I was wondering how minions are handled in the game? Is damage to them treated as a condition on the supervillain leading them, or are they just treated as one-hit kills?
I was wondering how minions are handled in the game?
I was wondering how minions are handled in the game?
I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not “treated” at all, mechanically.
Depends on what they’re doing and what you’re trying to do to them, really
I was thinking about this today and there are 3 options I think
1. Treat them as one character together that has a few conditions.
2. Treat them as one condition villains
3. They have no conditions and are taken out if described
I am partial to options 1 and 3.
I’m considering treating them as obstacles if they’re relevant. The way I see it they are an excuse for heroes to flex their powers. Heroes don’t really engage minions – they’re mostly impediments to get to the villain and a threat to bystanders.
If a bunch of bad guys are attacking civilians, and the heroes try to save em, then they’re Defending. If they’re trying to do something bad and the heroes want to stop them they Unleash their Powers. If they’re calling them stupid…..now THOSE minions are dangerous.
(Love that, Jason Corley!)
If the minions make sense as a genuinely dangerous group threat, then I would treat them as a single villain. Give them a couple of conditions, a drive, a few moves. For example, I could see a large force of Hydra goons having Insecure, Afraid, and Hopeless, a drive like “To stop the chaotic and disorderly heroes from ruining the world,” and moves like “Unleash a barrage of energy blasts” and “Reveal two more soldiers for every one that falls.”
It’s worth flagging that if you can’t come up with a drive for the group, then it probably makes sense not to treat them as a villain—that’s a sign that the minions aren’t complex or interesting enough characters to put in that category.
If you do this, though, you’re also saying that the group of Hydra goons is pretty dangerous! You can also just treat them as part of the fiction, letting PCs overcome them by Unleashing their Powers. If you do the latter, chances are you’re also implying they’re not actually a threat—so keep in mind that Directly Engage a Threat might not trigger against them, even when the PCs are wading in and smashing them up like crazy.