How do you create new minions?

[Dykstrav]

My game this week involves the characters battling a tribe of troglodytes and I'd like to fill out the encounters with some minions. The troglodyte minion in the Monster Manual is level twelve whereas the other troglodytes are between six and eight.

The DM's Toolbox tells you how to create monsters, but not minions.

Can I just take a standard monster and reduce it to 1 hit point, give its attacks fixed damage and go from there? Or is creating new minions more involved than that?

 

[ObsidianCrane]

To make a minion I generally drop 1 off all the defences, 1 off the attack.

Basic attack only.
Damage is minimum (there is a table in the dmg to use) for the creature.

If they have a sneak attack type effect, they get minimum damage from that.

No healing effects from racial powers.

If the basic attack has a special effect, eg shift before or after the attack, or ongoing damage I leave that in place.

The level stays the same, and the xp and HP go down.

That covers it, so far its worked well enough I don't feel the need to refine further.

 

[frankthedm]

Reskinning the Decrepit Skeleton provides lots of minions. Drop the undead resists, add a racial trait and Bing


Hobgoblin sky darkener.
Green Human archer
Scrawny Gnoll archer

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Reskinning the Decrepit Skeleton provides lots of minions. Drop the undead resists, add a racial trait and Bing


Hobgoblin sky darkener.
Green Human archer
Scrawny Gnoll archer

I have been useing the devils. orcs and kobolds myself, I just had to jump in to say I found it funny that Gnolls who do best in a pack don't have any stated minnions

 

[Griogre]

There are no rules - which is annoying. However the basic spirit of a minion is he hits and has defenses like a monster of his own level. What I have been doing is take a soldier of the same level to get defenses and to hit. Then add what common racial ablities the race has. Damage is average damage of melee or ranged weapon rounded down. WotC did an article on minions which is why I think the defenses and to hit should be same as a soldier of the same level. 4th Edition Excerpts: Minions

 

[Mengu]

I typically minionize Skirmishers. I think the attack and defenses of Skirmishers are the best in line with Minions. For damage, simply take minimum damage as the fixed number. Remove any encounter or recharging powers. I find that this seems to mesh best with the minions in the MM, with some exceptions.

 

[Dykstrav]

Reskinning the Decrepit Skeleton provides lots of minions.

I am a big fan of reskinning things, in fact, I used reskinned imps to represent the "black bats of Algos" that haunt a wizard's tower. I was wanting to know if there was actually some rules somehwere for it and I just happened to miss them.

Thanks for the guidelines, Cailte. I made a "troglodyte thug" by downgrading a mauler and we'll see how it plays on Saturday.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I haven't it figured out entirely, but it appears to me as if Minion damage is in line with the "minimized" damage of monsters of their level (all die rolls are treated as ones, use the low damage column).

I tend to think there are also still roles for Minions, but I am not sure that's true.
If it is, give defenses according to the role, and minimized damage.
Lurkers and Skirmishers should probably get some extra damage when they have combat advantage or when fighting bloodied targets, or get some reactive/defensive ability in line with racial abilities.
Soldiers might grant bonus to attacks, damage or defense when fighting in groups.
Brutes should always deal a little more damage (1-2 points?)

I suspect the Decreipt Skeletons might be Artillery monsters, but they use the same damage for both melee and ranged attacks (unlike normal Artillery monsters). But they might also be Skirmishers.

 

[ki11erDM]

Reskinning

That is what I have been doing. I think the legion devils give a really good base because they have a lot of examples of them. But I also have to agree if you are going to do it from scratch you should make a solder of the right level and just drop its HPs to 1.

 

[Ethalias]

...I just had to jump in to say I found it funny that Gnolls who do best in a pack don't have any stated minnions

I thought this also. Will be having a go at making my own with this advice though, I find myself drawn to the smelly beasts..