Osquip
"O is for Osquip" © Ben Towle, accessed on his blog here
[The osquip is a monster I always thought deserved better. My first monster manual was the 2e AD&D Monstrous Compendium, which depicted the osquip and rat side by side. To get point of place alongside such a dungeon staple as giant rats lead my child-self to assume osquips were a big deal, but the Monstrous Compendium was probably their most prominent appearance. They were a Fiend Folio original, and like a number of monsters from that book, were fairly obscure outside of it and all but disappeared in later editions of D&D. Their last official appearance was as an Improved Familiar option in Races of Faerun, and those stats didn't even really try to represent the osquips of old so much as replicate the dire rat but as a magical beast this time. My take on the osquip restores its surprisingly dangerous bite attack, and tries to give them some memorable behavior. The bright red teeth are inspired by those of real world super gnawers like beavers and nutria, and were one of the reasons I went with a black and white image.
Tunnel on over to the Creature Codex Patreon and help support the author]
Osquip CR 2 N Magical Beast This ugly creature appears to be a cross between a rat and a bull terrier. Its hide is leathery and yellow, and it has six legs and a mere stump for a tail. Its teeth are enormous, chisel-like and red, protruding past its lips.
Osquips are carnivorous offshoots of rodents, notorious for their tunneling capabilities and viciousness. Their favorite prey is other rodents, which at first might seem to be a boon for city dwellers, reducing the amount of grain stolen and the transmission of disease. Unfortunately, osquips will eat other creatures, attacking man-sized prey in packs. They can burrow through solid stone, albeit slowly, using teeth impregnated with iron. Dungeons where osquips live may be crisscrossed with miles of these tunnels, and they have no compunction of digging into the basements or ground floors of buildings. Over time, osquip tunnelling can damage foundations and allow other stranger creatures to use osquip tunnels to infiltrate cities. Their taste for rodents extends to ratfolk, and ratfolk communities devote plenty of time and energy to guarding against osquip infestations.
Osquips live in groups something like the colonies of bumblebees and some wasps. A single female dominates reproduction, and other females in the colony help care for her young. These other females are still fertile, and may sneak mating and attempt to raise their own offspring, but the queen osquip seeks out and eats any young that aren’t her own. All members of the colony, including the queen, forage for their own food, but may forage alone or in groups depending on the size of prey available. Osquips need to consume iron in order to keep their enormous teeth sharp, and so collect metallic objects to gnaw on. The greatest defense an osquip colony has is their tunnel system; these are typically too narrow for man-sized creatures to move through. Osquips navigate their tunnels with scent trails, left behind by glands on the creature’s feet and rear end. For creatures without the scent ability, attempting to navigate osquip tunnels is difficult if not impossible.
An osquip can be taken as a familiar with the Improved Familiar feat by a spellcaster of 7th level or higher. They are most popular with Small subterranean humanoids such as svirfneblin or derro; ratfolk who take an osquip familiar are often seen as antisocial and dangerous by other ratfolk.
