D&D 5E How would you incapacitate/knock-out a skeleton?

[bedir than]

My group is going to encounter an animated pet bearded lizard. It was the Barbarian's companion in a world where everyone has a beloved companion. It was crushed in a falling ceiling trap, but was "raised" by the Necromancer enemy the group is hunting.

The Barbarian's player will not be present at the next session, but the skeletal pet bearded lizard will be. How would the other party members subdue such a "beast" to return him to the owner?

I'm hoping to see a bunch of brainstorming to hopefully not be surprised when the group comes up with something.

 

[iserith]

Because of the manner in which it died, the necromancer had to use a special means to animate it. This required him or her to embed two small gems in its eye sockets - a ruby and a sapphire. One of them keeps the crushed bones of the lizard together; the other animates it. Removing the latter effectively incapacitates it, but removing the former reduces it to a pile of shattered bones - permanently.

The challenge is figuring out the purpose of the gems, which one is the right one to yank out, and removing it despite the lizard's resistance.

 

[spectacle]

You could knock off the legs so that it can't move. Then you can reattach the legs afterwards if it bonds with its owner again.

 

[Fanaelialae]

They could overbear it and muzzle it with rope.

 

[MG.0]

I'd kill it. Then have them complete some ritual with the bones to bring it back to life. Provide some clues that this is a possibility, or they might not think of it.

 

[BoldItalic]

Will the PCs necessarily recognise any lizard skeleton they encounter as being the barbarian's ex-companion? You might want them to make a Wisdom check if there is any doubt. After all, they won't have seen its skeleton when it was alive. Nature skills might apply, perhaps.

One tactic you might anticipate is: catching it in a sack (I assume it was a small lizard, not a giant one). That could be treated as a "use an object" action. Perhaps a Dexterity contest between a PC and the lizard skeleton. Advantage if two PCs co-operate to shoo it into the sack.

 

[bedir than]

Will the PCs necessarily recognise any lizard skeleton they encounter as being the barbarian's ex-companion? You might want them to make a Wisdom check if there is any doubt. After all, they won't have seen its skeleton when it was alive. Nature skills might apply, perhaps.

One tactic you might anticipate is: catching it in a sack (I assume it was a small lizard, not a giant one). That could be treated as a "use an object" action. Perhaps a Dexterity contest between a PC and the lizard skeleton. Advantage if two PCs co-operate to shoo it into the sack.

Yeah, it was small enough that he often carried it in his pocket. This will be their first non-humanoid skeleton they encounter.

 

[iserith]

Yeah, it was small enough that he often carried it in his pocket. This will be their first non-humanoid skeleton they encounter.

If you end up using the idea I suggested or some variation thereof, consider dropping a parchment showing the process by which the necromancer animated the thing as something PCs can find by engaging with the exploration pillar (such as searching the necromancer's cluttered workbench for useful things). If they don't engage with the exploration pillar accordingly, then they'll have to figure it out - possibly by guessing - on their own. It could turn out to be a real red-wire-blue-wire moment!

 

[BoldItalic]

Yeah, it was small enough that he often carried it in his pocket. This will be their first non-humanoid skeleton they encounter.

A large pot with a stopper would do instead of a sack, since skeletons don't have to breathe. You could place one somewhere in the dungeon for them to find and wonder what it's for ...

"You find an elaborately decorated porcelain vase with a tightly-fitting stopper. The mouth is large enough so that you could slip your hand inside if you wish. The strange thing about it is, the outside seems to be bigger than the inside."

 

[Eltab]

Yeah, it was small enough that he often carried it in his pocket.

The Geico Gecko !?

Have your group's Cleric try to Turn it (hopefully he doesn't destroy it in the process), then chase it into a corner. Anybody with a backpack can dump the contents to make room.

How are you going to get the skeleton to bond with the Barbarian again? Right now, it's in service of the necromancer.
And, as already noted above, how do the PCs know this skeleton is THAT lizard?