blocks like these will be listed near room, read or paraphrase the
encounters throughout the module. following boxed text:

Rat, Dire
CR 1 “Through the left side door of the
N Small Beast (rat) 2 foyer lies a wide-open Sitting Room.
Init d8; Senses low-light vision, The furniture in this room, while still
scent; Passive Perception 17 coated in layers of dust, is relatively
more intact aside from the legs
being scratched with claw and bite
marks, the main exception being a
large once-plush sofa to the far side
of the room next to where the
fireplace is, or was. By now the sofa
has been torn to shreds and much of
its cloth and stuffing has been mixed
with shed fur and gathered straw to
form a large nest within the
fireplace and around the hearth.
Two other doors are on the right
side of the room, but the building
seems to have partially collapsed,
blocking them off.”
Hidden Items:
Characters with a passive
Perception of 12 or greater can notice
a variety of paintings hung around the
dusty walls of the sitting room. Any
players may make a DC 15 Knowledge
Nobility, Knowledge History, or
Knowledge Religion check. Players
who pass the check can pick out two
paintings in specific out of the ten
that should be worth about 100 gold
each that can still be salvaged. If
players fail this check they can still
attempt to sell all of the paintings
together, but the buyer may very well
attempt to rip them off for not
understanding the price of what
they’re selling!
Enemies and
Hazards:
Just like in Room 1, the furniture
can be used as cover. Aside from that,
the nest in the fireplace conceals a
hole in the floor. Characters with a
Passive Perception of 20, or that make
a perception check of 15 will notice
the hole in the floor that leads down
to Room 4.
Combat:
Within this room are 3 Dire
Rats. If combat breaks out in Room 1
they will make a DC 15 Perception
check with a +7 bonus. Any rats who
succeed will move to hide behind or
under the various furniture, making
Stealth rolls with a +9 bonus to hide.
Any rats who fail the Perception bonus
will be surprised when the party
enters, and rush to attack right away.
When combat breaks out in this room,
if there are any rats left alive after 2
rounds, a new rat will enter Room 2
from Room 4 as reinforcements. As
long as rats remain alive in room 2 this
will happen every 2 rounds until Room
4 has no more rats in it.
Room 3: Kitchens
Room
Description:
When the party enters the
room, read or paraphrase the
following boxed text:
“Through the right side door of the
foyer are the dusty remnants of a
kitchen long left to disrepair.
Counters left coated in dust,
cupboards with their doors broken
and hanging off their hinges. Old
pots and pans hang rusted from
hooks on the walls, and various
cooking utensils are scattered about
the floors and counters haphazardly.
At the far end is an ajar door that
seems to lead to a set of stairs going
down into a basement.”
Enemies and
Hazards:
The large counter in the center
counts as a raised platform, and can
be used as cover or, with a DC 12
Athletics check, one can jump atop the
platform and move over it. Around the
kitchen are squares filled with
discarded knives and utensils. These
squares count as difficult terrain. Any
creature moving through difficult
terrain has their movement speed
reduced by half.
Combat:
Within this room are 3 Fast
Dire Rats. These rats are spread out
and hiding inside of the cupboards on
the edges of the kitchens. The
cupboards count as cover, and only
have room for small size creatures,
medium size creatures attempting to
enter the cupboards treat it as
difficult terrain and suffer a -2 to all
attack rolls while inside the cramped
space.
GM Notes:
The rats in this room remain
hidden in the cupboards until the
party members are within 4 squares of
the cupboards, they will then use half
of their movement to move out of the
cupboards and attack, then use their
Running Attack feat to retreat 4
squares back into the cupboards.
The stairway in the back leads
downstairs into The Basement (Room
4).
Rat, Fast Dire
CR 1
N Small Beast (rat) 2
Init d8; Senses low-light vision,
scent; Passive Perception 17
Defences Ref 16 (flat-footed 13), Fort
11, Will 11
Hp 12; Threshold 11
Immunity Petrify
Speed 8 squares, climb 4 squares,
swim 4 squares
Melee bite +9 (1d4+1)
Space 1 square; Reach 1 square
Abilities Str 10, Agi 17, Vit 13, Int 2,
Mnd 13, Chr 4
Special Qualities overwhelm
Feats Agile Manoeuvres, Running
Attack
Skills Perception +7, Stealth +9,
Survival +7, Unarmed +9
Ambush Attackers- Fast Dire Rats
lose their Overwhelm ability in
exchange for the Running Attack
feat, trained to move quickly and
ambush enemies then retreat back
into their dens.
Loot Beast Fang (5%), Beast Mane
(20%)
Steal Health Potion (5%)
Room 4:
Basement
Room
Description:
When the party enters the
room, read or paraphrase the
following boxed text:
“The back stairs of the kitchen lead
down into a grimy, dark basement,
the straw-covered floors strewn
with detritus and garbage. A rank
smell fills the air, and the
scampering of tiny feet skitter
through the shadows as the party
descends. The basement itself has
one large central room with spaced
out columns. To one side is an open
door holding what appears to be a
rundown wine storage space, while
to another side is a dumbwaiter that
looks dusty and rusted from misuse.
Around the dim basement are large
piles of ratty cloth, gathered straw,
or pulled together chunks of broken
wood all put together to form nests
of some sort.”
Combat:
There are three rat nests in
different corners of the spacious
basement. Once the party enters the
basement fully, a Dire Rat will begin to
crawl out of each nest every 1d3
rounds. This will continue until either
4 total Dire Rats have entered the
battle, or the nests have each been
destroyed. The Nests have 6 hit
points, are hit automatically by any
attack, and are vulnerable to Fyr.
Hidden Items:
The basement has few items of
value, however characters with a
passive Perception of 12 or greater can
notice that the wine room still has
about 8 intact bottles within it. A
successful Knowledge Nobility or
Craft Alchymy of 15 or higher will
allow a player to be able to pick out
one bottle that is still of value, worth
about 200 gold. If players fail this
check they can still attempt to sell all
of the bottles together, but the buyer
may very well attempt to rip them off
for not understanding the price of
what they’re selling!
GM Notes:
The dumbwaiter in the corner
of the room is broken down and
rusted, but a successful DC 20
Smithing check can repair it, or a DC
15 Athletics check can pull the
dumbwaiter box out of it. If it has
been repaired, a medium sized
creature can fit into the dumbwaiter
and be raised up to The Upper Halls
(Room 5), though they are counted as
squeezing until they exit the
dumbwaiter. Small size characters can
ride in the dumbwaiter normally
without issue. If the dumbwaiter lift
has been pulled out, players can climb
the dumbwaiter shaft with a
successful DC 20 Athletics check (Or a
DC 15 Athletics check if a rope and
grappling hook are used.)
Room 5: Upper
Halls
Room
Description:
If the players entered through
the stairs in The Foyer (Room 1), read
or paraphrase the following boxed
text:
The Upper Halls are coated in dust,
with large rat-eaten rugs laid out
across the long halls. Doors line the
sides, many of them boarded up,
some entirely collapsed. Only one
set of doors seems to be still
relatively intact. A large set of
double doors at the end of the main
hall with designs that were once
ornate, but now have been
scratched up and fallen to ruin.
If players entered through the
dumbwaiter shaft in The Basement
(Room 4), read or paraphrase the
following boxed text:
You find yourself in a half-collapsed
room, strewn with old cookware and
supplies, it seems to be a servants
room, but has partially collapsed,
the roof falling in across half of the
room. The door leading to the Upper
Halls itself is blocked by detritus and
collapsed pieces of the room.
Enemies and
Hazards:
Players can clear the debris
blocking the half-collapsed servants
room that the dumbwaiter is in from
inside the room with ease, though
trying to clear it from outside the
room requires a successful DC 15
Athletics check. Other rooms can be
opened or cleared, but prying boards
from the boarded up doors or
breaking into rooms halfway down the
Upper Halls closer to the double doors
will catch the attention of the Rat
King, Ratrick. This will give him time
to prepare in Room 6, the Throne
Room.
Hidden Items:
Most of the side rooms are
empty of valuables, but a successful
DC 15 Perception check can find a
collection of semi-valuable items
including silverware, old bits of
jewelry, and scattered coins equalling
a total value of about 100 gold. If this
Perception roll equals or surpasses DC
20, the players can additionally find a
hidden jewelry box containing another
50 gold worth in jewelry and trinkets.
GM Notes:
Players can spend a large
amount of time in this area trying to
search or loot every room. Each of the
rooms is in various states of disrepair
and neglect, but none contain
anything supremely valuable. The GM
is encouraged to try and remind
players that opening up and searching
all of these rooms will be a long, and
notably LOUD, process, involving
breaking pieces of wood, tearing up
nailed planks or shifting collapsed
timber. If the players take too long
Ratrick will not only notice that his
home has been invaded, but may
prepare an ambush for the players.
The double doors at the end of
the Upper Halls leads to The Throne
Room (Room 6.)
Room 6: Throne
Room
Room
Description:
When the players open the
double doors to the Throne Room,
read or paraphrase the following
boxed text:
This once-luxurious room clearly
used to be the Master Bedroom of
the now dilapidated manor. A large
and spacious room, it is draped in
now rat-gnawed cloth, once
beautiful wooden furniture now
covered in dust and teeth marks.
The room’s once magnificent four
poster bed has long collapsed, now
piled with old moth-eaten pillows,
various piles of old food,
semi-valuable stones, gems,
scattered coins, and other things
that clearly make up the ‘treasure
trove’ of whatever creature would sit
upon the makeshift throne of piled
pillows, and broken furniture that
sits atop the bed. The room itself
has several large holes in the walls
and thick curtains hang randomly
draped around the room, blocking a
full view of the spacious ‘throne
room’.
Enemies and
Hazards:
If the players have alerted
Ratrick to their presence, Ratrick will
spend time setting up an ambush.
Every room the players clear after
Ratrick has noticed them allows
Ratrick to summon one additional
Dire Rat from the Basement area
(Room 4) to join him in his throne
room and prepare an ambush. If all the
enemies in the Basement area have
been slain, or the Nests in the
Basement have been destroyed, he will
instead set up a Makeshift Net Trap to
activate against the first creature to
enter his throne room. Then Ratrick
and his two Fierce Dire Rat
companions will hide using their
Stealth checks to ambush the party.
Makeshift Net Trap (CR 1)
Attack: +5 vs Reflex Defence
Damage: none
Secondary Effect: Creature is
grappled (nothing on miss)
Detect/Disarm: DC 12
Special: Requires a DC 15 unarmed
check, or a DC 12 Str check to free
oneself from the grapple.
Combat:
 Within the Throne Room is The
Rat King, Ratrick and his 2 Fierce
Dire Rat companions.
The Rat King’s partners will split
up, with one staying between Ratrick
and the strongest-looking of the party
members, while the second will join
Ratrick in trying to flank another
player to allow Ratrick to make use of
his Backstab talent. If the fight lasts
for longer than 3 rounds, and the
players have not slain all the enemies
in the house, Ratrick will spend an
action to call for reinforcements, and
a Dire Rat will join the fight every
round until all rats in the mansion (A
total of 13, excluding his Fierce Dire
Rat partners. 3 in the Foyer, 3 in the
Sitting Room, and 7 in the Basement.)
have been slain. If the nests in the
Basement have been destroyed, Dire
Rats joining the fight from that room
start with half the normal amount of
Hit Points.
If Ratrick is slain before his two
partners, there is a 50% chance the
two Fierce Dire Rats will activate the
Rage talent and fight to the death,
otherwise they will attempt to flee
through the holes in the wall. If they
are unable to flee (If they are
surrounded, or afflicted with a status
effect that prevents them from
escaping easily) they will activate the
Rage talent and fight to the death. A
Ranger with the Tame talent may
attempt to Tame either of the Fierce
Dire Rats, but if they landed the final
blow against Ratrick they will suffer a
-10 penalty to their Persuasion check
when trying to do so.
If the Fierce Dire Rats are slain first
instead, Ratrick may attempt to
prioritize whichever player struck the
last blow against them for his attacks,
or, if his HP is below half, the GM may
have him attempt to surrender.
Rat, Fierce Dire
CR 1
N Small Beast (rat) 2
Init d8; Senses low-light vision,
scent; Passive Perception 17
Defences Ref 12 (flat-footed 11), Fort
12, Will 11
Hp 13; Threshold 12
Immunity Petrify
Speed 8 squares, climb 4 squares,
swim 4 squares
Melee bite +11 (1d6+3)
Space 1 square; Reach 1 square
Abilities Str 14, Agi 13, Vit 15, Int 2,
Mnd 11, Chr 4
Special Qualities overwhelm
Feats Mighty Swing, Bullrush
Skills Perception +7, Stealth +7,
Survival +7, Unarmed +11
Ferocious Beasts- Fierce Dire Rats
lose their Overwhelm ability and the
Agile Manoeuvres feat in exchange
for the Mighty Swing and Bullrush
feats, trained to attack ferociously
and push back any who threaten
their king. Loot Beast Fang (10%),
Beast Mane (35%)
Steal Health Potion (5%)
Ratrick, The Rat King
CR 1
NE Small Goblin Rogue 3
Init d4; Senses Darkvision; Passive
Perception 22
Defences Ref 16 (flat-footed 14), Fort
14, Will 12
Hp 49; Threshold 11
Speed 6 squares Melee dagger
(2d4+1)
Space 1 square; Reach 1 square
Abilities Str 13, Agi 17, Vit 16, Int 8,
Mnd 12, Chr 8
Feats Armour Proficiency (light),
Weapon Finesse, Weapon
Proficiency (bludgeons), Weapon
Proficiency (crossbows), Weapon
Proficiency (knives), Weapon
Proficiency (swords), Dodge,
Mobility, Quick Draw
Skills Acrobatics +14, Athletics +12,
Deception +10, Disable +14, Light
Weapon +14, Perception +12, Stealth
+14
Backstab: When using your light
weapon skill against a target, that is
flanked, flat-footed, or otherwise
denied their Agi to ref, each
explosive damage die, generates 2
additional dice, rather than 1. This
does not work with natural attacks.
Lacerate: Any living creature that
you successfully hit with your
backstab, suffers an amount of
damage equal to the number of
damage dice rolled, at the start of
their next turn, before taking any
actions. This damage is unaspected,
ignoring any DR.
Loot Rat King’s Scepter and 200gp
Steal Magick Root (20%), Health
Potion (95%)
Unique Item:
Rat King’s Scepter
This small one-handed scepter
made from bone, wood, leather, and
random bits of silver has a large
rat-shaped skull topping it. Once
per daye, as a standard action, a
character may use this item to
summon two Fierce Dire Rats. For
the duration of the encounter the
Fierce Dire Rats will battle on the
side of its summoner, acting as
companions/allies. These Fierce
Dire Rats gains a bonus, equal to half
the users character level,
to attack rolls, skill checks, damage
rolls, defences, and DR.
-The End!-
You’ve made it! We hope you
enjoyed your time playing Last Arc:
Tactics Analogue, as well as your
adventures with the Rat King!
Optional Rules
to be handled. Don’t make them feel
too bad if they just decide to execute
him and be done with it, but if players
and Continuing would like to be more involved you
should allow them to do just that.
Forward: After this encounter has been
If Ratrick is taken alive, either completed, players may return to the
due to accepting his surrender or town to sell off their collected loot,
defeating him non-lethally and turn over a potentially captured
capturing him, the players may choose Ratrick, and otherwise inform the
to hand him over to the local Mayor of their success, receiving a
authorities. In this case he will be reward. From there they may hear
imprisoned and eventually tried for his rumors about the orcs to the west
crimes of disturbing the peace and that were mentioned at the start of
leading his rats to attack travelers and this module, which could make for an
merchants. His sentence will be hard excellent hook to begin them on their
labor for the rest of his life. The party next adventure…
may instead question Ratrick as to his
motives, at which time he will inform
them that he attacked the merchants
and travelers to obtain food for the
many rats in the manor, though if
questioned about the various trinkets
and treasures in his throne room he
will attempt a Deception check to say
that they were already in the manor
itself, which is a lie. If confronted
about this lie, he will simply say that,
as the Rat King, he clearly deserves
such treasures. Players may choose to
release Ratrick, execute him, or
possibly attempt to persuade him to
change his ways. How the players
handle this is up to both them, and
you the GM! Have fun with it, let your
players decide how they want things