Hello Tail-blazers,

AS we complete the third week of our campaign, I've got one final sneak peek for you from our final draft manuscript section. Wow, we really are getting to the end.

As a reminder, anyone who jumps on the campaign for the next week has the ability to read the entire draft version of the book - before any pledges are processed or payments collected. We want to make sure you know exactly what you're supporting with this campaign. And the Onyx Path team also wants you to be able to start using the game materials as soon as possible!

This last sneak peek is from the second half of Chapter 5, which contains four big chapter- and story-concluding set pieces dealing with the Rat Kings from the title of the book.

The Red Paw Gang has menaced the Underneath for years, regularly raiding, pillaging, burning, and murdering their neighbors. The beleaguered villages hold out little hope that the Red Paws will cease their marauding anytime soon. Heroes have promised to take action several times in the past. Most of them have wound up feeding the Red Paws’ carnivorous plants the hard way. The few survivors either fled, or in one jaw-dropping case, joined them.

That lone exception was Kola Rump-White, a cunning rat, who has since risen through the Red Paws’ ranks to become one of the Rat Kings. Kola is a tactical genius (just ask him!) who has meteorically ascended the ranks of the Red Paw Gang, rising from a mere grunt with dreams of greatness and plunder to the king of the gang. This band of cutthroat dogs, cats, rodents, and a lagomorph plagues the nearby areas of the Underneath, as well as parts of the nearby surface. To hear him say it, he and his gang are of one vicious mind. However, his control over the Red Paws is far less than absolute; truly, he is more like a dog jerking a sled this way and that as it hurtles down a mountain, just ahead of an avalanche.

Kola has led the Red Paws for close to a decade, which is an eternity in bandit years. He talked his way out of a beheading through sheer audacity; after most of his adventuring party met their ignoble ends at the paws of the gang, he grabbed the other survivor and held a knife to her throat, claiming that he’d captured her and was a new member of the gang, entitling him to a cut of her loot. As the gang’s ranks had recently swelled to the point that no one member knew everyone else, they took his word for it and gave him a share of his former friend’s plastic. 

That former friend survived the encounter, as Kola successfully bargained for her life, eventually getting her to join the gang. The then-leader of the Red Paw Gang, Palan, never trusted her and kept a close eye on her during a raid to test her loyalty. When he wasn’t looking, she put a dagger through his neck and fled. Kola took credit for the kill, claiming that Palan was holding the gang back from their true potential. The Red Paws were initially unsure what to make of the coup, but rapidly fell in line after he delivered a rousing speech and led them to victory over a well-guarded surface caravan.

Since then, he’s declared himself one of the Rat Kings, handing out lofty titles to each of the Red Paws to make them feel like nobles and constabulary. This had three immediate effects: it made the gang members feel entitled to tithes from neighboring villages, it granted an air of legitimacy to that entitlement, and it froze the gang’s violent culture as it was. The Red Paws see chaotic bloodshed as a completely valid response to “commoners” not obeying their demands. Though King Kola has tried several times to curb his gang’s horrific violence, they see it as the morally correct way to maintain their status.

The Red Paw Gang has divided themselves into a quartet of cliques, based on their personal views of the world and their roles within the gang: the Law, the Leaders, the Nobles, and the Recruits.

Each of the key gang members has varying loyalties, with some indifferent to King Kola or even secretly seditious. The rank-and-file members of each clique generally support Kola, although they tend to take their cues from their leadership.

Led by Sheriff Lucy Longhair, the Law sees themselves as the rightful legal authority within the Underneath. Longhair is supported by Constable Corso and a fluctuating group of “deputies.”

Once a rising member of the Church of Man, Corso was defrocked and expelled from the order after he became a barghest, accepting favor from the Unseen while insisting that he was the one controlling the demons. Though cast out, he’s retained the air of a righteous dog, dishing out spells and wicked punishments on any who dare stand against him. He takes special pleasure in savagely castigating shepherds defending their people from the Red Paws. Seeing himself as the paw of Man, Constable Corso is the second most vicious member of the Red Paws, second only to Duchess Thunder.

His knowledge of Church of Man lore is deep, though he’s twisted many passages to suit his ends. Because of this, two-faced tricksters have an easier time of talking their way out of trouble with him than those who are actually schooled in the ways of Man. His position within the gang, “correcting” legitimate shepherds, brings him great joy, to the point where he’s content to serve under King Kola, though he holds no true loyalty to him.

In combat, Corso delights in hamstringing enemy frontline fighters with debilitating spells like Leash Foe, allowing Red Paws to bypass the front ranks to strike the more vulnerable members of the opposition. Once melees have gotten chaotic, he targets enemy shepherds with spells, his mace, and his venomous tongue.

Stat Block: Blessed (Realms of Pugmire, p. 188)

“The Sheriff,” as she’s known within the gang, is a rarity within the Red Paws; she’s a cat perfectly capable of violence, but she rarely chooses it. Instead, she prefers to enjoy her status to order others to do her bidding. Her greed and sloth are well known within the gang; she frequently stays behind on raids, but still demands first pick of the loot from her deputies. She argues that staying behind keeps the burrows safe from enemies and has brutally humiliated the few who’ve called her out on her laziness, so no one has had the guts to depose her.

She’s more than just a brutal dictator; she’s also somewhat a populist, using her share of the loot to acquire objects she shares with the rest of the Law, such as a music box and a scratching post. Because of her sloth and high-ranking position, she’ll fight tooth and nail to preserve her comfortable lifestyle but has almost no loyalty to the gang or King Kola. If someone deposed him, she wouldn’t bat an eye unless the revolution cut into her supply of tuna.

When it comes to fighting, Longhair uses the openings Constable Corso creates so she can savagely assault enemy spellcasters. If she can’t get at the back rank, she’s more than happy to simply takeout whoever seems weakest or closest to unconsciousness.

Stat Block: Forager (Realms of Pugmire, p. 188)

Headed up by Archduke Burrowlord, the Nobles see themselves as the true aristocracy of the Underneath. They are quite greedy and violent. In addition to the following Nobles, there is a handful of less members of the clique. 

Some among the Red Paws joke that the Count’s name is because he’s a rodent quick to turn his saber on anyone, including other members of the gang. Though no one has ever proven that he’s removed fellow Red Paws, he’s often the one to notice their absence and the first to pick over the departed members’ prized possessions. The Nobles have long felt pressure to do something about the Count, but he gives second pick of the murdered members’ belongings to them, so they’ve taken no real action against him. 

Privately, he knows how many gang members he’s taken care of and knows there’s one missing Law member that wasn’t his fault: Detective Violet, who was poised to lead the Nobles to overthrow King Kola. He suspects Vizier Silverteeth but has never revealed his suspicions or the fact that he didn’t do anything to her, for fear that the psyker would reduce him to ashes. He was prepared to follow Violet in her uprising, so being the default suspect in her disappearance cuts him deeply. He has no idea who should lead the gang, but would give his left paw to see Silverteeth eliminated and Kola deposed.

Quicksaber is a cunning fighter in combat and often maneuvers through battlefields to eliminate weaker targets. When the tide turns against him, he disappears into the shadows, only to strike again.

Stat Block: Assistant of Labo Tor (Realms of Pugmire, p. 171)

The Archduke allegedly hails from a long line of noble rats, though few have ever heard of the Burrowlords. He is greedy and proud, often leading the Red Paws’ raids. As such, he’s become the face of the Red Paws for many outsiders. Though he’s an extremely competent combatant, he’s a poor leader, often taking first pick of loot and choosing to personally undertake tasks instead of delegating. This makes his appointment to King Kola’s second in command strange to everyone except Vizier Silverteeth, who sees it as a brilliant stratagem to prevent an organized uprising from the Nobles.

Archduke Burrowlord truly believes that his family was in charge of Underneath rat burrows, largely because that’s what his mother taught him when he was a pup, and it has never occurred to him that she might have been exaggerating in order to make him feel pride for his family. He believes that his position of second in command is a title of honor and feels beholden to Kola as a result. Though he’s a prideful and selfish rat, he holds King Kola in high esteem.

When it comes to fighting, the Archduke wades right into the thick of things, doling out damage wherever he feels will make the most difference. Perhaps because of his pride, he’s absolutely fearless in battle and will only retreat if someone he respects makes the call for him, such as Duchess Thunder or Vizier Silverteeth.

Stat Block: Chieftain (Realms of Pugmire, p. 169)

This is just a small taste of the Red Paw Gang, the first of four big set-pieces for the Lair of the Rat Kings. 

Backers will get the full text - and the complete draft manuscript - next Tuesday!

Tomorrow, we're going to kick off our final week with a review of all the stuff you should know and a schedule of all the things I'll be posting in our final week. Let's keep rocking right until the end!