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<blockquote data-quote="D'karr" data-source="post: 4457721" data-attributes="member: 336">If I had been introduced to the &quot;Minion Mechanic&quot; in that fashion I probably would be disappointed too.&nbsp; I see your point and it makes great sense.&nbsp; However, I think that DMs do a great disservice to the players with poor presentation.&nbsp; IMO the example you provide is simply a DM giving a poor presentation.The minions are there to make the bookkeeping easier on the DM and make the combat more exciting.&nbsp; So it is the DMs job to use the tool (minion) to make the combat more exciting.&nbsp; If the DM presents it as a run of the mill, &quot;it doesn't matter what your great tactics were, you splat him.&quot;&nbsp; Of course the encounter with minions is going to be unexciting.I think the DM's guide or the Monster Manual should include a section on running combats with minions.&nbsp; It should include the pros and cons of letting the players know ahead of time which combatants are minions.&nbsp; It should probably include a section on the &quot;philosophy&quot; of minions.&nbsp; And it should definitely include a section on how to describe an exciting combat with minions.If the DMs descriptions of combat devolve to &quot;you hit it, it dies&quot; then no matter what you are fighting, minion or solo, those combats are going to be crappy and unexciting.&nbsp; Is that a fault of the system?&nbsp; Not really, but I think that a little more guidance should be included so that DMs know what to avoid in their combats, and boring descriptions would top my list.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="D'karr, post: 4457721, member: 336"] If I had been introduced to the "Minion Mechanic" in that fashion I probably would be disappointed too. I see your point and it makes great sense. However, I think that DMs do a great disservice to the players with poor presentation. IMO the example you provide is simply a DM giving a poor presentation. The minions are there to make the bookkeeping easier on the DM and make the combat more exciting. So it is the DMs job to use the tool (minion) to make the combat more exciting. If the DM presents it as a run of the mill, "it doesn't matter what your great tactics were, you splat him." Of course the encounter with minions is going to be unexciting. I think the DM's guide or the Monster Manual should include a section on running combats with minions. It should include the pros and cons of letting the players know ahead of time which combatants are minions. It should probably include a section on the "philosophy" of minions. And it should definitely include a section on how to describe an exciting combat with minions. If the DMs descriptions of combat devolve to "you hit it, it dies" then no matter what you are fighting, minion or solo, those combats are going to be crappy and unexciting. Is that a fault of the system? Not really, but I think that a little more guidance should be included so that DMs know what to avoid in their combats, and boring descriptions would top my list. [/QUOTE]

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