I like to have a lot of enemies on the field, but they can't all be minions. That being said, I decided to create another class of monster in between minions and regular monsters, called goons.
A goon acts just like a normal monster, and in fact you can make any monster into a goon. The rules for a goon are as follows: create a monster of the appropriate level, but reduce the xp given by half and reduce the hp to 2. Special: a goon only takes 1 dmg from a hit, unless it is a critical hit, which kills goons automatically.
This way, a goon will stick around longer, is indistinguishable from regular enemies, and has normal attack powers, and you get more enemies on the field. I used goons in my recent Dark Sun test encounter against a couple of my friends. I took the Gith Spearhead and gooned him. For the normal 200xp, I got 2 Gith Spearheads who had the Focused Stab attack, but both had fallen in approximately the time it would have taken to drop one. In doing so, I got to challenge my players with more tactical maneuvering, deal more damage, and increase the tension in the combat. It may have nearly killed them, but they survived. I think they learned a little about how brutal Dark Sun can be in 4th edition.
Gith Encounter: 752xp
1 - Gith Drone (lvl 5 Controller)
2 - Gith Spearhead (lvl 5 Brute, goon)
8 - Gith Savage (lvl 4 Skirmisher, minion)
They fought in the first level of a dried aquifer and were surrounded by the Gith. They were using two of the pregens from the Dark Sun Game Day: Tak'tha, the Thri-Kreen Seeker, and Bost, the Mul Fighter.
A goon acts just like a normal monster, and in fact you can make any monster into a goon. The rules for a goon are as follows: create a monster of the appropriate level, but reduce the xp given by half and reduce the hp to 2. Special: a goon only takes 1 dmg from a hit, unless it is a critical hit, which kills goons automatically.
This way, a goon will stick around longer, is indistinguishable from regular enemies, and has normal attack powers, and you get more enemies on the field. I used goons in my recent Dark Sun test encounter against a couple of my friends. I took the Gith Spearhead and gooned him. For the normal 200xp, I got 2 Gith Spearheads who had the Focused Stab attack, but both had fallen in approximately the time it would have taken to drop one. In doing so, I got to challenge my players with more tactical maneuvering, deal more damage, and increase the tension in the combat. It may have nearly killed them, but they survived. I think they learned a little about how brutal Dark Sun can be in 4th edition.
Gith Encounter: 752xp
1 - Gith Drone (lvl 5 Controller)
2 - Gith Spearhead (lvl 5 Brute, goon)
8 - Gith Savage (lvl 4 Skirmisher, minion)
They fought in the first level of a dried aquifer and were surrounded by the Gith. They were using two of the pregens from the Dark Sun Game Day: Tak'tha, the Thri-Kreen Seeker, and Bost, the Mul Fighter.
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