Ratling

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A Ratling sniper lies in wait.[1]

Ratlings (Homo Sapiens Minimus),[2] known also as Runtlings, Stunties[3][4a] and Maggots[3] but among themselves as Halflings,[3][4a] are small and hedonistically jovial abhumans who commonly work aboard spacecraft as cabin crew and runarounds, benefiting from their small stature.[4a] They rarely find employment in the Imperial Guard due to their physical weakness and less than ideal temperament[3][4a], but their expertise in marksmanship, low weight, and short height (which lends them a stealthy quality) make ratlings well suited to the role of sniper.[3][1] Within the Imperial Guard, Ratlings are often employed as snipers specialists in the Militarum Auxilla.[9a]

Overview

Settle your sights on the target. Take a breath, hold, squeeze. One dead Ork.

--Ratling Sniper Forde Klapp[23]


Militarum Auxilla squad of Ratlings.[22e]

The strain of Humanity known as Ratlings hail from the very few Agri Worlds in the Imperium that lack horrific dangers. According to the propagandists that spread anti-abhuman rhetoric, the Ratling form adapted to these conditions,[19] and that their ancestors became stunted by thousands of years of inbreeding on these worlds with naturally soporific climates and abundant harvests. They are viewed by Imperials as idle, hedonistic, loud, gregarious, over-friendly and sexually promiscuous. That their lives are spent eating until sick, drinking copious amounts of intoxicating liquids, and procreating uncontrollably.[4a] They also say the soft, loamy soil of their homeworlds even removed the necessity of footwear, leaving Ratlings with large, overly hairy, toughened feet. These supposed worlds have since been lost, destroyed, or stripped of all natural resources by the Imperium.[19]

Ratlings have since spread to a number of different worlds in the Imperium. The nimble-fingers of a Ratling can find work wherever dexterity is needed over brute-strength. They often find work on Forge Worlds or in manufactorums where they can climb into vents or other hard-to-reach places. Although many die in these inaccessible areas, sometimes forgotten about or trapped.[19] Although they are ill-suited for being exploited as a manual labour force, even when pressed to the task,[16c] they can still find themselves a niche in places like salvatoriums as a pressed labour force dissembling various mechanisms with their nimble hands.[24a]

Ratlings tend to have a flare for creative problem solving. A novel example being being the use of a bitten off toenail as an impromptu tool to fish and cut wires when splicing electronics.[24b] Ratlings are personable, but on average tends to lack social decorum.[16c]

Ratling Sniper[16a]

Their speed and dexterity makes them natural marksmen, as well as pickpockets.[16a] These talents combined with a love for food is exemplified in their remarkable cuisine, which is well known as being phenomenal.[1] While some Imperial commanders would pull some strings in order to get a Ratling chef, more zealous commanders or Nobles would become sick at the thought of eating the slop made by such a subhuman creature, or simply execute whoever appointed the Ratling as chef.[24]

Their short stature and relatively lithe build also allows them to move through the undergrowth without making much noise.[3][1] In addition, their bare feet allow them traverse various forms of terrain in silence.[24c] When moving quickly they will move on their toes.[24]

Ratlings in the Imperial Navy will often serve as chefs, runarounds, or other miscellaneous roles. They're able to utilize the crawl spaces between walls and decks for travel, rafered to by them as the 'rat roads'.[24e] They are thus able to fit into the many ventilation, cable and pipe ducts, and servo-skull pathways crisscrossing the ship. They're able to quickly navigate them with instinctive observation, as much as recalled memories of maps and directions of these spaces. Using touch, hearing, and smell to distinguish the distinct sounds, smells, and temperatures of various decks, as well as identify the heating or coolant pipes and various cables or tubing they crawl through. However, Bosuns or other officers will likely exact severe punishment if a Ratling is caught using these "rat roads".[24g] They can still, however, also get nearly anywhere in the ship and spy on anyone, from the slave-pens to the Captain's quarters.[24h]

They have a penchant towards activities of dubious morality and legality, like thievery and fencing contraband. Ratlings are known to "acquire" extra supplies within their stationed regiments and trading these resources to other soldiers.[1] This is an insignificant price for the guardsman commander who knows the value Ratlings can bring to a regiment. Ratlings tendency to thieve is primarily a product of circumstance due their treatment by the men and women of the Imperial Guard. They attempt to often supplement cut rations in the Guard, alongside other miscellaneous supplies. These resources often go towards bribing sympathetic higher-ups, alongside proving their worth, swaying friends in high places allow Ratlings to protect themselves and community from abuse or harassment from their subordinates. This is accepted as a very common situation in the Astra Militarum.[22c]

Ratlings call their children and youngsters "pups". Many are raised on the thrilling stories of the Ornsworld Sagas. These thrilling tales feature stoic, pot-bellied warriors who face down overwhelming odds with little more than an axe, shield, and jovial attitude.[24]

Physiology

Ratlings are the smallest type of abhuman.[4a] They rarely reach 1.3 meters in height,[4a] being even smaller and slighter than a Kin of the Leagues of Votann.[3] Although their lack of dietary restrictions tend to make them husky, they are not particularly strong[4a] or resilient.[3] They are a fertile,[19] and somewhat libidinous species.[24d] They have a deep sense of community and tend to look out for one another.[24a]

Other than their height, a Ratlings most notable feature is their feet; large, overly hairy, and toughened.[19] as well as their toenails being as tough as grox horns.[24b] These nails can grow into, what some might go as far as describing as, talons.[24f] Their bare feet allow them to move soundlessly.[24c] The forehead of their skulls are also denser than a baseline human's.[24a] Ratling are highly dexterous, agile, and clever. Able to make split second reactions that would be impossible for an unaugmented human.[24]

Due to still being a natural offshoot of baseline humanity, Ratlings have a small (<1%) chance of having psychic powers.[4b]

Homeworlds

Ratling homeworlds are self-sufficient, agricultural worlds,[4a] which, like worlds populated by baseline humans, are subject to the tithe of soldiers for the Imperial Guard.[1]

Known Homeworlds:

Ratlings in the Imperial Guard

Ratling demolitions specialist[22d]

Although Ratlings make generally poor warriors but the Imperium still finds a use for them, as they are often recruited into the Imperial Guard as snipers, one of the battlefield roles in which they excel.[3][7] They also excel as infiltrators, due to their ability to traverse war zones with relative discretion.[1] In those roles they operate independently of the rest of the Imperial Guard force, and are equipped with sniper rifles, Needle Sniper Rifles,[10c] or Tankstopper Rifles[22a] for weaponry and flak armour for protection.[7] Teams of ratlings sharpshooters are often divided into smaller units placed directly under command of a regimental officer, each unit is strategically placed in a precise array of locations to provide commanding fields of covering fire. And while they are often disparaged by the majority of their baseline human compatriots, many of those who mock the halflings owe their own survival to the cover fire of ratling regiments.[1] In addition to their role as scouts and snipers they are skilled in urban combat and survival, and are sometimes accompanied by Battlemutt war dogs.[22a]

Ratlings are also well known for their culinary abilities and often serve as cooks off the battlefield. Some Ratlings take advantage of their position as company cooks to acquire extra supplies to sate their voracious appetites. Others extend these benefits to their foster regiments for a price, their kitchens serving as fronts for their illegal activities. Their abilities as fences, thieves and black marketeers find them acceptance from the men they serve alongside, as they offer a wide range of goods, from extra rations, to drugs and alcohol, and even non-standard issue weapons common among veteran soldiers.[1] Conversely it is documented that guardsmen who give too much grief in their immense prejudice towards Ratlings find themselves mysteriously short of ammunition on the battlefield, preyed upon not only by the enemy finding an opening but also by the mocking eyes of their diminutive tormentors, watching through telescopic lenses some place far away.[8][9b]

Ratlings claim that they aren't given enough food in almost all cases. Whether this is due to their rapacious appetites outstripping their size or the Imperium's overall rejection of their species isn't clear.[19] The small amount of rations they do receive is usually consists of corpse-starch packs and weevil-infested wafers. This forces even unwilling Ratlings to use the undermarket to purchase the necessities for survival.[24e]

Ratling Kill Team Sub-Types

Ratling Kill Team Squad for Kill Team[18]
  • Fixer - Team leaders appointed by their own squad mates.[22b]
  • Bomber - Demolitions specialists[22b]
  • Hardbit - Grizzled veterans who are skilled at close-range fighting.[22b]
  • Big Shot - Equipped with Tankstopper Rifles to hunt larger prey.[22b]
  • Raider - Equipped with grappling hooks and climbing gear.[22b]
  • Sneak - Stealthy operatives equipped with night vision goggles and suppress sniper rifles.[22b]
  • Sniper[22b]
  • Spotter - Use magnoculars to spot enemy units from afar and direct their squad's fire.[22b]
  • Stashmaster - Responsible for stockpiling, maintaining, and distributing munitions.[22b]
  • Vox-Thief - Communications specialist equipped with listening devices.[22b]
  • Battlemutt - War dogs[22b]

Notable Ratlings

Known Ratling Units

Images

  • Ratling Sniper (3rd Edition)[10]

  • Ratling Snipers (5th Edition)[15]

  • Ratling miniature (10th Edition)[17]

Sources


Imperial Guard Infantry
Command Company Command Squad • Platoon Command Squad • Scion Command Squad • Tank Commander • Regimental Advisors • Commissar • Primaris Psyker • Tech-priest Enginseer • Priest • Ogryn Bodyguard
Specialists Master of Ordnance • Breacher • Scout • Medic • Vox-Operator • Weapons Specialist • Sharpshooter • Operator
Troops Infantry Squad • Heavy Weapons Team • Special Weapons Squad • Armoured Fist Squad • Veteran Squad (Spectre Squad) • Engineer Squad • Scions Squad (Kasrkin) • Canids • Penal Legion Troopers • Ogryn Squad • Ratling Squad • Psyker Battle Squad • Rough Rider Squad • Field Ordnance Battery • Jump Trooper • H-Grade Combat Servitor • Cyber-Altered Task • Servo-Sentry
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