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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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*{{Endn|25}}: [[Wrath & Glory: Forsaken System Player's Guide]], pg. 94
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They hail from the very few [[Agri World]]s in the Imperium that lack horrific dangers. According to the propagandists that spread anti-abhuman rhetoric, the Ratling form adapted to these conditions,{{Fn|2519}} 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.{{Fn|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.{{Fn|2519}}
That 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 World]]s or in [[manufactorum]]s where they can climb into vents or other hard-to-reach places. Although many die in these inaccessible areas, sometimes forgotten about or trapped.{{Fn|2519}} 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.{{Fn|24b}} Ratlings are personable, but on average tends to lack social decorum.{{Fn|16c}}
Ratling are highly dexterous, agile, and clever. Able to make slip second reactions that would be impossible for a baseline human.{{Fn|24}} Ratlings are ill-suited for being exploited as a [[slave|manual labour force]], even when pressed to the task.{{Fn|16c}}
===Physiology===
Ratlings are the smallest type of abhuman.{{Fn|4a}} Ratlings rarely reach 1.3 meters in height,{{Fn|4a}} being even smaller and slighter than Squats,{{Fn|3}} and though their lack of dietary restrictions tend to make them husky, they are not particularly strong{{Fn|4a}} or resilient.{{Fn|3}} They are a fertile,{{Fn|2519}} and somewhat libidinous species.{{Fn|24d}} They have a deep sense of community and tend to look out for one another.{{Fn|24a}}
Other than their height, a Ratlings most notable feature is their fet; large, overly hairy, and toughened.{{Fn|2519}} as well as their toenails being as tough as [[grox]] horns.{{Fn|24b}} These nails can grow into, what some might go as far as describing as, talons.{{Fn|24f}} Their bare feet allow them to move soundlessly.{{Fn|24c}} The forehead of their skulls are also denser than a baseline human's.{{Fn|24a}}
Ratlings have a small (<1%) chance of having [[psychic]] powers.{{Fn|4b}}
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.{{Fn|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.{{Fn|8}}{{Fn|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.{{Fn|2519}} 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.{{Fn|24e}}
===Ratling Kill Team Sub-Types===
*{{Endn|17}}: [https://web.archive.org/web/20241006193348/https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/4kxn77xe/chow-down-with-the-provisionally-prepared-ratlings/ Warhammer Community: Warhammer Day Preview – Chow Down with the Provisionally Prepared Ratlings (posted 5/10/2024)] saved page, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/4kxn77xe/chow-down-with-the-provisionally-prepared-ratlings/ (last accessed 6/10/2024)
*{{Endn|18}}: [https://web.archive.org/save/https://x.com/warhammer/status/1842618314142491085 Warhammer Twitter] save page, original link: https://x.com/warhammer/status/1842618314142491085 (last accessed 6/10/2024)
*{{Endn|19}}:[[Wrath & Glory: Forsaken System Player's Guide]], pg. 94
*{{Endn|20}}: [[Warhammer 40,000: Darktide]]: Reject conversation - Topic: Ratlings. Personality: Agitator. Third line of conversation.
*{{Endn|21}}: [https://web.archive.org/web/20240212202739/https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/11/07/7th-nov-blackstone-fortress-choosing-your-explorergw-homepage-post-1/ Blackstone Fortress: Choosing Your Explorer] {{Archive|20240212202739|14:57, 9 July 2024 (UTC)}}
**{{Endn|24e}}: Chapter 1
**{{Endn|24f}}: Chapter 39
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