what level to fight a nest of Skiurids?

[CyberThread]

Am thinking of making a throw away adventure, low level play by post, that would focus on being pest control and getting rid of a nest of Skiurid.


Now I know folks health can be really low and such, so does this sound like something that can be done by a bunch of level 1 folks, or need to be a level 2 or three adventure?

[KillianHawkeye]

Evil squirrels?

Individually, they are only CR 1/2, but they tend to group in the dozens. They don't like to get into melee, but their darkness deals 1d6 damage in an area, and regular light spells aren't enough to cancel it. Area damage spells will work great, though.

So..... I'd say it depends on the party load-out. A sorcerer with burning hands will probably do alright at level 1 if he can keep out of the darkness (and if the party can find the squirrels hiding within it).

The problem with these guys is that they're cowardly. Kill any of them, or simply resist the darkness, and they all run away and come back when it's safe. They're small and fast and super stealthy. Plus, they can teleport short distances. Maybe if you destroy the empty nest, they'll be forced to relocate elsewhere, but that doesn't really solve the problem from the standpoint of pest control. Unless just making them somebody else's problem is a viable solution for you, but there's no guarantee that they won't come back to bother you later on.

A banishment spell would let you get rid of all them at once, but it's much higher level than is really warranted for this kind of threat. Unfortunately, lower level removal of extraplanar creatures tends to work on only one target at a time, and those are still mid-level spells.



Well that was kinda rambly. I dunno if any of that helps or not. These critters are sort of an odd lot. Pathetically weak on their own, but difficult to get rid of when played according to their natural instincts. As always, level 1 characters are exceedingly fragile, so some of them might get killed facing a large group like this, but if somebody has ranks in the right Knowledge skill they should learn that the darkness can only hurt them once if they just stay inside it. If they know that, almost any group should be capable of dealing with the infestation (once again, provided that they can find the little bastards).