Dungeons & Dragons Giant Rat Miniature

This is a highly detailed miniature of a Giant Rat.

This model was created by M3DM who makes amazingly accurate models of Dungeons & Dragons creatures and is provided by Commercial License.

A Giant Rat in Dungeons & Dragons is a small, aggressive rodent commonly found in sewers, caves, and abandoned buildings. It is a staple low-level enemy, often encountered in swarms or as part of an infestation. Despite its name, a Giant Rat is not truly enormous—typically about the size of a large dog—but is much larger and more dangerous than a normal rat. These creatures are scavengers, willing to attack when hungry or cornered, and often serve as minions to more intelligent foes like goblins or necromancers.

In game mechanics, Giant Rats have low hit points and armor class, making them easy to defeat, but their numbers can overwhelm unprepared adventurers. They possess keen senses, particularly darkvision and a strong sense of smell, making them effective at tracking and ambushing prey. Some variants carry disease, such as filth fever, which can weaken or even kill adventurers if left untreated.

Giant Rats are thematically linked to filth, decay, and urban squalor, often appearing in dungeons, slums, and plague-ridden cities. They serve as a narrative tool to establish an environment’s danger or neglect. While usually mundane threats, they can also be magically altered into more formidable creatures, such as dire rats or mutant variations.

Despite their weak individual threat, their swarming behavior and potential to spread disease make them a memorable early-game encounter, reinforcing the idea that even small creatures can be dangerous in the right circumstances.