77 Rules of Ratcatching

Rule 1: Have your reasons, say your goodbyes. Vault Hunters don't die of old age. If this is the kind of lifestyle you want to live, don't leave your loved ones waiting for your return.

Rule 2: All you need is kill. The Frontier is a mother that teaches harsh lessons, most of which boil down to 'Kill it before it kills you'.

Rule 3: If you cross paths with another crew of Ratcatchers, you turn the other way without acknowledging them.

Rule 4: If you find yourself going the same direction as another crew of Ratcatchers or meet one in the middle of a claim, you fight for the right to the claim. No mercy is expected.

Rule 5: Place all payments, gifts, stolen objects or unused items of power in a lead lined bag or a Bag of Holding. This prevents the items from being magically tracked or sensed.

Rule 6: Bring oil. It can be used to quiet squeaky hinges, loosen rusty locks and prevent creatures under water from surfacing by lighting the surface on fire.

Rule 7: Bring torches. Magical light is all fine and good, but flame can burn away cobwebs, light oil on fire and cauterize wounds. Keep an eye on the flame, too. Unusual air drafts may alert you to secret passages or illusory walls.

Rule 8: Bring wood. You never know when you might need to build a sizable fire. In cold areas, there likely isn't any around and you can't get a restful sleep without warmth.

Rule 9: Bring a metal cooking pot. Use it to boil risky water or melt snow in cold places for drinking. While you can certainly eat snow for your daily water intake, your horses will not. The pot also can double as a weapon or helmet.

Rule 10: Always bring a 10ft pole. Universally useful for things such as triggering traps from a distance or testing things you think might be trapped.

Rule 11: Always bring a bag of flour. And keep it dry. Useful for fighting invisible creatures, and also is a source of food.

Rule 12: Always bring a black cat. The reason should be obvious.

Rule 13: Always bring diamonds. Rough cut diamonds are accepted as currency almost universally across the Frontier, whereas coin is worthless to most native populations.

Rule 14: Always bring salt. It can be used to track the passage of wandering monsters through areas or even block the passage of certain monsters such as oozes or ghosts for a short time.

Rule 15: Eat outside. Stuff yourself with food and water outside a claim and only carry a days worth with you inside, wrapped tightly to conceal the smell.

Rule 16: Beware chokepoints. Thresholds, narrow passages and converging routes are convenient funnels towards traps.

Rule 17: Beware fires. Smoke can fill a dungeon very quickly and leave you disoriented and suffocating. If you are stuck in smoke and have a potion of waterbreathing, drink it and breath your waterskin.

Rule 18: Beware ghosts. Various types of specters make up the majority of magical foes found in claims. They are resistant to all nonmagical weapons. Monsters may eat or poison you, but ghosts can possess you, age you, sap your strength, frighten you and pursue you through walls and closed doors.

Rule 19: Beware demons. Ancient mages, heretical practitioners and naturally occurring rifts can cause demons or infernal creatures to be present in a claim. They can inflict you with debilitating effects and are resistant against all nonmagical weapons except for ones plated with silver.

Rule 20: Beware celestials. Ancient priests, divine warlocks and naturally occurring rifts can cause celestials or angelic creatures to be present and hostile in a claim. They can cast powerful spells and are resistant against all nonmagical weapons, though a cursed weapon, wand or potion will inflict massive damage on it.

Rule 21: Beware constructs. Unlike living creatures, constructs will not flee once severely wounded. They will fight until they can no longer function. They are resistant or even immune to many forms of magic as well.

Rule 22: Beware dragons. Even the weakest of draconic monsters are savagely intelligent. They will not focus on the others once you are incapacitated. They will make sure you are dead, usually by eating you.

Rule 23: Beware oozes. They are often weak and slow, but like to hide in spots where you're left vulnerable such as waist-high water.

Rule 24: Beware mimics. They are often disguised as some sort of container, such as chests. Test for mimics by attempting to target objects with spells that only affect creatures, or throw a heavy rock at it.

Rule 25: Always loot dead mimics. Mimics, regardless of what they are disguised as, always have some sort of real treasure inside them.

Rule 26: Always smash pots. Loot and ambush creatures often hide in various urns and jars scattered about claims.

Rule 27: Always jam levers. Do this especially if you've just pulled it. Whatever action it's completed may be on a timer, such as a raised portcullis, and the reset might be defeated by jamming it

Rule 28: Place alarms, tripwires or piles of grease behind you as you go. Place these traps in doors or intersections. Some creatures prefer to stalk their prey and wait for something else to distract you before striking and this may alert you to their presence.

Rule 29: Don't kick down doors unless you know what is on the other side or have no choice. You will wake up anything sleeping on the opposite side and possibly other creatures within the claim.

Rule 30: Bring a Healer. Try to find one that fancies using their holy magic for actually healing on occasion instead of just greedily killing monsters.

Rule 31: Bring a Thief. Having someone to unlock doors and disarm traps is invaluable, if you can endure their brooding.

Rule 32: Bring a Barbarian. A Vault Hunter's survival rate increases proportionally to the number of Barbarians in their crew. Unlike Fighters or Paladins, Barbarians are both dumb enough to step into dangerous places first and durable enough to do it twice.

Rule 33: Bring a Mage. Mage specialties vary from utility to combat, but all are useful. So long as they can avoid getting hit first.

Rule 34: Keep your True Name secret. If you are a mage, the name you know in your heart as 'yours' has power over you and can be used against you by speaking it aloud. Your magic will fail you.

Rule 35: Know a mage's True Name. Avoid fighting mages without knowing their True Name. A single spell can render you helpless. Take every advantage you can get.

Rule 36: Dragons have True Names too. They are much more difficult to find than a person's but grant greater rewards for doing so. Speaking it will not only weaken its spells if it has any, but also stuns them for a short time.

Rule 37: Avoid unconditional loyalties. Trust your guild or crew only as long as their life depends on your ongoing survival. Everyone will use or betray you as soon as the rewards outweigh the risks.

Rule 38: Build a stronghold. Keep your unnecessary followers, attendants or hirelings there when not in use. It is useful for many things, but passive untaxed income and a place to winter are top among them.

Rule 39: Avoid traveling during winter. Progress slows to a crawl, foraging becomes nearly impossible and the difficulty of most tasks increases. Near the end of the winter and early spring you should beware overland creatures waking up from brumation as well.

Rule 40: Form a Wildstorm plan. Ratcatcher crews often have solutions developed but keep them secret. Consider hiring an engineer if your crew lacks that particular skill.

Rule 41: Only bring what you need. Leave nonessential gear and mounts outside the claim, but don't depend on trips topside for things you forgot.

Rule 42: Look for shortcuts. Larger claims often have secret exits that lead back to higher levels or even topside. Make sure to close it behind you, but leave it openable again. Shortcuts are crucial for deeper claims that will require multiple trips to fully explore.

Rule 43: Leave carefully. Make your exit from the claim as carefully as you entered. You may have missed traps on your way in, or some traps may have degraded with time and require triggering twice to function. More intelligent creatures may even wait for you to expend resources clearing the dungeon before ambushing you.

Rule 44: Temper your greed. Flee before the need becomes obvious. If the claim is well hidden, the treasure will still be there when you return later.

Rule 45: Always flee backwards out of a claim. Panic may make you want to flee deeper inside if a threat is behind you. Fleeing deeper blindly can lead you into a trap or worse.

Rule 46: Identify the age of your claim. Most claims fall within the main 5 categories: Early Ethornian, Late Ethornian, Premodern, Naturally Occurring and Elven.

Rule 47: Expect medium to high danger in Early Ethornian era claims. Traps and Monsters. Mundane treasure with the occasional uncommon/rare trinket.

Rule 48: Expect high danger in Late Ethornian era claims. Cruel magical traps and 'puzzles'. Magical creatures may be present. Mundane treasure with high likelihood of wands or magical artifacts.

Rule 49: Expect medium danger in Premodern and Naturally Occurring claims. Monsters, obstacles and traps. Mundane treasure, almost never magical artifacts.

Rule 50: Expect anything in Elven claims. These are usually small and lay below the deepest reaches of one of the four other kinds of claims. Magical traps, constructs and 'puzzles'. Magical artifacts are certain and could possibly contain the next Vault Key or Vault itself.

Rule 51: Get a source rod. Rods are necessary for powering Elven technology such as doors or lifts. Scourge beasts can smell one over leagues, so store it in a bag of holding or lead-lined bag.

Rule 52: Be careful where you rest. A room that feels safe within a claim can quickly become a coffin should something outside realize you only have one exit it can guard.

Rule 53: Protect flammables. Keep spell scrolls and potions deep inside your pack unless you have an abundance. Traps or creatures that burn you can destroy them if they are on the outside of your bag.

Rule 54: Avoid astral explosions. Never EVER place anything you suspect is magical into a bag of holding without identifying it first. Some objects, such as a wand of antimagic, can destroy your bag- taking your possessions with it.

Rule 55: Test unidentified wands. Once you've ensured the wand isn't cursed with a standard cursecheck, try writing on the ground or lightly tapping it on insects. You may get a hint at its effects without expending slots. Feel free to zap uncursed wands in emergencies. You've got nothing to lose.

Rule 56: Test unidentified potions. Once you've ensured the potion isn't cursed with a standard cursecheck, pour a little on a plant or insect. You may get a hint at its effects without expending slots. Feel free to quaff uncursed potion in emergencies.  You've got nothing to lose.

Rule 57: Kill boss monsters. Most enemies are better off avoided, but the powerful dominant creatures in claims often yield parts needed to have masterworks crafted.

Rule 58: Make seasonal offerings to Ignari the Keeper. Burn quality paper soaked in fine ink once every season to be granted slightly better luck when finding scrolls.

Rule 59: Make seasonal offerings to Saint Mikahaiel Stoneburner. Bury an ingot of steel once every season to be granted a small chance of a boss monster dropping two masterwork materials.

Rule 60: Make seasonal offerings to Saint Westris. Carve a walking stick and leave it against a tree once every season to be granted a slightly safer passage when returning from a journey.

Rule 61: Make seasonal offerings to Gobi the Swift. Boil saltwater in a clay bowl until completely dry, then shatter the bowl and toss the pieces into a body of water once every season to be granted a bit of added luck when fishing.

Rule 62: Make seasonal offerings to Saint Bayuz. Buy a business share worth at least fifty gold and hold on to it for at least a season to be granted a bit of added luck when looting gold.

Rule 63: Avoid Deathless. A swarm that notices you will follow your scent for leagues and they don't tire. Smaller groups are more dangerous than hordes as you can hear a horde approaching from a mile away.

Rule 64: Avoid the Fane. There is nothing of value there. The danger is not worth it. A pair of Myrddraal is an even match for an entire crew of ratcatchers. That's if the plants don't kill you first.

Rule 65: Take new paths. Your instincts will tell you to tread previous paths to familiar destinations, but you're more likely to discover new points of interest if you travel through previously unexplored areas. Map as you go.

Rule 66: Utilize landmarks. The Elves left behind many massive structures. They may look crumbling, but they are indestructible. Climb them and use their superior elevation to survey the area for points of interest.

Rule 68: Look for waystations and obey their rules. Some entrepreneurs have set up secluded safe-havens scattered across the Frontier. You can rest safely there and resupply, but expect significant markup for goods and services.

Rule 69: Never go beyond the Dragonwall. It may sound tempting, but it's called the 'Dragonwall' for a reason. Countless dragons live in and patrol those jagged peaks. Expect death.

Rule 70: Avoid Tar Valon. It is where the Scourge Beasts nest. The reason not to go there should be self explanatory.

Rule 71: Don't trust old maps. The older the map, the more inaccurate its locations are. Monuments may not move, but rivers, forests and coastlines change with time. Use your imagination when interpreting maps.

Rule 72: Be friendly to the locals. There are pockets of feral settlers scattered about in the Frontier. If you find them, try your best to make friends. Native allies can be very useful when far from home and resupply.

Rule 73: Don't try to cross the Shield Wall. The range is borderline impassable, especially if you have mounts. Seek the Terminus Est, a fifty mile wide pass through the mountains.

Rule 74: Attain a shardblade. This may sound ridiculous, but it is an invaluable tool if you can get one. Not only can it cut through most dungeon walls, doors and traps, but it is the one thing that Scourge Beasts fear.

Rule 75: Go fishing. Nearly every large body of water in the Frontier has a bounty of unique fish. Fishing doesn't require any special survival skills like foraging does but does require a fishing kit and tinderbox for a fire.

Rule 76: Never settle. If you find yourself flush with gold and artifacts, contemplating settling down and giving up the life; don't. The Vaults are out there. If you don't find them, someone else will.

Rule 77: Have fun :) ~Tattersail