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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Scurvy_Platypus" data-source="post: 3856580" data-attributes="member: 43283">See, I'm the complete opposite of Asmor.I use "cut scenes" in my games, where the players wind up getting snippets of something. Purely metagame. It serves a number of different purposes, and showing off some nasty critter or trap is one of them.I'm not quite sure why everyone is so focused on whether or not the PCs have some sort of attachment to the henchmen, but then again I was never inclined as a player to get them in the first place. Since every DM I ever had liked to kill them in various nasty ways.If casually butchering henchmen is a problem for some reason, why not just have some sort of created item that is the equivalent to the Crash Test Dummy?A pretty simple thing that's a cross between an Unseen Servant (able to follow very basic and simply commands) , and one of those cat figurines that changes into a real critter. It would be about as easy to "destroy" as a person, and can be easily fixed/repaired. You could have one for each racial type, which is basically an average version of whatever race's height and weight.It shouldn't be able to do anything particularly "sophisticated" in terms of the actions it can perform. Basically it's a walking suit of armor that can be eaten (or constricted, or whatever special funky thing some critter does), or walked into a trap.If you're so inclined, you could even give it some sort of primitive awareness, kinda like the Luggage from the Terry Pratchet novels. Players could "receive the distinct impression that the Trap Dummy is a bit surprised at the viciousness of this particular trap." or some other sort of expository hijinks you feel like getting up to.I mean, c'mon... given all the other stuff that adventurers are finding, killing, looting, and whatnot, it's hard to believe that nobody thought of/created something like the Trap Dummy.Sure, it's probably a goofy idea to a lot of people. I still think it's got some charm though.</blockquote>

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