Giant Rat (Fallout: New Vegas)

Giant rats are creatures living in the Mojave Wasteland

Gameplay
Giant Rats will not attack on sight, but instead stand defensively in the way Bighorners do when an enemy is spotted, only attacking if approached close enough. Certain rats, such as the ones found in Freeside, will not attack despite being assaulted. Giant Rats will not attack if the Courier has the Animal Friend perk. Giant Rats are also susceptible to, and count towards, the Animal Control perk. Crippling their tails will cause it to frenzy and start attacking all targets indiscriminately. Occasionally, idle rats will make a sound similar to a howl.

Giant Rat
Giant Rats are light brown color, with glowing blue eyes and white hair down its back. The standard Giant Rat is equal in size to a mole rat. They are quite fast and attack in groups of three to seven.

Giant Rat Pup
Otherwise identical in appearance to Giant Rats, but smaller in size. They usually don't attack but instead run away. However, if pups are encountered with normal giant rats, they will accompany them in the assault.

Rodent of Unusual Size


Found in the Broc Flower Cave and New Vegas Sewers, Rodents of Unusual Size are larger than standard Giant Rats and have greater attack strength. They are aggressive and will attack on sight unless the player has the Animal Friend perk. They can sometimes be found in Vault 11 if the Wild Wasteland perk is chosen.

Unnaturally Large Sized Rodent
These are uniquely large Giant Rats, with only two in the game. They are found in the East Central Sewers, in the same room as "Sweet" Jill. They are aggressive and will attack on sight.

Appearances
Giant Rats appear

Behind the scenes

 * In the Fallout: New Vegas concept art, the Giant Rat was described as being "smaller than a dog but bigger than a cat."
 * The Rodents of Unusual Size are named in reference to William Goldman's novel and film The Princess Bride. In the film and novel, rodents of unusual size (or ROUS for short) attack the protagonists.