Ralph won't tell you why he's living in the street, or where he's from, or what his real last name is. He doesn't even like being called "Ralph." Instead, he likes the nickname he got from the squatters he used to hang out with. They called him Dog, sort of making fun of him, but he liked it. If anybody asks, he says his name is "Dog Jones."
He's not living with other people right now. He's got his own squat in an abandoned Victorian in a pretty bad part of town, but he doesn't have any trouble with the neighbors. He's got a rep. They say, "Don't mess with Dog. Somebody's looking out for him. He's a good kid. If you're nice to him, someone looks out for you too, sometimes."
That's because Dog is friends with Mister Whispers, and Mister Whispers is everywhere.
Mister Whispers is a swarm of rats--big, sleek, red-eyed rats. Rats that make cats wish they were tigers, and make tigers glad they live in Asia. Dog knows what's going on in his adopted neighborhood because Mister Whispers lives up to his name. He listens and he whispers to Dog.
Dog's moral compass finds north every time, but he doesn't have much sense of the geography. Bad things happen to bad people in Dog's neighborhood. And even worse than bad people, bad monsters really tick him off. Monsters are for helping people and learning secrets and scrounging for day-old donuts, not for hurting innocent people.
Feet 4 (Dodging +2, Kicking +1, P.E. +3).
Guts 4 (Courage +2, Wind +1, Wrestling +0).
Hands 2 (Blocking +0, Punching +0, Shop +1).
Brains 2 (Out-Think +2, Remember +0, Notice +1).
Face 2 (Charm +0, Connive +2, Putdown +0).
Leftie (a genial old wino) 1, Carlita (a maternal prostitute) 1, The Neighborhood 3, Officer Wilson 1, Mister Whispers.
Appearance: Mister Whispers is a swarm of rats--big, dangerous, red-eyed rats. His voice is a chorus of rat whispers.
Personality: Mister Whispers is subtle, quiet, and watchful. He speaks with economy and tends to say just the right thing to reassure Dog. Mister Whispers lacks complex motivations. He thinks very like an ordinary rat in many ways, if all those individual rat brains added up to a lot of raw intelligence. He doesn't understand human society at all, but can interpret it from an animalistic point of view that is sometimes disturbingly accurate.
Way to Hide: Mister Whispers is in the walls, under the floor-boards, peeking out from manhole covers and storm drains. He's always waiting, ready to swarm out if Dog needs him. He's always lurking and listening.
Favorite Thing: Mister Whispers loves listening to secrets and watching secret things. He shares these only with Dog.
Locations 1-3: Rats! (10 dice, Useful [sneak and hide, even from other monsters], Tough x3, Awesome x2)
Locations 4-6: More Rats! (10 dice, Defends, Useful [knows lots of secrets and can find out more], Tough x4)
Location 7-8: Hundreds of Fangs and Claws (5 dice, Attacks, Useful [gnawing things all up], Area x2, Burning, Wicked Fast x1)
Location 9: Maddening Voice (3 dice, Useful [drive people mad with whispering from the shadows], Awesome x2)
Location 10: Knowing Noses (3 dice, Useful [scrounging useful stuff from trash], Awesome x2)
Unlike most monsters, Mister Whispers isn't a single solid thing but a swarming mass of rats acting under the direction of one will. Mister Whispers is awesomely good at hiding, even from other monsters. Few monsters are able to spot him, and humans don't have a chance. If they see a rat or two, that's exactly what they'll assume they are--just ordinary rats.
He's got six hit locations blocked off to cover these wild swarms, and they are both hard to hurt (Tough) and they can take lots of damage (10 dice pools). With More Rats!, Mister Whispers can take powerful defensive actions as well as knowing lots of secrets and learning more.
When he attacks he swarms up, binding up an opponent's movements or biting horribly. Hundreds of rat jaws can make short work of things Mister Whispers wants to destroy--up to 1600 pounds at a time. He can gnaw a house down in a matter of minutes if he wants.
When he whispers at people from the shadows, he can drive them mad. He does this when he wants to drive bad people out of the neighborhood.
And he's great at finding things in the trash and refuse of society--nothing new or shiny, but serviceable and solid. A decent bicycle, a bag of bagels, a working computer a few years old. Dog lives pretty well on things Mister Whispers can sniff out.