by Matt Goetz

“Human advancements occasionally have unintended side effects in the zoological world. Alchemy ultimately led to the adaptation of the thrullg, for instance. For a less perilous example—one by no means harmless, mind you—is the skigg. These swamp rats would have been nothing more than an occasional pest had humanity not begun mining and refining blasting powder for use in firearms. To our credit, we had no way of knowing that skiggs would eat the damned stuff.”

—Professor Viktor Pendrake, Department of Extraordinary Zoology, Corvis University

Renowned expert in all matters of unusual beasts, there are few individuals who have seen as much of Immoren as Professor Viktor Pendrake—the High Chancellor of Corvis University’s Department of Extraordinary Zoology—and fewer still who survived the experience and chronicled the tale. His foundational work, the Monsternomicon, gives a detailed account of the many unusual encounters he has faced in his journeys across the Iron Kingdoms and beyond. To get the most out of these encounters, you will need a copy of Iron Kingdoms: Requiem and the Monsternomicon.

Background

Trains carrying ordnance between military posts and cities are a common occurrence in the Iron Kingdoms. From the mines where the raw ingredients are extracted to the laboratories of alchemists who refine the binary powder into powerful explosives, and then to its ultimate destination in fortresses, armories, and the headquarters of mercenary companies, at every step of the process great care is taken to prevent the compounds from mixing—thus avoiding catastrophic explosions.

That is, until skiggs entered the equation. These large rodents are inexplicably drawn to blasting powder. They devour the stuff, filling their bellies with a volatile mix of red and black powders. Should a bloated skigg be subject to a sharp impact—or simply be shaken too hard—it explodes with the force of a hand grenade.

The Lodestone is a train in the Steelwater Rail fleet, one that hauls material from Steelwater Flats to Orven and back. On one of its trips, it took aboard sixty barrels of blasting powder: thirty red and thirty black. It has been stowed in cars on opposite ends of the train by the train’s crew members, who have taken great care with the payload. 

Unfortunately, a family of skiggs had already discovered the powder. Long before it was even loaded on the train, the rodents had made themselves comfortable in one of the red powder barrels by chewing their way inside. As the train thunders along the rails, the curious creatures start exploring their new surroundings…

While the encounter is set in Cygnar, it can easily be transposed on another location. Khador’s Iron Highway or the railways of Rhul just as frequently move loads of blasting powder and are just as likely to have pernicious skiggs find their way aboard.

The Lodestone

The Lodestone is a significant train in the Steelwater Rail fleet. While it is able to haul miles-long chains of cars, in order to avoid a catastrophic derail if anything happens with the blasting powder, it is currently running light. In addition to the engine and coal car, it has four cars: the black powder storage car, a cargo car used as a buffer, the red powder storage car, and the crew car as a caboose.

The crew aboard the Lodestone are:

• Conductor Kelcourse
• Senior Brakeman Ulysses Garth
• Second Brakeman Jules Leeds
• Engineer Nate “Stacks” Edwards
• Fireman Marshal Lawson

Encounter Start

There are numerous ways to get the characters involved in this encounter. Suggested options include:

• Steelwater Rail is wary of farrow and brigands who might try to block the tracks and raid the Lodestone. So, they’re known to hire mercenaries to protect their trains, and it is a way for some adventurers to get paid to travel between Steelwater Flats and Orven.
• While passengers are not commonly taken aboard the Lodestone, Conductor Kelcourse is not above earning some spending money by taking on unauthorized passengers headed to Orven.
• “Stacks” is an experienced engineer who is getting on in years. He’s requested a mechanik, tinkerer, or a “clever gobber with tough hands” to help him with some of the labor keeping the Lodestone in working order, and he is willing to bring aboard any companions his assistant might have.

The encounter begins with the characters aboard the Lodestone as it rumbles through the Wyrmwall Mountains northwest of Ironhead Station on the last leg of its journey toward Orven. Read or paraphrase the following to set the scene:

Ulysses has just come from the red powder car. While he moved through it, he stepped in some spilled red powder scattered by the skiggs hiding there.

A character with a passive Perception of 12 or higher notices a dusting of red powder on Ulysses’ boots. If brought to his attention, the brakeman’s face goes white.

With that, Ulysses rips off his boot and begins vigorously scrubbing it in the small washroom’s sink, complaining about blasting powder and the alchemists who make it.

Random Travel Events

The moving train presents a series of different events that can affect the characters during the encounter. Once every five minutes of travel or whenever you feel it is appropriate, roll once on the following table or pick a result you like.

Travel Events

D6  Event

1    Sharp Turn. The train moves around a sharp curve in the tracks. The DC of Dexterity checks and Dexterity saving throws increases by 2. If a Dexterity check or saving throw fails by 5 or more, the failing creature falls prone.

2    Tunnel. The train passes through a tunnel. The train is plunged into pitch darkness. The only light is from the train’s lamps and any light the characters bring with them.

3    Steep Incline. The train moves up a steep incline. Moving forward—toward the engine—costs 2 feet of movement for every foot moved.

4    Steep Decline. The train moves down a steep decline. Moving backward—toward the crew cabin—costs 2 feet of movement for every foot moved.

5–6 Steady Going. The train moves through level terrain with no additional effects.

The Lodestone

The following outlines the current configuration of the Lodestone.

Each of the train’s cars has a ceiling ten feet high. Brass oil lamps in each car can provide dim illumination, but the lamps in the red and black powder cars are not left lit.

Train Cars. Each car other than the engine and coal car is 40 feet long and 15 feet wide. 

Doors. Each car other than the engine has two doors, one each at the front and back, to allow for travel between cars.

Crew. The crew of five men keeps busy through the day. The men trade shifts between day and night, with crew resting in the rearmost car to sleep, eat, and relax. The crewmen are all commoners.

Couplers. The trains are coupled together at the front and back. These couplers can be detached, but doing so while the train is in motion is quite difficult. A character attempting to decouple train cars must succeed on a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check to separate train cars.

Train Rooftops. The stock cars of the train have hatches that allow access to the top of the train. Moving on top of the roof is difficult terrain. Smoke from the engine blows back across the rooftop, lightly obscuring the rooftops.

The engine and coal car are collectively 100 feet long, though only the 10-foot-by-10-foot control cabin is accessible. 

Edwards and Lawson spend the majority of their time here when they are not resting. A platform at the back of the coal car leads to the black powder car. 

Controls. The controls are housed in the control cabin. A character at the controls can use an action to move the train up to its speed of 25 miles per hour or bring the vehicle to a dead stop. 

If the driver is incapacitated, leaves the helm, or does nothing to alter the train’s speed, the train moves at its current speed as long as it has fuel in the firebox.

Firebox. The firebox burns through a pound of coal for every hour of travel.

Coal Car. The tender, or coal car, is filled with 5 tons of coal. A narrow walkway passes on either side of the coal car. The coal itself is difficult terrain.

The black powder car leads to the engine and coal car at the front and the cargo storage car at the back.

Black Powder Kegs. Fifteen powder kegs stand on either side of the black powder car. Each wooden keg contains 50 pounds of black powder. Kegs are AC 15, have 12 hit points, and are immune to poison and psychic damage.

If a skigg enters the black powder car, it tries to gnaw through the closest keg that doesn’t have a skigg next to it. If it is not disturbed, a skigg uses its action to deal 1 point of piercing damage to a keg. The skigg eats a hole large enough to squeeze through once it deals 5 points of damage.

The cargo storage car leads to the black powder car at the front and the red powder car at the back.

Cargo. The rolling stock car is primarily intended for use as a buffer, but Kelcourse doesn’t want dead weight on his train. A collection of tools and spare parts from Steelwater Flats are stored in the car.

The narrow walkway at the center of the car is tight enough that a Medium-sized creature has to squeeze to move through it.

Skiggs. Two of the five skiggs have crept into the cargo storage car, scurrying by Ulysses’ feet as he moved through the train. They attempt to remain hidden amidst the cargo but will bolt for the black powder barrels if an opportunity arises.

The red powder car leads to the cargo storage car at the front and the crew caboose car at the back.

Red Powder Kegs. There are 30 red powder kegs lashed on either side of the train car. Kegs are AC 15, have 12 hit points, and are immune to poison and psychic damage.

A character who examines the barrels discovers a hole gnawed in the side of a barrel. All 50 pounds of red powder are missing. A character who makes a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check spots large rodent prints dusted with red powder heading toward the front of the car. A character who makes a DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check recognizes the prints as unmistakably produced by skiggs.

Roof Hatch. The hatch hangs open, occasionally thumping on the roof of the box car. The hatch has a faulty latching mechanism and was blown open by a gust of wind.

A character who examines the ladder near the hatch sees red powder on some of the rungs.

Skiggs

The five powder-stuffed skiggs start out in an empty barrel in the car. When they wake up, the skiggs catch the scent of the black powder two cars away. The rodents start scurrying forward, hiding as best as possible as they navigate the train.

Passing between train cars is no easy task for the overfed skiggs. Fortunately for them—and unfortunately for the Lodestone—the rodents are able to get onto the roof of the train due to a faulty hatch on the ceiling. Three skiggs have taken this path and begin slowly picking their way forward, 5 feet a round starting when Ulysses enters the caboose.

The skiggs are bloated with blasting powder, which reduces their walking speed to 20 feet. If the skiggs move on the top of the train, the blasting wind from the train’s movement makes the rooftop difficult terrain.

The crew caboose leads to the red powder car at the front. A door at the back opens to a small platform. It contains bunk beds, storage lockers, a small restroom, a wood stove, and a small dining area. Next to the door is a modest desk with a log of maintenance and trips maintained by Kelcourse.

Kelcourse, Garth, and Leeds spend the majority of their time here. The two brakemen are needed only when the train is expected to slow down at its arrival in Orven, and they pass the time in the caboose playing cards. 

Worst-Case Scenario

The skiggs are volatile enough with the red powder in their guts. What happens if they manage to get into the black powder storage and complete the binary compound?

In short, a very bad day for the Lodestone. Even a single cask detonating would result in massive damage to the train, followed by a violent derailing. In the ensuing wreck, more skiggs would explode, potentially setting off a chain reaction of detonations that could even cause more of the blasting powder to mix. 

Skigg in a Barrel. If a skigg gets into one the black powder barrels, it eats a mouthful of the stuff and detonates at the start of its next turn. This distributes the red powder in its stomach through the rest of the powder keg, setting off a violent explosion. The barrel detonates in a 20-foot radius sphere, and creatures and objects in the region must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity save or take 14 (4d6) fire damage. 

A black powder keg that is destroyed might also detonate a secondary explosion. Roll a d6 for a destroyed barrel. On a roll of 1 or 2, it detonates in a 10-foot radius, dealing 7 (2d6) fire damage on a failed save.

Derailment. After a powder keg explodes, the train might derail. Unless a character at the train’s controls succeeds on a DC 18 Intelligence check to keep control, it slips off the rails. Proficiency with locomotives or land vehicles can be applied to this check.

If the train derails, its cars tumble down the steep embankments. The cars each roll for 7 (2d6) rounds, moving the train’s current speed down the mountain before coming to a rest. Creatures inside the cars must make a DC 16 Dexterity save at initiative count 20 each round a train car rolls, taking 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one.

Any skiggs in the train are stuffed with blasting powder and make the save with disadvantage.

Detonation. If the train derails, there is a small chance that in the tumbling, barrels of red powder and black powder will mix in the destruction. At initiative count 20 each turn the train cars roll down the mountain, roll 1d10. On a roll of 1, two casks impact each other. Randomly determine a train car. Creatures in that car must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) fire damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one. This is an unlikely outcome, however, and can only occur once, no matter how long the train tumbles.

Conclusion

The encounter concludes when the skiggs are defeated or captured, or with the derailment of the Lodestone.

If the former happens, the rest of the trip to Orven proceeds uneventfully. However, there are plenty of other perils the train might encounter, if you want to expand this encounter into something more substantial.

If the worst happens, any characters and crew who survive are in for a perilous trip through the mountains. Orven is over seventy miles away through rugged mountain terrain. Will they be able to make it to civilization, or will they become more victims of the wilds of western Immoren?