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Rodent man

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xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼
Rodent man
Rodent man sprite.png
r

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Urist likes rodent men for their terrifying features.
Portrait
Rodent man portrait.png
Biome

  • Underground Depth: 1-3
Attributes

· Learns · Humanoid

Cannot be tamed 
Size
Birth: 1,000 cm3
Mid: 8,000 cm3
Max: 40,000 cm3

Age
Child at: 1
Adult at: 12
Max age: 60-80
Cannot be butchered
v50.15 · v0.47.05
This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.
An evil humanoid with a long tail, black spiky fur and a twitching nose. It lives far underground.

Rodent men are one of the many races of underground tribal creatures (animal people, per se, but design choices apparently voided them of that status) found living in small groups on any cavern level. They stand at roughly the size of an adult dwarf. Note that they are a separate species from the rat man.

Despite being labelled as hostile in the unit list, rodent men initially found in the caverns will ignore your citizens unless provoked. They will usually be observed carrying wooden spears, blowguns and shields, although they are sometimes seen using metal items instead. These can range from copper to steel, and are presumably caused by a bug. Depending on which other subterranean creatures they have access to, their blowdarts will be covered in different poisons, which can vary from mildly annoying cave spider venom to highly dangerous giant cave spider toxins. You can preemptively check for poisons by selecting a blowgunner, looking in their items tab and viewing their blowdarts.

Rodent men may launch group attacks on your fort. When this happens, all tribesmen on the map will become hostile, even if they were peaceful minutes prior to the invasion. They may arrive with pets and mounts, some of which will be able to fly or easily catch up to your fleeing civilians. These invaders, unlike their above-ground counterparts, will not leave after some time has passed, even if your fort is completely sealed off from the caverns, nor will they prevent migrants, caravans or other invaders from arriving; including more waves of rodent men. Because of this, several unchallenged assaults from them can quickly cause your game's FPS to drop to single-digit levels, thus making your fort completely unplayable.

Despite their description, they do not possess the [EVIL] token and are not any more malevolent than any other race of animal people.

Some dwarves like rodent men for their terrifying features.

Note: May look less aggressive in-game.
D4Dwarf.png This article or section has been rated D for Dwarf. It may include witty humour, not-so-witty humour, bad humour, in-jokes, pop culture references, and references to the Bay12 forums. Don't believe everything you read, and if you miss some of the references, don't worry. It was inevitable.


While many claim to have seen rodent men with their own eyes, any self-respecting scholar knows that they're but an unproven rumour to scare little dwarven children. The very possibility that a society of rodent men can live right under dwarven feet is preposterous.

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