Minions, figuratively speaking

[Olgar Shiverstone]

All minions are required to wear red shirts tabards.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

if i am in doubt i will use a damage treshold for minion and mark them as bloodied when damag is too low to kill in one hit.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

In my mind, minions are either very untrained enemies or a narrative tool.

The very untrained are the kind of people that won't stand up in a fight for long; they are ordinary people/kobolds etc that are given weapons and pointed in the right direction.

The narrative tool is something like a martial arts- movie; tons of ninjas are attacking the hero who kicks their asses. Then all ninjas step aside and the real enemy comes along.

Ditto, though I'm generally more inclined to the former and with an emphasis on having very low morale.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I wouldn't say they are totally untrained, just totally outclassed. They are the faceless masses of their kind that will never aspire to anything beyond mediocrity.

Fitz

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Anyone looked at the vampire spawn stats?

A 6th level minions. 10 hp so they'll drop like flies. But they have +11 to attack and get a +3 bonus to damage for each additional vampire spawn in contact with the target.

So if you have three of these minion on you, you're liable to receive up to 27 hp of damage in one round (45 if you are bloodied).

16 of these are very much a challenge to a level 6 party even though they can be killed in one solid blow.

In 3e low HP always meant low BAB and so these kind of fights couldn't occur (or were waste of time) at high level. Not anymore.

Basically, minions are just a good mechanic way to allow for mass battle that are both manageable (minions go down fast) and challenging. I don't think there's much more than that to read into it.

Incidently, these spawns are perfect for a 'From Dusk 'Til Dawn' scenario...

PS :

Max damage with...
1 Vampire Spawn : 3 (5 Bloodied)
2 Vampire Spawn : 12 (20 Bloodied)
3 Vampire Spawn : 27 (45 Bloodied)
4 Vampire Spawn : 48 (80 Bloodied)
5 Vampire Spawn : 65 (125 Bloodied)
6 Vampire Spawn : 108 (180 Bloodied)
7 Vampire Spawn : 147 (245 Bloodied)
8 Vampire Spawn : 192 (320 Bloodied)

Of course, they are unlikely to all hit even with +11 to attack. Still, do NOT charge into a mass of Vampire Spawn! They are worse than pirahnas!