Goon Masters in MM
Here's how to make a horde-summoner character. Take a trait such as Goblin Enchantress or Zombie Master or Baker of Sentient and Homicidal Cupcakes.
This doesn't give you advantage to checks, nor does it grant you outside help like an organisation. All you have is your band of fanatical goblins, crazed cultists, animal automata, etc.
Write down Goons dR8 on you character sheet. They work as a group just like a follower (roll the dR whenever they attempt something risky). A step down means some of your goons died in a stupid way. If the dR is stepped down to nothing, you have to attracts more goons. Wait d8 days and you'll have your dR8 back - the referee can give you a smaller die in less time if they so choose.
Whenever you roll the maximum result on the dR, step it up. Either your goons get smarter/stronger/better at working together, or more of them just show up.
(Picture by Evlyn M, illustrating the B/X class by Benjamin Baugh here: http://chaudronchromatique.blogspot.ie/2014/10/goblin-enchantress-with-shaman-and.html)
(Also thanks to Samuel Guillon for managing to convince a tribe of goblins his character should be their new god. I wouldn't have thought of the mechanic otherwise.)
I ran a game where a player (Cathia Remond) played a orc cooker who had a group of orcish minions as followers.
ReplyDeleteI played like you write : the group is a dR8.
The cooker can use them to have fresh food, to be a kind of focus for the cooking magic he could do and be used as armour...
Oooh that's clever! I'd allow their use as magical components and armour as well.
ReplyDeletethank you to make me proud, master ;)
ReplyDeleteguillaume jentey YOU are the master of inventive risk dice!
ReplyDeleteEvlyn M That'd be cool. I ran into some of them when googling 'goblin horde' and they're so good.
Excellent work everyone!
ReplyDeleteEvlyn M - please get on this. I love your goblins so much and this goblin queen/enchantress thing is ridonkulous good. It would be kind of cool to publish a version with just blank boxes for people to insert their own stat blocks. :) Kind of a DIY system supplement.
ReplyDeleteOr just pics, no stats or blank boxes at all. People could just use it as a visual reference/inspiration.
ReplyDeleteEvlyn M No, it was on the first page. From your Patreon l think...
ReplyDeleteJust FYI, this is now in blog post form: goblinburg.blogspot.ie - How to Make Goon Master Character in Macchiato Monsters
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions, guillaume jentey!