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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 4215330" data-attributes="member: 53980">In my case, I don't think that I'd give a significant portion of the orcs stats at all.  If the PCs wanted to slaughter the orc children and commoners after defeating the tribe's warriors, I wouldn't make them roll for it, it's a foregone conclusion (though I might give the more decent characters nightmares for some time to come).  As for the actual warriors of tribe, it would be up to the DM, as fits his needs.  I certainly wouldn't make 90% of the tribe chiefs and eyes (it would be pretty silly to have more than one chief in most scenarios), but I'd apportion the lesser guys as I see fit.  For a small but ruthless tribe, I could see myself making 90% of the warriors bloodragers and berserkers, with only a handful of other orc types.  For a weak(er) but larger tribe, I'd likely make the majority of the orcs minions.  I see it as a way to easily (mechanically) customize tribes.I think it's intended such that we can stop looking to the MM stats for a simulation of ecology in any real sense.  I really don't think that it was meant for that in any edition (though I do sort of see your point, in that 3.x allowed you to create orc commoners and experts if you ever felt the need).Yeah, kits in 2e were poorly balanced.  Skills and powers was even worse in that respect (though it introduced some interesting ideas).  I don't recall any way to apply them to monsters though (it's been at least 4 years since my last 2e game though).  You're right though, 2e was much more relaxed in this respect.  I imagine if you wanted to create a creature with a Thac0 of 1 and 1 hp, there was probably a way (or just DM fiat).Assuming that the PC is using some sort of lethal attack (as opposed to, say, a rubber chicken) I have no problem with that.  HPs are just a way of adjudicating the make-believe game of cops and robbers.  "I shot you!  You're dead!""Nope, I still have 10 hp left, I dodged out of the way at the last second."Anyone who goes from 1 to 0 hp has just gotten clobbered over the head real hard, skewered through chest, or some such.  Someone who has > 0 hp hasn't, no matter how improbable that might be (someone being grappled inside the mouth of the tarrasque).  To paraphrase something that one of my friends is fond of saying- If you shoot someone, it really doesn't matter where you hit them or what caliber bullet you use; if they aren't unconscious, most people will still just lie down and complain.  IMO, hp is essentially just a way of turning a hit into a (near) miss, and minions are just those unlucky guys who, for whatever myriad reasons IC and for the sake of the DM's ease OOC, don't get these "get out of hit free" cards... er, points.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

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