Last Updated on March 14, 2023
Big things often come in small packages, or so that saying goes. While they may be small (standing just a few feet tall), the Mousefolk are brave, curious, and intrepid. In short, they’re exactly the sort of small packages that head out into a vast, dangerous world, have adventures, and accomplish big things.
Mousefolk are a race (or lineage) of sentient, anthropomorphic mice people. They’ve never officially been a part of D&D, but players and dungeons masters have turned their love of the Redwall series, the Mouse Guard comics (and tabletop roleplaying game), and the Mausritter RPG (which is one of my favorites) into a brand-new homebrewed player race for D&D 5e campaigns. People have been making Mousefolk homebrew rules basically ever since 5e came out.
If you want to play a Mousefolk character in your next D&D 5e campaign, we’ve gathered together, reviewed, polished, and updated all the best homebrew rules so you can get started building your own Mousefolk character today.
WARNING: HOMEBREW CONTENT
As with all our guides to homebrewing your own content or unearthed arcana materials, it’s important to remember that none of this is “official” D&D 5e content.
You can’t play a Mousefolk character in an adventurer’s league game, and you shouldn’t show up to your next sessions expecting to be able to play your new mousefolk character in your DM’s home game either. Your dungeon master’s campaign might not even have Mousefolk in it, so if this is a type of character that appeals to you, talk to your dungeon master beforehand.
If you want to play a Mousefolk but don’t want to use homebrewed rules, you can use the Custom Lineage rules from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything to create a character that can look however you want but is mechanically compatible with the official 5e rules.
Mousefolk Traits
Every Mousefolk shares the following traits:
- Ability Score Increases: Either +2 in one score and +1 in another, +1 in three different scores. No score may be increased above 20.
- Languages: All characters can speak, read, and write Common and one other language appropriate to the character.
- Size. Mousefolk range between 2 and 3 feet tall. Your size is Small.
- Speed. Your speed is 25 ft.
- Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
- Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
- Quiet as a Mouse. Wisdom (Perception) checks made to locate you in dim light or darkness are made with disadvantage.
- Subrace. There are two main branches of Mousefolk culture, the Lodgers (who dwell near other humanoid species, usually hidden in the shadows) and the Freemice (who live out in the wilderness). These are admittedly more like a background or nationality than a subrace in the truest sense, but that just goes to show the impact that where a young mouse is raised can have on their adult self.
Lodger
- Clever Paws. You gain proficiency with one type of artisan’s tools or one musical instrument.
- Squeeze. You can move through Tiny sized spaces.
Freemouse
- Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
- Speak With Small Beasts. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with Small or smaller beasts with no language of their own.
Making a Mousefolk
When you build a Mousefolk character, thanks to the Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything-style Ability Score increases, you can pretty much push yourself in the direction of any class you like.
A Mousefolk Artificer who tinkers with tiny clockwork contraptions and has a mechanical cat for a sidekick; a Mousefolk ranger who patrols the borders of her woodlands, keeping dangerous beasts away from her village; a Mousefolk Circle of Spores druid who wears a mushroom for a hat. There’s no shortage of excellent concepts that fit this race, but perhaps the best one is the Rogue.
A small (ironically) cat burglar Mousefolk rogue who can use their natural talent for stealth and evading detection to be a highly successful thief is an excellent fit for this lineage.
Whether you want to play a grizzled, cutthroat mouse knight or a sweet, bumbling Mousefolk swarmkeeper ranger who spends her days tending to bees half her size, Mousefolk are a decidedly cool (and cute) homebrew race that could make an interesting addition to most D&D 5e campaigns.
Until next time, happy adventuring.
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I played my first tabletop RPG (Pathfinder 1e, specifically) in college. I rocked up late to the first session with an unread rulebook and a human bard called Nick Jugger. It was a rocky start but I had a blast and now, the better part of a decade later, I play, write, and write about tabletop RPGs (mostly 5e, but also PBtA, Forged in the Dark and OSR) games for a living, which is wild.
