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Make Minions Great Again!
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<blockquote data-quote="Jacob Lewis" data-source="post: 7946042" data-attributes="member: 6667921"><p>[USER=20323]@Quickleaf[/USER] Thanks for weighing in! These are great questions, and exactly what I was hoping to see! I really appreciate the thought and time you took on this. Let me tackle these one at a time.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Hehe. Well first of all, my "playtests" are currently limited to running some scenarios myself with some pregens and characters I have laying around. Being self-quarantined has given me some time to do stuff like now, I suppose. But that is why I reached out to the community a) who may have better means to access table-play with other people, and b) give others something to toy with and discuss. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>As for player tracking, I don't see that as an issue. They usually need to confer with me anyway if they hit or miss when it is not so obvious. If they fall within the 5-point range with this idea, I would let them know they have the option to hit. They will know what the consequences are since I would have explained these rules beforehand.</p><p></p><p>If you feel that the cost in efficiency of play is too high, I would counter that the trade-offs includes greater tension, player agency, and keeping players engaged. This is how I imagine it might go down:</p><p></p><p>[HR][/HR]<strong>Example: </strong>Player rolls 13 on his attack check, but needs to hit AC 15.</p><p>DM: You see an opening in your attack that leaves you vulnerable to your opponent. Do you take the hit or pull back?</p><p>Player: Hmm.... yeah, I haven't taken many hits yet. I'll take him out!</p><p>DM: Okay! As you lunge, the orc slips his jagged blade underneath your swing, nicking you for 3 damage before your own blade comes down on top of him. How much damage did you do?</p><p>[HR][/HR]</p><p></p><p>I know the thread is still short, and I think I did address this above. But yes, there would be a need for parameters to avoid silliness like this. You can only get so many minions out of a standard monster, and not all monsters should be grouped as minions.</p><p></p><p>As far as tracking hit points, I'm going to let you in on a little secret... I rarely do that anymore! Notable exceptions are bosses, solos, legendaries, etc. But that's another topic and another thread. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>Regarding Opportunity attacks, you are correct. They do not have reactions like normal creatures. Their intent by design is to be straightforward, charge in and have characters let loose! So they would not be suitable for every scenario, which is fine. But try mixing them in with a group of standard creatures. That could change the dynamics of an encounter altogether as different strategies could be needed.</p><p></p><p>I think the topic of saving throws requires more attention to work out the finer details. But generally speaking--yes, minions will make saving throws as a group when appropriate.</p><p></p><p>Remeber, minions aren't supposed to be a great threat to the players. They will, however, distract the players and demand resources and actions focus on them to deal with them, which means less directed at the more dangerous threats.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I did think about this, actually. That was <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/make-minions-great-again.670980/#post-7944227" target="_blank">post #2</a> in this thread. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jacob Lewis, post: 7946042, member: 6667921"] [USER=20323]@Quickleaf[/USER] Thanks for weighing in! These are great questions, and exactly what I was hoping to see! I really appreciate the thought and time you took on this. Let me tackle these one at a time. Hehe. Well first of all, my "playtests" are currently limited to running some scenarios myself with some pregens and characters I have laying around. Being self-quarantined has given me some time to do stuff like now, I suppose. But that is why I reached out to the community a) who may have better means to access table-play with other people, and b) give others something to toy with and discuss. :) As for player tracking, I don't see that as an issue. They usually need to confer with me anyway if they hit or miss when it is not so obvious. If they fall within the 5-point range with this idea, I would let them know they have the option to hit. They will know what the consequences are since I would have explained these rules beforehand. If you feel that the cost in efficiency of play is too high, I would counter that the trade-offs includes greater tension, player agency, and keeping players engaged. This is how I imagine it might go down: [HR][/HR][B]Example: [/B]Player rolls 13 on his attack check, but needs to hit AC 15. DM: You see an opening in your attack that leaves you vulnerable to your opponent. Do you take the hit or pull back? Player: Hmm.... yeah, I haven't taken many hits yet. I'll take him out! DM: Okay! As you lunge, the orc slips his jagged blade underneath your swing, nicking you for 3 damage before your own blade comes down on top of him. How much damage did you do? [HR][/HR] I know the thread is still short, and I think I did address this above. But yes, there would be a need for parameters to avoid silliness like this. You can only get so many minions out of a standard monster, and not all monsters should be grouped as minions. As far as tracking hit points, I'm going to let you in on a little secret... I rarely do that anymore! Notable exceptions are bosses, solos, legendaries, etc. But that's another topic and another thread. ;) Regarding Opportunity attacks, you are correct. They do not have reactions like normal creatures. Their intent by design is to be straightforward, charge in and have characters let loose! So they would not be suitable for every scenario, which is fine. But try mixing them in with a group of standard creatures. That could change the dynamics of an encounter altogether as different strategies could be needed. I think the topic of saving throws requires more attention to work out the finer details. But generally speaking--yes, minions will make saving throws as a group when appropriate. Remeber, minions aren't supposed to be a great threat to the players. They will, however, distract the players and demand resources and actions focus on them to deal with them, which means less directed at the more dangerous threats. I did think about this, actually. That was [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/make-minions-great-again.670980/#post-7944227']post #2[/URL] in this thread. ;) [/QUOTE]
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