Up to 30 individuals, 4L at -1 Reach, Reaction 5. Friends in Melee puts the TN before Reach as 0/8 in favor of the Devil Rats, meaning that even with the -1 Reach a Troll with a polearm can only bring the numbers to 4/8 or 0/4. Said troll is probably ok, but with 20+ bites at the apple anyone with single-digit Body is likely to get at least one bad roll and take an L wound. Then next round you do it again but are even worse off to start with.

This is before we account for Animal Control (Mundane Rats) allowing them to bring reinforcements dealing 2L at -1 Reach with the same 5 Reaction. If you get swarmed your best bet is probably to drop a concussion grenade at your feet.

This has been your friendly local public service department, reminding you to treat paracritters with caution.

~J

Indeed, having a Slaughter Devil Rat spell handy is a good idea in the bad parts of town. Though that's just another reason I consistently pay for High Lifestyle so I don't live in those areas of town.

..iif i remember right,thre is a Advanced Surged version..Demon Rat (Running Wild, and Feral Cities hava info about ..)

Outnumbering your opponent is the way to go. Napoleon, when he got lazy in his old age, swore by this.

Tracked those down. Running Wild, pp. 152-153, Feral Cities, pp. 39-40. I'd almost forgotten about these guys before this thread.