Good Gaming Blog

Monsters and Manuals, a great site for good gaming, just celebrated its 1st anniversary last week. Since I’ve been reading the blog for awhile now, I figured I’d hip my readers to some recent topics on the site which are thoughtful and thought provoking:

-Theory of Demihumans: A lot of solid thought put into this post, with some great citations.

…

-A Rant on the Use(ful/less)ness of Class: Don’t let the names of classes define your character (this prevents me from writing up the exact same rant again .

And of course The Writer’s Choice for best entries of the year. None of these will disappoint .

Give them a read; they’re worth it. While I’m at it, NiTessine in the deep freezing wastes writes an amusing and amazing blog. Check his stuff out; his rants on various issues in the industry are always top-notch.

As Always, Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.

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Just got done with a large amount of mind-numbing work on various projects at the homestead, so I figured I would post a list of what has been keeping me relatively sane over the last few days of 3-day weekend madness.

=The Chatty DM just posted a great discussion on Dungeon Reality Shows. Definitely give some props, and your suggestions, to the pot so that these ideas could percolate and make up for an interesting setting.

=Johny Drain posts an excellent set of blog roundups on a (somewhat erratic) basis… this is going to be my ‘browse while doing other things’ list, but

=Groknard is throwing up his own update blogroll for those who like the SF side of the SF&F equation (especially ST) when it comes to homebrewing. It’s hit or miss for the fantasy reader, but the information on Atomic Sock Monkey’s PDQ is definitely worth it as it points to a great little freebie list (reposted here) that is worth checking out.

=Gnome Stew’s John Arcadian andWalt Ciechanowski wrote up a great two-fer on collaborative DMing which actually gave me some insight into some entertaining possibilities when it comes to a different style of play and mastering.

Short roundup as I need to get some rest, but check these out and get back to me on anything which proves interesting.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

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Fascinating Article on the requirements of a DM over at Gnome Stew. Kurt Schneider makes some brilliant points… check it out .

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EDIT: For terms referenced in this article please pursue The Other Articles in the Series .

As discussed in the Previous Article there are many ways to make silly mistakes in your minion creation. However, if you follow that there are many ‘types’ of minions, you can easily develop a system of discussing these subtypes and provide possible examples.

Now, onto Minion subtypes. These subtypes are helpful for certain materials . . . here’s how we can adjust these subtypes into an easy cost-benefit system.

To be honest, I’ve been using ‘one-hit’ minions for quite some time in 3.X, and their existence is great for the 4e DM who needs something to go off of. I usually use the following as a 3.X construct for minions: Minions are effects, not creatures.

Yes, I know, this may sound odd… but hear me out. One of the major fallacies of DM thought is that every creature is a full stat block. 4e remedies a bit of this with minion stats and the various elite/solo/minion types.

But when it comes to monsters, we can do better. Let us make an example:

—

A sharp-faced demon stands tall above the Lord of Pembroke. Weaving two of its tendrils through the air as if creating a tapestry, the demon smirks when the party wizard casts his first spell.

As the spell fizzles in purple sparks, the demon bares its teeth and the battle is truly begun.

—

This demon must be some great threat! It is a powerful lord of the manor, the power behind the throne!

Perhaps . . . but it is a condition more than a creature. Kill the condition, remove the protection.

Such a “Demon” is applied Spell Resistance. The Lord of Pembroke has a demonic watchdog, and it raises itself off of its haunches. The “Demon” has several solutions; banish it, turn it, kill it.

It is nothing more than HP and an effect. As an Aiding minion (it is not using its body, but its magic to defend the Lord) it should have enough HP to be somewhat threatening, but if all it does is protect its master . . . it’s not engaged in combat. It’s a walking Amulet of Spell Resistance, and the best way to break it is to break the demon involved.

—

The scream of ecstasy, the swing of the blade, the cultist storms forward. Even as you strike him down the haze falls over you . . . the choking sensation of spirit takes over, and you drop to the ground.

—

This cultist is a Suicidal Minion with a Hold Person/Monster effect. It dies, you get Held (or have the chance to be Held).

Get the picture? I have faith in your . . . imagination. Let us see how many such effects we can generate! Anyone who posts a minion type below will be recognized in the next post, and given the chance to guide the next Lazy DMing guide.

Enjoy, and Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.

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EDIT: For terms referenced in this article please pursue The Other Articles in the Series .

In the last installment we discussed Bruiser, Abused, and Defender minions. Today we will discuss some of the more interesting minion types. However, ‘minion’ is a loaded term these days. Let us rather define Minion as ‘leverage units’. Really, an enemy is an enemy, but a minion provides leverage for the Big Bad. Each minion should provide this leverage, and nothing else… no need for 1 HP, just serve as your own little unit of HP, AC, and effect.

Now, onto the three minions to discuss here:

-Aiding: These minions are the healers and squealers. Defenders protect the Bad, Aides give some assistance to help the Bad protect itself. The negative-essenced undead which provide an aura of negative-energy healing for their lich? A mage who gives some buffs to the royal villain? Aides. Aides are usually ‘quiet targets’; they can be some distance away, and their skills usually lend to being less-than-stellar warriors.

-Arcane Threat: Magic Bruisers, Arcane Threats lay down a nice fat line of elemental (or other) damage. Not usually mages themselves, an Arcane Threat will break skull totems, UMD a wand, or just break open a sweet can of magic energy to cover. Arcane Threats are even weaker than Bruisers, big ol’ Glass Cannons.

-Suicidal: Kamikaze threats. Think of Bombs from Final Fantasy; while an Abused provides by being damaged by others, Suicidals are walking effects waiting to trigger themselves. Exploding poisonous constructs? Check. Suicidal creatures work well with manipulative masters, serving as fanatics which can be thrown about to do damage (or other negative effects) without PC targeting.

Completion of base types… next, we’ll give some hard examples.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

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