The Rat King

Cellar rats knotted by their tails, fat on the vault's coin. A penny a tail, once.

The Rat King is one of the three bosses who can wait at the foot of The Gilt Cellars, the last fight of floor 10: each run draws one of them as it starts. The others are the Tallyman and the Old Sow. Below floor 30, in the endless hoard and the Deep, one of the three is drawn again for floors 40, 70, 100 and on.

His turns

The Rat King always starts at the top of this cycle and repeats it. These are the numbers the game's own boss card shows on a plain descent: floor 10, no Greed, no trials, the Tally paid.

Turn	Move	What it does
1	Flurry	Strikes twice for 20 each.
2	Summon	Calls a Gnawer: 149 health, hits 26.
3	Attack	Strikes you for 34.
4	Flurry	Strikes twice for 20 each.
5	Heavy	A crushing blow for 68: three quarters of it gets past armor unless you GUARD.

His rules

Unyielding: turns 1-2, can't drop below half health.
Enrage: under half health, hits 1.5x.
Rats: heal him 98 a turn while one stands.
Summon: a Heavy when the room is full.
Turn 11+: every enemy grows 15% a turn; freeze stops working.

How to beat him

The game's own advice, from his card in the Bestiary:

Kill his rats first: he heals while one stands.
Flurries strike twice: armor takes each hit.
Heavy every 5th turn, more when his room is full. GUARD halves it.
Below half health he hits 1.5x as hard.

If you owe the Tally

The Tally for this depth is 62 gold. Arrive still owing and the Rat King is stronger by the share unpaid: up to +40% health and attack with nothing paid (2733 health, 48 a hit). The Tallyman also sends a Pilfer Imp with him, one for each half of the due still owed: two with nothing paid.

What he says

The bosses remember you. Each boss fight opens with one line, picked from what has passed between you: how often this boss has killed you, whether you have won before, whether the Tally is paid, and who you brought. Each line is said once ever; when none is left for the moment, the boss says a refrain.

When	The line
First meeting	Kneel. We have more knees than you.
Once this boss has killed you three times	You again. The little ones have named a tunnel after you.
Once this boss has killed you	Back so soon? We already ate your purse.
With the Tally unpaid	Unpaid. We will take it out of you, a penny a bite.
With the Tally paid	Paid up? Then your pockets hold only crumbs. We like crumbs.
Once you have won before	You cut us apart once. We tied ourselves back. We are good at knots.
To Wren	That scarf would line a fine nest. Leave it when you go.
To Ossa	The archivist. We ate the records you want. Paper is delicious.
To Brannoch	Captain. We nest in your company's boots. They had no more use for them.
To Pip	A thief? So are we. There are just more of us.
To Anselm	Father. Your tithe box had a hole in it. We made it.
To Ilse	Kiln-girl. Your fires smoked us down out of the mint. Down here, we grew.
To Hesk	Ratcatcher. A penny a tail, you said. Here are ours. Come and count them.

Refrains: "A penny a tail. Count them." "There are always more of us." "Every crumb you carry is ours."

Traits

Regenerates each turn while an ally stands. At the start of his turn he heals 5% of his maximum health, but only while another enemy is alive.
Stronger below half health. Once below half health it hits 1.5 times as hard.

Numbers by floor

Every enemy is a multiple of the floor's standard enemy (health x10.5, attack x1.3, armor x4), and each one's health varies by up to 8% either way.

	Floor 10
Health	1952
Armor	49
Attack	34
Heavy	68
Gold	68

Gold includes the 10% more every kill pays while the depth's Tally is posted (a guided first depth has none), and is before gold find. From turn 11 of any fight every enemy grows 15% stronger each turn.

What it leaves

Ten times a normal enemy's gold and 3 gems. Then a pick of three pieces, Epic or better: "Pick one to keep". Half the time a second piece drops as well, 15% of the time a Gilding Leaf (from floor 20 on), and one of the depth's treasures if any is still in the vault.

Play Gold BelowThe first ten floors are free. No ads, and it plays offline.

Written from the game's own rules, version 2.17.0. Spotted something wrong? Tell us on Discord.