Reaper 02544 : Barrow Rats

These nasty specimens were sculpted by Jason Wiebe. They are really excellent giant rats, and compare very favorably to the WOTC dire rats...I don't have a lot of use for dire creatures. In my world, dire creatures all have the same basic ecology:

While no one is certain how dire creatures come to be, whether they emerge from some extra-planer existence, are created by some kind of conjuration or alteration magic, the prevailing theory is that they were once, in fact, normal creatures of their kind but were unusually susceptible to the emanations of evil. This theory has weight given that these types of creatures are almost always encountered in areas where evil rites and magic has been practiced for many years, although it is possible that these creatures are simply drawn to such evil and not created by it. If the theory is true, it is suspected that their solitary nature is a result of having driven off or eaten the other creatures of its kind as the changes were taking place.

Regardless of how these creatures come to be, they are always a sign that not only is there evil in the area in which they are encountered, but that evil is deeply rooted and long-standing, of at least 5 years duration. The greater the number and variety of creatures in an area, correspondingly, the greater the power and scope of the evil.

As a result, I only need one dire creature of any given type.

Giant rats, on the other hand, my sewers need lots and lots of those. These guys are pretty good. The nice thing about them is that their tails are easily bended into a variety of shapes, so although the two basic bodies are going to be the same no matter how many I have, when you see them swarming, and all those tails going every which way...it is truly unsettling.