Stone RatsReport
English：Stone Rats · Factions
The Swamp's protection racket, staffed entirely by characters with the Dumb personality. They shake down shopkeepers in Shark and come to your outpost for money, but back off the instant the Hounds are involved — and when their leader falls, the whole gang is simply absorbed.
Between you and me... the Stone Rats are nothing more than a bunch of thugs. I goddamn hate them myself, saunterin' around town like they own the place. They run a protection racket so they like to beat Cats out of the honest business owners like me... — Swamper Barman
The Stone Rats are one of the many gangs living in the Swamp. You can find them in Shark or in their own settlement, Stone Rat Village, where their leader Big Al lives.
Where they sit in the food chain
At the bottom.
The Stone Rats are thoroughly subservient to the Hounds and will not do anything that might anger them. One line, spoken when a Stone Rat squad wanders into a player base, says it all:
Alright, abort! This is hound territory... Big 'Al will have our necks if we touch 'em. Let's go.
The dependency is written into the world states too: if Big Al is killed or kidnapped while Big Grim is alive, Stone Rat Village is taken over by the Hounds outright. If Big Grim is gone as well, the village falls to the Swamp Ninjas.
In other words, the Stone Rats were never an independent power. They are a layer of collectors operating on the Hounds' sufferance.
They really are stupid
This is not a joke, it is the data: every Stone Rat carries the Dumb personality.
The Hounds tell two stories about them:
Saw this Stone Rat in the Dancin' Skelly, born again Okranite, this 'un... Got his hands on a copy of the Holy Flame, real excited he was... Took him AGES to track down... Then he sets it on fire, ha! Burned it to a crisp! "I thought it was supposed to turn into a flame" he says!
I shit you not, the Stone Rats 're so dumb... I saw one order a rice bowl in the Dancin' Skelly this mornin'... 'An he broke a tooth tryin' a eat the goddamn bowl! "I thought it was made of rice", he cries!
What happens when you meet them
In Shark: the Territorial Thug
The Stone Rats include a randomly named character called the Territorial Thug, with combat stats of just 18. He heckles any player whose squad is smaller than six, ordering you to dance or to hand over money and goods.
The dialogue always includes the option to hit him. As long as you are stronger, he is cowed and stops heckling you for good. Talk to him an hour later and you can either forgive him or bully him in turn.
At your outpost: the Stone Rat Visit
Build within 3,800 metres of Stone Rat Village and you trigger the Stone Rat Visit, with a 30% daily chance inside 3,500 metres.
Hmm, nice place ya got here. Should be careful it don't get smashed up... Ain't gonna make any friends ignoring people, know what I mean? An' if you ain't my friend, I can't help you against the gut suckin' spiders...
Two or three squads arrive, each of 5–6 Stone Rats. They ask for 3,500 Cats — or 8,000 Cats if your outpost has reached level 3 (the town icon).
- Pay and another visit follows in 90–120 hours.
- Refuse, or simply ignore them, and the campaign assaults your base. Beat them and 48–100 hours later it escalates into the Stone Rat Assault — two or three squads at first, four or five later, still 5–6 each.
Members and strength
| Character | Combat stats | Personality | Weapon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Rat | 35 (±5) | Dumb | Spiked Club |
| Territorial Thug | 18 (±3) | Dumb | Nodachi |
| Big Al | 45 (±2) | Maniacal | — |
The racial mix is one part each Greenlander, Scorchlander, Hive Prince and Shek — exactly the same proportions as the Grayflayers.
Note also that the Stone Rats have no homeless spawns in any zone. You will only meet them in Shark, in Stone Rat Village, or when they come to your outpost. That says a great deal about how small their world is.
Related entries
Stone Rat Village, Big Al, Hounds, Shark, The Swamp, Factions