The Rats Are Not What They Seem - Dark Souls
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- #rats #darksouls #lore
a exhaustive history of the rats across the fromsoft games where i mix up the names vanguard and authority when talking about the infamous rat themed boss but a fun video nonetheless
Additional lore on the giga-rat in the depths:
My guess is that it was a normal-sized rat, and grew to a huge size due to feeding on an endless supply of meat that the butcher throws down the chimney hole. A mutually beneficial relationship: food for the gigarat, and a handy garbage disposal system for the chef.
Also, if you look carefully, there's a battleaxe sticking out of its eye. Combining that with the spider shield found directly above, it suggests that a character of starting class Bandit became a recent meal.
garbage disposal? I was under the impression the chefs existed specifically to feed the rat, hence why they pyromancer is scared of becoming "her next meal" referring to the giant rat
@@ennayanne That's a really fascinating hypothesis I hadn't considered. I figured that the two butchers were female, or alternatively Maneater Mildred was the head chef, and the cooks were preparing steaks for her.
I can't think of a consistent lore reason as to why this collection of butcher/chef cultists would be huddled in a sewer delicately preparing prime steaks for an angry overgrown mouse but I guess stranger things have happened in Lordran.
@@ennayannethe chefs are cannibals as well he was for the butcher
@@thetitaniumviper4734 interesting, what's the evidence you have for that?
@@ennayanne the sack item description calls them man eaters and Miyazaki himself said they were women
The rat covenant is such an interesting concept, cause you just set traps and keep intruders out
Ds2 is an interesting take deserves a remake
It was really fun to hide/lurk and see how people would get hurt by your npcs and traps, but it was also fun to try to get through them at high speed! I can't believe this idea was tossed out. Screw finding the stones for it though!
Build your own dungeon, in a dark souls game. Can't get more novel than that.
The sheer amount of rat lore is probably my favourite thing about DS2
And that King's voice, my god. Pure dripping comfiness.
@@ianwilliams2632every Ds2 voice actor absolutely killed their role
@@ianwilliams2632Rat King really had a terrific voice actor. I'm not just saying this either. I even looked him up and it's an English actor name of Steven Pacey
Skaven
@@theHedgex1reddit
It's an amusing thought that the Rat King is so pissed at humans over breaking their "promise" when what he had probably got was a promise from 1 singular tribe's chief, and that particular tribe probably honored it, it's just that Humanity is very much not a singular obelisk of a civilization like the Rats seem to be.
I can't believe that im actually watching dark souls RAT LORE at 3am
one of us one of us one of us one of us one of us one of us one of us one of us one of us one of us
Beat me to it. 3 : 12, back from a bar. Home after 7 day business trip. Sleep? No, DS rat Lore it is.
That's me right now at 00:03
Relatable 😭😭
4 am here
Theres a million fromsoft lore vids about gods and npcs and the history of the worlds.
But this is the lore vid we needed.
This was truly like having your stoner friend passionately extol their niche interest to you in the corner of a house party after you've both had a couple shots. I love it, hella subbed
The royal rat covenant is one of the coolest coventants in all of souls. The idea of hosting in a world, and setting up traps while teaming up with npcs seems so cool. Its a same I only started playing it last year and the games ben rather dead for me to do that :/
When Ds2 first came out that is ALL I did, nobody really knew the mechanics so it was incredible to sneak up on noobs and backstab then 😂 Everybody would just permablock too (hangover from ds1 maybe) so I got a lot of free kills with the "new" guard break
been waiting for a remake just to relive the pvp experience, i hung out there all the time, one the best times ive had out of all souls games
I really liked that covenant, most fun I’ve had in the game
@@trooper7160
Same here, I spent the most time playing multi-player in DS2 out of any fromsoft game. I miss how balanced and varied it was! I feel like the chances of a remake/remaster is very low though.
@@JacksongirardI feel like one day we will get one. Maybe another 10 years or so. Sucks I didn’t play souls back then ( didn’t start until 2017)
My favorite part of this video is when you said “The Rat King” before TH-cam cut to an ad with Ryan Reynolds.
Regarding DS3's Embers: they're essentially Unkindled Humanity. They're the same shape as the Humanity sprites in DS1 but, well, an Ember. It makes sense rats drop those just like they did Humanity. Because Embers ARE Humanity.
Thats a great point. Its the evolution
@@TheHonoredMadmanI know it's been a while, but I have a feeling you never got to read this. It's not especially important, but still:
I believe I expanded at length before on my theory on who made the covenant with the Rat King; namely, it being the Sunken King. However, you are right; the theory should account for the existence of rats elsewhere, including in Lordran.
Let us begin:
The first thing we must note is that it is extremely unlikely for the Rat King to be the ruler of all ratkind.
Why?
Three reasons:
1. Humans are not unified. If rats are as prolific as we are and moreso, then it is unlikely they consist of exactly one civilisation.
2. The vast distance between Lordran and Drangleic. Whilst it is true the convergence would make the two continents closer together, there remains a vast stretch of ocean between them, insurmountable to most of ratkind. They could, perhaps, find their way through the ships of various expeditions, but keeping contact with the Rat King back in Drangleic would be near impossible.
3. The administration of rats in Dark Souls 1.
What administration, you might ask?
In one particular junction, three massive rats gather round a Channeler. Smaller rats hide in boxes and in corners, guarding the meeting. Once you enter, the Channeller immediately strengthens his large retinue, bidding them attack with his dance.
In the past, one would've assumed the Channeller was the one controlling this horde. But as we now know, rats are perfectly sentient.
This was an arrangement.
Does this council of three follow the massive rat above? Or do they conduct affairs in his stead? Is he their Rat King, or a dangerous, hungry enforcer of their will?
Who can say?
But then, there is the even greater question:
Why entertain the notion of allying with a Channeller? Are they not disgusted by humans?
Well....
Whoever said Channellers were ever human?
Have you ever had the chance to look under those curious masks?
I suspect the rats likely know as much as we do about what is behind it.
Nothing.
All they see, all they need, is an ally....
To pacify the terrible beast beneath.
The Gaping Dragon.
_
This would not be the last time rats would create an arrangement with outsiders. You've mentioned the Gyrm, but let us take a visit to Irithyll Dungeon.
The rats aren't hiding; they're wandering freely through the cells after the Giant. They are not attacked, nor do they attack; here, they are among friends.
The Jailers.
Most people would say the Jailers formerly Handmaidens of the Profaned Capital, are human, and while there is room to doubt that( look at them!), I don't think it would matter much.
The Jailers may be human, but their greatest joy is human screams.
So what if it comes from a rat chowing down live, fresh meat?
_
The Royal Rat Authority is unlikely to have been a " pet" of his master, if only because his name implies a much more important role. Doglike or not, all rats run on four paws, and all are equal before the eyes of his grace, the Rat King.
No. I believe( and it saddens me to say this) that the loyal guard has gone mad.
Watch him move. Look at him killing his own soldiers by accident. His face, sick. His tongue, rolling out with no support.
Half-blind. Half-dead.
Like a sick puppy.
Before, he may have been a formidable knight for his king.
Now...
He serves.
He still serves, as well as he can. As well as he can still understand.
"In fact, the Giant probably stomps shit into a fine soup-like mush, perfect for the rats to eat."
I'm laughing so hard at this "tidbit" you threw in 😂 funny af
I mix up the royal rat authority and vanguard names in this video. makes things kinda funny
A very easy mistake we all make.
Just in case, here is a copy:
I believe I expanded at length before on my theory on who made the covenant with the Rat King; namely, it being the Sunken King. However, you are right; the theory should account for the existence of rats elsewhere, including in Lordran.
Let us begin:
The first thing we must note is that it is extremely unlikely for the Rat King to be the ruler of all ratkind.
Why?
Three reasons:
1. Humans are not unified. If rats are as prolific as we are and moreso, then it is unlikely they consist of exactly one civilisation.
2. The vast distance between Lordran and Drangleic. Whilst it is true the convergence would make the two continents closer together, there remains a vast stretch of ocean between them, insurmountable to most of ratkind. They could, perhaps, find their way through the ships of various expeditions, but keeping contact with the Rat King back in Drangleic would be near impossible.
3. The administration of rats in Dark Souls 1.
What administration, you might ask?
In one particular junction, three massive rats gather round a Channeler. Smaller rats hide in boxes and in corners, guarding the meeting. Once you enter, the Channeller immediately strengthens his large retinue, bidding them attack with his dance.
In the past, one would've assumed the Channeller was the one controlling this horde. But as we now know, rats are perfectly sentient.
This was an arrangement.
Does this council of three follow the massive rat above? Or do they conduct affairs in his stead? Is he their Rat King, or a dangerous, hungry enforcer of their will?
Who can say?
But then, there is the even greater question:
Why entertain the notion of allying with a Channeller? Are they not disgusted by humans?
Well....
Whoever said Channellers were ever human?
Have you ever had the chance to look under that curious mask?
I suspect the rats likely know as much as we do about what is behind it.
Nothing.
All they see, all they need, is an ally....
To pacify the terrible beast beneath.
The Gaping Dragon.
_
This would not be the last time rats would create an arrangement with outsiders. You've mentioned the Gyrm, but let us take a visit to Irithyll Dungeon.
The rats aren't hiding; they're wandering freely through the cells after the Giant. Two massive ones in particular wait for you before you enter the main hall, filled with a congregation of Jailers, going round and round. These two are likely the parents, and rulers, of a significant portion of their kind here. They are not attacked by the Jailers, nor do they attack; here, they are among friends.
Most people would say the Jailers formerly Handmaidens of the Profaned Capital, are human, and while there is room to doubt that( look at them!), I don't think it would matter much.
The Jailers may be human, but their greatest joy is human screams.
So what if it comes from a rat chowing down live, fresh meat?
It would simply count as another, more creative form of torture. And one that cost much less, too. I imagine it did wonders for questioning.
Sulyvahn was indeed always a clever bastard.
_
The Royal Rat Authority is unlikely to have been a " pet" of his master, if only because his name implies a much more important role. Doglike or not, all rats run on four paws, and all are equal before the eyes of his grace, the Rat King.
No. I believe( and it saddens me to say this) that the loyal guard has gone mad.
Watch him move. Look at him killing his own soldiers by accident. His face, sick. His tongue, rolling out with no support.
Half-blind. Half-dead.
Like a sick puppy.
Before, he may have been a formidable knight for his king.
Now...
He serves.
He still serves, as well as he can. As well as he can still understand.
This sort of quirky unexpected subject is just what I always crave in Souls lore. You never know what could be relevant, in the most bizarre ways. Thank you, enjoying this a lot.
i was the pied piper in shrek the musical so I am something of a rat expert and this video passes my rat test
... odd
im sobbing at the bong rip before talking about the windwaker rats. shit caught me so off guard
Thank you I was searching for this comment like “I don’t think rats sound like a bong rip?” 😂
The rat king is a class act.
it makes me sad that the Dark Souls series is done. Not because it nesicarilly needs more sequels, but because when it came to feedback from Dark Souls 2, they seemed to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Thanks for talking about this underated lore that could've been expanded on.
Never heard that phrase before, will now be using it always
Have you heard the tragedy of Bloodborne?
@@FumblsTheSniper What are you talking about? They just made a sick sequel, it's even on PC and Xbox! Weird choice to make the protagonist the doll's little brother.
yeah its really sad to me. honestly trying to play ds2 is mostly suffering for me, i really wish they’d kept some of the more creative aspects of it around instead of making ds3 just ds1-2
The greatest thing about Soulsbourne is there will always be a new generation of lore/content creators, we’ve come a long way from ENB ❤️
That rat jumping out of nowhere made me drop my phone laughing ! 😂😂😂 00:45
The H.P. Lovecraft story "Dreams in the Witch House" had this man-rat-demon hybrid called Brown Jenkin, who had a brown furry body, and hands on his fore and hind legs and a rat-like human face. He was the familiar of the titular witch of the story. I always thought the rats in Dark Souls were something like that. Some sort of demon or less than human hybrid creature. Maybe it eats humanity to become more human.
What was Lovecraft's black cat character named again...?
I definitely agree. And i gotta admit i hadnt thought of that connection before about them rating humanity and by dsrk souls 2 theyre in fact depicted as more humanlike so i wonder if that was intentional, either way this is a great insight
@@chrislevack405;)
@@chrislevack405 It wasn't a black cat character it was his actual cat xD
@@stickamateur you are both correct. The cat Lovecraft had when he was a child and the cat of the protagonist of "Rats in the walls" had the same name.
Hate to be slightly off topic… but the music is from The Under, an underground city, in Pokémon Colosseum. Perfect touch!
The bong rip at the end compelled me to subscribe. Well done video!
Thats actually incredible about the rat/gyrm alliance and is way more nice than I expected anything in DS2 could be.
17:26 wow. i was trying to find this shot of the rat working out in his cage after loving it the first time I saw that movie. I tried flicking through it years later but must have missed it as I convinced myself I had imagined it in my greened out state. Your use of that shot today confirmed something I had doubted; there WAS a janky effect of Splinter learning
I cracked up at "Meth Sif." Never heard that one before.
feel like getting 1/4th of ur subscribers in views in 6 hours is impressive for a small channel, especially when it’s not clout chasing the newest game(s). keep up the good work, madman. we’ll be here
My servant! By the grandness of this video, you have proven yourself to me. I'll allow you to serve me, don't disappoint me human!
"I would trust thee as I would any rat."
My theory has been that Pharros was the human that originally made a covenant with the rats. Seems to be no coincidence that the most Pharros doors are where all the rats are.
In Elden Ring the Rat Spirit Ashes are one of if not the only Spirit Ashes picked up off the ground in the overworld instead of somewhere underground or given be an NPC.
The other being the rotten stray in caelids swamp
This is not true at all. There are at least four summon found on the ground in the over world
@@blizzardgaming7070 true that, I was sure I was missing some!
I never thought i'll want a 1 hour video of a 3d model of a Dark Souls rat spinning to the Gwyn's theme.
Subscribed
based eva-01 pfp
Conclusion: Don't join the 'Rat King'. Join the Horned Rat instead, yes-yes!
What a noble rat.
Thanks 4 my missing ds2 lore.
Excellent video.
I have an insatiable appetite for more souls lore.
Lol that bong rip at 24:40 was epic
I was a little bummed that there were no rats in Dark Souls 3 that had the humanity they ate “go wild” a la the Pus of Man.
On the other hand, the sheer genocide Gael must’ve undertaken to collect all those tiny pieces of the Dark Soul back from rats must’ve been obnoxious.
Fun fact the termites of kings field learned how to build stairs
The rats are a reference to "The Rhizome" from D+G's 1000 Plateaus; there's a church of rats in Pynchon's "V.", converted by a character called Father Fairing. It's the same chapter where Benny Profane hunts alligators in the sewer (Gaping Dragon).
Was not expecting Deleuze references in a Souslore video
I love the thematic consistency of rats dropping a rare item in each game.
Humanity, effigies, embers, rune arcs. Even the greatest heroes eventually die and end up buried in the ground. The greatest treasures of the gods eventually end up as forgotten scrap. The rats outlasting us all is very appropriate, if humans are doomed to struggle and kill one another for all eternity, then the rats will always have food.
"The same worms that eat me will someday eat you too." And all that.
Hahahaha you freaking killed me with the Casey Jones clip, showing off his opposable thumb skills!
Love your videos, and they just keep getting better
Cool video man! Rats in video games are always interesting so it's cool to see they have some lore is fromsoft games.
The fact that DS2 has the giant rat that makes all the rules just solidifies how it is the best souls game tbh.
I wish Dark Souls 3 wouldve picked up more threads from 2. The Rat King and the stated history between humans and rats was kinda cool.
Hey man I just want to say I love your analysis, especially the way you do examined environmental storytelling. You made a lot of connections I would have never even thought twice about, and said a lot of interesting things about a topic that could have just been a summary of "this item description says this" or "this NPC says this" and I really dig that. Loved the video
Pokémon Colosseum music? Man, your taste in background music is the best!
I never thought I’d be this invested in learning the lore of rats of a video game. ❤❤❤
The lore of these are so big that someone made a 25 min lore video about its rats. The fricking rats!
Definitely didnt expect to hear a nice rip in my headphones at the end 💀
Rats were rats were the rats....
24:35 that gangster-ass bong rip at the end bro...
Rats, we’re rats. We’re the Rats. We pray at night, we stalk at night; we’re the rats.
I’m da giant rat dat makes all da rules.
I still feel like rats have parallels to humans in DS. Both basically desire the daek but want more. This DS2 make this seems like more from its lore.
Long live the rat king.
that bong hit out of nowhere.
subbed
Great vid, great outro, bonus Zelda talk? Good shit
I love how dark souls have Rat lore, Snake lore pretty sure also Wolf and Craws lore
I will forever love you for referencing Pikmin stuff in this video lol
I’ve spent thousands of hours across the souls game and never once thought of…rat lore.
5:38 I was kinda bummed that they didn't use the wording of the agreement to cheat the rat king. Like how cool it would be to see a mirrors system, to make suns light shine underground and that being the argument about those lands being theirs.
The giant rat has a great axe berried in its face
Love your videos man! Great work! 🤘🫧🫧
Mfw I didn’t connect the video to dark souls at first so thought the plauge spreading vermin In london had a secret society
I love rats and it makes me happy there is such a deep lore in general from Dark Souls.
Bro the bong rip at the end 💀
Your use of the original Turtles movie has given me no option but to sub
DS2 needed more time in the oven man, there was much untapped potential and concepts, particularly regarding the lore.
That bong rip was satisfying
I am a rat enjoyer
Absolutely ratpilled
I'm ratmaxing so hard rn
Rats in DS1 remaster are rage inducing on new game.
They either knock you off the edge or poison your ass.
The rat king is funny. He made a deal with one dude and thought that would translate to every damn human. Hell no.
True there is a LOT of rat lore in these games
3:29 kinda looks like the rat is tryna bang you backshot
Dude I have been waiting literally months to find a way to send you money, please get that ko-fi link on your channel page asap! Love your work, your unique takes and your smooth delivery. Makes my day to see you pop up on my feed.
Someone call Grimbeard and tell him a video has been made especially for him
I used to think that rats don't gain humanity by eating corpses but for their overal lifestyle. Like some kind of metaphor. Rats are earnest creatures, they live day by day doing anything trying to survive. Humans' greed and heavy dependance on the gods made them weak and thus lose their humanity. Then the next creature on the food chain absorbed their humanity.
I may be beating around the bush. Don't know, I'm sleepy. Great video btw, very interesting topic as always.
The Rat Spirit Ashes go pretty hard in Elden Ring.
rat king struck a deal with godfrey....you never know
Rats keep eating the apples from my goddam apple tree. Little bastards.
Remember that story of Miyazaki throwing out that design for the undead dragon because it was covered in maggots and didn't have any "elegance" or something? Yeah, I don't think Miyazaki ever checked on the rat designs lol
Undead people and dragons turn skeletal and old, like a well preserved mummy. Rats get the sores and maggots, fit for their lifestyle in the lower levels
@@PretzelSage Why? They didn't choose to live like that
@@ennayanne true, maybe it's just a thematic thing. It could also be because humans and dragons are "intelligent" while rats, at least as they were in DS1 and DS3, really aren't. A creature that scrounges in dirt and fights for food and all the other rat things is gonna look PRETTY beat up if you let it come back from the dead. Humans will at least try to preserve themselves, well until they go hollow.
I didn't expect I'd watch all of that.
Love getting Stoney bologna and watching your videos, then it gets me playing the game
I always end up with the Rats in DS2, I just vibe with them. Great vid man!
Rats and similar rodents can actually pop their eyes out of their head quite a bit, they sometimes do this of their own accord in a behavior known as "boggling". The first time I saw a pet do this it freaked me out.
Anyhow yeah, that undead rat definitely has its eye sticking out a bit more permanently.
The Dark Souls Capybara is real and it will hurt me.
I had no idea there even was rat lore in DARKSOULS, let alone how hard it goes. Now I kinda want to play DS2.
Regarding the dog rats in ds2
So it is actually possible for real life rats to become more predatory and carnivorous and in theory they could evolve canine like features to hunt their prey just like a wolf would but they just haven't because there is already too many animals that have this role in our ecosystems so too much competition to evolve like that successfully...
What I'm trying to say is that they aren't hybrids they are just rats that evolved like that due to probably lack of predators in that area which is kinda cool
Did TH-cam sell their soul to the ad revenue gods? The increase in the commercials they play is bad enough. But just went to click the thumbs up on this video and it pulls up a page for turbotax.
Same shit happened to me like 10 mins ago on a video lol i feel it.
The dog rats are adorable.
He got the boss names mixed up
Rats? Rats Make Me Crazy!
I Was Crazy Once. They Locked Me In A Room. A Rubber Room. A Rubber Room With Rats. And Rats Make Me Crazy. I Was Crazy Once...
Would be cool to get lore discussing about the natural and unnatural fauna of the Dark Souls series. Who are mythical beasts, who are animals, what the hell are the bush people?
I feel the rat king is a sadly lost opportunity, with the ability to maintain the relations of above and below ground, it really could’ve fitted the “what makes a king” theme, allowing us to instead summon the Allies across the game radahn style for throne watcher and defender, imagine watching a few rats show up, with a speech on valor or whatever “kill these filthy imposters” or something, as if the final boss really did show off everyone you help
It would be cool if you could summon The Rat King and defeat Nashandra with him as a: "You controlled your monster to kill us, take the revenge of the rat kind" and would be amazing if depending on the character you summons on a Fromsoft game you get a different ending
Giant rat in undead settlement, my beloved ❤
I love rats and FromSoft!
Awesome video.
💖
the lore of dark souls 2 is so nice
Very well done.
I wonder if we’ll get more Elden ring rat lore in shadow of the erdtree
FINALLY. The Lore we need. Only Honored Madman himself would make this brave leap and hazard himself for knowledge.
Next week: The Chairs of Drangleic.
I'm only here for the Zelda take on rats
In DS1 the snow rat does toxic rather than poison
I think the rat king is the same VA as the corvian friend in DS3's DLC who gives the Slab
Rats rats we are the rats
Have you done a video on the Age of the Deep Sea Aldrich had visions of? Super interesting topic to me
Honored madman day is the best day of my week/month