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<blockquote data-quote="doctorhook" data-source="post: 4383709" data-attributes="member: 58401">You understand that minions are not simply low-levelled versions of other monsters, yes? Their attacks, damage, and defenses all scale with level, which means the average Close or Area attack is no more likely to hit a minion than a normal monster of the same level. This is far cry from &quot;tons of free XP&quot;. (And remember, you are not required to include minions in your encounters nor in your games; it's simple to convert four minions into one standard monster. This is far cry from &quot;ramming them down [your] throat&quot;.)&nbsp;It may help to envision four minions as one &quot;monster&quot; or &quot;swarm&quot;; in melee combat, attacking one enemy at a time, it will usually take four or five successful hits to drop a standard monster, and similarly, it usually takes four or five single hits to drop one group of four minions. In this manner, one warrior is matched against a single hobgoblin soldier or a group four hobgoblins grunts; variety just makes combats more interesting.&nbsp;&quot;Wouldn't it be like living a lie?&quot; No, because I'm fighting animated skeletons, which is at least as improbable. &quot;Wouldn't it feel better if you one-shotted those skeletons because you actually did enough damage to kill it in one blow?&quot; Possibly; however, this experience has not been removed from the game. In this situation, enjoyment of &quot;bringing down the big guys&quot; is balanced against the usual disappointment when attacks fail to do &quot;enough damage to kill&quot; a monster. Over the course of a series of encounters, characters can alternately savour the thrill of &quot;one-shotting&quot; toughs and mowing through hordes of mooks.&nbsp;Remember, this is a game played for personal enjoyment. Beyond having a character of an appropriate level and an understanding of that character's capabilities, I don't believe &quot;merit&quot; should ever be more important to the game than the illusion of merit.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="doctorhook, post: 4383709, member: 58401"] You understand that minions are not simply low-levelled versions of other monsters, yes? Their attacks, damage, and defenses all scale with level, which means the average Close or Area attack is no more likely to hit a minion than a normal monster of the same level. This is far cry from "tons of free XP". (And remember, you are not required to include minions in your encounters nor in your games; it's simple to convert four minions into one standard monster. This is far cry from "ramming them down [your] throat".) It may help to envision four minions as one "monster" or "swarm"; in melee combat, attacking one enemy at a time, it will usually take four or five successful hits to drop a standard monster, and similarly, it usually takes four or five single hits to drop one group of four minions. In this manner, one warrior is matched against a single hobgoblin soldier or a group four hobgoblins grunts; variety just makes combats more interesting. [b]"Wouldn't it be like living a lie?"[/b] No, because I'm fighting animated skeletons, which is at least as improbable. [b]"Wouldn't it feel better if you one-shotted those skeletons because you actually did enough damage to kill it in one blow?"[/b] Possibly; however, this experience has not been removed from the game. In this situation, enjoyment of "bringing down the big guys" is balanced against the usual disappointment when attacks [u]fail[/u] to do "enough damage to kill" a monster. Over the course of a series of encounters, characters can alternately savour the thrill of "one-shotting" toughs and mowing through hordes of mooks. Remember, this is a game played for personal enjoyment. Beyond having a character of an appropriate level and an understanding of that character's capabilities, I don't believe "merit" should ever be more important to the game than the illusion of merit. [/QUOTE]

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