Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="eriktheguy" data-source="post: 5473465" data-attributes="member: 83662">They can be defeated with conventional attacks or skill checks. Skill checks are much faster, because a standard action covers a 5x5 area, which is excellent action economy for a good skill. I edited the OP to make this clearer.It does depend heavily on which skills you assign. Most parties of 5+ have a good balance of skills, and at least one member that can defeat a skill-linked minion on an 8+.Part of your argument here (specifically, the bluff vs intimidate pointer) is more of an issue with the skill system than with skill-linked monsters. Trying to scare someone with a bluff almost makes intimidate redundant, but you could easily argue by the same logic that the two skills should be one (coerce). If you want the two skills to be different, apply the hard DC to bluff because scaring with intimidate is easier. If you want to two skills to be the same, then allow players to use them both as one skill in all facets of the game, not just when battling skill-linked monsters.I disagree that using skill checks is worse than minion-slaying abilities. Find me an at-will attack that is better at killing minions. Moreover, this gives minion killing capacity to players and parties that don't normally have it, which can help keep things interesting at the table and gives more options to DMs of controller-free parties.I agree that some of the examples I gave were bad. Feel free to suggest your own if you have any. That said, there is no reason to force all skills to be used for defeating monsters. And hey, feel free to allow your players to use the skills in different ways depending on the monster/skill in question.- use acrobatics to shift 4 squares in a line as a move action, killing minions with weak underbellies as you shift through their squares- use thievery to disable an adjacent minion construct as a minor- use athletics to vault over an adjacent minion carrying a tower shield as a move action, killing them and shifting to any square adjacent to themIn these cases you will have to tell your players what they are able to do with their action before they use it (but probably after they express some interest in using the skill).Most of all, I stress not to make any of these rules definitive. If a player comes up with a neat way to kill your monsters with skills, you should always be open to it.</blockquote>

Verification