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Message: <blockquote data-quote="keterys" data-source="post: 4736028" data-attributes="member: 43019">Actually, 7th Sea and Feng Shui were doing minions before any of this MMO craze and if you squint hard you can see a minion rule in 1st edition AD&D for cleaving through several goblins, kobolds, etc at once.But, it's cool, it's in fashion to blame logical game design elements on MMOs now.Why not? They're a narrative element to let people know they're cool - they should know which guys they can casually dispatch in hordes to show off their prowess.So an epic PC can't tell the difference between a level 1 goblin with a shortsword and artemis entreri with a shortsword?Why? Should they also have no idea that one magma creature has an aura 5 that deals fire damage, while another has an aura 1 that deals fire damage, and yet another has no aura at all? Remember, the PCs are subject to a _lot_ more intense information than the players - they can see the poor combat stance, the fear in the minion's eyes, trembling hands, the rough formation of a militia hastily trained and forced to work together, or the cyclops that was once threatening back in the day but is now far too slow and clumsy and whose head flies off with a casual near-demigod backhand of your sword.Play how you want, but it's not brainwash or BS. It's a good narrative element.Maybe the player knows it, and not the PC, or maybe it realizes that it's far less threatening in appearance than a non-minion version - after all, if it's _not_ far less threatening why is it a minion at all?Go for it - it can still not hold its weapon well, has a rookie combat stance, is slower or more slovenly than another goblin, or scrawnier, or timid, or in some other way obviously less effective because otherwise it shouldn't be a minion. The game trap is not that you describe them as minions, but that you make them minions without there being an in game backing for the idea. Plenty of game reason, and it helps players at least as much as DMs.Completely disagree.That's actually not why I'd do it, but I'd do it because of certain abilities not interacting well with the rules of minions.</blockquote>

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