Minions - do you tell players who are minions and who are not in-game?

[Daniel D. Fox]

Forked from Mearl's recent interview -

I allow players to figure it out, so the level of perceived danger is always heightened. Although showing people who minions are and aren't will allow them to use their powers more wisely, I disagree with this sort of metagame handholding at the table.

Sometimes, shoddily-armed foes are minions, and sometimes they aren't. I like keeping the game interesting, and letting the description allow players to determine who may or may not be minions. Sometimes the "important" NPC is truly a minion (like a well-liked and popular hero who's not quite up to the calibre of the players) and sometimes he isn't.

 

[gizmo33]

I put the minion thing in the same category as telling the PCs how many hitpoints a monster has. I might make vague references to the level of toughness but I see no reason to communicate the metagame specifics in this case.

 

[mcnathan80]

I usually describe a basic ineptness and lack of confidence concerning minions i.e. the tiefling eyes you warily and cautiously advances towards you while has allies shift uneasily and (or excitedly rush at you)

 

[Anguirus]

In KotS I was pretty blatant about it. I used M&Ms as their combat markers, and whoever scored a hit got to eat it.

I usually don't flat-out say who's who, but I don't make it hard to figure out, either. When they were fighting a dracolich and 12 angels appeared, either they were going to be minions or the 6-person party was screwed (that or in for a LONG fight).

In my other group (in which I am a player) my fellow players started assuming monsters were minions simply because we were outnumbered. This turned out not to be the case...we were just outnumbered!

 

[Wormwood]

When describing minions to the players I try to leave absolutely no doubt about their nature (even if I don;t actually use the term, "minion").

 

[James McMurray]

I don't tell them who the minions are, but it's pretty easy to figure out. Either the minion will hit and not roll damage or a player will hit and kill one. After that it's a matter of looking at the creatures on the mat and figuring out which are the same types. We've only had one session, so I have yet to bury a real monster (perhaps even a solo) inside a large group of minions.

 

[mlund]

Minions are generally easy to pick out from other monsters. You out-class them in combat so badly that you see obvious openings to take them down in a matter of seconds. If player's ask what their character can observe about the enemies I'll inform them as to the observations a seasoned combatant (which even a level 1 character is in 4th Edition) is expected to be able to make.

- Marty Lund

 

[Syrsuro]

I went for sometimes.

I generally don't tell them unless something makes it obvious (like them all falling down dead).

But such information can possibly be gained through a knowledge check.

Carl

 

[mattdm]

I think it takes some of the fun out of having minions in the game if they're obvious. Sure, they're supposed to be cardboard cutouts — but they've got to be cutouts that look like real monsters.

 

[burntgerbil]

I have seen two Dm's do this both ways. One benefit is the party knowing "we can do this". The problem is when they are not clearly labeled and the party confuses an encounter they should flee from with one they believe contains many minions.

A party TPKing itself on an encounter they believed was minions is not fun gaming. The real issue is that if this happens, once the party knows its not a minion fight, if they still have ample time to escape.