Rat Swarms

The Rat Swarms are an ever-present, terrifying, and distinctly malevolent supernatural phenomenon. Far from standard rodents, these ravenous creatures behave as a single, semi-conscious hive-mind explicitly tied to the corruption of the Prima Macula curse.

📊 Behavioral Traits

• Primary Vectors: Handlers of the Macula curse; historically linked directly to the Justinian Plague and the Black Death.
• Core Weakness: Severe, absolute aversion to light sources (sunlight, torches, chemical fires).
• Visual Indicators: Massive dark waves that completely blacken the landscape, characterized by glowing, orange-lit eyes.

🌑 Supernatural Mechanics

While individual rats pose very little threat on their own, they travel in subterranean nests and emerge with an intense, low rumble that can instantly strip human or animal flesh down to bone in seconds.

• Light Incineration: If a swarm is caught off-guard and surrounded by an abrupt burst of bright light (such as a torch or firebomb), they are instantly incinerated rather than simply scattered.
• The Rat Twister: When swarms face artificial light sources that block their path to food, they can gather together to form massive, twister-like mounds. These towering structures actively hurl themselves directly at fires to violently extinguish them, forcing survivors back into absolute darkness.