Build your own Minion

One of the most glaring omissions from the fourth edition DMG is the lack of a template to design a minion class monster. Thankfully the math was relatively easy to figure out so I present to you the community;

Monster statistics by role: The Minion

Initiative ------
Hit points: 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC Level + 10
Defenses Level + 10
Attack vs AC: Level + 2
Attack vs other: Level
Damage: 4 – 10
+1 if a particularly powerful weapon is used or they can justify special training or some other reason they would hit harder
Special Abilities: Abilities should be of considerably lower power than other creatures of its type except for racial abilities
Resistances: Never more than 2. Resistance based on level
Heroic: 5
Paragon: 10
Epic: 15
Ability Scores: No greater than +8 after racial adjustments

Thoughts, comments, observations?

You're missing a formula/table for damage. Just "4-10" is a very broad range of power.

Fizzlemeyer said:

Thankfully the math was relatively easy to figure out so I present to you the community

Click to expand...

Is it? I'd say unfortunately it's almost impossible to figure out since almost none of the minions seem to follow any consistent guideline.

I've created a table for all minions in the MM and didn't see any kind of fixed formula.

Its also extremely hard to tell if a minion's stats are in error or exactly as intended. For example there's a whopping 14 minions with attribute bonuses that are incorrect for their level. The Zombie Rotter has been pointed out as an example many times, but it's hardly the only one.

Looking over your statistics, I'd say your attacks, AC and defenses are all too low.
- AC ranges from (level + 12) to (level +16)
- Defenses range from (level + 7) to (level + 15)
- Attacks range from (level +3) to (level +6)

Regarding the damage it was suggested to use the minimum damage values for the minion's level. That seems to fit most minions quite well.

Edit: It's also been suggested that creating a minion is done by 'minionizing' an existing monster. This would explain the great variance in minion stats since a minion created from e.g. a soldier would look quit different than one created from a skirmisher.

Jhaelen said:

Edit: It's also been suggested that creating a minion is done by 'minionizing' an existing monster. This would explain the great variance in minion stats since a minion created from e.g. a soldier would look quit different than one created from a skirmisher.

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What if you removed the role template (e.g. soldier, skirmisher) from the monster first?

Since the core concept of 4e is simple rules with many exceptions, what if the basic monster creation guidelines are the rule and all the roles are the exceptions?

I think the problem with the zombie rotter (with most of his things) is that he's a brute while most other minions might be soldiers

We were only 3 players yesterday, so our gm had to make the encounters easier and he did so in a very genious way: He simply converted some of the Monsters (Kobold Slingers) to minions in a extremly simple procedure:

-) reduce Hit Points to 1 (like the other minions)
-) do only the minimum damage

Thats it .. a new Minion without any recalculation!

It should work fine at higher levels too .. you might need to restrict very powerful powers, but the defenses and regular damage should work fine

Byronic said:

I think the problem with the zombie rotter (with most of his things) is that he's a brute while most other minions might be soldiers

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Yes, this.

Legion Devils were based on Soldier; Zombie Rotters weren't.

Question for those who have looked at all Minions: are there any that don't fit at least one role for their level?

Thanks, -- N

Byronic said:

I think the problem with the zombie rotter (with most of his things) is that he's a brute while most other minions might be soldiers

Click to expand...

Maybe. But how do you explain the ability score modifiers? They don't include a bonus of one-half their level. I.e. either their level is wrong or the ability score modifiers are wrong.

Which is it? There's no way to tell. Therefore it's not possible to deduce any reliable statistical information from the zombie rotter.

Here's a list of the minions that suffer from the same problem:
- cyclops guard; p.46
- horde ghoul & abyssal ghoul myrmidon; p.118ff
- hobgoblin grunt & warrior; p. 138
- grimlock minion & follower; p.148
- human rabble; p.162
- kruthik hatchling; p.170
- orc drudge & warrior; p.203
- troglodyte warrior; p.272
- snaketongue initiate; p.274