Speedy Stacking Minion Hordes

Guidelines

Just like 'Heavy Armor' doesn't come into play until higher levels, Minion 'giants' (d12/d20) should still be regular monsters at low levels. Even the least imposing giant would pose a significant challenge at level 1.

Minion Damage

Level => Avg.

1-3 => 3

2-5 => 4

4-10 => 5

10-13 => 6

12-17 => 7

15-20 => 11

Based on the average die result using minion die sizes from the GMG (excluding the 1, which always misses). Feel free to adjust up/down. Slightly more brutal than because we're still rolling for dramatic effect.

Creating a Stack

Create a monster to represent many minions in one place. It has:

1HP/minion

Size > minion Size

Damage: Current HP Dice (minion damage rules).

Swarm. (Damage deals 1HP on hit, 2HP on AoE/crit)

Attacks follow the same rules as regular minions: combine and uses flat damage per hit. If consisting of Tiny minions like spiders, it can enter player spaces.

Variant Rules

Swarming. Minion attacks always have 1 Disadvantage. Use twice as many minions as normal.

Dangerous. Max value dice are counted TWICE. (Uh-oh! They crit now!)

All or Nothing. Roll only 1 die - regardless how many minions attack. All hit or all miss using the result.

Optional: gain Advantage per 5 minions.

Overkill

When you defeat a minion, the damage dealt by your attack defeats another nearby minion for each multiple of the minion's flat damage.

This can kill multiple minions in a stack. Double the damage for AoE attacks on a 1x1 Stack OR count for each space hit on a Large or larger size stack.

You can also use an 'overkill value' separate from the minion damage, for example the die size from . Alternatively, this is fully compatible with , which is my recommended approach.

Level	Die Size
1-3	d4
3-5	d6
5-10	d8
10-13	d10
13-17	d12
17-20	d20

Level

Die Size

1-3

3-5

5-10

10-13

d10

13-17

d12

17-20

d20

Augments

Balancing with Minions

Minions excel as battlefield filler, allowing heroes to showcase their strengths. Armored defenders can hold off waves of attacks, while spellcasters can annihilate groups with a single spell. They help combat feel dynamic and give heroes the chance to shine, all while keeping the pace fast and exciting.

Waves of Minions. Start with an easier encounter and introduce minions in waves to dial in the challenge. Minions might emerge from hidden positions or be summoned mid-battle.

1 minion/hero: Slightly more difficult, but will greatly increase the tactical options.

2–3 minions/hero: Noticeably more difficult.

4 minions per hero: Much more challenging.

Minions

Minions are low-threat monsters that are easy to kill individually but dangerous in numbers. They add dynamic movement and excitement to battles without bogging down gameplay. Minions have:

No HP to Track. Any damage kills a minion.

Easy Attacks. Each minion attacks with a single damage die, cannot crit, misses on a roll of 1, and ignores advantage/disadvantage.

Simplified Defense. When multiple minions attack a single target, their damage is combined and counts as a single attack, so heroes can Defend or Interpose against them all at once.

Act Together! If your heroes are facing down a pack of goblin minions, rather than moving them one at a time, all minions attacking a particular hero should move and attack at the same time.

For Example: 5 minions move next to Grudge and attack him. Roll and add up 5d6 (ignoring any 1s). Fast and easy!

What die size to use?