[4e] Not-quite-a-minion

[Eorran]

I need a "lackey" enemy for a 4e game. He's a nasty backstabbing sneak of a gnome, but once forced into actual combat, he should go down easy. However, I don't want him to go down in 1 hit... 2 or 3 should work.
Note, the PC's are level 12.
My solution, please examine & comment:
1. I took the gnome sneak (lvl 2 lurker) as a base.
2. I adjusted all his defenses, attacks & damage to be equal to a lvl 12 lurker (used choker as a comparison). I didn't give him any additional special abilities, and I left him with his original HP

Result: a creature with a good chance of hitting the PCs (+17 to his attacks), and does nasty damage with CA (1d6+9 base, +3d6 sneak attack), but with only 34 hp, he'll last for 1 round if the PCs all target him. His gnome abilities help him stay hidden as much as possible, which is what he likes best anyways.

I gave him twice the XP of a lvl 12 minion.

Thoughts?

[AKA_Bait]

I only gave it a quick look but it seems fine to me. You might want to up the xp a little is the only thing that springs to mind. Maybe a full single monster of appropriate level. That's more because this guy seems to have some plot signifigance than because I'm actually looking at an exp table, which I'm not.

[quillbreaker]

What you describe is a lurker or a skirmisher - a normal level 7 to 10 of either should suit your needs.

[Yakk]

A level 12 monster tends to have about 60 HP. Half that is about 30. So that is the right ballpark for HP.

[Tengu_temp]

A level 12 monster tends to have about 60 HP. Half that is about 30. So that is the right ballpark for HP.

Eh? Even Lurker and Artillery, the monster types with lowest HP, have 78+Con (so around 90) HP at level 12.

[WirePaladin]

Seems fine for a wanna be minion.
Out of curiousity what sort of loot does the lil guy have? minion style copper, or is that nasty dagger an actual nasty dagger ^_^

[RPGuru1331]

I'd say make the dagger actually nasty, then downgrade some later enemy's loot a little.

[Eorran]

He'll probably have a few nice things. Treasure isn't really a concern - the characters are actually 2e imports from an early campaign, and don't suffer for want of equipment.

This guy is the BBEG's footstool. Think Toady from Gummi Bears, Benny from the Mummy, Beastly from Care Bears if you admit to having seen that show. He's sycophantic, dedicated to the BBEG, and nasty, but once his scheme comes unravelled, he's not really a fighter.
I didn't want to use a standard lvl 7-10 lurker because that was too many HP or too low attacks/defenses. I wanted a minion-like feel without the "one hit dies" vulnerability. He's a minor character, not a faceless mook.

[Yakk]

Eh? Even Lurker and Artillery, the monster types with lowest HP, have 78+Con (so around 90) HP at level 12.

There is a simple explanation. I failed at the math. :-)