Do you ever use "expendable henchmen"?

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I think I didn't use it so far, but I consider adding it to my repertoire.

En World - Creating better DMs since the Dawn of Time*


*) = 3rd Edition D&D announcement

 

[RPG_Tweaker]

Being a 1E veteran, I've always endorsed the use of henchmen/hirelings. They are woefully overlooked in 3E.

They are great for watching the horses, protecting campsites, offering/eliciting exposition dialog, draining off some income, functioning as a failsafe for overlooked vital clues, sucking players into side adventures, etc. Best of all, they often elicit some great non-plot interaction between the DM and players.

And of course, they serve as red-shirts for revealing threats or showcasing the lethality of advesaries. They are especially great, because they allow you to pitch more (or more dangerous) enemies against the party.


I run them at two levels, peons and companions.

Peons are your basic servile red-shirt types, with little more than basic stats and a 3-4 word personality descriptor. When they quit, get fired, or are gobbled down by a purple worm, they receive some minor lip service then promptly forgotten. An occasional one rises to companion status.

Companions are full-fledged minor NPCs, with class levels, a paragraph-long personality, and usually a minor goal or a secret. They're often seen as junior party members and upon their demise get a funeral (if possible) and some coin sent off to their families (usually by the efforts of the paladin).

 

[DarkKestral]

Well, I don't mind the idea of having some expendable NPCs set up solely to die to deathtraps and other things. It just shouldn't go so far as to allow the PCs to progress solely by sending in expendable minions and letting them die repeatedly. (This is for your average Good/Neutral party. An evil party would make this tactic 'in-genre' so to speak, so I've got a lot fewer qualms with it.) Let them see what happens when Joe Minion accidentally stumbles, activating a deathtrap, killing him instantly. Then force them to figure out how to de-activate it.

As for other NPCs, I figure the level of expendability should depend on their role. Soldiers in service to a PC, some types of hirelings, and others paid to fight on behalf of the PC are certainly OK to kill as part of battle, but others should be used primarily for plot reasons.

Now, I'm not so sure I like the traditional tactic of summoning celestial beasts to do one's bidding and be a trap-magnet, so that does play into it.

 

[BobGhengis]

Now, I'm not so sure I like the traditional tactic of summoning celestial beasts to do one's bidding and be a trap-magnet, so that does play into it.

I don't see any problem with it. Monsters summoned by the "Summon #" spells aren't actually killed if they suffer lethal damage, IIRC.

 

[Pbartender]

In order for the event to really have any weight with the players, the NPC getting killed has to be pretty important for them. But if he is... well, congratulations, you just wasted a great NPC for some special effects.

The impressiveness doesn't come from the attachment to the NPC that dies, it comes from the monster's/trap's overwhelming display of power.

In that respect, it's important to not necessarily use an NPC that important to the players, but to describe the effects of the attack in gruesome detail.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

When I have a DM that makes provisions for their use, I use the hell out of them. To really pull off a Basic set D&D adventure, or 1E adventure, you would have to use them if you're a standard 4+1 player group otherwise it's *really* hard to play through those modules.

 

[TracerBullet42]

The impressiveness doesn't come from the attachment to the NPC that dies, it comes from the monster's/trap's overwhelming display of power.

In that respect, it's important to not necessarily use an NPC that important to the players, but to describe the effects of the attack in gruesome detail.

Totally true...

For an easy example of this, check out the first adventure in the Savage Tide AP, "There is No Honor." On board the ship at the beginning, one of the mook NPCs is supposed to get torn to shreds by a nasty critter below deck. When I ran this game, one of the PCs had snuck below deck, so they got to witness the beastie break from it's cage and tear the poor little enemy to pieces.

Scared the begeezus out of the player, who had his PC then run away.

Plus, if you do this, you get to have fun being descriptive and avoid the potential "lose inititive, critical hit, dead beastie" factor. I hate it when you anticipate a great moment, only to be lost to a lucky die roll...