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View Full Version : [4E] - Building a Better Minion: Ideas/Criticism?



Yourshallowpal
2012-04-04, 02:44 PM
I'm looking for-

- Thoughts+criticism on the builds submitted below-
- Any "alternate" minions builds you used to make minions tough enough to warrant immediate attention, without being dismissed.

Basically, I want killing minions to be EASY, without being such a given my players feel like it's a waste of time. (Or, more specifically, I want minions which make players feel like their encounter/daily powers are as epic as they sound.)

Here's a build that worked well last-week-

Demi-Minion:

- Take a normal minion of the desired level.
- If it is level 1-20, it now has HP equal to 20 + it's level.
- If it is level 21-30, it now has HP equal to 30 + it's level. (This is due to the fact most At-Wills do an extra [W] damage at level 21)
- Missed attacks damage it.
- If it takes it damage equal to it's bloodied value from a single attack, it dies immediately.
- If it takes damage equal to it's max hp from a single attack, it dies AND grants the PC a temporary action point, which they must spend before the end of their current turn.

Notes: I threw 12 Demi-minions, an elite monster, and a normal monster at the party. The strikers (warlock, sorcerer) could usually kill a demi-minion with an at-will by marking it. The defender/leaders killed one or two this way, but enjoyed seeing their encounters pack lethal "oomph."
Only one player spent a daily trying to get the bonus action point. He failed, but still got to kill a monster in one hit, so it didn't feel like a waste to him.
After the minions died, the other two monsters still bloodied most of the party, and knocked the controller unconscious, so overall I'd call it balanced.


One I want to try this week-

The "Minion+"


Take a normal minion, level appropriate-
- It does NOT have conventional HP.

It dies if any of the following happen-
- It dies the second time it takes any damage
- It dies if hit by a critical
- It dies if hit by an encounter
- It dies if hit OR missed with a daily.

Why this build: Basically, I'm lazy, and it saps my time/energy always marking down HP. The appeal of a minion+ is it creates incentive to use more powerful attacks, but I don't need to track hp. I just need to "flip" it's marker the first time it takes damage, and remove it when it dies.



So, thoughts?