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A wererat is a therianthropic creature in the shape of a rat. The term is a neologism coined in analogy to werewolf, used in the fantasy or horror genre since the 1970s. The concept has since become common in role playing games and fantasy fiction inspired by them. Were-rats are commonly portrayed as sewer-dwelling scavengers and opportunistic thieves. Brad Steiger has written about wererat sightings in Oregon, mostly by children. ==Games== In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, the wererat is one of several different types of animalistic forms. They are classified as "lycanthropes", despite the fact that the term reflects a lupine, or wolven, form. In the ''Oriental Adventures'' supplemental sourcebook, they appear as the Japanese mythological creatures, the Nezumi; these "ratlings" as they are often called by humans, are a race of bipedal ratlike humanoids. They are also found in various games inspired by or based on Dungeons & Dragons such as ''Legend of the Five Rings'', ''NetHack'' and ''Neverwinter Nights''. See Ratkin for wererats in White Wolf's "World of Darkness" role-playing setting (1995). Another example of wererats can be found in the Kamigawa plane of ''Magic: The Gathering'', a race of bipedal ratlike humanoids called the Nezumi. In the ''Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game'', wererats are one of the species of werebeasts that dwell in the Darkest Heart, a magically corrupted forest found in the southern region of the Land of the Damned. Wererats, along with many other werebeasts, are relatively unheard of in the Palladium world outside of the mysterious Land of the Damned. In ''Warhammer Fantasy'', the Skaven (1986) are a subterranean rat-like race. While not wererats, per se, they are very close in appearance. They are divided into many clans, each seeking power. These include Clan Moulder, mad users of alchemy and mutation magic, Clan Pestilens, the plagued rats, Clan Eshin, a secretive assassin clan, and Clan Skryre, insane magic engineers. All clans use the mysterious Warpstone to further their causes in their own backstabbing ways. The Skaven are treacherous, backstabbing and ever mistrustful towards each other; it has been hinted that this infighting is the only reason they have not yet taken over the world. In ''Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura'', wererats are enemy monsters that can be found in the wild, in the sewers and in other places. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wererat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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