D&D 5E Would skeletons avoid fire?

[jaelis]

I think that if a skeleton's orders/mission required it to take fire damage, it would do so, even if there was a good chance it would be destroyed in the process. It's not smart enough to rationalize avoiding the damage so that it can carry out its mission in a different way.

But if the skeleton's orders don't require it, then I don't see why it would subject itself to unnecessary harm.

 

[GreenTengu]

I would like to take a small moment to point out that combat is actually in-game supposed to be happening at a much faster pace than the game functionally allows for it to be modeled. As such, I would wager that skeletons really don't have the time to react to a moving wave of fire coming their way, even if the wave is slow enough that a normal person could react.

On the other hand, if it is an area of fire that suddenly appears in front of them, blocking their way, then there is a good chance that they won't enter the fire and react to it much as if it was a solid wall, though not necessarily immediately conceiving of the best possible course around the area. It is very likely that they will just stop in place and wait for it to pass. And even then, the first couple might not have the chance to stop.

 

[Imaculata]

Well, if a wizard carefully places a Wall of Fire, and there's no way around it, then I don't think the skeletons would hesitate to step through the fire to attack the players (unless they have bows). But if they do have a choice, then sure, I would have them walk around it.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

By the book they would avoid it. They are not super intelligent and require quite a bit of instruction to do complex things. But unlike Zombies who would ignore the fire killing them skeletons are above that.

"Although they lack the intellect they possessed in life, skeletons aren't mindless. Rather than break its limbs attempting to batter its way through an iron door, a skeleton tries the handle first. If that doesn't work, it searches for another way through or around the obstacle."

They are noted to lack self preservation instincts but that is just for battle in general. They are going to try and block attacks and avoid projectiles. But they are not going to run away or anything like that, and if there is no way to avoid damage in order to attack their target then they will take damage.

 

[aco175]

I too tend to have low intelligence undead like skeletons more mindlessly attack the party without regard for their safety. I may fudge a bit as well to allow several more skeletons to come into the fight a few rounds later. This way the mage gets to have his fun killing several with his spell and the rest of the party get their challenge. I found that this hardly changes the results and only adds a round or two to the combat.

 

[delericho]

5e's skeletons have Int 6 and Wis 8. So all else being equal, they should avoid unnecessary damage, the better to fulfill whatever instructions they have.

That said, if the skeleton's master has commanded it to stay in the fire, or if the commands otherwise require it to do so (for example, it has been commanded to attack a given target and the only free space from which to do so is in the AoE), then they'll take the damage.

 

[bganon]

I don't think the question is "are skeletons smart enough to avoid fire". They absolutely are; INT 6 is higher than animals or even Ogres. But they "follow orders to the letter", "regardless of the consequences", although they are able find their way around obstacles.

So if their orders are "kill all intruders", and there's a clear way to move around the flaming sphere and still attack, I'd run them as doing so. But if there's no way around, I'd definitely have them wade through the flames to follow their orders.