Skigg 5E Tactics

As promised, the latest Pendrake Encounters: "Skiggs on a Train" features these creatures, so I've done a quick 5E tactics write-up to accompany the official Privateer Press website post. I'd note these critters are very specific to the Iron Kingdoms and its unique alchemical blasting powder. Although more of a nuisance than a true threat, these animals are actually tougher than they would seem and their hairline trigger explosiveness can be the bane of any low-level party.

First off, these guys are little but they're a lot larger than I'd initially assumed - they are Small-sized, not just Tiny, being more the size of a giant rat (MM5E, page 327) and as such are not able to form into swarms. In fact, although they share a lot in common with giant rats they are different enough to deserve a specific analysis, plus they are the focus of a Pendrake Encounter...

They have low AC, only 2 Hit Dice, but decent CON makes them hardier, and they are sneakier (Stealth proficiency, darkvision), and faster (40 ft. movement) than their rodent cousins. Their STR is woeful but their DEX and CON decent, but as unaligned beasts with minimal INT, they are really only interested in food and likely only to attack if cornered or their food supply is threatened.

There's really no reason for these guys to attack rather than flee as their bite is singularly ineffective and weak, inflicting 1 hp of piercing damage. Despite their explosive tendencies, like most animals they prefer to live and will Hide in darkness, venturing forth at night preferable to forage for food but will avoid combat in preference for waiting to feast undisturbed.

Unfortunately, these little guys make drug fiends look temperate by comparison. They love the marching blasting powder and just can't say no to a good snort of the stuff, whether black or red. So what of it?

Well, it is their tendency to explode when hit that makes them a dangerously fun encounter:

If a skigg is *full* and takes *damage*, they must succeed on a DC12 Constittuion *saving throw* or *explode*.

Let's break this down:

• Full. This takes two actions, assuming the skigg does not start with a half-full or full belly (one pound or two pounds of blasting powder). Any round they get the opportunity to eat blasting powder they will as their default action, failing that if they have the opportunity to Hide they will do so, otherwise they will Disengage and flee using their superior movement, only using Dodge if they are truly cornered. A skigg with an empty stomach needs 2 Actions to be full sure but otherwise, they are readily primed so there is only a narrow window of opportunity to slay them without the risk of explosion. 

• Damage. This is any damage, not just sufficient damage to kill them - even 1hp is sufficient. As they are evolved creatures, they know that damage causes their fellows to explode and so will avoid being damaged however possible. Unless of course, there is blasting powder to eat in which case they will throw caution to the wind. Grappling a skigg does *not* inflict damage and may indeed be the preferable approach - as Small creatures with low STR (-3) effectively any character has advantage on Grapple checks against them. Any damage triggers the risk of explosion, not just attacks from the players, so falling skiggs or those caught in other damaging effects can also combust into 10 ft radius balls of flame...

• Savin throw. With their +2 CON bonus, this translates into a straight 50% chance of exploding when struck which is flip-a-coin odds... do your players feel lucky? A DC 13 DEX save to avoid the full 17 (5d6) fire damage and setting anything flammable alight should be enough to give pause. 

Using Skiggs in an Encounter

Effectively these guys run less as an opponent and more as an obstacle and/or probably a chase (see DMG, page 253 and this post) - this is partly implied in the scenario  "Skiggs on a Train", with the setting being the rooftops of the moving cars. The dilemma becomes one of gambling on whether attacks outweigh the risk of explosion compared to grappling the critters (see above) to stop them reaching their food sources and potentially damaging a specific object or creature. 

If using them in a scenario, it pays to check out the rules for damaging objects and working out the AC and hit points for objects in the vicinity, not only the powder kegs (the scenario states a skigg must inflict 5 hp of damage to gnaw a hole in a powder keg large enough to access the powder within), but also other objects and walls that may be affected by explosions...

Variant: Black & Red Reagents

Technically, blasting powder is only explosive if the *two* reagents are mixed, and this is highlighted in "Skiggs on a Train" that the rodents need to move between the different storage cars to become "primed". The Monsternomicon 5E simplifies this, and you could assume that a skiggs physiology can "prime" either reagent alone, but I would argue that standard safe practice has developed to to store the different reagents separately to not only prevent accidents but to try and avoid any skigg-triggered explosions.

YMMV, and of course you may decide to just start the skiggs as "full" of one pound of each reagent and immediately at risk of explosion, but the potential tension of trying to guess which skiggs are "primed" and are better off being captured vs those that are "unprimed" and can be slain should make for some fun times with players.