Number Appearing: 11-30
Armor Class: 6
Movement: 15”
Hit Dice: 1-2 hp
THACO 17
Number of Attacks: 1 bite
Damage per Attack 1
Special Attacks: Leaping, Gnaw at + 3
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: Tiny (8” long)
Morale: Shaky (6)
Experience value: 5 + 1/hp

Camprats are rodents with voracious appetites that belie
their small size. They’re generally harmless, but their ability
to get their teeth into anything edible is aggravating in
the extreme to travelers. Camprats have many other
names across the continent, most of them unprintable.

Physical Appearance: Camprats are similar in
appearance to prairie dogs or small gophers. Their fur is
light, sandy brown, shading to dark brown or even black in
a streak down their spine. They have a tiny stub of a tail.
Their eyes are small and beady, and their front teeth are
long and exceedingly sharp. The creatures move very
quickly, and can climb just about anything.

Combat: Camprats are timid creatures, and fight only if
cornered. If they must fight, however, their razor-sharp front
teeth can pierce leather as easily as thin cloth. The creatures
would much rather flee than fight-climbing, jumping over,
or gnawing through any obstacles. Unlike normal rats, camprats
are clean, and so carry no significant risk of disease.
Because they can move so swiftly, they’re difficult to hit
(thus their relatively high AC).

Habitat/Society: Like rats, camprats live in loosely bonded
packs, with males and females in roughly equal
numbers. There is no pack leader and no organization to
speak of.

Females mate once every nine months; litters contain 6-8
young, of which two-thirds usually survive. While the
female is bearing and raising her young (a period of about 3
months), she stays within her lair (usually a small cave or
gap between some rocks, or a hole she’s dug for herself).
During this time, the male brings food for her and the offspring.
When the offspring are mature and leave the lair,
the male and female part company.

Camprats are fast-moving, and can make astounding
leaps: up to eight feet horizontally and three feet vertically.
They can climb any surface that offers the slightest purchase
to their tiny claws. Their front teeth grow constantly,
and the creatures must gnaw on things to prevent them
from growing too long. This gnawing also keeps the teeth
sharp. Camprats can chew through thick cloth (for example,
a sack) in five seconds, thin leather in 15 seconds, and
thick leather in 30 seconds. Even wood presents little problem:
they can gnaw through one inch of wood in 60 seconds
(soft wood) to 90 seconds (hard wood).

The camprats diet is simple: If it isn’t on fire, they’ll eat
it. They’re continuously scavenging, and will go to great
lengths to steal food. Typical precautions taken by
travelers-storing food overnight in thick leather sacks or
hanging it from tree-branches-won’t deter camprats,
making them a major irritant for people traveling through
barrens and hills.


Knowledgeable travelers are often warned of the presence
of camprats by dead trees in the area: The creatures
gnaw on the bark, frequently to the extent of “banding”
and killing the trees. Camprats are irritatingly common in
most hills and barrens, including the Hestmark Highlands,
the Abbor-Alz and the Kron Hills. In fact, there are
tales that a gnomish king of centuries ago dedicated a decade
to trying to rid the Kron Hills of camprats (with no success,
of course).

Niche: Camprats are pure scavengers, and will eat anything
they can find, but they don’t hunt. They have reason
to be timid. Many large carnivores consider camprats to
be delicacies. Ogres love live camprats, and red dragons
will often breathe fire into camprat holes, then dig out the
cooked appetizers within.