What are Minions anyway?

[VannATLC]

To the OP;

A damn good idea.

A threat, perfectly capable of dealing damage, but not capable of taking it.

I like them. /shrug.
I don't find any major inconsistencies in them and in those encounters I have already built, they make up the vast majority of the mobs.

Especially ranged minions.

 

[Henry]

...as shown numerous times 4E doesn't care about immersion, logic and realism and instead endorses action movie logic.

And don't forget novel-logic, too. Conan fought minions, they just weren't spelled out as such. That guy, even at age 15, could leave a trail like an automobile-shredder. Drizzt Do-urden and Wulfgar (loved or reviled, they're AD&D fiction, not only 3E fiction) could slice through drow/orcs/duergar by the dozen. And those are the kinds of things D&D's been based on for many years now -- since its inception, really.

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Considering how HP is supposed to work in 4E this minion setup (no HP, average attack and defense) does not make sense, but as shown numerous times 4E doesn't care about immersion, logic and realism and instead endorses action movie logic.

Hey! To make that statement with a straight face, you need to compare 4e to something like Riddle of Steel. Because I've never played an edition of D&D that qualified for immersion, logic or realism. They just qualified for fun.

 

[Evilhalfling]

I'm enjoying minions as well, and using the concept in my 3.75 game.

and for me as a simulationist it really restores the concept of a 0-level human. in 4e, 1st level adventurers are tough, and not all humans are that good, so there needs to be a well defined step down.

my bar fights will never be the same.

 

[Piratecat]

I like the Feng Shui rule: you decide if you want to kill a minion, cripple them, or simply knock them out of combat. Since it's the same mechanical effect, there's no reason not to let the player decide.

 

[Cmarco]

And don't forget novel-logic, too. Conan fought minions, they just weren't spelled out as such. That guy, even at age 15, could leave a trail like an automobile-shredder. Drizzt Do-urden and Wulfgar (loved or reviled, they're AD&D fiction, not only 3E fiction) could slice through drow/orcs/duergar by the dozen. And those are the kinds of things D&D's been based on for many years now -- since its inception, really.

100% agreement. I love the idea of minions.

 

[Frostmarrow]

I like the Feng Shui rule: you decide if you want to kill a minion, cripple them, or simply knock them out of combat. Since it's the same mechanical effect, there's no reason not to let the player decide.

I like this too. Kill, cripple or, knock is a statement and testament of moral fibre. It has GM advantages too. If your Jack-in-a-box show up at the ball and pick a fight with the PC warlord, Jack gets to fight and live to fight another day (or else spectators will think less of the PC-warlord.) It is also nice to mind control a PC to attack the party without them having to kill the puppet.

 

[Derren]

Minions are thus perfectly realistic.

With guns maybe which are not that common in D&D.
To be skilled with a sword (attack) you need to train very long, the same goes for parrying (defenses). And HP do not represent physical health but morale and endurance and it is very unlikely that someone highly skilled who had to train for a long time lacks endurance or morale.

But you can't fulfill the power fantasies of the new D&D target group with real enemies so minions are needed.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Low level Minions seem definitely be to be something like Commoners, dirt farmers. They make the bulk of any army if there ever is a real fight. They are drafted when required, handed a crude weapon and said "go, fight four your fatherland!" and die by the dozen.

Higher level or non-humanoid Minions are a little less easy to describe in general terms.
Vampire Spawns basically are the Vampire equivalent of a commoner. A common man turned into a Vampire, instantly gaining supernatural speed and strange powers. But at his (no longer beating) heart, he is still a simple man. He doesn't have real endurance in a fight, the gods don't look favoringly on him (not even the dark gods), and so he often ends up staked way before he had a chance to do something meaningful in the grand scheme of things.

Some Minions might simply be to weak to survive a lot of strikes. (I think of small creatures that come in dozens). Others might lack the Willpower to fight for long - they have nothing going for them. (The Vampire Spawn only wanted to live a simple life, and now he has to go around sucking blood. Okay, yes, it tastes well, and it gives a feeling of power, but it's still not a fulfilling thing. So, if an enemys wooden implement comes close to his heart, why should he really want to make the superquick unexpected turn to avoid the hit that his master would have done?)

 

[Minigiant]

Minions are just enemies with little story importance. They count as 1/4 of a equal level challenger.

I think the thing that sets minions apart from plain underleveled enemies is the strength of their powers. A 8th level minion might have access to 8th level powers, attacks, and defenses where a 3rd level normal would be stuck at 3rd. An 8th level minion would still die from the damage of 1 attack from a 3rd level ranger but the minion's defenses would include immunities and invisibility and other junk a 3rd level guy can't handle. Plus the minion would come at mass with 8th level attacks and destroy the ranger.

So when a greater werewolf turn half the village into drooling hairy lunatic then sics them on the party, the werefolk villagers are minions and die in 1 hit. But good luck hitting their jacked up 6th level AC, Fort and Reflex; damaging them pass the resistances, and avoiding their claws unless you are higher than level 5.

Minions are the equuvalent to 3rd Level adjusted and templated creatures probably. Creatures with a powerful ability or 2 but too defensively weak for their level.