M.T. Black
Hero
Last night, my level 2 #dnd party faced a horde of 30 skeletal minions. A skeletal minion in my world is just like a regular #dnd skeleton, except it has AC 12 and 1 hit point. Throwing your party up against a horde of minions is a really fun encounter pattern. The enemies basically disintegrate on touch but still hit hard. When you first reveal the horde, there is a genuine "oh sh*t" moment from the table. They immediately start thinking hard - "Do we run? If we fight, what tactics will we use? How do I need to adjust from a regular fight?" As always, doing something a bit unexpected is a great way to grab everyone's attention.
I didn't fudge any rolls and five level 2 characters were able to handle this horde. The terrain played to their advantage. Once the cleric dropped a "turn undead" and half the horde tried to flee, it became a turkey shoot for a while. You can't do every fight like this, but throwing the occasional horde of minions up against the party makes a nice change of pace.
I didn't fudge any rolls and five level 2 characters were able to handle this horde. The terrain played to their advantage. Once the cleric dropped a "turn undead" and half the horde tried to flee, it became a turkey shoot for a while. You can't do every fight like this, but throwing the occasional horde of minions up against the party makes a nice change of pace.